Boston Braves

The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball team that played in Boston for the National League from 1871 to 1952. The team relocated to Milwaukee after the 1952 season, becoming the Milwaukee Braves, and subsequently moved to Atlanta in 1966. During its 82-year stay in Massachusetts, the franchise was known by various nicknames, including the Red Stockings, Red Caps, Beaneaters, Rustlers, Bees, and "Braves". Their longest-lasting nickname was inspired by Tamanend, a chief of the Lenni-Lenape in the Delaware Valley. While in Boston, the team won 10 National League pennants and a World Series championship in 1914 that came after a season in which the Braves were in last place as late as July 15—a turnaround that led to the nickname "Miracle Braves". In 1948, the Braves reached the World Series largely as a result of their two dominant pitchers, Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain, who inspired the Boston Post slogan "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain." The Braves posted a losing record in all but 12 of the 38 seasons after their World Series win. The Boston franchise played at South End Grounds from 1871 to 1914 and at Braves Field from 1915 to 1952. Braves Field is now Nickerson Field of Boston University. The franchise, from Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta, is the oldest continuously operating professional baseball franchise. The Boston Braves had an overall win–loss record of 5,118–5,598–138 (.478) during their 77-year major-league tenure in Boston. Six former Boston Braves players have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.