Winning Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Friday night was important for the Milwaukee Brewers, as they look to maintain home-field advantage over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It was also important for fans of free hamburgers.
Friday night’s nail-biting, 6-5 win was the 12th straight for the Brewers, including the regular season. And 12 is a magic number for fans wanting a free burger from George Webb, a Wisconsin restaurant chain that has a long-standing vow to provide free burgers when the team wins 12 straight.
George Webb opened his initial “hamburger parlor” in 1948 and at one point predicted the Brewers, then a minor league team, would win 12 straight and promised free burgers when it happened. But it never did, nor did it when the Milwaukee Braves brought the the major leagues to Wisconsin.
The Brewers ran a winning streak to 12 games on April 19, 1987, and three days later the restaurants gave away 168,194 burgers, according to George Webb’s website.
Thirty-one years later, the Brewers have done it again, and there’s no telling how many George Webb will sell this time.
The burger giveaway will be Thursday, over a duration of four hours, the chain announced shortly after Friday night’s win.
They did it!!! (We always knew they would!) In honor of George Webb’s famous prediction, we will be giving away FREE BURGERS* on Thursday, 10/18 from 2PM to 6PM. Plus, we’ll have special pricing on other menu items including fries, soft drinks, and more. *Limit 1 per person. pic.twitter.com/gpApnsNl8H
— George Webb (@George_Webb) October 13, 2018
Brewers manager Craig Counsell said before Game 1 that he knew a quick start in the playoffs wasn’t the only thing at stake.
“Who knew that we would make it this far and the biggest piece of stress going into this game would be George Webb’s hamburgers?” said Counsell, who was in the stands when the streak reached 12 games in 1987 as his dad worked in the team’s front office at the time.
The chain had some fun with Counsell’s comment via its Twitter account.
We knew. ⚾️🍔 https://t.co/hp7jgTGBgH
— George Webb (@George_Webb) October 12, 2018
“It’s hard to believe that it’s never happened since then. I guess it’s a pretty good streak,” Counsell said. “But it’s something for everybody to talk about, for sure, and I mean, free hamburgers is free hamburgers. I know you all will be there.”