The Braves - The Golden Age (1950-1959)

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1950

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1958

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1956

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Titles:

Top Braves Players of the Fifies

1957 World Champs (Beat Yankees)

1958 National league Champs (Lost to Yankees)

Pitchers:

Warren Spahn (57.18) - 143

BallPark:

Lew Burdette (22.41) - 86

Braves Field (1950-1952)

Bob Buhl (15.52) - 54

County Stadium (1953-1959)

Gene Conley (5.45) - 27

Vern Bickford (9.67) - 23

Team Name:

Max Surkont (7.5) - 23

Braves

Johnny Sain (2.88) - 16

Jim Wilson (4.81) - 16

Owner:

Chet Nichols (2.82) - 13

Lou Perini (bought out partners Guido Rugo and Joe Maney)

Ray Crone (2.64) - 11

Johnny Antonelli (0.99) - 8

General Managers:

Dave Jolly (3.58) - 7

John Quinn (1950-1958)

Bob Rush (3.38) - 7

John McHale (1959)

Ernie Johnson (4.77) - 5

Managers:

Catchers:

Bill Southworth (1950-1951)

Del Crandall (19.27) - 73

Tommy Holmes (1951-1952)

Walker Cooper (7.95) - 23

Charlie Grimm (19521956)

Fred Haney (1956-1959)

First Basemen:

Joe Adcock (17.35) - 37

Hall of Famers:

Earl Torgeson (11.27) - 30

Warren Spahn

Frank Torre (2.81) - 12

Henry Aaron

Ed Mathews

Second Basemen:

Red Schoendienst

Red Schoendienst (5.43) - 11

Enos Slaughter

Danny O'Connell (6.98) - 10

Rookie of the Year:

ShortStop:

Sam Jethroe (1950)

Johnny Logan (31.72) - 72

MVP:

Third Base:

Hank Aaron (1957)

Ed Mathews (53.71) - 79

Bob Elliott (8.01) - 11

Cy Young

Warren Spahn (1957)

Outfield:

Bill Bruton (14.12) - 76

No Hitters:

Henry Aaron (38.63) - 58

Vern Bickford (1950)

Sam Jethroe (8.77) - 38

Jim Wilson (1954)

Sid Gordon (19.11) - 35

Wes Covington (6.19) - 14

Notable Events:

Andy Pafko (4.53) - 14

Bobby Thomson (2.47) - 9

1950 - Sam Jethroe, 33, obtained from the Negro Leagues,

Hurricane Hazle (1.61) - 3

is Rookie of the Year

Notable Events:

1950 - The Braves finish at 83-71, but attendence drops below

one million and the club loses $257K. The fans of Boston were

1953 - The Milwaukee Brewers were a Braves farm club and, as such,

beginning to slip away from the Braves.

Milwaukee was Braves territory. Bill Veeck of the Browns wanted to move

his team, also losing $, to Milwaukee with the newly constructed,

1951 - Boston finishes below .500. Their attendence drops

major league worthy, County Stadium. Braves owner Perini blocked

below 500,000. They're hemorraging fans and money

the Browns move and then quickly moved the Braves to Milwaukee

after getting unanimous approval from NL owners.

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

It was the first major league franchise shift in fifty years.

nosedive to seventh place. Meanwhile, the Beantowners have been

The move occurring so late in the off season looked like something of a

absolutely dying at the box office. After their high water mark of 1.45

panic move. Between the Braves attendance dropping by half each of the

million in 1948, they have steadily declined in attendance going from

two previous seasons and with most likely close to zero season tickets

944.391 in 1950 to 487,485 In 1951 to 281,278 in 1952.

being sold for the coming season, Lou Perini was in desparation mode.

Not only that, but owners could not block Bill Veeck from moving his

1952 - The Braves' last year in Boston. Even tho' their attendance has been

franchise forever - there would be a huge lawsuit waiting to happen if

plummeting from their pennant season of 1948 where they had a million

they started letting other franchises relocate while leaving Veeck to rot

and a half fans down to 1952 where only slightly under three hundred

in St.Louis - i.e. Perini would have to move fast to beat Veeck to Milwaukee.

thousand showed up and with the club losing $700K in '52 (a huge sum

in those days), there was no inkliing that the team was going to leave

1953 - Despite their poor showing in 1952, the Braves were definitely a team

Boston as the season ended.

on the rise, with lots of potential. The 1953 roster included:

□ Warren Spahn, 32, Hall of Fame Lefty - in mid career at this advanced age

1952 - The elephant in the room here, of course, is why Boston fans suddenly

□ Johnny Antonelli, 23, later traded to Giants for Bobby Thompson

completely stopped going to Braves games. In a period of four years, their

□ Bob Buhl, 24, mainstay in rotation for the rest of the decade and beyond

attendence precipitously fell by 80%. The team got worse in the standings

□ Lew Burdette, 26, righty was stolen from the Yankees for aging Johnny Sain

but that, in no way, can explain why Boston fans totally turned their backs

□ Del Crandall, 23, C would go on to play a dozen stellar seasons for Braves

on the team. There has never been anything remotely close to this in the

□ Joe Adcock, 25, slugging 1B stolen from Reds for Earl Torgeson

history of major league baseball. Let's put a couple of facts out on the table:

