Milwaukee Braves
The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia in 1966, they were renamed the Atlanta Braves. The 13-season tenure in Milwaukee at Milwaukee County Stadium saw varying degrees of success for the franchise, winning the 1957 World Series and the National League pennant in. The team never finished with a losing record.
The Milwaukee Braves had an overall win–loss record of during their 13 years in Milwaukee. Three former Milwaukee Braves players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
History
Relocation from Boston
Construction began on Milwaukee County Stadium in 1950 in hopes of both luring a Major League baseball team, as well as the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. The minor league Milwaukee Brewers were scheduled to begin play at the start of the 1953 season.However, in the first move of a Major League team in half a century, on March 18, 1953, the National League approved owner Lou Perini's move of the Boston Braves to Milwaukee 8–0 because of his "fine standing" with the other owners and also because there was an open city for his minor league team then in Milwaukee. The minor league Brewers moved to Toledo, Ohio, and changed their name to the Mudhens. The full AP quote about fine standing: "Warren Giles, National League president, repeated again and again that 'Perini's fine standing with the other club owners was the most important reason for their approval.'"
Milwaukee County gave the Braves a favorable stadium deal. For the first two years, the team would pay only $1,000 a year for the use of Milwaukee County Stadium. For the next three years, the team would pay 5% of ticket prices and concessions. After that, the rent would be negotiated afresh, with the Braves being required to open their books.
1953–1959: World Series and near-successes
went wild over the Braves, who were welcomed as genuine heroes. The Braves finished in their first season in Milwaukee, and drew a then-NL record The success of the team was noted by many owners. Not coincidentally, the Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Dodgers, and New York Giants all relocated over the next five years.As the 1950s progressed, the reinvigorated Braves became increasingly competitive. Sluggers Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron drove the offense, while Warren Spahn, Lew Burdette, and Bob Buhl anchored the rotation.
1953
In the inaugural season of the Braves in Milwaukee, the team found success early on. For the latter half of May and most of June, the Braves held a narrow lead in the National League. By the June 15 trade deadline, the team was and 0 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers, who were only ahead by percentage points, with a record of. Their widest lead was on June 23 and 24, 3 games over the Dodgers, though the team would quickly lose their lead just 3 days later and never recovered. The Dodgers went on to outperform the rest of the league as the Braves finished in second, at and 13 games behind.1954
The sophomore season of the Braves in Milwaukee saw less success than the previous season. Though the team went on a 10-game win streak towards the end of May, they only led the National League for the last week of May, at most 1½ games ahead. Following a losing record in June, the team never recovered, and dropped to 15½ games behind on July 14 and 21. The team would remain in third place for almost the entirety of the remaining season, even when a 9-game win streak put the team only 3½ games behind the eventual World Series winning New York Giants by August 15. The team finished the season and 8 games behind.1955
The 1955 team saw even less success than the previous season under new general manager John Quinn and new manager Charlie Grimm. By May 28, the team was 10½ games behind, and would never be closer than 10 games behind for the remainder of the season, even though they held second place in the National League from July 7 until the season's end, trailing the eventual World Series winning Brooklyn Dodgers. The team finished the season and 13½ games behind.1956
Under opening day manager Charlie Grimm, the Braves got off to a mediocre start at. After a loss on Saturday, June 16, the owners dismissed him and replaced him with Fred Haney, who led the Braves to a record for the rest of the season, leading for the majority of the season. For the second half of July, all of August, and most of September, the Braves held a small lead in the National League, in a tight race with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Cincinnati Redlegs. Going into the last series of the season, the Braves held a ½ game lead over the Dodgers. In losing the series 1–2 to the St. Louis Cardinals, they choked the season and finished at, 1 game behind the Dodgers, who finished at.1957
The first half of the 1957 season saw the Braves in-and-out of first place, mostly between them and the Cincinnati Redlegs and St. Louis Cardinals. August 7 saw the Braves take the first place in the National League, a lead they would hold for the rest of the season, finishing at. The team celebrated their first pennant in nine years. Spearheaded by Hank Aaron's MVP season, he led the National League in home runs and RBI. Perhaps the most memorable of his 44 round-trippers that season came on September 23, a two-run walk-off home run that gave the Braves a victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and clinched the league championship. The team drew over at home during the regular season, then went on to its first World Series win in over 40 years, defeating the New York Yankees of Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, and Whitey Ford in seven games. Burdette, the Series MVP, threw three complete game victories, giving up only two earned runs, including the seventh game in New York,1958
The first half of the 1958 season saw the Braves in-and-out of first place, mostly between them and the newly relocated San Francisco Giants. The Braves would secure first place for the rest of the season from July 30, finishing the season, 8 games ahead, securing their second consecutive National League pennant. In the World Series, the Braves jumped out to a three games to one lead in against New York once more, thanks in part to the strength of Warren Spahn's and Lew Burdette's pitching. But the Yankees stormed back to take the last three games, the last two in Milwaukee, in large part to World Series MVP Bob Turley, the winning pitcher in games five and seven.1959
The season, under new general manager John McHale, saw a tight three-way race between the Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants for the pennant race. The Braves led the National League in May and June, whereas in July and August, the team hovered at its worst, 4½ games behind. The three-way race continued into the last week of September, when the Giants fell off. By the season's end, both the Braves and Dodgers were tied at, resulting in a regular season best-of-three tie-breaker series to determine the winner of the pennant.Many residents of Chicago and Milwaukee were hoping for a World Series, as the cities are only about apart along the west shore of Lake Michigan. However, it was not to be. Though consistently behind both the Braves and Giants all season, the Dodgers won the league title with two straight wins against the Braves, ending the Braves' pennant streak The Dodgers would go on to defeat the White Sox in six games in the World Series. The Braves finished their season at.