History of Baseball in 100 Objects by Josh Leventhal

Author:Josh Leventhal [Leventhal Josh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Running Press
Published: 2015-05-05T00:00:00+00:00

“MEET YOUR BRAVES” MAGAZINE, 1953.

The team that paved the way was the Boston Braves. The franchise had been based in Beantown since the birth of the National League in 1876, when their nickname was the Red Stockings, which later changed to the Beaneaters, then the Doves, then the Rustlers, before finally settling on the Braves in 1912, except for a few seasons in the late 1930s when they were known as the Bees. Whatever they were called, Boston remained their home city, which they shared with the AL’s Red Sox since 1901.

A pennant in 1948 helped spark interest in the Braves and brought attendance over 1 million in each season from 1947 to 1949. But after three losing seasons in four years, fan support in Boston began to wane. In 1951, the Braves had a total attendance under 500,000, the worst in the National League. The next year, as rumors swirled about a possible move and as the team stumbled toward a seventh-place finish, the fans stayed home in droves. Attendance fell to 281,278, or just 3,653 per game.

Although Milwaukee had not hosted major league baseball since 1901, the city did have a popular minor league club, also known as the Brewers, which had been the Braves’ farm team since 1947. In 1950, the city began construction of Milwaukee County Stadium in hopes of attracting a major league tenant. The stadium was completed by early 1953—just in time for Braves owner Lou Perini to announce that his team was moving to Milwaukee.

After their 92-win Milwaukee-coming-out party, the Braves’ win total dipped to 89 in 1954, but their attendance exceeded 2.1 million, and it remained above 2 million for four years running. The ’54 campaign also saw the arrival of slugger Hank Aaron. With Mathews and Aaron crushing the ball at the plate and Spahn and Burdette stymieing opposing hitters from the mound, the Braves would win back-to-back pennants in 1957 and ’58, defeating the New York Yankees in 1957 for the second World Series victory in franchise history.

The Braves remained in Milwaukee for 13 seasons before relocating again, this time to Atlanta, in 1966.

The city of Milwaukee had been a desirable target for other teams looking for a fresh start in the early 1950s. Bill Veeck—whose St. Louis Browns had finished last in American League attendance in all but two seasons between 1926 and 1953—was eager to find a new home for his franchise. Prior to the 1952 season, he sought approval to move the club to Milwaukee. The other American League owners, perhaps resentful of Veeck’s promotional “antics” and publicity stunts, rejected the request. A year later, with the Braves poised to claim Milwaukee, Veeck turned his attentions east, to the city of Baltimore.

In the six years between 1953 and 1958, five teams set up shop in new cities, all departing towns that housed more than one major league club and settling in ones that lacked a big league franchise.

Baltimore, like Milwaukee, had been one of the original American

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