Boston Braves announce they will move to Milwaukee (March 17, 1953)

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1953, Boston Braves, March 17, Milwaukee Braves

The Braves’ spring training game on March 17, 1953,  against the Yankees in Bradenton, will prove to be the team’s last full one representing the city of Boston. During the sixth inning of the next day’s exhibition contest, the club learns the National League has approved its shift next month to Milwaukee.

That is in contrast to the Junior Circuit that two days ago before denied Bill Veeck permission to move his Browns to Baltimore, citing insurmountable problems due to the short amount of time left before Opening Day.

By 1952, it was clear that there could only be 1 team in Boston. For 50 years, Major League Baseball did not have a relocation and was the same for 50 straight years. After the rise of Ted Williams for the Red Sox, it was clear the Braves were no longer Boston’s #1 team, even after gaining the reputation that the Braves Field is more Family Friendly than Fenway was. The Boston Braves played their last home game Sept. 21, 1952, losing to the Brooklyn Dodgers 8-2 before 8,822 at Braves Field.

On March 13, 1953, owner Lou Perini said that he would seek permission from the National League to move the Braves to Milwaukee. After the franchise’s long history in Boston, the day became known as “Black Friday” in the city as fans mourned the team’s exit after eight decades. Perini, however, pointed to dwindling attendance as the main reason for the relocation. He also announced that he had recently bought out his original partners. He announced Milwaukee as that is where the Braves had their top farm club, the Brewers. Milwaukee had long been a possible target for relocation.

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Max Surkont sets a couple of Braves records in Boston and Milwaukee (1950 to 1953)

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1952, 1953, August 1, Boston Braves, Max Surkont, May 25, Milwaukee Braves, Tom Seaver

Boston starter Max Surkont matches goose eggs with Reds’ Ken Raffenberger during the first eight innings in a scoreless duel at Braves Field on August 1, 1952. The hard-luck right-hander will lose the game when he uncorks two wild pitches in the ninth inning that allows two unearned runs to score.

Max played for the Braves from 1950 to 1953. In 1953, the Boston Braves became the Milwaukee Braves. Against the Cincinnati Reds on May 25, 1953, he recorded eight consecutive strikeouts. Following his seventh straight strikeout, Surkont was forced to endure a thirty-five-minute rain delay. Afterward he struck out Andy Seminick to lead off the fifth inning. Surkont struck out thirteen batters in the game, a 10–3 Braves victory. He was 11–5 for the season and recorded a 61–76 career record. The record stood until Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher, Tom Seaver, struck out ten in a row in 1970.

Milwaukee clears the way for the Boston Braves to become the Milwaukee Braves (March 17, 1953)

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1953, All Star, April 14, Eddie Matthews, July 12, March 17, Milwaukee Braves, Milwaukee County Stadium

It is March 17, 1953. A very good deal is about to happen. The Milwaukee County Board, which oversees County Stadium, tears up their three-year deal with its minor league team and offers the use of the ballpark to the Boston Braves at the reduced rate of $1,000 for the first two years. In exchange, the city would receive five percent of the gate receipts and the majority of the concession sales for the initial three seasons.

Even before it was completed, the new “Milwaukee County Municipal Stadium” drew the interest of major league clubs. The St. Louis Browns, who had played in Milwaukee in 1901, the inaugural season of the American League, applied for permission to relocate back to the city they had left half a century before. The Boston Braves, the parent club of the Brewers, blocked the proposed move. The Braves had long been struggling at the gate in Boston, and rumors of them relocating had been floating for some time. The move to keep Milwaukee available as a new home indicated to many observers that the Braves would move to Milwaukee themselves.

Three weeks before the beginning of the 1953 season, and right before the new stadium was ready to open, the Braves made it official, applying for permission to relocate. The other National League owners agreed, with the team becoming the Milwaukee Braves. The Braves’ first regular season home game was on April 14 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Bill Bruton hit a 10th inning home run to win the game (3-2) in dramatic style. In their first season in Milwaukee, the Braves set the National League attendance record of 1.8 million. The first published issue of Sports Illustrated on August 16, 1954, featured County Stadium and batter Eddie Mathews on its cover.

On July 12, 1955, County Stadium hosted the 22nd All-Star Game. The National League won, 6–5, on a 12th-inning home run by Stan Musial. The Braves hosted back-to-back World Series in 1957 and 1958, both against the New York Yankees. The Braves defeated the Yankees in seven games in 1957, but the Yankees returned the favor the next year.

The stadium continued to be the National League’s top draw until 1959 when the Dodgers, who had moved to Los Angeles two years before, overtook the Braves (both in the stands and on the field). In the early 1960s attendance fell, along with the Braves’ standings, amid an unstable ownership situation. The Milwaukee Braves used the stadium through the 1965 season when new owners, seeking a larger television market, moved the team to Atlanta.

