Braves Field - Check it out!

[marckymarc71]

http://www.ballparktour.com/Former_Boston.html

I never knew that parts of Braves Field were still standing and used for Boston University. Imagine, you can sit in the exact same Pavilion and close your eyes and I bet you can almost hear the crowd watching Babe Ruth pitching for the Red Sox in the 1916 World Series!

[donzblock]

The entrance to Braves Field is striking.

[tonypug]

At least it wasn't totally destroyed like some other great ballparks.

[DODGER DEB]

Which proves that the politicos running Boston in the mid 50's were much smarter than the idiots WE had running City Hall in NY in 1960!!

c.

[CaliforniaCajun]

Wow, a slugger would really eat his heart out with 550' to center and 402' to the corners.

[efin98]

Which proves that the politicos running Boston in the mid 50's were much smarter than the idiots WE had running City Hall in NY in 1960!!

c.

Not quite, they let the wrong team leave Boston!!!! If only they had a few more years...

And you would never know part of Nickerson Field was once Braves Field. The designers BU hired did an exceptional job, could never notice that part of the stands were over 90 years old...I didn't even notice until my father pointed that fact out and showed the plaque honoring the stadium.

[Coal Cracker]

Always nice to see an old stadium get a new life, at least in some capacity. When Yankee Stadium's demise inevitably arrives I hope at least part of the structure is left. I have heard that the playing field will be kept for local high school and college use.

[538280]

Many old stadiums have been destroyed in the name of "progress", such as the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field, but I think more progress, and money, would be made if they were left open as tourist attractions, glad that Braves Field is still partly standing.

[538280]

Not quite, they let the wrong team leave Boston!!!! If only they had a few more years...

Very true. We might have Boston fans with their team winning 13 straight division titles, and only one World Series in those division titles, the Boston fans would be fuming. Meanwhile... in Atlanta

We would have fans celebrating their first World Series in 86 years. Go Atlanta Red Sox!

Seriously, though, the Braves move from Boston to Milwaukee might have been the most significant happening in baseball history. What would have happened if the Boston Braves had Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, and all the greats that lifted the great Milwaukee Braves of the late 1950s? What would be the Red Sox fate? Boston probably wouldn't be big enough to have two teams. It would have changed the whole history of the game.

What would happen if the Braves never did move to Milwaukee? That is a fascinating question, that brings up many frightening answers, especially to Red Sox fans.

[efin98]

The Red Sox of that era were all offense, some defense. The Braves were all defense, little offense. Bring in Eddie Matthews and Hank Aaron and you change the dynamic of the game. Fans flock to Braves Field to see the hot young team, the Sox are forced to make moves to get the team in the right direction...and the rest is history.

Who knows what teams would have ended up where. Who knows how the AL and NL would look and which cities would have gotten each others teams. Only one thing is certain, it's a shame it all had to happen in the first place...

[tonypug]

Lou Perrini wanted to stay in Boston at least one more year, to see if the fans would support the team. When faced with the possibility of Bill Veeck and the Browns grabbing Milwaukee first, he had to make the move. Thats why the move was so sudden , announced just a couple of months before the start of the season.Aaron , Mathews, Spahn were all on that team. It would have been interesting to see if the fans would have come out.

[JACKIE42]

This is what N.Y. Politicians let happen in 1960s.

[538280]

This is what N.Y. Politicians let happen in 1960s.

That's just sad, Jackie, it really is. As I said before, so many great symbols of history have been destroyed in the name of progress, when in reality, more progress and money would be made by keeping them around as tourist attractions.

[tonypug]

That's just sad, Jackie, it really is. As I said before, so many great symbols of history have been destroyed in the name of progress, when in reality, more progress and money would be made by keeping them around as tourist attractions.

Every time I see these pictures I get pissed off again.

[tonypug]

I know Marvin Kratter built the Ebbets Field apartments, anyone know who built the Polo Grounds apartments?

[DODGER DEB]

I know Marvin Kratter built the Ebbets Field apartments, anyone know who built the Polo Grounds apartments?

Probably another Kratter family member!

c.

[efin98]

And fitting for the trend, BU built several high rise dorms on the site of what I believe would be the grand stand...

[Elvis]

And what about glorious Penn Station? That was a tragedy too.

[efin98]

Noticed another remnant of Braves field is still seen: the footprint of the stadium is clearly visible from the air and in the buildings built on the old grand stand area. Plus the old support for the grand stand is visible as a wall for the near goal for the home team, covered in ivy yet still visible as some sort of former support structure above field level as seen here ...

[RedSox2004]

This is my favorite shot of the old Braves Field




The scoreboard seen here was installed in 1948 and then moved to Kansas City in 1955



Nickerson Field in 2005

[southendgrounds]

Very true. We might have Boston fans with their team winning 13 straight division titles, and only one World Series in those division titles, the Boston fans would be fuming. Meanwhile... in Atlanta

We would have fans celebrating their first World Series in 86 years. Go Atlanta Red Sox!

