Major League Baseball team season
The
1953
Milwaukee Braves
season
was the 83rd season of the franchise. It saw the return of
Major League Baseball
to Milwaukee for the first time since 1901 when
Braves
team owner
Lou Perini
, due to very low attendance, moved the team to
Milwaukee
,
Wisconsin
. This move was approved by all seven fellow
National League
owners and occurred during spring training, just weeks prior to the start of
the season.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
In their first season in Wisconsin, the Braves finished in second place in the
National League
standings, with a
92?62 (.597)
record, thirteen games behind the NL Champion
Brooklyn Dodgers
.
At the new
County Stadium
, the Braves drew a then-NL record
1.82 million fans.
[5]
[6]
The previous year in Boston, the home attendance for the
season
was
under 282,000.
[1]
Move of Braves from Boston to Milwaukee
[
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]
Construction began on
Milwaukee County Stadium
in 1950 in hopes of both luring a Major League baseball team, as well as the Packers football team from Green Bay. The minor league Milwaukee Brewers were scheduled to begin play at the start of the 1953 season.
[7]
However, in the first move of a Major League team in half a century, on March 18, 1953, the
National League
approved owner
Lou Perini's
move of the
Braves
to Milwaukee 8-0 because of his "fine standing" with the other owners and also because there was an open city for his minor league team then in Milwaukee. The minor league Brewers moved to
Toledo, Ohio
, and changed their name to the Mudhens.
[1]
The full AP quote about fine standing: "Warren Giles, National League president, repeated again and again that 'Perini's fine standing with the other club owners was the most important reason for their approval.'"
[7]
Braves manager
Charlie Grimm
had won two minor league pennants while in Milwaukee (one with the Cubs farm team and the second with the Braves farm team in 1951). In addition, the Braves organization promoted him from their Milwaukee farm team to the MLB Boston Braves the summer of 1952. Furthermore, 21 of 40 players on the Braves' starting roster had played at least some of their minor league careers in Milwaukee.
[1]
Milwaukee County gave the Braves a favorable stadium deal. For the first two years, the team would pay only $1,000 a year for the use of Milwaukee County Stadium. For the next three years, the team would pay 5% of ticket prices and concessions. After that, the rent would be negotiated afresh, with the Braves being required to open their books.
[1]
At the time of the move, the Braves owner Lou Perini said, "A third major league is the only answer for the future."
[1]
This did not come to pass. In spite of the
Mexican League
attracting some MLB players in the 1940s, from 1953 to the present (2023)
professional baseball
in the United States continued to have only two major leagues: the
National League
and the
American League
.
Regular season
[
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]
Season standings
[
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]
Opening game
[
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]
The Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee on March 18, 1953, less than four weeks before the start of the regular season, causing the National League to quickly realign its
1953
schedule. Before 1953, the NL was divided into four Eastern teams (Boston, Brooklyn, New York, Philadelphia) and four "Western" ones (Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, St. Louis). With the Milwaukee Braves now a Western club, they exchanged 1953 schedules with the
Pittsburgh Pirates
, and opened their season on the road against the
Cincinnati Redlegs
in the traditional NL opener at
Crosley Field
on Monday, April 13. Braves'
starting pitcher
Max Surkont
threw a
three-hit
shutout
, however, and
Sid Gordon
and
Jack Dittmer
drove in the only
runs
of the day, as Milwaukee triumphed, 2?0.
[8]
The following day, April 14, they opened at home before 34,357 fans, and in ten
innings
they defeated the
St. Louis Cardinals
at
Milwaukee County Stadium
, 3?2.
Warren Spahn
earned the
complete game
victory.
[9]
Starting lineup, April 13, 1953
[
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]
Record vs. opponents
[
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]
Sources:
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
|
Team
|
BR
|
CHC
|
CIN
|
MIL
|
NYG
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
STL
|
Brooklyn
|
?
|
13?9?1
|
15?7
|
13?9
|
15?7
|
14?8
|
20?2
|
15?7
|
Chicago
|
9?13?1
|
?
|
12?10
|
8?14
|
9?13
|
5?17
|
11?11
|
11?11
|
Cincinnati
|
7?15
|
10?12
|
?
|
8?14
|
9?13
|
12?10
|
15?7
|
7?15?1
|
Milwaukee
|
9?13
|
14?8
|
14?8
|
?
|
14?8?1
|
13?9?1
|
15?7
|
13?9?1
|
New York
|
7?15
|
13?9
|
13?9
|
8?14?1
|
?
|
9?13
|
11?11
|
9?13
|
Philadelphia
|
8?14
|
17?5
|
10?12
|
9?13?1
|
13?9
|
?
|
15?7
|
11?11?1
|
Pittsburgh
|
2?20
|
11?11
|
7?15
|
7?15
|
11?11
|
7?15
|
?
|
5?17
|
St. Louis
|
7?15
|
11?11
|
15?7?1
|
9?13?1
|
13?9
|
11?11?1
|
17?5
|
?
|
Roster
[
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]
1953 Milwaukee Braves
|
Roster
|
Pitchers
|
|
Catchers
Infielders
|
|
Outfielders
Other batters
|
|
Manager
Coaches
|
Player stats
[
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]
Batting
[
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]
Starters by position
[
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]
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Other batters
[
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]
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pitching
[
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]
Starting pitchers
[
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]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Other pitchers
[
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]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Relief pitchers
[
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]
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Farm system
[
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]
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Wichita Falls, Quebec
References
[
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]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
Hand, Jack (March 19, 1953).
"Transfer of Braves to Milwaukee viewed as first in series of future changes"
.
Youngstown Vindicator
. (Ohio). Associated Press. p. 38.
- ^
"Boston Braves go to Milwaukee"
.
Pittsburgh Press
. United Press. March 18, 1953. p. 1.
- ^
Thisted, Red (March 19, 1953).
"We're home of the Braves!"
.
Milwaukee Sentinel
. p. 1, part 1.
- ^
"Approve Boston Braves' move"
.
Ellensburg Daily Record
. Washington. Associated Press. March 18, 1958. p. 1.
- ^
Chapman, Lou (September 21, 1953).
"Braves fans set NL mark"
. p. 1, part 1.
- ^
Wolf, Bob (September 21, 1953).
"Braves split final with reds as crowd smashes record"
.
Milwaukee Journal
. p. 9, part 2.
- ^
a
b
The Story Behind This 1953 Brewers Ticket
,
Milwaukee Magazine
, Matthew Prigge, Nov. 1, 2017. This article includes a picture of a never-used 1953 Milwaukee Brewers ticket, the minor league team which would have opened at the new stadium.
- ^
a
b
Retrosheet box score: 1953-04-13
- ^
Retrosheet box score: 1953-04-14
|
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- Established in
1871
- Formerly the
Boston Red Stockings
,
Boston Red Caps
,
Boston Beaneaters
,
Boston Doves
,
Boston Rustlers
,
Boston Bees
,
Boston Braves
and the
Milwaukee Braves
- Based in
Atlanta, Georgia
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