Looking back at the 1966 first opening day for Atlanta Braves (April 12, 1966)

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1966, April 12, Atlanta Braves, Hank Aaron, Joe Torre, Tony Cloninger

What was the first game in Atlanta like? April 12, 1966 was a historic day for the Braves.

Here is the lineup for that day. You’ll see some great names and a few obscure ones.

Leading off and playing center field — No. 29, Felipe Alou. Batting second, third baseman — No. 41, Eddie Mathews. In the three hole, right fielder — No. 44, Hank Aaron. Batting cleanup and playing left field — No. 43, Rico Carty. Batting fifth and behind the plate — No. 15 catcher, Joe Torre. At shortstop and batting sixth — No. 19, Denis Menke. Batting seventh, first baseman — No. 9, Lee Thomas. At second base and batting eighth — No. 2, Frank Bolling. And on the hill, right-hander — No. 40, Tony Cloninger.

A crowd of 50,671, slightly below capacity of 52,007, was on hand to witness the game, which the Pirates won 3-2 in 13 innings. Home runs accounted for all the scoring. Torre was responsible for both Atlanta runs, hitting solo shots in the fifth (the first official home run in the stadium) and then in the 13th. Joe Pagliaroni had a solo homer for Pittsburgh in the eighth, and Willie Stargell hit a two-run shot in the top of the 13th, which proved to be the difference.

And some trivia about our pitcher. In what would be unheard of in today’s game, Tony Cloninger went the full 13 innings and was charged with the loss. He struck out 12 and walked just three. Cloninger, who won 24 games in 1965 and finished with a 14-11 record in 1966, put his name in the baseball record book later that season by hitting two grand slams against the San Francisco, Giants on July 3.

He is the only pitcher in major league baseball history to accomplish that feat.

What would the all time roster for the Braves look like?

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Andruw Jones, Bobby Lowe, Chipper Jones, Craig Kimbrel, Dale Murphy, Eddie Matthews, Hank Aaron, Herman Long, Joe Torre, Kid Nichols, Phil Niekro, Warren Spahn

Atlanta Braves Logo

How would you fill out the all time roster for a team with as much talent as the Braves have had since 1871? Not easy. Recently Nick Selbe gave it a shot.

Here is his list.

Year founded: 1871

1966-present: Atlanta Braves
1953-1965: Milwaukee Braves
1936-1940: Boston Bees
1912-1935, 1941-1952: Boston Braves
1911: Boston Rustlers
1907-1910: Boston Doves
1883-1906: Boston Beaneaters
1876-1882: Boston Red Caps
1871-1875: Boston Red Stockings

Total WAR: 819.9

C: Joe Torre (1960-1968; 33.3)
1B: Dale Murphy (1976-1990; 46.9)
2B: Bobby Lowe (1890-1901; 19.1)
3B: Eddie Mathews (1952-1966; 94.4)
SS: Herman Long (1890-1902; 35.4)
OF: Hank Aaron (1954-1974; 142.1)
OF: Chipper Jones (1993-2012; 85.0)
OF: Andruw Jones (1996-2007; 61.0)

SP: Kid Nichols (1890-1901; 108.5)
SP: Warren Spahn (1942, 1946-1964; 92.0)
SP: Phil Niekro (1964-1983, 1987; 90.0)
RP: Craig Kimbrel (2010-2014; 12.2)

Making the all-time roster for MLB’s oldest continually running franchise was no small task. To make room for the three outfielders, we shifted Dale Murphy to first base, despite his primarily playing the outfield. Murphy made 205 appearances at first base in his first two big league seasons.

Though none of them made the final cut, the trio of John Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine deserve to be mentioned. As teammates from 1993-2002, they combined for a 453-224 record, with 4,616 strikeouts and a 2.97 ERA.

Source: Filling Out All-Time Rosters for Each MLB Franchise

The Atlanta Braves win their first NL Wild Card (October 3, 2009)

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Atlanta Braves, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, October 3, Wild Card

Bobby Cox – Manager – Atlanta Braves

On October 3, 2009, needing only a win or a Colorado loss for the past week, the Dodgers finally clinch the National League West title with a 5-0 victory over the wild-card Rockies.

Joe Torre, who will be managing in the postseason for the 14th consecutive season, has won thirteen divisional titles, including ten with the Yankees, one with the Braves, and now his second with LA.2010 With an 8-7 victory over the Phillies, and a San Diego loss to San Francisco later in the day, the Braves reach the postseason for the first time since 2005.

The Atlanta Braves had won 14 straight division titles under skipper Bobby Cox, who has announced his retirement for the end of the season, but this is the first time in franchise history that the team has won the National League Wild Card.

Life without Phil Niekro (1984)

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1979, 1984, 20 Losses, 20 Wins, Atlanta Braves, Joe Torre, New York Yankee, Phil Niekro

Phil Niekro

1984 brought a whole new course for the Atlanta Braves. It would be a year without Phil Niekro. After two decades, he was now a New York Yankee. He won 16 games with the Yankees. No one on the Braves could match that.

The Braves had an 80-82 record, tied for second in the West in 1984.. They were 12 games behind the leader. It was Joe Torre’s 3rd year as Manager. Having a sub-.500 record wasn’t good news for anyone.

An interesting side note about Phil was that he was the last MLB pitcher to have both won and lost 20 or more games in the same season. In 1979, he finished with 21 wins and 20 losses. His third and final 20-win season came in 1979; it was also the second and final year that he lost 20 games

Bobby was right even though he was fired (1981)

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1981, 1982, Atlanta Braves, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre

Bobby Cox – Manager – Atlanta Braves

It is hard to believe that Bobby Cox was fired but in 1981 it happened. And so, Joe Torre took the helm in 1982 for his first season. In fact, when Bobby was fired, he said “Believe me, this team is awfully close.”

And so they were. Under Joe, in 1982, they came to a 89-73 season ending first in the West. They ended one game ahead but that is all they needed.

So, was Bobby right or was Joe just that good? My guess is it was both. Bobby had a huge sense of building for the future. When he would return as manager, that is what he would do. And it would pay off.

A great place to grow up for baseball (1940)

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1940, Atlanta Braves, Joe Torre, July 18, Milwaukee Braves

Joe Torre – Milwauke Braves

Brooklyn NY was a great place to grow up in the 1950’s. Great for baseball lovers that is. I have a great affinity for Joe Torre. We share the same birth day, July 18. He was born in 1940 however and grew up in Brooklyn.

He caught, played first base and the outfield. He was both a Milwaukee and Atlanta Brave from 1960 to 1968.

He came to the Braves via its farm club in Louisville. In May of 1961 Del Crandall went out for the season with a shoulder injury. We needed a catcher. So, we brought up Joe, a slightly pudgy 20 year old. He earned his keep that first day. He caught both ends of a double header. He had a single, a double and home run. He showed the strength of his arm by throwing out 3 runners. Tested early and proven.