Seriously, though, the Braves move from Boston to Milwaukee might have been the most significant happening in baseball history. What would have happened if the Boston Braves had Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, and all the greats that lifted the great Milwaukee Braves of the late 1950s? What would be the Red Sox fate? Boston probably wouldn't be big enough to have two teams. It would have changed the whole history of the game.

What would happen if the Braves never did move to Milwaukee? That is a fascinating question, that brings up many frightening answers, especially to Red Sox fans.

Interesting dilemma. One of the Boston teams HAD to relocate between 1952 and 1961 with new markets ready for franchises and Boston's inability to support two teams. The Red Sox were the dominant franchise economically in Boston for years. The only time the Braves outdrew the Sox was in the early 1930's, when the Sox stunk and Fenway was desperately in need of upgrade. When Yawkey bought the Sox, rebuilt Fenway and brought in top talent, the Sox blew past the Braves and never looked back. Query what would have happened in Yawkey had bought the Braves instead.

However, the Braves had some great talent in the pipeline when they left Boston. Not only Spahn, Mathews and Aaron, but most of the major stars of Milwaukee were already on the team or in the system. The Sox would have been quite vulnerable if the Braves hung around as Yawkey lost interest in the Sox during the 50's. Ted Williams was the only thing keeping fans in the stands in Boston in the mid-late 50's. I could actually imagine Yawkey teaming with the Athletics or Senators to move to LA and SF before the Dodgers and Giants got the idea. Consider the "Los Angeles Red Sox".

What happens to Fenway if the Sox move? It would probably have been torn down or sold to BU like Brave's Field was. If so, by 1970 at the latest, Boston would probably have gotten a multipurpose stadium for the Braves and Patriots that would have been replaced in the 1990's by a nice retro ballpark. It's also possible that the Braves could have moved to Fenway, but unlikely because of Fenway's size. With extra revenue, Brave's Field could have been significantly remodeled, or its site used for an entirely new stadium.

The most intriguing thing about this alternative universe is the potential impact of Boston's baseball economics freed from Yawkey's racism and the Yankees' shadow. In the NL, Boston might have been dominant beyond what either the Sox or Braves have accomplished. Of course, you would still need good management, and there's never a guaranty of that.

[efin98]

What happens to Fenway if the Sox move? It would probably have been torn down or sold to BU like Brave's Field was. If so, by 1970 at the latest, Boston would probably have gotten a multipurpose stadium for the Braves and Patriots that would have been replaced in the 1990's by a nice retro ballpark. It's also possible that the Braves could have moved to Fenway, but unlikely because of Fenway's size. With extra revenue, Brave's Field could have been significantly remodeled, or its site used for an entirely new stadium.

Actually I think the Patriots would have had a new stadium built on Fenway's site to be used by BU and BC(no Alumni Stadium, no Nickerson Field). There would have been a brand new stadium built closer to downtown in the mid 60s or 70s to replace Braves Field, sort of like the plans for a new stadium that was batted around back in 1999.

The most intriguing thing about this alternative universe is the potential impact of Boston's baseball economics freed from Yawkey's racism and the Yankees' shadow. In the NL, Boston might have been dominant beyond what either the Sox or Braves have accomplished. Of course, you would still need good management, and there's never a guaranty of that.

I think Billy Southworth may have been able to pull them together and get them over the hump to the World Series sooner had the team had more money. The team may have been able to buy one or two hot young bats and possibly getting a local hot youths like Tony Conigliaro to keep the Braves in it for years to come.

[jocelyn]

I am trying to find anything that names my grandfather as a player for the Boston Braves. I do not have much info to go on. His name was Maurice Proulx and I know he was an alternate pitcher for two consecutive seasons. My grandmother thinks he played in the late 1940's but is not certain. I looked at every roster list for the Boston Braves on the baseball-almanac website and found nothing. Anyone have any other suggestions? I'm trying to piece together collectibles as well as anything reffering to my grandfather for my father's birthday. Any helpful ideas are appreciated. Thank you!

[G-String Blues]

You might want to contact the folks who put this site together.

http://www.retrosheet.org/

[yanks0714]

I am trying to find anything that names my grandfather as a player for the Boston Braves. I do not have much info to go on. His name was Maurice Proulx and I know he was an alternate pitcher for two consecutive seasons. My grandmother thinks he played in the late 1940's but is not certain. I looked at every roster list for the Boston Braves on the baseball-almanac website and found nothing. Anyone have any other suggestions? I'm trying to piece together collectibles as well as anything reffering to my grandfather for my father's birthday. Any helpful ideas are appreciated. Thank you!

I checked baseball.refrence for that name. It scored no hits meaning that he probably did not appear in MLB. However, he may have pitched in the Braves Minor League farm system. baseball.reference does not track players who were in the farm system only.
Not sure what your grandmother means by and alternate pitcher. My guess is that he was in the Minor Leagues.
Sorry I can't be of more assistance.