Milwaukee Braves
Logo Cap insignia
Information
League	Major League Baseball National League (1953–1965)
Ballpark	Milwaukee County Stadium (1953–1965)
Established	1953
Relocated	1966 (toAtlanta; became theAtlanta Braves)
World Series championships	1 (1957)
National League pennants	2 1957 1958
Colors	Navy blue, scarlet red, gold, white[a][2][3]
Retired numbers	21 35 41 44
Ownership	List of owners Lou Perini (1953–1962) William Bartholomay (1963–1965)
General manager	List of general managers John Quinn (1955–1958) John McHale (1959–1965)
Manager	List of managers Charlie Grimm (1955–1956) Fred Haney (1956–1959) Chuck Dressen (1960–1961) Birdie Tebbetts (1961–1962) Bobby Bragan (1963–1965)

TheMilwaukee Braves were aMajor League Baseball club that played inMilwaukee, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played inBoston, Massachusetts, as theBoston Braves. After relocating toAtlanta, Georgia in 1966, they were renamed theAtlanta Braves.^[4] The 13-season tenure in Milwaukee atMilwaukee County Stadium saw varying degrees of success for the franchise, winning the1957 World Series and theNational League pennant in1958. The team never finished with a losing record.

The Milwaukee Braves had an overall win–loss record of 1,146–890–8 (.563) during their 13 years in Milwaukee. Three former Milwaukee Braves players were elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.

Construction began onMilwaukee County Stadium in 1950 in hopes of both luring a Major League baseball team, as well as theGreen Bay Packers of theNational Football League. The minor leagueMilwaukee Brewers were scheduled to begin play at the start of the 1953 season.^[5]

However, in the first move of a Major League team in half a century, on March 18, 1953, theNational League approved ownerLou Perini's move of theBoston Braves to Milwaukee 8–0 because of his "fine standing" with the other owners and also because there was an open city for his minor league team then in Milwaukee. The minor league Brewers moved toToledo, Ohio, and changed their name to theMudhens. The full AP quote about fine standing: "Warren Giles, National League president, repeated again and again that 'Perini's fine standing with the other club owners was the most important reason for their approval.'"^[5]

Milwaukee County gave the Braves a favorable stadium deal. For the first two years, the team would pay only $1,000 a year for the use of Milwaukee County Stadium. For the next three years, the team would pay 5% of ticket prices and concessions. After that, the rent would be negotiated afresh, with the Braves being required to open their books.^[6]

Milwaukee went wild over the Braves, who were welcomed as genuine heroes. TheBraves finished92–62 (.597) in theirfirst season in Milwaukee, and drew a then-NL record1.8 million fans.^[7][8] The success of the team was noted by many owners. Not coincidentally, thePhiladelphia Athletics,St. Louis Browns,Brooklyn Dodgers, andNew York Giants all relocated over the next five years.

As the 1950s progressed, the reinvigorated Braves became increasingly competitive. SluggersEddie Mathews andHank Aaron drove the offense (they would hit a combined 1,226 home runs as Braves, with 850 of those coming while the franchise was in Milwaukee), whileWarren Spahn,Lew Burdette, andBob Buhl anchored the rotation.

In the inaugural season of the Braves in Milwaukee, the team found success early on. For the latter half of May and most of June, the Braves held a narrow lead in the National League. By the June 15 trade deadline, the team was37–18 (.673) and 0 games behind theBrooklyn Dodgers, who were only ahead by percentage points, with a record of36–17 (.679). Their widest lead was on June 23 and 24, 3 games over the Dodgers, though the team would quickly lose their lead just 3 days later and never recovered.^[9] The Dodgers went on to outperform the rest of the league as the Braves finished in second, at92–62 (.597) and 13 games behind.^[10]

The sophomore season of the Braves in Milwaukee saw less success than the previous season. Though the team went on a 10-game win streak towards the end of May, they only led the National League for the last week of May, at most 1½ games ahead. Following a losing record in June, the team never recovered, and dropped to 15½ games behind on July 14 and 21. The team would remain in third place for almost the entirety of the remaining season, even when a 9-game win streak put the team only 3½ games behind the eventualWorld Series winningNew York Giants by August 15. The team finished the season89–65 (.578) and 8 games behind.^[11]

