How did Boston Fans React When the Braves Left Milwaukee

[aqib]

As a Browns fan if the Ravens were to ever leave Balitmore I would probably roll on the floor laughing. I am curious how the Boston Braves fans reacted when the Braves left Milwaukee.

[six4three]

Don't know. Interesting question.

The two situations aren't exactly analogous. The Browns left Cleveland despite strong fan support, whereas the Braves left because the Red Sox owned Boston. So there wasn't anywhere near the level of hard feelings.

[RonGant]

Poor Play

The fans were not paying the ticket price but for a reason. From 1917-1946 the Braves best finish was 4th place. Contributing to the poor season placements was the 1935 season in which the Braves lost 115 games. So, Boston is not so much to blame as the poor play on the field.

[Pere]

There actually are still a few Braves fans in New England, and I mean dating from the days when the team played there, not from the TBS cable era.

When I lived in Connecticut for a while, a few years ago, I met a fellow who wore an Atlanta cap all the time. He had always lived in New England, became a fan of the Boston Braves, and had never seen a reason to give them up through all the years and the two moves.

[efin98]

There actually are still a few Braves fans in New England, and I mean dating from the days when the team played there, not from the TBS cable era.

When I lived in Connecticut for a while, a few years ago, I met a fellow who wore an Atlanta cap all the time. He had always lived in New England, became a fan of the Boston Braves, and had never seen a reason to give them up through all the years and the two moves.

There are numerous folks who have become fans of the Braves through their love for baseball histroy, one of the more famous ones is a guy named Steve Leveille who is a talk show host at WBZ radio...

[Beantown55]

A few weeks after they moved to Milwaukee, the Braves played the Red Sox in their annual "City Series". They played two games in Milwaukee and two at Fenway Park. I went back and read the newspaper accounts of the games at Fenway. According to the news accounts, fan reaction was apathetic at best. Perini was afraid he would be attacked by irate fans, but he didn't have to worry. There was minimal outcry and protest from the Boston fans. Frankly, nobody cared. Every year a guy named Ralph Evans gives a tour of what's left of Braves Field (highly recommended, BTW). Last year, Roy Hartsfield joined us and told us a bunch of stories. Getting back to the point, Ralph noted that the Braves had exactly _four_ season ticket holders when they left Boston. Let's face it, for most of their history, the Braves were either mismanaged, or had owners who didn't have the money to field a decent team. After the momentum from 1948 was lost, the fans just gave up. Even in its best years, Braves Field was filled only on weekends. Look at Total Baseball and see how many times the Braves drew more than 300,000 per year. Not many. What a shame.

[Macker]

Fan reaction was "ho-hum." Some fans stuck with them regardless of where they moved, but most didn't think much of it. It was nothing like when the Braves left Boston. Despite their poor history, a lot of people thought the wrong team left Boston.

[Capt Jack]

Braves Fans Left In Boston

As a life-long (back to the 50's) Red Sox fan, I was typically reminiscent at the close of Sox Sweep of the '04 World Series. Unlike many others, I wasn't able to share this unique moment with my 87 year old dad. Oh he was (and is) alive and well....it's just that he is a diehard Braves fan. Couldn't care less about the Red Sox.

Back in the early 60's, the then dominant Milwaukee Braves visited Boston annually to play the Sox in the Jimmy Fund Game. Started in 1948 by the Braves, the Jimmy Fund was adopted by the Sox in '53 after the Braves left town. Those "Jimmy Fund" games were perhaps the ONLY sell outs of the season for the Red Sox at Fenway...with the possible exception of the Yankees or Orioles visits.

Aaron, Matthews, Crandall, Burdette, Spahn, Logan et al were "drooled over "by Sox fans as the "what ifs" filled the air at Fenway. Many of the Braves had plyed in Boston, and there was a genuine nostalgia about their return...if only for a night...to Boston.

[teamrap]

As a life-long (back to the 50's) Red Sox fan, I was typically reminiscent at the close of Sox Sweep of the '04 World Series. Unlike many others, I wasn't able to share this unique moment with my 87 year old dad. Oh he was (and is) alive and well....it's just that he is a diehard Braves fan. Couldn't care less about the Red Sox.

Back in the early 60's, the then dominant Milwaukee Braves visited Boston annually to play the Sox in the Jimmy Fund Game. Started in 1948 by the Braves, the Jimmy Fund was adopted by the Sox in '53 after the Braves left town. Those "Jimmy Fund" games were perhaps the ONLY sell outs of the season for the Red Sox at Fenway...with the possible exception of the Yankees or Orioles visits.

