![1886 Boston Beaneaters](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/1886_Boston_Beaneaters.jpg)
The
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
, a current
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
franchise, originated in
Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
, and then to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.
During its 82–year stay in
, 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
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
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
Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...
and
Johnny Sain
John Franklin "Johnny" Sain (September 25, 1917 – November 7, 2006) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who was best known for teaming with left-hander Warren Spahn on the Boston Braves teams from 1946 to 1951. He ...
, who inspired the ''
Boston Post
''The Boston Post'' was a daily newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956. The ''Post'' was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston, Massachusetts, Boston businessmen, Charles Gordon Greene, Charles G. Gr ...
'' 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.
The Boston franchise played at
South End Grounds
South End Grounds refers to any one of three baseball parks on one site in Boston, Massachusetts. They were home to the franchise that eventually became known as the Boston Braves, first in the National Association and later in the National Lea ...
from 1871 to 1914 and at
Braves Field
Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the B ...
from 1915 to 1952. Braves Field is now
Nickerson Field
Nickerson Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the Northeastern United States, on the campus of Boston University (BU) in Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium is owned by BU, and is the home field for some Boston University Terriers athletics pr ...
of
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
. The franchise, from Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta, is the oldest continuously operating professional baseball franchise.
Early history
The
Cincinnati Red Stockings
The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867 ...
, established in 1869 as the first openly all-professional baseball team, voted to dissolve after the 1870 season. Player-manager
Harry Wright
William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, t ...
then went to
Boston, Massachusetts—at the invitation of Boston Red Stockings founder
Ivers Whitney Adams—with brother
George Wright George Wright may refer to:
Politics, law and government
* George Wright (MP) (died 1557), MP for Bedford and Wallingford
* George Wright (governor) (1779–1842), Canadian politician, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island
* George Wright ...
and two other Cincinnati players joined the Boston Red Stockings, a charter member of the
National Association of Professional Base Ball Players
The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), often known simply as the National Association (NA), was the first fully- professional sports league in baseball. The NA was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 se ...
. The original Boston Red Stockings team and its successors are the oldest continuously playing team in American professional sports. (The only other team that has been organized as long,
the Chicago Cubs, did not play for the two years following the
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...
of 1871.) Two players hired from the
Forest City club of
Rockford, Illinois, were pitcher
Al Spalding
Albert Goodwill Spalding (September 2, 1849 – September 9, 1915) was an American pitcher, manager, and executive in the early years of professional baseball, and the co-founder of A.G. Spalding sporting goods company. He was born and raised ...
(founder of
Spalding sporting goods) and second baseman
Ross Barnes
Charles Roscoe Barnes (May 8, 1850 – February 5, 1915) was one of the stars of baseball's National Association (1871–1875) and the early National League (1876–1881), playing second base and shortstop. He played for the dominant Boston R ...
.
![King Kelly 0554fu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/King_Kelly_0554fu.jpg)
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
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
was
Frank Selee
Frank Gibson Selee (October 26, 1859 – July 5, 1909) was an American Major League Baseball manager in the National League (NL). In his 16-year Major League career, he managed the Boston Beaneaters (1890–1901) and Chicago Orphans / Cubs (1902 ...
, 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.
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
This is a summary of the evolution of names of the current professional Major League Baseball teams in the National League (organized 1876) and subsequent rival American League (established 1901), and also of selected former major and minor lea ...
). The American League club's owner, Charles Taylor, changed his team's name to the Red Sox in place of the "Americans".
When
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
and
John Dovey acquired the club in 1907, the team was named the Doves; when purchased by
William Hepburn Russell
William Hepburn Russell (1812–1872) was a United States businessman. He was a partner, along with Alexander Majors and William B. Waddell, in the freighting firm Russell, Majors, and Waddell and the stagecoach company the Central Overland Ca ...
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
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...
, 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
the Brooklyn Dodgers. The consecutive losses put their record at 26–40 and the Braves were in last place, 15 games behind the league-leading
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
, who had won the previous three league pennants. After a day off, the Braves started to put together a hot streak, and from July 6 through September 5, the Braves won 41 games against only 12 losses. 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. They are the only team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth 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 entered
the World Series as a heavy underdog to
Connie Mack
Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...
's
Philadelphia A's
The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakl ...
. Nevertheless, the Braves swept the Athletics—the first unqualified sweep in the young history of the modern World Series (the 1907 Series had one tied game)—to win the world championship. Meanwhile, former
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
infielder
Johnny Evers
John Joseph Evers (July 21, 1881 – March 28, 1947) was an American professional baseball second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1902 through 1917 for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies. ...
, 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
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...
, since their normal home, the
South End Grounds
South End Grounds refers to any one of three baseball parks on one site in Boston, Massachusetts. They were home to the franchise that eventually became known as the Boston Braves, first in the National Association and later in the National Lea ...
