MILWAUKEE — Four Greendale High School alumni performed the national anthem at American Family Field on Friday, 50 years after they first sang for the Milwaukee Brewers at County Stadium.
Tom Allen, Mike Treske, Steve LaRocco and Bill Burch make up the Four of a Kind barbershop quartet. The group got its start in the choir room at Greendale High School.
“We sang our first barbershop songs here, so it is kind of fun to be back,” Tom Allen said.
The quartet formed during their junior year of high school.
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Tom Allen, Four of a Kind barbershop quartet
“We were all friends and it just so happens that our voices fit. Low, tenor, high tenor, baritone. We just started singing and it was a real novelty to see a bunch of kids singing that music,” Allen said.
Four of a Kind
Four of a Kind barbershop quartet during the Brewers pregame soundcheck at County Stadium in 1976
The group went on to perform at places like the State Fair and Great America before landing their first Brewers gig at County Stadium 50 years ago.
“It was a really fun impressive event,” Treske said. “From what we also understand, Bob Uecker, the voice of the Brewers, was saying very complementary things over the radio, so very, very exciting.”
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Mike Treske, Four of a Kind barbershop quartet
For the members of Four of a Kind, performing for the Brewers is extra special because they are fans of the team. Steve LaRocco said he and Allen used to sell peanuts and popcorn at County Stadium.
“I actually went to the very first Brewers game in 1970. Skipped school in seventh grade,” LaRocco said.
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Steve LaRocco, Four of a Kind barbershop quartet
Friday’s performance was the largest crowd the quartet has ever performed for.
“It’s true we have sang in front of a lot of people, but never forty thousand-ish,” Treske said.
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Bill Burch, Four of a Kind barbershop quartet
Leading up to the performance, the group said they were feeling a mix of emotions, including nervousness, excitement, and gratitude.
“Gratitude that we can be here and do this,” Allen said.
LaRocco reflected on what it means to still be performing together, and at significant venues like American Family Field, decades after they first started.
“It’s been a remarkable summer for us, we never thought that we would have these opportunities at this stage of the game. It’s been wonderful, it’s fantastic,” LaRocco said.
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