The Milwaukee Brewers today announced that the Club will honor retiring Major League Baseball Commissioner and former Brewers Owner Allan H. (Bud) Selig by retiring uniform #1 in a ceremony that will take place at Miller Park next season.

“We are proud to pay tribute to Commissioner Selig with this honor for all of his work on behalf of the Brewers as well as Major League Baseball,” said Brewers Chairman and Principal Owner Mark Attanasio. “The uniform number being retired in the Commissioner’s honor is significant, as the existence of the Milwaukee Brewers and Miller Park are a direct result of the Commissioner’s vision. Without his tireless efforts, neither would be a reality.”

This is the first in a series of initiatives that the Brewers have planned to honor Commissioner Selig, who will retire at the end of this year. Additional details will be announced later.

Commissioner Selig said: “I thank Mark Attanasio and his entire organization for this extraordinary honor. The Brewers are a product of my hometown’s passion for Major League Baseball, and it was a privilege to play a part in restoring the spirit of community and kinship that the National Pastime inspires. Knowing the great history of this franchise, I am truly humbled to look forward to a memorable day at Miller Park next season.”

Selig’s dedication to baseball has paralleled his love of his hometown of Milwaukee. His first significant move as an executive was to return Major League Baseball to Milwaukee in 1970, when he founded the Milwaukee Brewers. In its first decade, the Brewers featured some of the great teams of that era, which eventually led to an American League pennant and World Series appearance in 1982.

During his tenure as Brewers owner, Selig earned UPI’s 1978 Executive of the Year award, and the franchise was honored with seven “Organization of the Year” awards.

In the 1990s, Selig began his efforts to build a new ballpark in Milwaukee to replace the aging County Stadium, and Miller Park opened for its first season of play in 2001.

More recently, Selig was honored with a statue at Miller Park, which was unveiled on August 24, 2010.

He became the ninth Commissioner of Major League Baseball, and during his tenure the sport has thrived. As Commissioner, Selig has implemented important changes throughout Major League Baseball. He made popular structural changes in the game, including the Wild Card, the three-division format, Interleague Play and Instant Replay. He put in place the toughest drug-testing program in American professional sports. He also profoundly affected baseball’s economic landscape by instituting meaningful revenue sharing among the clubs as well as successful ventures, such as MLB Advanced Media, MLB Network, and the World Baseball Classic. MLB truly has thrived under Selig’s stewardship: It has enjoyed its longest period of labor peace with its Players Association and has consistently posted records levels of attendance and revenues.