Boston Braves - The End of an Era (1940-1952)

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1940

1944

1949

Decade

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Titles:

Top Boston Players of the Forties / Early Fifties

1948 National League Champs (Lost to Cleveland)

Pitchers:

BallPark:

Warren Spahn (39.95) - 90

Braves Field

Johnny Sain (20.92) - 76

Jim Tobin (15.99) - 53

Team Name:

Vern Bickford (13.29) - 40

Bees (1940)

Al Javery (5.57) - 37

Braves (1941-1952)

Nate Andrews (10.83) - 24

Red Barrett (6.77) - 22

Owner:

Manny Salvo (3.88) - 17

Syndicate led by Charles Adams (1940)

Max Surkont (5.4) - 16

Syndicate of twelve Boston Millionaires (1941-1944)

Bill Voiselle (6) - 16

Three Steamshovels (Lou Perini, Guido Rugo, Joe Maney) (1945-1952)

Dick Errickson (2.67) - 14

Mort Cooper (4.18) - 11

General Managers:

Bob Quinn (1940-1944)

John Quinn (1945-1952)

Catchers:

Phil Masi (11.81) - 48

Managers:

Walker Cooper (8.19) - 23

Casey Stengel (1940-1943)

Bob Coleman (1943-1945)

First Basemen:

Del Bissonette (1945)

Earl Torgeson (18.6) - 52

Bill Southworth (1946-1951)

Max West (8.18) - 19

Tommy Holmes (1951)

Charlie Grimm (1952)

Second Basemen:

Connie Ryan (8.33) - 20

Hall of Famers:

Whitey Wietelmann (1.75) - 13

Casey Stengel

Eddie Stanky (7.83) - 8

Bill Southworth

Warren Spahn

ShortStop:

Al Dark (6.2) - 14

Rookie of the Year:

Eddie Miller (9.88) - 18

Alvin Dark (1948)

Dick Culler (2.88) - 11

Sam Jethroe (1950)

Nanny Fernandez (0.45) - 10

MVP:

Third Base:

Bob Elliott (1947)

Bob Elliott (26.39) - 40

Cy Young

Outfield:

None

Tommy Holmes (34.69) - 91

Sam Jethroe (8.77) - 38

No Hitters:

Sid Gordon (16.09) - 27

Jim Tobin (1944)

Johnny Hopp (5.86) - 22

Vern Bickford (1950)

Butch Nieman (4.86) - 18

Chuck Workman (2.16) - 16

Notable Events:

Carden Gillenwater (4.33) - 16

Bama Rowell (5.86) - 16

1940 - Midway thru the Forties, the Braves become relevant in the NL

Johnny Cooney (3.19) - 15

for the first time since the mid Teens. Altho' the first half dozen years

Jim Russell (2.98) - 13

of the Forties unfortunately look like business as usual for Boston.

Jeff Heath (6.03) - 13

Gene Moore (4.43) - 11

1940 - Coming into the Forties there are only three players on the 1940

Pete Reiser (1.43) - 3

roster who will contribute significantly during the decade. They are:

□ RHP Jim Tobin, 27, obtained from Pirates prior to 1940 season

Notable Events:

□ RHP Al Javery, 22, obtained from Evansville prior to 1940 season

□ C Phil Masi, 24, obtained from Springfield prior to 1939 season

1948 - With all the pieces in place, pitchers Spahn, Sain, Bickford, RHP

Bill Voiselle, 29, C- Masi, IF Torgeson, Stanky, Dark and Elliott and

1941 - A syndicate of twelve Boston millionaires buys the club from Charles

OF Holmes and Jeff Heath, 33, the Braves win the National League

Adams. The club's name is changed back to the Braves from the Bees.

pennant. They draw 1.45 million fans.

They retain both Bob Quinn and John Quinn in the front office. Smart move.

