Boston Braves
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Boston Braves | |
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Information | |
League | National League (1876–1952) |
Ballpark | Braves Field (1915–1952) |
Established | 1871 |
Folded | 1952 (moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin) |
National League pennants | 10 (1877, 1878, 1883, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1897, 1898, 1914, 1948) |
NA Pennants | 4 (1872, 1873, 1874, 1875) |
World Series championships | 1 (1914) |
Former name(s) | |
Former league(s) | National Association (1871–1876) |
Former ballparks | South End Grounds (1871–1914) Congress Street Grounds (1894) Fenway Park (1914–1915) |
Colors | Navy blue, scarlet red, gold, white[a][2][3] |
The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then in 1966 were relocated to Atlanta, where they were renamed the Atlanta Braves.[5]
During its 82-year stay in Massachusetts, the franchise was known by various nicknames, including the Red Stockings, Red Caps, Rustlers, Bees, and "Braves". While in Boston, the team won 10 National League pennants and a World Series championship in 1914 that came after a season in which the Braves were in last place as late as July 15—a turnaround that led to the nickname "Miracle Braves". In 1948, the Braves reached the World Series largely as a result of their two dominant pitchers, Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain, who inspired the Boston Post slogan "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain." The Braves posted a losing record in all but 12 of the 38 seasons after their World Series win. The franchise relocated to Milwaukee in 1953.[6][7]
The Boston franchise played at South End Grounds from 1871 to 1914 and at Braves Field from 1915 to 1952. Braves Field is now Nickerson Field of Boston University. The franchise, from Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta, is the oldest continuously operating professional baseball franchise.[8]
Early history
The
Led by the Wright brothers, Barnes, and Spalding, the Red Stockings won four of the National Association's five championships. The team became one of the National League's charter franchises in 1876, sometimes called the "Red Caps" (as a new Cincinnati Red Stockings club was another charter member). Boston came to be called the Beaneaters by sportswriters in 1883, while retaining red as the team color.
Boston won the 1877 and 1878 pennants. The Red Caps/Beaneaters won eight pennants during the 19th century. Their manager was Frank Selee, the first manager not to double as a player as well. The 1898 team finished 102–47, a club record for wins that would stand for almost a century.
In 1894 the Braves became the first major league baseball team to wear letterforms on their uniform caps when they added a monogram-style device to their front.[10]
They only managed one winning season from 1900 to 1913, and lost 100 or more games six times. In 1907, the renamed Doves (temporarily) eliminated the red from their stockings because their manager thought the red dye could cause wounds to become infected (as noted in The Sporting News Baseball Guide during the 1940s when each team's entry had a history of its nickname(s). See details in History of baseball team nicknames). The American League club's owner, Charles Taylor, changed his team's name to the Red Sox in place of the "Americans".
When George and John Dovey acquired the club in 1907, the team was named the Doves; when purchased by William Hepburn Russell in 1911 reporters tried out Rustlers. The team adopted an official name, the Braves, for the first time in 1912. Their owner, James Gaffney, was a member of New York City's Tammany Hall, which used an Indian chief as their symbol.
1914: Miracle
Two years later, the Braves put together one of the most memorable seasons in baseball history. After a dismal 4–18 start, the Braves seemed to be on pace for a last place finish. On July 4, 1914, the Braves lost both games of a doubleheader to
Despite their amazing comeback, the Braves entered the World Series as a heavy underdog to Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's. Nevertheless, the Braves swept the Athletics—the first unqualified sweep in the young history of the modern World Series (the 1907 World Series had one tied game)—to win the world championship. Meanwhile, former Chicago Cubs infielder Johnny Evers, in his second season with the Braves, won the Chalmers Award.
The Braves played the World Series (as well as the last few weeks of the 1914 regular season) at Fenway Park, since their normal home, the South End Grounds, was too small. However, the Braves' success inspired owner Gaffney to build a modern park, Braves Field, which opened in August 1915. It was the largest park in the majors at the time, with 40,000 seats and also a very spacious outfield. The park was novel for its time; public transportation brought fans right into the park.
