Subscribe to Old Baseball Photos and Essays for automatic updates (sign-up block found in right side-bar)
As a Free Bonus for subscribing, you’ll get instant access to my two Special Reports: Memorable World Series Moments and Gary’s Handy Dandy World Series Reference Guide!
“Braves in Milwaukee!” Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Photo Gallery:
Major League Baseball Arrives in Milwaukee!
Sixty-six years ago this week, on Opening Day, April 13, 1953, the former Boston Braves, now the Milwaukee Braves, won their first game representing the city of Milwaukee with a three-hit, 2-0 shutout of the Reds at Crosley Field.
Exactly one month earlier, on the day known in Boston as “Black Friday,” owner Lou Perini announced he had sought permission from the National League to move the Braves to Milwaukee, home of the team’s top minor-league affiliate citing poor attendance as the reason. In 1952, the Braves drew only 281,000 fans for the entire year. Only two games drew more than 10,000. And there was a great baseball town like Milwaukee begging for a major league team.
Shop MLB.com. The Official Online Shop of Major League Baseball.
On March 18th, the National League owners voted 8-0 to allow the move. It brought an end to the Boston Braves’ 82 years in New England. They were the longest continuous-playing team in American professional sports, having started in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings, a member of the National Association. 
On April 8th, 1953 the Braves pulled into Milwaukee and saw over 12,000 fans waiting at the train depot for their arrival. A welcoming parade drew 60,000 wild fans. Milwaukee was crazy for the Braves and the season hadn’t even started.
In the April 14th home opener, future Hall-of-Famer Warren Spahn took the mound, as 34,357 fans watched the Braves take on the Cardinals. Spahn went 10 innings and Billy Bruton hit a home run in the bottom of the 10th to win it 3-2. The fans were so ecstatic that during the game they cheered everything: foul balls, strikes, hits. On May 20th, the Braves had their 13th home game of the season. With the attendance at this game, they surpassed the entire 1952 Boston season total. The Braves set an all-time National League attendance mark with 1,826,397. They finished second at 92-62, 13 games behind the Dodgers.
In the featured photo above, we see the great Hall-of-Famer, Hank Aaron with the Milwaukee Braves in the 1957 World Series.
The Braves spent 13 seasons in Milwaukee, winning pennants in 1957 and ’58, and a World Series championship in 1957.The team’s second season in Milwaukee saw the debut of a promising young player named Hank Aaron. “Hammerin’ Hank” slugged 398 of his 755 career home runs in Milwaukee, and he earned his lone MVP award in 1957, leading both leagues with 44 homers and 132 RBIs.
In 1966 the Braves were on the move again, this time to Atlanta. This has been the franchise’s most successful era, with a World Series title in 1995, five NL pennants and a whopping 17 division titles (including a streak of 11 consecutive from ’95 to 2005).
Gary Livacari
“Friend” me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gary.livacari.9
Visit Our Web page: “Baseball History Comes Alive!” now with over 279 K hits!:
http://wp.me/P7a04E-2he
Photo Credits: All from Google search
Information: Excerpts edited from the Milwaukee Braves Wikipedia page
Check out my two books, both now available on Amazon in e-book and paperback: “Paul Pryor in His Own Words: The Life and TImes of a 20-Year Major League Umpire”and “Memorable World Series Moments.” All profits go to the Illinois Veterans Foundation
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Click here to view Amazon’s privacy policy