□ Johnny Logan, 27, SS would go on to play 10 more seasons with the Braves

□ Boston has traditionally been a racist city - to this day

□ Ed Mathews, 21, slugging 3B would go on to Hall of Fame career with Braves

There's a littany of black players who said that they were treated like

□ Bill Bruton, 27, speedy CF would go on to play for Braves thru end of decade

second class citizens by the fans in Boston such as Reggie Smiith,

□ Joey Jay, 17, bonus baby would have his big years with the Reds in the Sixties

Cecil Cooper and Jim Rice. Not to mention (but I will) that the Sox

These guys would be the core of a team that would contend for the next seven

had no problem dumping young, black superstar Mookie Betts in 2020.

years thru the end of the decade and continue to be an above average club

Some things don't change.

in the Sixties, as well. Even the one old guy in the group, Warren Spahn,

□ The Braves started playing blacks in 1950 with Sam Jethroe

would be stellar for another decade

installed in center field.

□ The National League was getting blacker by the minute as the Dodgers

1953 - The Braves turn it around, finishing second with a 92-62

and Giants, in particular, were all in.

mark in their first year in Milwaukee. Attendence is close to two

□ Without deploying black players, and lots of them, you were not going

million and Perini makes most of the money back that he lost the

to be able to compete with the Dodgers and Giants in the National League

previous two years in Boston. One can only speculate what would have

moving forward.

happened in Boston if the Braves had turned it around in the standings

□ The 1952 AAA Milwaukee Brewers had four black players (Bill Bruton,

a year earlier. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered, maybe it would have.

George Crowe, Buzz Clarkson and Luis Marquez) and attendence was good.

□ The crosstown Red Sox, despite being at a competitive disadvantage,

1953 - Milwaukee fans are treated to a team that will finish first twice,

did not bring a black player onto their roster until 1958. They were the

second four times and third once in their first seven seasons in Milwaukee

last team in baseball to integrate. And they did so by dipping their toe

thru the end of the decade. The four second place finishes were all to

in the water bringing up utility infielder Pumpsie Green who was buried

the Dodgers who were one of the all time great teams.

somewhere at the end of their bench. Didn't want to tempt fate.

This Braves team really wasn't far behind. They had stellar pitching led

□ Connect the dots.

by the big three of Spahn, Burdette and Buhl plus other guys like Gene

Conley. And their lineup was circular headed by lefty-righty Hall of Fame

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

duo Ed Mathews and Henry Aaron and supplemented by Bill Bruton, Joe

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

Adcock, Andy Pafko, Wes Covington, Del Crandall, Johnny Logan and,

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

later, Red Schoendienst and Bobby Thomson.

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

hand to finally pull the trigger.

1954 - Future Hall of Famer and a player in the discussion as the best ever,

Hank Aaron, comes up as a twenty year old rookie. Henry is the last piece of the

1953 - A corollary to this move was that it opened the floodgates for a

future championship puzzle for the Braves and is the centerpiece of a potent

number of other franchise moves in the Fifties and Sixties. After fifty

Milwaukee lineup. Hank had been purchased from Indianapolis of the Negro

years of stabliliy and no franchise moves in the major leagues

League and was brought up from the Braves Jacksonville farm club

things would suddenly go haywire.

The A's, Browns, Dodgers, Giants and Senators all found it much

1957 - After knocking on the pennant door the previous four seasons,

freer to move shortly after the Braves had made their move.

the Braves finally break it down, winning the World Series from the Yankees.

With the Braves, A's and Browns it was teams in financial dire

Ironically, its Lew Burdette, ex-Yankee, who does the most damage, winning

straits in two team cities. However, by the time it got to the

three World Series games.

Dodgers and Giants, it was greener pastures out of a three team city.

And with the Senators, it degenerated to greener pastures out

1958 - The Braves win another pennant, but this time the

of a one team city. Altho' there were always plans to replenish

Yankees come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the title, as the

Washington with another team so the city would still have a team.

Braves had done the previous season.

Albeit, the American League needed to expand to make that happen.

However, when the Braves move again, to Atlanta from Milwaukee

1959 - Milwaukee comes close to making it three pennants

in 1966 even that guideline is broken as Milwaukee is left team-less.

in a row, finishing in a tie with L.A. They lose two straight

Leaving a city team-less would lead to a lot of ugliness which

playoff games to the Dodgers and they're out.

major league baseball really should have forseen.