The 1955 team saw even less success than the previous season under new general managerJohn Quinn and new managerCharlie Grimm. By May 28, the team was 10½ games behind, and would never be closer than 10 games behind for the remainder of the season, even though they held second place in the National League from July 7 until the season's end, trailing the eventualWorld Series winningBrooklyn Dodgers. The team finished the season85–69 (.552) and 13½ games behind.^[12]

Under opening day managerCharlie Grimm, the Braves got off to a mediocre start at24–22 (.522). After a loss on Saturday, June 16, the owners dismissed him and replaced him withFred Haney, who led the Braves to a68–40 (.630) record for the rest of the season, leading for the majority of the season. For the second half of July, all of August, and most of September, the Braves held a small lead in the National League, in a tight race with theBrooklyn Dodgers andCincinnati Redlegs. Going into the last series of the season, the Braves held a ½ game lead over the Dodgers. In losing the series 1–2 to theSt. Louis Cardinals, they choked the season and finished at92–62 (.597), 1 game behind the Dodgers, who finished at93–61 (.604).^[13]

The first half of the 1957 season saw the Braves in-and-out of first place, mostly between them and theCincinnati Redlegs andSt. Louis Cardinals. August 7 saw the Braves take the first place in the National League, a lead they would hold for the rest of the season, finishing at95–59 (.617).^[14] The team celebrated their first pennant in nine years. Spearheaded byHank Aaron'sMVP season, he led the National League in home runs and RBI. Perhaps the most memorable of his 44 round-trippers that season came on September 23, a two-runwalk-off home run that gave the Braves a4–2 victory over theSt. Louis Cardinals and clinched the league championship. The team drew over2.2 million at home during the regular season, then went on to its firstWorld Series win in over 40 years, defeating theNew York Yankees ofYogi Berra,Mickey Mantle, andWhitey Ford in seven games. Burdette, theSeries MVP, threw three complete game victories, giving up only two earned runs, including the seventh game in New York,a 5–0 shutout.^[15][16]

The first half of the 1958 season saw the Braves in-and-out of first place, mostly between them and the newly relocatedSan Francisco Giants. The Braves would secure first place for the rest of the season from July 30, finishing the season92–62 (.597), 8 games ahead, securing their second consecutive National League pennant.^[17] In theWorld Series, the Braves jumped out to a three games to one lead in against New York once more, thanks in part to the strength ofWarren Spahn's andLew Burdette's pitching. But the Yankees stormed back to take the last three games, the last two in Milwaukee, in large part to World Series MVPBob Turley, the winning pitcher in games five and seven.

The1959 season, under new general managerJohn McHale, saw a tight three-way race between the Braves,Los Angeles Dodgers,San Francisco Giants for the pennant race. The Braves led the National League in May and June, whereas in July and August, the team hovered at its worst, 4½ games behind. The three-way race continued into the last week of September, when the Giants fell off (having led in July and August). By the season's end, both the Braves and Dodgers were tied at86–68 (.558), resulting in aregular season best-of-three tie-breaker series to determine the winner of the pennant.

Many residents of Chicago and Milwaukee were hoping for aWhite Sox–Braves World Series, as the cities are only about 75 miles (120 km) apart along the west shore ofLake Michigan. However, it was not to be. Though consistently behind both the Braves and Giants all season, the Dodgers won the league title with two straight wins against the Braves, ending the Braves' pennant streakat two.^[18] The Dodgers would go on to defeat the White Sox in six games in theWorld Series. The Braves finished their season at86–70 (.551).^[19]

The next six years were up-and-down for the Braves. The Braves were somewhat mediocre as the 1960s began but fattened up on the expansionNew York Mets andHouston Colt .45s (now the American League Astros) starting in 1962.

The1960 season under new managerChuck Dressen saw the Braves somewhat fall of from the previous season, but for vast majority of the season, the team would place in second or third, always within 8 games behind. The closest the team was to leading was on July 24, when they were at52–36 (.591) and 0 games ahead of thePittsburgh Pirates, though were ahead by percentage (the Pirates were at53–37 (.589)). From August 6 on, the Braves were consistently between 5 and 8 games behind and finished the season in second place at88–66 (.571), 7 games behind theWorld Series winningPittsburgh Pirates.^[20] Two players threw no-hitters against thePhiladelphia Phillies:Lew Burdette on August 18 andWarren Spahn on September 16.^[21][22] Milwaukee's home attendance slipped under 1.5 million for the first time since the move from Boston.

