Boston Braves

[edit] History

The National League Atlanta Braves franchise started in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings of the National Association, became the Boston Red Caps when the National League was formed in 1876, changed their name in 1883 to the Boston Beaneaters, then became the Boston Doves in 1907, then became the Boston Rustlers in 1911, before becoming the Boston Braves in 1912. The team took a break from the Boston Braves nickname from 1936-1940 (Boston Bees) before returning to the Braves name in 1941.

Starting in 1901, Boston's National League franchise was in competition with an American League club that would become known as the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox were a much more successful team than the Braves in the first two decades of the 20th Century, and while both teams fell on hard times afterwards, with a brief and simultaneous return to competitiveness in the late 1940s, the Red Sox bettered the Braves in securing the affection of New England's baseball fans, forcing the Braves to look for another location. The Braves moved to Milwaukee, WI for the 1953 season, and then to Atlanta, GA in 1966, where they are still based today.

[edit] Franchise Players

• Kid Nichols
• Hugh Duffy
• Rabbit Maranville
• Wally Berger
• Tommy Holmes
• Johnny Sain
• Warren Spahn
• Bob Elliott

[edit] Seasonal Record

As the Boston Braves, the franchise won 2 pennants, appeared in 2 post-seasons, and won 1 World Series.

• 1912
  • 8th place finish, record: 52-101; manager: Johnny Kling.

• 1913
  • 5th place finish, record: 69-82; manager: George Stallings.

• 1914
  • 1st place finish, record: 94-59; manager: George Stallings.
  • World Series Champions (swept the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series)

• 1915
  • 2nd place finish, record: 83-69; manager: George Stallings.

• 1916
  • 3rd place finish, record: 89-63; manager: George Stallings.

• 1917
  • 6th place finish, record: 72-81; manager: George Stallings.

• 1918
  • 7th place finish, record: 53-71; manager: George Stallings.

• 1919
  • 6th place finish, record: 57-82; manager: George Stallings.

• 1920
  • 7th place finish, record: 62-90; manager: George Stallings.

• 1921
  • 4th place finish, record: 79-74; manager: Fred Mitchell.

• 1922
  • 8th place finish, record: 53-100; manager: Fred Mitchell.

• 1923
  • 7th place finish, record: 54-100; manager: Fred Mitchell.

• 1924
  • 8th place finish, record: 53-100; manager: Dave Bancroft.

• 1925
  • 5th place finish, record: 70-83; manager: Dave Bancroft.

• 1926
  • 7th place finish, record: 66-86; manager: Dave Bancroft.

• 1927
  • 7th place finish, record: 60-94; manager: Dave Bancroft.

• 1928
  • 7th place finish, record: 50-103; managers: Jack Slattery and Rogers Hornsby.

• 1929
  • 8th place finish, record: 56-98; manager: Judge Fuchs.

• 1930
  • 6th place finish, record: 70-84; manager: Bill McKechnie.

• 1931
  • 7th place finish, record: 64-90; manager: Bill McKechnie.

• 1932
  • 5th place finish, record: 77-77; manager: Bill McKechnie.

• 1933
  • 4th place finish, record: 83-71; manager: Bill McKechnie.
  • First winning record since 1921.

• 1934
  • 4th place finish, record: 78-73; manager: Bill McKechnie.

• 1935
  • 8th place finish, record: 38-115; manager: Bill McKechnie.

In 1936 the team became the Boston Bees (1936-1940), before returning to the Boston Braves nickname in 1941.

• 1941
  • 7th place finish, record: 62-92; manager: Casey Stengel.

• 1942
  • 7th place finish, record: 59-89; manager: Casey Stengel.

• 1943
  • 6th place finish, record: 68-85; manager: Casey Stengel and Bob Coleman.

• 1944
  • 6th place finish, record: 65-89; manager: Bob Coleman.

• 1945
  • 6th place finish, record: 67-85; managers: Bob Coleman and Del Bissonette.

• 1946
  • 4th place finish, record: 81-72; manager: Billy Southworth.

• 1947
  • 3rd place finish, record: 86-68; manager: Billy Southworth.

• 1948
  • 1st place finish, record: 91-62; manager: Billy Southworth.
  • First Pennant since 1914.
  • Lost the World Series to the Cleveland Indians

• 1949
  • 4th place finish, record: 75-79; manager: Billy Southworth and Johnny Cooney.

• 1950
  • 4th place finish, record: 83-71; manager: Billy Southworth.

• 1951
  • 4th place finish, record: 76-78; manager: Billy Southworth and Tommy Holmes.

• 1952
  • 7th place finish, record: 64-89; manager: Tommy Holmes and Charlie Grimm.

After the 1952 season, the team moved to Milwaukee, WI, becoming the Milwaukee Braves (1953-1965).

[edit] See also

The poem: Spahn & Sain and pray for rain http://www.baseball-almanac.com/poetry/po_rain.shtml

[edit] Further Reading

• Harold Kaese: The Boston Braves, 1871-1953, Northeastern University Press, Boston, MA, 2004 (First published in 1948). [1]
• Bob Ruzzo: "Braves Field: An Imperfect History of the Perfect Ballpark", The Baseball Record Journal, SABR, Volume 41, Number 2 (Fall 2012), pp. 50-60.
• Troy Soos: Before the Curse: The Glory Days of New England Baseball, 1858-1918, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2006.