A Complete History Of Milwaukee Brewers Owners

Unless you vividly remember 1969 and had a particular interest in sports in the greater Seattle region at the time, you know the Brewers for having two main ownership groups throughout their history: the Seligs and the Attanasios. Their winding history includes being one of just two teams to play in the American and National League (the Houston Astros being the other) and appearing in four different divisions—the AL West, AL Central, AL East, and NL Central—an MLB record. And, unfortunately, they remain one of just five franchises that have failed to win the World Series.

If you’ve ever wanted to know how the team has performed under each of their owners or the stories behind the transfer of power between owners, you’ve come to the right place. This is a comprehensive guide to the history of Milwaukee Brewers owners.

Click any link below to jump to a history of that ownership group/individual.

Complete List of Milwaukee Brewers Owners

• 2005-Present: Mark Attanasio
• 1998-2004: Wendy Selig-Prieb
• 1970-1997: Bud Selig
• 1969: William R. Daley, Dewey & Max Soriano

2005-Present: Mark Attanasio

Date of Sale: January 2005
Amount Paid: $223,000,000
Regular Season Record: 1628-1511 (Through End of 2024 Season)

Luckily for Brewers fans, there’s been a lot of stability at the top of the organization, and the answer to the question “Who owns the Milwaukee Brewers?” isn’t very ambiguous. Mark Attanasio bought the franchise from Wendy Selig-Prieb, the daughter of former Brewers owner and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig.

Attanasio made his fortune as the co-founder of Crescent Capital Group. This Los Angeles-based asset management group handles in excess of $40 billion of assets, primarily debts and securities. Suffice to say he’s done well for himself, and the Brewers represent his latest shrewd investment: after buying the team for $223 million in 2005, the franchise is now worth $1.605 billion, according to Forbes (as of March 2024).

Mark Attanasio is also the son of actor Joe Attanasio (“Quiz Show”, “Sleepers”, “Fatal Instinct”) and the brother of screenwriter Paul Attanasio (“Quiz Show”, “Donnie Brasco”, “Homicide: Life on the Street”). Joe famously sang the National Anthem before every home opener at Miller Park until his death in 2015.

The team has performed relatively well under Attanasio’s control, as they broke a 36-year playoff drought in his fourth year at the helm and have made the postseason in every single season but one since 2018. The team has won the NL Central five times since he took over, compared to just one division title total before his tenure. By all accounts, the small-market Brewers have been a considerable success in Attanasio’s time as owner, repeatedly outclassing bigger market division rivals like the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.

However, one big blight remains on his resume: no World Series appearances. The team hasn’t made it back to the Fall Classic since 1982, and their postseason record since 2005 is a disappointing 14-23. His unwillingness to push the payroll into even the middle tier of the league has also drawn ire from fans, as was the controversial stadium renovations plan that will cost Wisconsin taxpayers $500 million by 2050 and only run the Brewers a cool $150 million.

And yet, it must also be kept in mind that he has opened up his pocketbook in the past when circumstances have demanded it, like when he gave Ryan Braun an eight-year, $105 million extension or when he rewarded Christian Yelich for a pair of MVP-caliber seasons with a contract in excess of $200 million. He also didn’t own a majority share of the team until after 2011, after which point the team has been as consistently competitive as any time in its history.

Overall, Attanasio’s legacy as the predominant 21st-century owner of Milwaukee Brewers is still being written, though it’s hard to deny that the franchise earned more respect from teams and fans alike during his era.

1998-2004: Wendy Selig-Prieb

Date of Takeover: 1998
Amount Paid: N/A
Regular Season Record: 480-652

As the only female CEO or President of Baseball Operations during her tenure as owner of the Brewers, Wendy Selig-Prieb deserves a lot of credit for guiding Milwaukee during a difficult transition phase in its history. However, the team struggled badly under her watch, and she got into the business by being a baseball (for lack of a better term) nepotism baby.

Yes, Wendy Selig-Prieb is the daughter of former baseball Commissioner and Brewers owner Bud Selig (more on him in a bit). As such, she didn’t have to buy the team; instead, she took over for her father once he was named MLB Commissioner in 1998. When she took over the team, she was routinely asked by the media about her plans to reverse the franchise’s fortunes—the team was then in the midst of a playoff drought that dated back to 1982—to which she responded: “We need to be smart, we need to have a plan, and we need not deviate when there are short-term pressures."