Johnny Antonelli is traded to New York Giants for Bobby Thomson (1953)

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1953, 1961, Bobby Thomson, Boston Braves, Hank Aaron, John Quinn, Johnny Antonelli, Milwaukee Braves

Johnny Antonelli

Johnny Antonelli played with the Braves from 1948 to 1950, again in 1953 and 1961. Born on April 12, 1930 in Rochester, New York, he was a pitcher who batted and threw left.

It isn’t easy to cause a riot in New York City, but Braves General Manager John Quinn nearly accomplished it prior to the 1954 season. Several months later there was a celebration.

The two principles to the deal were Bobby Thomson and the young left handed pitcher Johnny Antonelli. Thompson hit the most dramatic home run in history in 1951.

The Braves needed a power hitting outfielder. The didn’t know that the future all-time home run king (Aaron) was about to make his presence known. So the Braves traded the 23 year old Antonelli to the Giants. That was a tough trade as Antonelli just finished fourth in the National League with a 3.18 ERA in 1953.

Understandably, the Giants were madder than a hornet at losing Thomson, who was coming off a 106 RBI season. It didn’t take long to change their thinking. Antonelli was 21-7 in 1954 and helped propel the Giants to win the NL pennant. He had a winning percentage of .750, 6 shutouts, and an ERA of 2.30. He also won a game in the World Series.

Thomson broke his leg in spring training, leading the Milwaukee Braves to insert Hank Aaron in the line up.

Lou Perini blocks the Browns attempted move to Milwaukee (March 3, 1953)

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1953, Boston Braves, Lou Perini, March 3, Milwaukee Braves

Lou Perini

This is very clever. On March 3, 1953, citing territorial privilege due to the location of their minor league club, Lou Perini blocks the Browns’ attempt to move to Milwaukee from St. Louis.

Now why would he do that. Well, fifteen days later, the Braves’ owner will move his own major league club from Boston to that midwestern city.

In 1945, Lou purchased the club from Bob Quinn for $500,000 then moved the club to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the 1953 season after complaining of poor attendance and revenue in Boston.

At the completion of the 1961 season he sold the franchise for $5.5 million to Chicago insurance executive William Bartholomay who later moved the franchise to Atlanta for the 1966 season, while retaining a 10% interest in the club and sat on the Board of Directors for a number of years.

Prior to owning the Braves, Perini gained his fortune in his family’s construction business, Perini Corp, having started out his working life as a water boy in his father’s small construction firm, ending up running the major worldwide Perini Corporation.

Johnny Antonelli (1948 – 50, 1953, 1961)

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1930, 1948, 1953, 1961, April 12, Bonus, Boston Braves, Johnny Antonelli, Milwaukee Braves, September 4

Johnny Antonelli

John August Antonelli was born April 12, 1930. A left-handed starting pitcher who played for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves, New York and San Francisco Giants, and Cleveland Indians.

One of Antonelli’s claim to fame is that he received the biggest bonus in history, at that point, when he signed with the Braves for $52,000 in 1948. Now that was a lot of money and other players took notice. He then served in Korea and became a regular in 1953.

He was later traded to the Giants along with several other players for Bobby Thomson. He split the 1961 season between the Indians and the Braves before his retirement in 1962 after having been recently acquired by the New York Mets. Antonelli said he was “tired of traveling” and wanted to be home with his family.

His last game was September 4, 1961 when the Milwaukee Braves lost to the Chicago Cubs 2-6. Carl Willey was the starting pitcher. Antonelli came in the bottom of the 7th, pitched 2 innings in relief and gave up 2 hits and 1 run. He struck out 3 and had an ERA of 6.75.

After his baseball career, Antonelli returned to Rochester and for many years ran a chain of Firestone Tire stores bearing his name.

Source: Johnny Antonelli – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	W	L	W-L%	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Awards
1948	18	BSN	NL	0	0		2.25	4	0	4	0
1949	19	BSN	NL	3	7	.300	3.56	22	10	6	3
1950	20	BSN	NL	2	3	.400	5.93	20	6	6	2
1951		Did not play in major or minor leagues (Military Service)
1952		Did not play in major or minor leagues (Military Service)
1953	23	MLN	NL	12	12	.500	3.18	31	26	2	11
1954 ★	24	NYG	NL	21	7	.750	2.30	39	37	2	18	AS,MVP-3
1955	25	NYG	NL	14	16	.467	3.33	38	34	1	14
1956 ★	26	NYG	NL	20	13	.606	2.86	41	36	5	15	AS,MVP-14
1957 ★	27	NYG	NL	12	18	.400	3.77	40	30	6	8	AS
1958 ★	28	SFG	NL	16	13	.552	3.28	41	34	5	13	AS
1959 ★	29	SFG	NL	19	10	.655	3.10	40	38	1	17	AS
1960	30	SFG	NL	6	7	.462	3.77	41	10	19	1
1961	31	TOT	MLB	1	4	.200	6.75	20	7	4	0
1961	31	CLE	AL	0	4	.000	6.56	11	7	0	0
1961	31	MLN	NL	1	0	1.000	7.59	9	0	4	0
12 Yrs				126	110	.534	3.34	377	268	61	102
162 Game Avg.				13	12	.534	3.34	40	28	6	11
SFG (7 yrs)				108	84	.563	3.13	280	219	39	86
MLN (5 yrs)				18	22	.450	3.88	86	42	22	16
CLE (1 yr)				0	4	.000	6.56	11	7	0	0
NL (12 yrs)				126	106	.543	3.26	366	261	61	102
AL (1 yr)				0	4	.000	6.56	11	7	0	0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/24/2016.