The1961 season saw the Braves hover around fourth and fifth for most of the season. After the June 15 trade deadline, the Braves would be consistently between 6 and 14½ games behind, eventually finishing the season in fourth place, at83–71 (.539), 10 games behind theCincinnati Reds.^[23]Warren Spahn threw his 300th career victory on August 11 and threw his second no-hitter, this time against theSan Francisco Giants on April 28.^[24][25] After the game on September 2, managerChuck Dressen was replaced byBirdie Tebbetts. The team's home attendance continued its decline; the last season exceeding one million was in 1961.

The1962 season saw the Braves consistently in sixth place from mid-May through mid-September. Before July 22, the team had a negative record, though after this date would have a positive record for the remainder of the season. The team finished the season in fifth at86–76 (.531), 15½ games behind theSan Francisco Giants.^[26]Hank Aaron his Milwaukee career high 45 home runs. Attendance fell off significantly below the previous season, falling below 800,000.

The1963 season was the first under the ownership ofWilliam Bartholomay and new managerBobby Bragan. The Braves performed slightly worse than the previous season. After the All-Star break, the Braves were consistently between 7 and 16 games behind, finishing the season in sixth at84–78 (.519), 15 games behind theWorld Series winningLos Angeles Dodgers.^[27] This would be the only season that the Milwaukee Braves finished "second division", having placed in the lower half of the league.Hank Aaron hit 44 home runs and notched 130 RBI, andWarren Spahn was once again the ace of the staff. There was a slight uptick in attendance, though still below 800,000.

The1964 season saw the Braves slightly improve from the previous season. By the All-Star break, the team was 2 games under .500, in seventh place. For the remainder of the season, the Braves were consistently between 5 and 14½ games behind while consistently in fifth or sixth place. The Braves finished the season in fifth at88–74 (.543), 5 games behind theWorld Series winningSt. Louis Cardinals.^[28] Despite the consistently lower performance to the previous two seasons, attendance saw a large uptick to over 900,000.

An injunction filed in Wisconsin blocked the Braves from moving toAtlanta for the1965 season, but attendance plummeted to 555,000.^[29] The team saw the Braves perform slightly worse than the previous season. However, in the months of June and August, the team was largely in second place behind theLos Angeles Dodgers by only a few games, having led the National League only on August 18 and 20 by only ½ games ahead. Outside these months, the team hovered between fourth and fifth place. The Braves finished the season in fifth at86–76 (.531), 11 games behind theWorld Series winning Dodgers.^[30]

Lou Perini sold the Braves to aChicago-based group led byWilliam Bartholomay after the 1962 season. The ink had barely dried on the deal when Bartholomay started shopping the Braves to a larger television market. At the same time, the fast-growing city ofAtlanta, led by MayorIvan Allen, Jr., constructed a new $18 million, 52,007–60,606 seat multi-purpose stadium in less than one year,Atlanta Stadium (later on known as Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium from 1976 until 1996 with its demolition in 1997), which was officially opened in 1965 in hopes of luring an existingmajor league and/orNFL/AFL team.

After the city failed to lure theKansas City Athletics (who moved toOakland in1968), Allen courted the Braves, who announced their intention to move to Atlanta for the1965 season. However, an injunction filed in Wisconsin forced the Braves to play a lame-duck season in Milwaukee, but the home attendance was less than 560,000.^[29] In the interim, Atlanta Stadium played host to the Braves' new Triple-A affiliate, theAtlanta Crackers of theInternational League. The Braves had bought the Crackers in order to secure the major-league rights to the Atlanta area; in those days, the owner of a minor-league team also owned the major league rights to that city.

The Braves completed the move to Atlanta prior to the1966 season, and drew over 1.5 million in the new stadium thatfirst year.^[31] Before that season, they moved the Crackers toRichmond, Virginia as theRichmond Braves.