Aaron, Matthews, Crandall, Burdette, Spahn, Logan et al were "drooled over "by Sox fans as the "what ifs" filled the air at Fenway. Many of the Braves had plyed in Boston, and there was a genuine nostalgia about their return...if only for a night...to Boston.

I remember those ... when did the Milwaukee Braves stop returning? 1966? 1967?

[teamrap]

There actually are still a few Braves fans in New England, and I mean dating from the days when the team played there, not from the TBS cable era.

When I lived in Connecticut for a while, a few years ago, I met a fellow who wore an Atlanta cap all the time. He had always lived in New England, became a fan of the Boston Braves, and had never seen a reason to give them up through all the years and the two moves.

One of the greatest Boston Braves collections in the world is owned by a friend of mine ... I won't give his name out, other than to say if you contact the Greater Boston Sports Collectors Club, you can find him

[Capt Jack]

Just before The Impossible Dream season...'63 or '64.

[Bob Polio]

How did Boston Fans React When the Braves Left Milwaukee

The Braves (then just moved to Atlanta) played in the Jimmy Fund game in 1966. I attended that game and still have the scorecard and stub. I don't know if there was any more Jimmy Fund games with the Braves after that.

[efin98]

I remember those ... when did the Milwaukee Braves stop returning? 1966? 1967?

They were here in '66 after moving to Atlanta...

[Iron Jaw]

As a Browns fan if the Ravens were to ever leave Balitmore I would probably roll on the floor laughing. I am curious how the Boston Braves fans reacted when the Braves left Milwaukee.

I'm sure many a Colts fan feels the same way - the Colts move to Indy was every bit as seedy as the Browns move to Baltimore. I recall the Irsay's sneaking the team out in the middle of the night. Now in football, I'm a Bronco fan. But back when the leagues were separated as the NFL and AFL, and didn't play each other during the regular season, the Broncos were my AFL team (bad as they were then) and the Colts my NFL team (and they were always very good in the old Johnny U. days). Part of that attraction to the Colts came from my baseball team in the AL, the Orioles (the Cardinals are my NL team - by birthrite in Mizzou, and the O's were once the St. Louis Browns - my grandfather was a Brown farmhand at one time - but I grew up in Denver - we didn't have major league baseball then.........whew......that took awhile).

Yeah, when a team departs it always hurts a lot of fans. Over in the Brooklyn Dodger section you can see absolute disgust in the move after 51-years! NY Giant fans are also still seething, though many grew affectionate towards the Mets - the cap with the old Giant NY logo didn't hurt the cause - and the fact the Mets began their history in the old Polo Grounds (with a legendary Yankee manager - but that manager was once a pretty good player with the Giants).

I remember when the KC A's moved to Oakland - I often wondered why they didn't stop in Denver along the way. I think the Denver fans would have supported them better than KC or Oakland ever dreamed of. We gave the old AAA Denver Bears pretty good support. And the Rockies' support has been unreal at times. Actually, in 1978 the A's nearly moved to Denver when Marvin Davis tried to buy them - the stadium lease in Oakland stopped Finley from selling. Washington D.C. lost two franchises named the Senators. One to Minnesota and the other to Texas. I guess the loss of the first franchise didn't hurt much because the expansion Senators were in town the very next season. But Bob Short's move to Texas was also somewhat sleazy at the end of the '71 season.

Yeah, I had a couple of friends who were die-hard Cleveland Brown fans. They wouldn't even turn the game on if the Ravens were playing during that lapse before the new Brown franchise was created. The Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders is also a touchy one. I may be wrong, but is that the only team to move back to a city it once vacated? Then talk about moving back to LA again. The older LA franchise, the Rams, moved too, after the Raiders messed things up in LA. Of course, the LA Rams were once the Cleveland Rams - I wonder how many Cleveland fans even remember that move? Ironically, the Rams and the Browns (who merged from the old AAFC) were the two best teams in the NFL for first few years of the 1950's.

[aqib]

Yeah, I had a couple of friends who were die-hard Cleveland Brown fans. They wouldn't even turn the game on if the Ravens were playing during that lapse before the new Brown franchise was created. The Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders is also a touchy one. I may be wrong, but is that the only team to move back to a city it once vacated? Then talk about moving back to LA again. The older LA franchise, the Rams, moved too, after the Raiders messed things up in LA. Of course, the LA Rams were once the Cleveland Rams - I wonder how many Cleveland fans even remember that move? Ironically, the Rams and the Browns (who merged from the old AAFC) were the two best teams in the NFL for first few years of the 1950's.

Really no one cares about the Rams, while the Rams were the original team in town they went on hiatus during WWII and when they came back they had to compete with the Browns who had Paul Brown as coach and a buch of Buckeyes on the team. It was like the Philly A's and Boston Braves where 2 team cities became one team cities.