The Jacksonville Braves were a minor league baseball team based in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

, U.S. The Class A affiliate of the

Milwaukee 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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

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), ...

team, they played in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

(the "Sally League") from 1953 to 1961. They played their home games at

Durkee Field J. P. Small Memorial Stadium is a baseball park in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located in the Durkeeville community in northwest Jacksonville. Constructed in 1912 and rebuilt in 1936, it was the city's first municipal recreation field, and served ...

and then

Wolfson Park Samuel W. Wolfson Baseball Park (originally Jacksonville Baseball Park) was a baseball park in Jacksonville, Florida. It stood from 1954 until 2002, when it was demolished and replaced by the new Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. During that tim ...

. The Braves were established in 1953 by Samuel W. Wolfson, replacing the

Jacksonville Tars Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

baseball club. They were a far more successful team than the Tars had been, winning the league championship in 1956 and making four other playoff appearances under manager

Ben Geraghty Benjamin Raymond Geraghty (July 19, 1912 – June 18, 1963) was an American infielder in Major League Baseball and one of the most successful and respected minor league managers of the 1950s. A Jersey City native, Geraghty went right from Vill ...

. One of the first integrated professional baseball teams in the league and in Florida, the Braves fielded standout players such as Hank Aaron and Félix Mantilla. In 1961 an ownership deal changed the team's major league affiliation, and the Braves were replaced by the Jacksonville Jets for the 1961 season.

History

Two teams named the

had played in Jacksonville since 1926, with the last incarnation playing in the Sally League from 1936. The Class A affiliate of the

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. ...

, the Tars were described as an unprofessional outfit, and played mostly losing baseball during their run.Foley, Bill (October 22, 1997)
"Braves ousted again: It's the Jacksonville jinx"
'' The Florida Times-Union''. Retrieved June 29, 2011. In 1953 Jacksonville businessman Samuel W. Wolfson bought the Tars franchise, and signed an affiliation agreement with the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

(who became the

very shortly after). The team was reorganized and renamed the Jacksonville Braves. Wolfson retained manager

, but little else of the Tars survived the transition. Among the major changes included

integration Integration may refer to: Biology *Multisensory integration *Path integration * Pre-integration complex, viral genetic material used to insert a viral genome into a host genome *DNA integration, by means of site-specific recombinase technology, ...

. Wolfson brought in black players from the Braves' farm system, including Hank Aaron, Félix Mantilla, and

Horace Garner Horace T. Garner (July 17, 1923 – July 6, 1995) was an American baseball outfielder. He played for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League in 1949 and played in minor league baseball for ten seasons, from 1951 to 1959 and in 1961. ...

, making Jacksonville one of the first two integrated teams to play in the South Atlantic League. As such, they were also one of the first teams in Florida to field black players.McCarthy, Kevin (1996)
''Baseball in Florida''
pp. 97–100. Pineapple Press. Retrieved June 29, 2011. Aaron in particular was a standout, and was named league MVP in 1953; both he and Mantilla were later called up to the major leagues after their success in Jacksonville. The Braves drew strong crowds and performed well on the field, proving more successful than the Tars had ever been. They went to the South Atlantic League playoffs five times in eight years, advancing to the finals in 1953, 1954, and 1958, and winning the championship in 1956. They were the impetus for the construction of a new stadium, which opened in 1955 and replaced the aging

. The new park was later named

after Samuel W. Wolfson.Frenrette, Gene (August 25, 2002)
"Wolfson Park nears its final innings"
'' The Florida Times-Union''. Retrieved June 29, 2011. In 1957 Wolfson, suffering from ill health, sold the team to a group of businessmen including

Bill Terry William Harold Terry (October 30, 1898 – January 9, 1989) was an American professional baseball first baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants from 1923 to 1936 and managed the Giants from 1932 to 19 ...

, who in turn sold it to Texas millionaire Craig F. Cullinan, Jr. When Cullinan won a Major League Baseball expansion franchise in 1960, league rules required the Milwaukee Braves to pull their affiliation with Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Braves came to an end, and were replaced with the short-lived Jacksonville Jets, affiliates of Cullinan's new team, the

Houston Colt .45s The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

(now the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

). The Jets were not nearly as successful as the Braves had been. They played in Jacksonville for only one year before Samuel Wolfson returned with a new Triple-A team, the Jacksonville Suns.

References

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External links

Baseball Reference
1953 establishments in Florida South Atlantic League (1904–1963) teams Defunct Southeastern League teams Baseball teams established in 1953 Baseball teams disestablished in 1961 Baseball in Jacksonville, Florida Milwaukee Braves minor league affiliates Houston Colt .45s minor league affiliates New York Giants minor league affiliates Washington Senators minor league affiliates 1961 disestablishments in Florida Defunct baseball teams in Florida Defunct South Atlantic League teams