BOSTON BRAVES

The Braves have the distinction of being the longest active franchise in baseball, tracing their roots back to the Boston Red Caps, a National League team created in 1876. During the next 37 years the team was also known as the Beaneaters, the Doves and the Rustlers before settling on the Braves in 1912.

The Beaneaters dominated the National League in the 1890's, winning four pennants. Many of their stars bolted to the upstart American League in 1901, leaving Boston with a team so bad and out of contention it boggles the mind. During the 10 seasons from 1903-1912, the Braves finished 32, 51, 54, 66, 47, 36, 55, 50, 54 and 52 games out of first place.

They made a modest move to fifth the next year, setting the stage for the 1914 "Miracle Braves" — an incredible chapter in baseball lore. Mired in last place on July 18, 1914, the Braves suddenly went on a winning binge led by sparkplug shortstop Rabbit Maranville. They won 34 of 44 games, climbing past every team in the league and finally surpassing the first place Giants on September 8. When the season ended, the Braves had put 10 games between themselves and second place New York. They capped off their "Miracle" season with a four game sweep of the heavily favored Philadelphia Athletics.

The Braves returned to the second division for the next three decades, finally returning to respectability with manager Billy Southworth, who had guided the great Cardinal teams of the early '40s. The Braves won the 1948 pennant, mostly on the back of two great pitchers, Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain ("Spahn and Sain and pray for rain" was the Braves rallying cry). They lost the World Series to the Indians.

For the next four years the Braves lost games, money and fans to the Red Sox, prompting owner Lou Perini to move the team to Milwaukee for 1953, the first shift of a major league franchise since 1903. The Braves closed out a 77-year run in Boston with a 5-5 tie against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field on September 28, 1952. They left Boston with two world championships and 10 pennants.

MILWAUKEE BRAVES

Milwaukee had a charter American League franchise in 1901. It finished last and moved to St. Louis to become the Browns. Milwaukee fans had supported minor league baseball enthusiastically, and when the Braves came to town they turned out 1.8 million strong for the 1953 season. The Braves inaugurated their Milwaukee stay with a 2-0 win against the Reds on April 13, 1953.

The team developed into a National League powerhouse in the 1950's, with the bats of Henry Aaron and Eddie Mathews leading the way along with Joe Adcock and Del Crandall. Spahn, Lew Burdette and Bob Buhl gave the Braves a solid rotation. They won back-to-back pennants in 1957-58, defeating the Yankees in the ’57 Series led by Burdette’s three complete game victories. New York returned the favor the following year. Both Series went seven games.

Milwaukee fans seemed to grow bored with the Braves. Attendance dwindled and the team owners announced a move to Atlanta for the 1965 season. Because they still had one year left on their Milwaukee Stadium lease, the city threatened to sue. With the lawsuit hanging over their heads, the Braves stayed put for one more season. They drew only 555,000 for that last year. Some crowds were under 1,000, including their last game on September 27, when only 812 paying spectators saw them lose to the Phillies 4-1.

ATLANTA BRAVES

The population shift to the southeast had made Atlanta an attractive destination for the Braves, and they began the Atlanta chapter of their history with a 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh on April 12, 1966.

They may not have been happy with that result, but they were happy to move into Fulton County Stadium, a place that came to be known as “the launching pad.” Eight Braves finished in double figures in home runs their first year in Atlanta. In 1973, the Braves became the only team with three 40 home run hitters (Dave Johnson 43, Darrell Evans 41, Hank Aaron 40); and Henry Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record there in April, 1974. Aaron was amazingly consistent during his career, averaging 33.1 homers during 12 seasons in Milwaukee and 33.5 homers per year for the nine seasons he played in Atlanta.

The Braves combined that power with the pitching of Phil Niekro to win the first National League West crown in 1969. With Niekro still at the helm, this time supported by the bats of Dale Murphy and Bob Horner, the Braves took the West again in 1982. The Braves lost both National League Championship Series, to the Mets and Cardinals respectively.

After a downturn in the late 1980's the Braves rode a great pitching staff to the head of the pack in 1991. Pitchers such as Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Steve Avery and Greg Maddux were supported by a cast of sluggers that included David Justice, Ron Gant, Gary Sheffield, Fred McGriff, Andruw Jones and Chipper Jones.

The Braves would go on a serious roll through the ‘90s, winning division titles every year from 1991-2005 (minus the strike season of 1994 when they were in second), an unprecedented run of regular season success. It was dampened by the team's lack of postseason success, as they managed only one world championship, which they earned against Cleveland in 1995.

The Braves missed the playoffs from 2006-09. However, they returned to postseason play in 2010 as a wild card participant before losing in the first round. The season made for a fine sendoff for manager Bobby Cox, who stepped down after 25 seasons. Cox finished ranked fourth on the all-time win list with 2,504.