1915–1935: Losing years
After contending for most of 1915 and 1916, the Braves spent much of the next 19 years in mediocrity, during which they posted only three winning seasons (1921, 1933, and 1934). The lone highlight of those years came when Giants' attorney Emil Fuchs bought the team in 1923 to bring his longtime friend, pitching great Christy Mathewson, back into the game. Although original plans called for Mathewson to be the principal owner, he had never recovered from tuberculosis that he had contracted after being gassed during World War I. By the end of the 1923 season, it was obvious Mathewson could not continue even in a reduced role, and he would die two years later, with the result that Fuchs was permanently given the presidency. In 1928, the Braves traded for Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby who had a very productive year in his only season with Boston. He batted .387 to win his seventh and final batting championship.
Fuchs was committed to building a winner, but the damage from the years prior to his arrival took some time to overcome. The Braves finally managed to compete in 1933 and 1934 under manager Bill McKechnie, but Fuchs' revenue was severely depleted due to the Great Depression.
Babe Ruth returns to Boston
Looking for a way to get more supporters and more money, Fuchs worked out a deal with the New York Yankees to acquire Babe Ruth, who had, coincidentally, started his career with the Boston Red Sox. Fuchs named Ruth vice president and assistant manager of the Braves, and promised him a share of team profits. He was also to be consulted on all player transactions. Fuchs even suggested that Ruth, who had long had his heart set on managing, could take over as manager once McKechnie stepped down—perhaps as early as 1936.[13]
At first, it looked like Ruth was the final piece the team needed in 1935. On opening day, he had a hand in all of the Braves' runs in a 4–2 win over the Giants. However, this could not last. Opening Day proved to be the only time the Braves were over .500 all year. A 4–20 May ended any realistic chance of contention. At the same time, it became apparent that Ruth was finished even as a part-time player. While his high living of previous years had begun catching up with him a year earlier, his conditioning rapidly declined in the first month of 1935. While he was still able to hit at first, he could do little else. He could no longer run, and his fielding was so terrible that three of the Braves' pitchers threatened to go on strike if Ruth were in the lineup. Ruth soon discovered that he was vice president and assistant manager in name only, and Fuchs' promise of a share of team profits was hot air. In fact, Ruth discovered that Fuchs expected him to invest some of his money in the team.[13]
Seeing a franchise in complete disarray, Ruth retired on June 1, only six days after he clouted what turned out to be the last three home runs of his career, in what remains one of the most memorable afternoons in baseball history. He had wanted to quit as early as May 12, but Fuchs wanted him to hang on so he could play in every National League park.
1936–1941: the Bees
Insolvent like his team, Fuchs was forced to give up control of the Braves in August 1935,[13] and new owner Bob Quinn tried to change the team's image by renaming it the Boston Bees.[14] This did little to change the team's fortunes. After five uneven years, a new owner, construction magnate Lou Perini, changed the nickname back to the Braves.
1948: National League champions
In
First we'll use Spahn
then we'll use Sain
Then an off day
followed by rain
Back will come Spahn
followed by Sain
And followed
we hope
by two days of rain.
The poem received such a wide audience that the sentiment, usually now paraphrased as "Spahn, Sain, then pray for rain" or "Spahn, Sain and two days of rain", entered the baseball vocabulary. Ironically, in the 1948 season, the Braves actually had a better record in games that Spahn and Sain did not start than in games they did. (Other sources include pitcher Vern Bickford in the verse.)
The Braves lost the 1948 World Series in six games to the Cleveland Indians (who had beaten the Red Sox in a tie-breaker game to spoil an all-Boston World Series). This turned out to be the Braves' last hurrah in Boston.
1949–1952: Final years in Boston
Sam Jethroe
Acquired earlier by trade from the
Move to Milwaukee and aftermath
Amid four mediocre seasons after 1948, attendance steadily dwindled, even though Braves Field had the reputation of being more family friendly than Fenway.[citation needed]
For a half century, the major leagues had not had a single franchise relocation.[19] The Braves played their last home game in Boston on September 21, 1952, losing to the Brooklyn Dodgers 8–2 before 8,822 at Braves Field; the home attendance for the 1952 season was under 282,000.[19]
On March 13, 1953, owner Lou Perini said that he would seek permission from the National League to move the Braves to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[20] After the franchise's long history in Boston, the day became known as "Black Friday" in the city as fans mourned the team's exit after eight decades. Perini, however, pointed to dwindling attendance as the main reason for the relocation. He also announced that he had recently bought out his original partners. He announced Milwaukee as that was where the Braves had their top farm club, the Brewers. Milwaukee had long been a possible target for relocation. Bill Veeck had tried to move his St. Louis Browns there earlier the same year (Milwaukee was the original home of that franchise), but his proposal had been voted down by the other American League owners.