, was too small. However, the Braves' success inspired owner Gaffney to build a modern park,
Braves Field
Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the B ...
, 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
Christopher Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed "Big Six", "the Christian Gentleman", "Matty", and "the Gentleman's Hurler", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher, who played 17 seasons with the New York Gia ...
, back into the game. Although original plans called for Mathewson to be the principal owner, he had never recovered from
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
that he'd contracted after being
gassed during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. By the end of the 1923 season, it was obvious Mathewson couldn't 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
Rogers Hornsby Sr. (April 27, 1896 – January 5, 1963), nicknamed "The Rajah", was an American baseball infielder, manager, and coach who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1915–1926, 193 ...
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
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
.
Babe Ruth returns to Boston
Looking for a way to get more fans and more money, Fuchs worked out a deal with the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
to acquire
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
, who had, coincidentally, started his career with the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
. 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.
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
A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore.
Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to:
Mythology and religion
*Giants (Greek mythology)
*Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...
. However, that proved to be the highest the Braves were over .500 all year. Events went downhill quickly. A 4–20 May ended any realistic chance of contention. Ruth's deterioration mirrored that of the team. 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.
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'd wanted to quit as early as May 12, but Fuchs wanted him to hang on so he could play in every National League park.
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 the
seventh-worst in baseball history, and the sixth-worst in National League history. It is the second-worst in modern baseball history (behind only the
1916 Philadelphia Athletics), and the worst in modern National League history.
1936–1941: the Bees
Insolvent like his team, Fuchs was forced to give up control of the Braves in August 1935,
and new owner
Bob Quinn tried to change the team's image by renaming it the Boston Bees. This did little to change the team's fortunes. After five uneven years, a new owner, construction magnate
Lou Perini Louis Robert Perini (November 29, 1903 in Ashland, MassachusettsApril 16, 1972 in West Palm Beach, Florida) was the principal owner of the Boston / Milwaukee Braves of the National League from 1945 through 1962.
In 1945, he purchased the club fr ...
, changed the nickname back to the Braves.
1948: National League champions
In
1948, the
team
A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal.
As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...
won the National League pennant by capturing 91 games to finish 6
paces ahead of the second–place
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
. They also attracted 1,455,439 fans
[Baseball-Almanac.com](_blank)
/ref> to Braves Field
Braves Field was a baseball park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University. The stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915 to 1952, prior to the B ...
, 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 Famer Warren Spahn
Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...
and Johnny Sain
John Franklin "Johnny" Sain (September 25, 1917 – November 7, 2006) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who was best known for teaming with left-hander Warren Spahn on the Boston Braves teams from 1946 to 1951. He ...
, who won 39 games between them. The remainder of the rotation was so thin that in September, ''Boston Post
''The Boston Post'' was a daily newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956. The ''Post'' was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston, Massachusetts, Boston businessmen, Charles Gordon Greene, Charles G. Gr ...
'' 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 Sain ''did not'' start than in games they did. (Other sources include pitcher Vern Bickford
Vernon Edgell Bickford (August 17, 1920 – May 6, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed starting pitcher, he played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston/ Milwaukee Braves from 1948 to 1953 in th ...
in the verse.)
The Braves lost the 1948 World Series
The 1948 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1948 season. The 45th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians and the National League (NL) champion Boston Br ...
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 Brooklyn Dodgers, on April 18, 1950, Sam "Jet" Jethroe was added to the Boston Braves roster. The Dodgers had another young CF in Duke Snider
Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider (September 19, 1926 – February 27, 2011), nicknamed "the Silver Fox" and "the Duke of Flatbush", was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a center fielder, he spent most of his Major League Baseball (M ...
rising in their system, resulting in the trade to the Braves. Going on to be named National League Rookie of the Year
In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...
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 of Chuck Cooper, of the Boston Celtics who was the first African-American player drafted by an NBA team. A former Negro leagues
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...
star and military veteran, Jethroe remains the oldest player to have won Rookie of the Year honors.
Move to Milwaukee and aftermath
With the rise of Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...
for the Red Sox, it became clear the Braves were no longer Boston's #1 team.
Amid four mediocre seasons after 1948, attendance steadily dwindled, even though Braves Field had the reputation of being more family friendly than Fenway.
For a half century, the major leagues had not had a single franchise relocation. The Braves played their last home game in Boston on September 21, 1952, losing to the Brooklyn Dodgers before 8,822 at Braves Field; the home attendance for the 1952 season was under 282,000.[
On March 13, 1953, owner ]Lou Perini Louis Robert Perini (November 29, 1903 in Ashland, MassachusettsApril 16, 1972 in West Palm Beach, Florida) was the principal owner of the Boston / Milwaukee Braves of the National League from 1945 through 1962.
In 1945, he purchased the club fr ...
said that he would seek permission from the National League to move the Braves to Milwaukee. 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
The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...
