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| Boston Braves | |||||
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| Information | |||||
| League | National League (1876–1952) | ||||
| Ballpark | Braves Field (1915–1952) | ||||
| Established | 1871 | ||||
| Relocated | 1953 (toMilwaukee; became theMilwaukee Braves) | ||||
| World Series championships | 1 | ||||
| Pre-modern World Series championships | 1 | ||||
| National League pennants | 10 | ||||
| National Association pennants | 4 | ||||
| Former name | |||||
| Former league | National Association (1871–1876) | ||||
| Former ballparks | |||||
| Colors | Red, navy blue, white | ||||
| Ownership | List of owners
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| President | List of presidents
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| General manager | John Quinn (1950–1952) | ||||
| Manager | List of managers
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TheBoston Braves were aMajor League Baseball club named in honor of ChiefTamanend[2][3][4][5] that originated inBoston, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved toMilwaukee (and became theMilwaukee Braves). Then in 1966 they were moved toAtlanta, where they were renamed theAtlanta Braves.[6]
During its 82-year stay inMassachusetts, the franchise was known by various nicknames, including theRed Stockings,Red Caps,Beaneaters,Rustlers,Bees, and "Braves". While in Boston, the team won 10National League pennants and aWorld Series championship in1914 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". In1948, the Braves reached the World Series largely as a result of their two dominant pitchers,Warren Spahn andJohnny Sain, who inspired theBoston 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 moved to Milwaukee in 1953.[7][8]
The Boston franchise played atSouth End Grounds from 1871 to 1914 and atBraves Field from 1915 to 1952. Braves Field is nowNickerson Field ofBoston University. The franchise, from Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta, is the oldest continuously operating professional baseball franchise.[9]
The Boston Braves had an overall win–loss record of 5,118–5,598–138 (.478) during their 77-year major-league tenure in Boston. Six former Boston Braves players were elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.
TheCincinnati Red Stockings, established in 1869 as the first openly all-professional baseball team, voted to dissolve after the 1870 season. Player-managerHarry Wright then went toBoston, Massachusetts—at the invitation of Boston businessmanIvers Whitney Adams—with brotherGeorge Wright and two other Cincinnati players joined theBoston Red Stockings, a charter member of theNational Association of Professional Base Ball Players. This team and its successors are the oldest continuously playing team in American professional sports.[10] (The only other team that has been organized as long,the Chicago Cubs, did not play for the two years after theGreat Chicago Fire of 1871.) Two players hired from theForest City club ofRockford, Illinois, were pitcherAl Spalding (founder ofSpalding sporting goods) and second basemanRoss Barnes.
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 theBeaneaters 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. Theirmanager wasFrank 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.[11]
In 1897, the Beaneaters, as runner-up in theNational League, took part in the1897 Temple Cup championship series against theBaltimore Orioles, losing in five games.
They only managed one winning season from 1900 to 1913, and lost 100 or more games six times. In1907,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 inThe Sporting News Baseball Guide during the 1940s when each team's entry had a history of its nickname(s). See details inHistory 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".
WhenGeorge andJohn Dovey acquired the club in 1907, the team was named theDoves; when purchased byWilliam Hepburn Russell in 1911 reporters tried outRustlers. The team adopted an official name, theBraves, for the first time in1912. Their owner,James Gaffney, a member of New York City'sTammany Hall, tributed the team toTamanend, "The Patron Saint of America," with the name and his image as the logo.[12][13][14][15]
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 tothe Brooklyn Dodgers. The consecutive losses put their record at 26–40 and the Braves were in last place, 15 games behind the league-leadingNew York Giants, who had won the previous three league pennants. After a day off, the Braves put together a hot streak, and from July 6 through September 5, the Braves won 41 games against only 12 losses.[16] On September 7 and 8, the Braves took 2 of 3 from the New York Giants and moved into first place. The Braves tore through September and early October, closing with 25 wins against 6 losses, while the Giants went 16–16.[17] They are the only team to win a pennant after being in last place on theFourth of July. They were in last place as late as July 18, but were close to the pack, moving into fourth on July 21 and second place on August 12.
Despite their amazing comeback, the Braves enteredthe World Series as a heavy underdog toConnie Mack'sPhiladelphia Athletics. Nevertheless, the Braves swept the Athletics—the first unqualified sweep in the young history of the modern World Series (the1907 World Series had one tied game)—to win the world championship. Meanwhile, formerChicago Cubs infielderJohnny Evers, in his second season with the Braves, wonthe Chalmers Award.
The Braves played the World Series (as well as the last few weeks of the 1914 regular season) atFenway Park, since their normal home, theSouth 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.
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, and1934). The lone highlight of those years came when Giants' attorneyEmil Fuchs bought the team in 1923 to bring his longtime friend, pitching greatChristy Mathewson, back into the game. Although original plans called for Mathewson to be the principal owner, he had never recovered fromtuberculosis that he had contracted after beinggassed duringWorld 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 FamerRogers 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 before his arrival took some time to overcome. The Braves finally managed to compete in1933 and1934 under managerBill McKechnie, but Fuchs' revenue was severely depleted due to theGreat Depression.
