#Shortstops: The Unending Braves

Part of the SHORT STOPS series

Written by: Presley Favre

Located today in Atlanta, Ga., the Braves franchise of the National League first resided in Boston.

From 1915 to 1952, the Boston Braves played at Braves Field, and had called Boston home since the 1890s. The Braves then moved their franchise to Milwaukee, Wis. in 1953. Though the Braves may have moved around over the years, a part of their original history will forever live in Cooperstown.

An unassuming piece of green, gold, and white metal, many would not immediately recognize this end standard as being associated with the Boston Braves.

Upon closer inspection though, the letters at the top sit inside of a baseball at the top of the piece.

These letters, BNLC, stand for the Boston National League Club. A baseball glove is adorned in the middle of the diamond.

This end standard sat at the end of every aisle at Braves Field.

It was thanks to the Braves comeback season of 1914 that Braves Field existed in the first place.

The Braves were posting abysmal numbers in that 1914 season, with just 26 wins at the beginning of July. But starting around the Fourth of July, the team that came to be known as the “Miracle Braves” played their way into the World Series.

Though considered the underdog against Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s, the Boston Braves pulled off the first sweep in modern World Series history, wrapping up the title with a win in Game 4 on Oct 13, 1914.

The Boston Braves owner, James E. Gaffney, decided to build Braves Field after that 1914 season.

Their original field, South End Grounds, was too small to even host the World Series, but when Braves Field opened in 1915 it was the biggest park in professional baseball at the time.

The Braves played there for 37 seasons before their move to Milwaukee.

Eventually, Boston University took ownership of Braves Field and tore it down in 1960. This end standard, however, will continue to tell the story of that amazing comeback 1914 season.

Presley Favre was a 2019 programming intern in the Hall of Fame’s Frank and Peggy Steele Internship Program for Youth Leadership Development.

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