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 3 1/2 hour meeting at the Vinoy Park Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida, league approval was granted after Perini promised not to sell the team. During a game against the New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
on March 18, the sale was announced final and that the team would move to Milwaukee, immediately. The All-Star Game
An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...
had been scheduled for Braves Field. It was moved to Crosley Field and hosted by the Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
.[ The Braves franchise moved their triple-A Brewers from Milwaukee to Toledo, Ohio.
After the Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1953, the Braves Field site was sold to ]Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
and reconstructed as Nickerson Field
Nickerson Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the Northeastern United States, on the campus of Boston University (BU) in Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium is owned by BU, and is the home field for some Boston University Terriers athletics pr ...
, the home of many Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...
teams. The Braves Field scoreboard was sold to the Kansas City A's
The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...
and used at Municipal Stadium; the A's moved to Oakland
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
after the 1967 season.
Notable Boston Braves
: Source:
* Dave Bancroft
David James Bancroft (April 20, 1891 – October 9, 1972) was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Giants, Boston Braves and the Brooklyn Robins ...
– Boston Braves (1924–1927), HOF (1971)
* Alvin Dark
Alvin Ralph Dark (January 7, 1922 – November 13, 2014), nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager. He played fourteen years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston/Milwaukee Bra ...
– Boston Braves (1946–1949), ROY (1948)
* Bob Elliott – Boston Braves (1947–1951), NL MVP (1947)
* Johnny Evers
John Joseph Evers (July 21, 1881 – March 28, 1947) was an American professional baseball second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1902 through 1917 for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies. ...
– Boston Braves (1914–1917, 1929), HOF (1946)
* Hank Gowdy
Harry Morgan Gowdy (August 24, 1889 – August 1, 1966) was an American professional baseball catcher, first baseman, manager and coach who played in the major leagues for the New York Giants and the Boston Braves. He was a member of the "Mi ...
– Boston Braves (1911–1917, 1919–1923, and 1929–1930)
* Del Crandall
Delmar Wesley Crandall (March 5, 1930May 5, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He was born in Ontario, California. Crandall played as a catcher in Major League Baseball and spent most of his career with the Boston / ...
– Boston Braves (1949–1952) 11× All-Star, last living Boston Braves player
* Sam Jethroe
Samuel Jethroe, nicknamed "The Jet" (January 23, 1917 – June 16, 2001), was an American center fielder in Negro league and Major League Baseball. With the Cincinnati & Cleveland Buckeyes he won a pair of batting titles, hit .340 over seven seas ...
– Boston Braves (1950–1952) ROY (1950)
* Bill McKechnie – Boston Braves (1913, manager 1930–1937), HOF (1962)
* Rabbit Maranville
Walter James Vincent "Rabbit" Maranville (November 11, 1891 – January 6, 1954) was an American professional baseball shortstop, second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, ...
– Boston Braves (1912–1920, 1929–1935), HOF (1954)
* Eddie Mathews
Edwin Lee Mathews (October 13, 1931 – February 18, 2001) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman. He played 17 seasons for Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1952–1966); Houston Astros (1967) and Detroit Tigers (1967– ...
– Boston Braves (1952), HOF (1978)
* Johnny Sain
John Franklin "Johnny" Sain (September 25, 1917 – November 7, 2006) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who was best known for teaming with left-hander Warren Spahn on the Boston Braves teams from 1946 to 1951. He ...
– Boston Braves (1942–1951), 3× All-Star, ace of 1948 staff
* Kid Nichols
Charles Augustus "Kid" Nichols (September 14, 1869 – April 11, 1953) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Boston Beaneaters, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies from 1890 to 1906. A switch hitter ...
– Boston Beaneaters (1890–1901) HOF (1949)
* Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
– Boston Braves (1935), HOF (1936)
* Billy Southworth
William Harold Southworth (March 9, 1893 – November 15, 1969) was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player in and and from to for five big-league teams, Southworth took part in almost 1,200 games, fell j ...
– Boston Braves (1921–1923, manager 1946–1949, 1950–1951), HOF (2008)
* Warren Spahn
Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...
– Boston Braves (1942, 1946–1952), HOF (1973)
* Casey Stengel
Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New York ...
– Boston Braves (1924–1925, manager 1938–1943), HOF (1966)
* King Kelly
Michael Joseph "King" Kelly (December 31, 1857 – November 8, 1894), also commonly known as "$10,000 Kelly", was an American outfielder, catcher, and manager in various professional American baseball leagues including the National League, Inter ...
– Boston Beaneaters (1887–1889, manager 1887), HOF (1945)
References
{{MLBHistory
Boston Braves
Defunct baseball teams in Massachusetts
Baseball teams established in 1871
Baseball teams disestablished in 1952
1871 establishments in Massachusetts
1952 disestablishments in Massachusetts