Looking for a way to get more supporters and more money, Fuchs worked out a deal with theNew York Yankees to acquireBabe Ruth, who had, coincidentally, started his career with theBoston 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.[18]
At first, it looked like Ruth was the final piece the team needed in1935. Onopening day, he had a hand in all of the Braves' runs in a 4–2 win over theGiants. 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 ofhis money in the team.[18]
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.[18] By this time, the Braves were 9–27, their season all but over. They ultimately finished 38–115, easily the worst season in franchise history. Their .248 winning percentage is tied for theseventh-worst in baseball history, and the sixth-worst in National League history. It is the second-worst in modern baseball history (behind only the1916 Philadelphia Athletics), and the worst in modern National League history.
Insolvent like his team, Fuchs was forced to give up control of the Braves in August 1935,[18] and new ownerBob Quinn tried to change the team's image by renaming it theBoston Bees.[19] This did little to change the team's fortunes. After five uneven years, a new owner, construction magnateLou Perini, changed the nickname back to the Braves.
In1948, theteam won the National League pennant by capturing 91 games to finish 61⁄2 places ahead of the second–placeSt. Louis Cardinals. They also attracted 1,455,439 fans[20] toBraves Field, the third-largest gate in the National League and a high-water mark for the team's stay in Boston. The pitching staff was anchored by Hall of FamerWarren Spahn andJohnny Sain, who won 39 games between them. The remainder of the rotation was so thin that in September,The Boston Post writer Gerald Hern wrote this poem about the pair:
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 Saindid not start than in games they did. (Other sources include pitcherVern Bickford in the verse.)
The Braves lost the1948 World Series in six games tothe Cleveland Indians (who had beatenthe Red Sox in atie-breaker game to spoil an all-Boston World Series). This turned out to be the Braves' last hurrah in Boston.
Acquired earlier by trade from theBrooklyn Dodgers, on April 18, 1950,Sam "Jet" Jethroe was added to theBoston Braves roster. The Dodgers had another young CF inDuke Snider rising in their system, resulting in the trade to the Braves.[21] Going on to be namedNational League Rookie of the Year at age 32, Jethroe broke the color barrier with Boston. In 1950, Jethroe hit .273 with 100 runs, 18 home runs and 58 RBI. His 35 stolen bases led the National League, a feat he would duplicate in 1951. While in Boston, Jethroe was a roommate ofChuck Cooper, ofthe Boston Celtics who was the first African-American player drafted by anNBA team.[21] A formerNegro leagues star and military veteran, Jethroe remains the oldest player to have won Rookie of the Year honors.[22][23]
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 move.[24] The Braves played their last home game in Boston on September 21,1952, losing to theBrooklyn Dodgers8–2 before 8,822 at Braves Field; the home attendance for the 1952 season was under 282,000.[24]
On March 13, 1953, ownerLou Perini said that he would seek permission from the National League to move the Braves to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[25] 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 move. 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 moving.Bill Veeck had tried to move hisSt. 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 theVinoy Park Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida, league approval was granted after Perini promised not to sell the team.[26] During a game against theNew York Yankees on March 18, the sale was announced final and that the team would move to Milwaukee, immediately.[27][28] TheAll-Star Game had been scheduled for Braves Field. It was moved toCrosley Field and hosted by theCincinnati Reds.[28] The Braves franchise moved their triple-A Brewers from Milwaukee to Toledo, Ohio.[29]
After the Braves moved to Milwaukee in1953, the Braves Field site was sold toBoston University and reconstructed asNickerson Field, the home of manyBoston University teams. The Braves Field scoreboard was sold to theKansas City A's and used atMunicipal Stadium; the A's moved toOakland after the1967 season.[30]
| Year | Year inducted |
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| Bold | Member of theBaseball Hall of Fame |
† | Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Boston Brave |
| Braves Hall of Fame | ||||
| Year | No. | Name | Position(s) | Tenure |
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| 1999 | 21 | Warren Spahn | P | 1942, 1946–1952 |
| 41 | Eddie Mathews | 3B | 1952 | |
| 2001 | 32 | Ernie Johnson Sr. | P | 1950, 1952 |
| 2002 | 28, 33 | Johnny Sain | P | 1942, 1946–1951 |
| 2003 | 1, 23 | Del Crandall | C | 1949–1952 |
| 2004 | — | Kid Nichols† | P | 1890–1901 |
| 1 | Tommy Holmes | OF Manager | 1942–1951 1951–1952 | |
| 2005 | — | Herman Long | SS | 1890–1902 |
| 2014 | 1 | Rabbit Maranville† | SS/2B | 1912–1920 1929–1933, 1935 |
| 2019 | — | Hugh Duffy | OF | 1892–1900 |
| 2023[31] | — | Fred Tenney | 1B | 1894–1907, 1911 |
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| Key personnel |
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| World Series Championships (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National League Championships (18) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World's Championship Series Championships (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National Association Championships (4) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Division titles (23) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wild card berths (3) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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