Going into spring training in 1953, it appeared that the Braves would play another year in Boston unless the National League gave permission for the move. After a 31⁄2-hour meeting at the
After the Braves moved to Milwaukee in
Notable Boston Braves
- Source:[26]
- Dave Bancroft – Boston Braves (1924–1927), HOF (1971)
- Del Crandall – Boston Braves (1949–1952) 11× All-Star, last living Boston Braves player
- Alvin Dark – Boston Braves (1946–1949), ROY (1948)
- Bob Elliott – Boston Braves (1947–1951), NL MVP (1947)
- Johnny Evers – Boston Braves (1914–1917, 1929), HOF (1946)
- Hank Gowdy – Boston Braves (1911–1917, 1919–1923, and 1929–1930)
- Sam Jethroe – Boston Braves (1950–1952) ROY (1950)
- King Kelly – Boston Beaneaters (1887–1889, manager 1887), HOF (1945)[27]
- Bill McKechnie – Boston Braves (1913, manager 1930–1937), HOF (1962)
- Rabbit Maranville – Boston Braves (1912–1920, 1929–1935), HOF (1954)
- Eddie Mathews – Boston Braves (1952), HOF (1978)
- Johnny Sain – Boston Braves (1942–1951), 3× All-Star, ace of 1948 staff
- Kid Nichols – Boston Beaneaters (1890–1901) HOF (1949)
- Babe Ruth – Boston Braves (1935), HOF (1936), 7× World Series champion (1915, 1916, 1918, 1923, 1927, 1928, 1932), Major League Baseball All-Century Team, Major League Baseball All-Time Team,
- Billy Southworth – Boston Braves (1921–1923, manager 1946–1949, 1950–1951), HOF (2008)
- Warren Spahn – Boston Braves (1942, 1946–1952), HOF (1973)
- Casey Stengel – Boston Braves (1924–1925, manager 1938–1943), HOF (1966)
Notes
References
- ^ "Meet BLOOPER". Braves.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
- ^ "Major League Baseball and the Atlanta Braves unveil the official logo of the 2021 All-Star Game". Braves.com (Press release). MLB Advanced Media. September 24, 2020. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
The official logo of the 2021 MLB All-Star Game highlights Atlanta's spectacular new ballpark. From the shape of the wall medallion to the entry truss, baseball fans are welcomed into the event with its modern amenities surrounded by Southern hospitality. From the warmth of the brick to the steel of the truss, the logo is punctuated by Atlanta's colors of navy and red and is signed by the signature script of the Braves' franchise.
- ^ "2014 Atlanta Braves Style Guide" (PDF). MLB.com. Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
- ^ Achorn, p. 24
- ^ Davis, Lacey. "How Atlanta Became the Home of the Braves". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ "Atlanta Braves | History, Notable Players, & Facts | Britannica". 30 December 2023.
- ^ "Story of the Braves | Atlanta Braves". MLB.com.
- ^ "BRAVES FIELD". www.ballparksofbaseball.com. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
- ^ Atlantabraves.com History
- ^ Clair, Michael (9 May 2023). "The history of the baseball cap: The long, strange history of the baseball cap". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
- ^ "1914 Boston Braves Schedule by Baseball Almanac".
- ^ "1914 New York Giants Schedule by Baseball Almanac".
- ^ ISBN 0-7432-8491-7.
- ISBN 0887363741
- ^ Baseball-Almanac.com
- ^ a b "Unheralded Jethroe broke barriers with Braves". MLB.com. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
- TheGuardian.com. 17 July 2001.
- ^ "Sam Jethroe Stats".
- ^ a b Hand, Jack (March 19, 1953). "Transfer of Braves to Milwaukee viewed as first in series of future changes". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. p. 38.
- ^ Larson, Lloyd (March 14, 1953). "Big league ball here this year!". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 1.
- Milwaukee Sentinel. pp. 1, 31. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ "Boston Braves go to Milwaukee". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. March 18, 1953. p. 1.
- ^ a b Thisted, Red (March 19, 1953). "We're home of the Braves!". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 1.
- ^ April 9, 1953: Braves get a wet welcome to Milwaukee, SABR (Society for American Baseball Research), Bill Nowlin, included in SABR's book From the Braves to the Brewers: Great Games and Exciting History at Milwaukee's County Stadium, 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-8027-1608-8
- ^ "Hall of Famers". Atlanta Braves. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- ^ "King Kelly". Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2022-09-16.