On paper, it was a good strategy, but in practice, the Brewers were the laughingstock of the division. They never once finished higher than third in the NL Central during her tenure. During her final three seasons as owner, the team posted a record of 191-294, finishing sixth in the division in each season from 2002-2004. That feat, of course, is no longer possible now that the Astros have defected to the AL West.

Selig-Prieb notably stepped down from her role as Team President at the conclusion of the 2002 season, taking over as “Board Chairman” and leaving Ulice Payne, the first black man to ever run an MLB team, in charge of the franchise on a day-to-day basis. Ultimately, her time as Brewers owner would end once she (with her father’s blessing) chose to sell the franchise to Attanasio in early 2005.

1970-1997: Bud Selig

Date of Sale: March 31, 1970
Amount Paid: $10,800,000
Regular Season Record: 2,136-2,269

Robin Yount. Hank Aaron. Bob Uecker. The Union 8 ironworkers. Bud Selig.

Those are the people(s) with statues outside of Miller Park, representing their contributions to the city of Milwaukee and the Brewers franchise.

After failing to buy the Chicago White Sox in 1969, Selig headed a group of Milwaukee-based investors that bought out the then-bankrupt Seattle Pilots, moving them to Milwaukee within a month of the 1970 season starting. Originally an auto industry mogul in Wisconsin, Selig was the largest public shareholder of the Milwaukee Braves during the decade they spent in town between their time in Boston and now Atlanta. 

After the Braves left for Georgia in 1966, Selig and his group invented the “Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club, Inc.”, which petitioned the National League for an expansion franchise in Milwaukee. Once that was rejected, a long, tenuous battle took place between the American and National Leagues regarding divisional realignment and relocations, though Selig was left without a chance to acquire his own team until the Pilots went bankrupt.

Selig inherited a team that finished last in the AL West with 98 losses in 1969. It wasn’t until a decade later that the team turned its fortunes around, with their first winning season coming in 1978. That began a streak of five consecutive seasons in which the team finished with greater than 85 wins (not including the strike-shortened 1981 season), including three with more than 90 wins.

In 1981, the team made the playoffs for the first time in its history by finishing first in the AL East in the second half of the season after that year’s strike had concluded (the 1981 playoffs consisted of each division’s first-half and second-half winners). Though they would lose to the Yankees in the ALDS in a decisive Game 5, they returned the following year to author the best season in Brew Crew history, falling just short against the Cardinals in Game 7 in the 1982 World Series.

Though the team wouldn’t make the playoffs again during his tenure, Selig is a beloved figure in Milwaukee for his unrelenting determination to bring a major league team back to the city. The Brewers were rarely great under his watch, but he did turn them into a World Series contender for a spell and kept the team competitive through the early 1990s. The franchise has been far more consistent in recent years, but it was Selig who fought tooth and nail to ensure Brewers baseball would live in Milwaukee.

1969: William R. Daley, Dewey & Max Soriano

Date of Sale: N/A
Amount Paid: N/A
Regular Season Record: 64-98

By all accounts, the ownership of Daley and the Soriano brothers was a disaster from the start.

The Seattle Pilots lasted just one season before going bankrupt, though that was the least amount of drama they had to deal with in the Pacific Northwest. They finished the 1969 season in the bottom five of attendance in the Major Leagues, yet they had one of the most expensive tickets across the league. Sick’s Stadium, their home in Seattle, was also in rough condition, though neither the ownership group nor the city of Seattle wanted to settle on a deal that would renovate and repair it.

The disastrous season results can be traced back to a midsummer swoon, when the team posted a 15-42 record between July and August. That included a 1-16 skid at the end of August that all but sealed the team’s fate. After just one season, Pilots general manager Marvin Milkes dismissed the coaching staff and manager Joe Schultz. 

In September, Seattle Mayor Floyd Miller threatened to evict the team at the end of the season if the ownership group could not come up with $600,000 in rent and $150,000 in surety bonds. The American League eventually gave the team the money to remain in Washington, though they were still in debt and well behind on their finances.

After just one season, Daley and Dewey Soriano decided to take offers on the team, eventually agreeing to sell to Selig and Co. for $9.5 million. However, the city of Seattle filed a temporary restraining order against the team to prevent it from leaving.

At long last, the team filed for bankruptcy, and the sale to Selig and a move to Milwaukee was approved… on March 31. With just seven days remaining until Opening Day of the 1970 season (the Pilots were scheduled to play at home), the team was moved to Wisconsin and played at County Stadium.

While the Seattle Pilots’ legacy is mostly lost to time, their existence as a franchise (and subsequent financial troubles) allowed Selig to own his own Milwaukee-based baseball team after being denied an expansion squad.