The1948Boston Braves season was the 78th consecutive season of theMajor League Baseball franchise, its 73rd in theNational League. It produced the team's second NLpennant of the 20th century, its first since1914, and its tenth overall league title dating to 1876.

Led bystarting pitchersJohnny Sain andWarren Spahn (who combined for 39victories), and the hitting ofBob Elliott,Jeff Heath,Tommy Holmes androokieAlvin Dark, the1948 Braves captured 91 games to finish 61⁄2 paces ahead of the second-placeSt. Louis Cardinals. They also attracted 1,455,439 fans^[1] toBraves Field, the third-largest gate in the National League and a high-water mark for the team's stay inBoston. The 1948 pennant was the fourth National League championship in seven years for Braves'managerBilly Southworth, who had won three NL titles (1942–44, inclusive) and twoWorld Series championships (1942 and 1944) with the Cardinals. Southworth would be posthumously elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 2008.

However, the Braves fell in six games to theCleveland Indians in the1948 World Series, and would experience a swift decline in both on-field success and popularity over the next four seasons. Attendance woes—the Braves would draw only 281,278 home fans^[1] in1952—forced the team's relocation toMilwaukee, Wisconsin, in March 1953. (It later moved toAtlanta in1966.)

After playing .500 baseball in April and May 1948, the Braves vaulted into first place on the strength of a 39–21 record during June and July. Hampered bysecond basemanEddie Stanky's broken ankle andcenter fielderJim Russell's season-ending illness, the club slumped slightly in August, going only 14–17 and falling out of the lead August 29. But then it righted itself to win 21 of its final 28 games, regain the top spot September 2, and clinch the NL flag on the 26th. Meanwhile, the city'sAmerican League team, theRed Sox, ended their season in a first-place tie with the Indians and lost aplayoff game to Cleveland atFenway Park on October 4; this ruined the prospect of what would have been the only all-Boston World Series, now an impossibility since the Braves left Boston after the 1952 season. (The Tribe were doubtlessly very unpopular in Beantown after defeating both of their teams in the post-season.)

For both the Braves and Red Sox, the 1948 season was the first in which their games were broadcast on television, with telecasts alternating betweenWBZ-TV andWNAC-TV and the teams sharing the same announcers. The first-ever telecast of a major league game inNew England occurred on Tuesday night, June 15, with the Braves defeating the visitingChicago Cubs 6–3 behind Sain'scomplete game.^[2][3]

• October 28, 1947:Hoyt Wilhelm was purchased by the Braves from theMooresville Moores. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.)^[4]
• November 20, 1947:Hoyt Wilhelm was drafted from the Braves by theNew York Giants in the 1947 minor league draft.^[4]
• March 6, 1948:Bama Rowell,Ray Sanders, and $40,000 were traded by the Braves to theBrooklyn Dodgers forEddie Stanky.^[5]
• Prior to 1948 season:Carl Sawatski was acquired from the Braves by theChicago Cubs.^[6]

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

October 6, 1948, atBraves Field inBoston, Massachusetts

October 7, 1948, atBraves Field inBoston, Massachusetts

October 8 atCleveland Municipal Stadium inCleveland, Ohio

October 9, 1948, atCleveland Municipal Stadium inCleveland, Ohio

October 10, 1948, atCleveland Municipal Stadium inCleveland, Ohio

October 11, 1948, atBraves Field inBoston, Massachusetts

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Evansville

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997).The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America.ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1948 Boston Braves season at Baseball Reference

• Boston Braves seasons
• 1948 Major League Baseball season
• 1948 in sports in Massachusetts
• 1940s in Boston
• National League champion seasons

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