Gene Mauch – Atlanta Cracker Coach (1953)

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1953, Atlanta Crackers, Gene Mauch, John Quinn, Southern Association

Atlanta Crackers Jersey

Born in Salina, Kansas, and raised there and in Los Angeles, California, Gene Mauch had played parts of nine seasons from 1944 to 1957 with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox. In 304 games and 737 at-bats, Mauch hit .239, with 5 home runs and 62 RBIs, striking out 82 times.

Gene first became a manager at age 27 in 1953, when the Braves named him the player-manager of their Double-A Atlanta Crackers farm team in the Southern Association. His team finished 84–70, in third place, three games behind the Memphis Chickasaws, and fell in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual league champion Nashville Vols.

As a child, before the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, my dad used to take me to see the Atlanta Crackers. For 60 years (until 1961), the Crackers were part of the Class AA Southern Association, a period during which they won more games than any other Association team, earning the nickname the “Yankees of the Minors”. In 1962, the Association disbanded. Then, the former Miami Marlins, a Class AAA International League team that had spent 1961 playing in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Charleston, West Virginia, moved to Atlanta and adopted the name “Crackers.”

The combative Mauch was known for frequent skirmishes with the league’s umpires and later conceded he was too young for the assignment. But seven years later, John J. Quinn, the Braves’ general manager who hired him for the Crackers’ job, would later give him his first big-league managerial opportunity with the 1960 Phillies.

 

Joe Adcock hits a blast to center field at the Polo Grounds (1953)

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1953, April 29, Hank Aaron, Hoyt Wilhelm, Joe Adcock, Lou Brock, Milwaukee Braves, Polo Grounds

Joe Adcock – Milwaukee Braves

Some things aren’t easy. This was one of them. On April 29, 1953, Joe Adcock becomes the first ML player to homer into the Center Field bleacher seats in the Polo Grounds‚ over 475 feet away. His homer in the 3rd‚ with Pafko on‚ came off a Jim Hearn fast ball. Luke Easter‚ in a 1948 Negro League game‚ and Schoolboy Rowe‚ in batting practice before a 1933 exhibition game‚ also accomplished the feat.

Lou Brock and Hank Aaron will match it is as well in 1962. The Braves won the game 3-2 on a 9th-inning knuckler by Hoyt Wilhelm that eludes Sal Yvars for a wild pitch. Billy Bruton’s perfect throw cuts down Monte Irvin for the final out. After the game‚ manager Charlie Grimm buys Adcock’s homer for $25 from the fan who caught it. I wonder how much that is worth today?

Lou Perini’s shrewd move to Milwaukee (March 11, 1953)

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1953, Boston Braves, Lou Perini, March 11, March 13, Milwaukee Brewers

Boston Braves Logo

The 1948 World Series, which the Braves lost in 6 games to the Indians (who beat the Red Sox in a one-game playoff to spoil an all-Boston World Series), turned out to be the Braves’ last hurrah in Boston. Amid four mediocre seasons, attendance steadily dwindled.

Lou Perini was a pretty shrewd owner. On March 11, 1953, the Boston Braves’ owner proposes a ban on any major league franchise shift to an existing minor league city until October 1st. Boston, who owns the Milwaukee minor league franchise‚ had invoked its territorial privilege to block the Browns’ attempt to shift their franchise to Milwaukee.

On March 13, 1953, Perini, who had recently bought out his original partners, announced he was moving the team to Milwaukee, thus becoming the Milwaukee Braves. Also in Milwaukee was the Braves’ top farm club, the Brewers. Milwaukee had long been a possible target for relocation.

The Names of the Atlanta Braves over the years

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1876, 1953, 1966, Atlanta Braves

I wouldn’t think there would be a controversy on baseball team names. You would think the history would be clear. But amazingly enough, for 1876 to 1882, some still called them the Red Stockings, some called them the Red Caps and others the Braves during those years.

The Braves franchise began in 1876 in Boston, moved to a Milwaukee in 1953, and came to a stop in Atlanta in 1966. Over the course of a century-plus they have seen three cities and many different official names.

So, I will use the following as the “official” reference but I could be wrong. 🙂

• Boston Red Caps 1876-1882
• Boston Beaneaters 1883-1906
• Boston Doves 1907-1910
• Boston Rustlers 1911-1911
• Boston Braves 1912-1935
• Boston Bees 1936-1940
• Boston Braves 1941-1952
• Milwaukee Braves 1953-1965
• Atlanta Braves 1966-Today