Following the team's departure from Milwaukee after the 1965 season, the city was quickly considered for expansion, as stated byCommissioner of BaseballWilliam Eckert in May 1966, citing that expansion would occur in "eight to 10 years."^[32] However, by 1968, Milwaukee was rejected for expansion due to its close proximity toChicago.^[33]

As early as June 1969, an MLB memo envisaged the newly foundedSeattle Pilots of theAmerican League moving to Milwaukee.^[34] Concerns for the Pilots' viability led to several attempts to relocate the team to Milwaukee, which lead to Pilots ownerDewey Soriano to try and sell the team. Following failed attempts to sell to former Braves minority ownerBud Selig and several deals involvingWestin Hotels headEddie Carlson, and bankruptcy of the team on March 31—seven days before Opening Day—the team was sold to Selig and the team was moved to Milwaukee as theMilwaukee Brewers. TheNational League's 32-year hiatus from the city would end in1998 when the Brewers were transferred to the National League due to realignment resulting from the1998 Major League Baseball expansion.

When the team moved to Milwaukee, their uniforms were largely unchanged. The home uniforms were plain white with thin piping going around the collar and down the middle of shirt. Red script "Braves" was across the chest with navy trim. At various times, there was piping around each sleeve. Piping on the uniform could be red or navy depending on the year. Road uniforms were the same format, but on a gray shirt.

• Hank Aaron, aright fielder on the team from 1954 until the team's departure to Atlanta after 1965. He is considered the team's most accomplished player. He was inducted into theHall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1982.
• Joe Adcock, afirst baseman on the team from 1953 to 1962.
• Frank Bolling, asecond baseman on the team from 1961 to after the team's 1966 departure to Atlanta.
• Bill Bruton, acenter fielder on the team from 1953 to 1960.
• Bob Buhl, apitcher on the team from 1953 to 1962.
• Lew Burdette, apitcher on the team from 1953 to 1963.
• Gene Conley, apitcher on the team from 1954 to 1958.
• Wes Covington, aleft fielder on the team from 1956 to 1961.
• Del Crandall, acatcher on the team from before the team's 1953 arrival to Milwaukee to 1963.
• Johnny Logan, ashortstop on the team from before the team's 1953 arrival to Milwaukee to 1961
• Félix Mantilla, asecond baseman on the team from 1956 to 1961.
• Eddie Mathews, athird baseman on the team from before the team's 1953 arrival to Milwaukee to after the team's 1966 departure to Atlanta, and is the only such player to have played on the Braves three home cities. He was inducted into theHall of Fame in 1978.
• Andy Pafko, aright fielder on the team from 1953 to 1959.
• Red Schoendienst, asecond baseman on the team from 1957 to 1960. He was inducted into theHall of Fame in 1989.
• Warren Spahn, apitcher on the team from before the team's 1953 arrival to 1964. He was inducted into theHall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1973. TheWarren Spahn Award, given annually to the major leagues' best left-handed pitcher, is named in his honor.
• Bobby Thomson, aleft fielder on the team from 1954 to 1957.
• Frank Torre, afirst baseman on the team from 1956 to 1960.
• Joe Torre, acatcher on the team from 1960 to after the team's 1966 departure to Atlanta. He was inducted into theHall of Fame in 2014.
• Bob Uecker, acatcher on the team from 1962 to 1963. He was awarded theFord C. Frick Award in 2003 by theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Braves have retired four numbers in the history of the franchise related to its tenure in Milwaukee. Of the four Milwaukee Braves whose numbers have been retired, all who are eligible for theNational Baseball Hall of Fame have been elected.^[35] The color and design of the retired numbers on commemorative markers and other in-stadium signage reflect the primary uniform design at the time the player was on the team.^[36]

Warren
Spahn
P
Retired December 11, 1965

Phil
Niekro
P
Retired August 6, 1984

Eddie
Mathews
3B
Retired July 26, 1969

Hank
Aaron
RF
Retired April 15, 1977

• History of the Atlanta Braves

• Milwaukee Braves
• Baseball in Milwaukee
• History of Major League Baseball by team
• Defunct baseball teams in Wisconsin
• Baseball teams disestablished in 1965
• Baseball teams established in 1953
• 1953 establishments in Wisconsin
• 1965 disestablishments in Wisconsin

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