1949 - After the Braves are in first place as late as June 4, it all

1942 - The Braves make a terrific deal, trading Buddy Hassett

falls apart for them and they finish at 75-79. Manager Southworth,

to the Yankees for young outfielder Tommy Holmes, 25.

who has a 3 year contract, takes a leave of absence in August

after the team mutinies.

1942 - RHP Johnny Sain, 24, comes up as a rookie. He had originally

signed with Detroit but was granted free agency in 1940 when

1949 - Chief mutineers Dark and Stanky are dealt to the Giants

Commissioner Landis accused the Tigers of hoarding minor leaguers.

Interestingly, both end up being long time big league managers after

Sain was obtained from Nashville.

they retire. You have to wonder who were the real culprits in this incident.

1943 - Casey Stengel is fired as manager.

1950 - Sam Jethroe, obtained from the Negro Leagues, is

named National League Rookie of the Year.

1944 - The three steamshovels (Lou Perini, Guido Rugo and Joe Maney)

emerge as the principal owners among the syndicate of twelve millionaire

1952 - After treading water in 1950 and 1951, the Braves take a

Boston owners. The three are willing to spend to make the Braves a winner.

nosedive to seventh place. Meanwhile, Boston has been absolutely

dying at the box office. After their high water mark of 1.45 million in 1948,

1946 - LHP Warren Spahn and SS Alvin Dark are rookies. Spahn was

they have steadily declined in attendance going from 944,391 in 1950

signed in 1940 as a nineteen year old and spent three years in the Army.

to 487,485 In 1951 to 281,278 in 1952.

Dark was signed as a twenty four year old and brought directly up to the

Braves. He was later farmed out in 1947 to Milwaukee before coming up

1952 - So what happened? The team going backward in the standings

for good in their championship year 1948. Dark had been in college

does not adequately explain the city of Boston deciding to completely

during the war where he was also a good enough football player to be

abandon the Braves. There is a smoking gun here. The Braves started

drafted by the NFL Philadelphia Eagles.

adding black players to their roster in 1950. Plus, the National league was

bringing in black players at a much faster rate than the American league.

1946 - First Baseman Earl Torgeson is obtained from Seattle for two

And, the city of Boston has traditionally been a city with severe racial issues.

lesser lights. He is twenty two years old. He becomes the second Earl

Boston fans were now avoiding the Braves like the plague.

of Snohomish, Washington. Earl Averill was the original

Meanwhile, seeing what happened to the Braves, the crosstown

Red Sox would not touch adding a black player until 1959 when they

1947 - The Braves obtain 3B Bob Elliott, 30, from the Pirates in a

dipped their toes in the water bringing up reserve infielder Pumpsie Green.

terrific deal for four lesser lights. He goes on to win the MVP.

The Sox were the last team in baseball to integrate. No surprise here as

Altho' he was always a good hitter, Elliott's power numbers were low in

It's obvious that the Sox were very leery about offending their fan base

Pittsburgh where Forbes Field was a bad fit for him. He turned into one

after seeing what happened to the Braves when they started playing blacks.

of the NL's top sluggers after moving to Braves field.

1953 - The Braves bolt for Milwaukee during spring training. This was

1948 - RHP Vern Bickford, 27, is a rookie. He had knocked around the

a sheer panic move on the part of the Braves and major league baseball

minors and spent 3 years in the army since he was eighteen.

as the Braves would no longer be able to stay solvent in Boston. There had

been talk about franchise moves for years, this situation forced baseball's

1948 - 2B Eddie Stanky,32, is obtained from Brooklyn for two lesser players

hand to finally pull the trigger and in a very haphazzard way, not the

Stanky doesn't supply big numbers, but he does supply a winning

way a large public entity would like to conduct it's business.

attitude and he's a fiesty, hard nosed, heady player

Not only that, but the racial issues with the Braves in Boston opened up the

door for a bunch of franchise moves in the Fifties with the A's, Browns

Dodgers, Giants and Senators all moving after fifty years of stability

and no franchise moves in major league baseball.