The first Sentinel Sports and Travel show was held in the Milwaukee Auditorium for eight days in April of 1940, and offered every kind of amusement for the vacation seeker, fisherman, marksman, or dog lover. Sponsored exclusively by the Sentinel, the exposition’s primary purpose was to promote interest in Wisconsin travel and encourage both men and women to take greater advantage of the sports and vacation facilities available in this state.
The event is now known as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show. Orin Benson and his hunting dogs were a regular show feature from 1940 to 1989. Audiences watched pointers lock in on live pheasants and retrievers splash down into a water tank to fetch live ducks. The original tank was a 30-by 60-foot pool, borrowed from the Chicago Sports Show, which staged many other sports acts over the years, from canoe jousting to logrolling, water ballet, and high dives into the tank.
The 1941 show expanded to nine days and occupied the entire Auditorium building, doubling the space used in the first year when the show attracted a crowd of more than 100,000 people. Show programs included experts in bait and fly casting, international flyer trapshooting champions, the Mildred O’Donnell aqua show and the Shooting Mansfields, as well as musical performances by Milwaukee’s own Steve Swedish orchestra.
The 85th year of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Show continues the tradition of outdoor entertainment and education on a smaller scale from March 6-8, 2026, with fishing and hunting stage shows at the Wisconsin State Fair Park. jssportsshow.com
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