It’s not often remembered now, but the Red Sox had rivals for the affections of Boston baseball fans during the first half of the 20th century. That other team was the National League’s Boston Braves.

The Braves, as they were called in later years, were originally known as the Boston Red Stockings – a team formed after the dissolution of the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1870. Many historians have pointed out that the original Red Stockings franchise, in its various iterations, can be considered the oldest continuously playing team in all of baseball, if not all of American professional sports in general.

During their early years, the Boston Red Stockings won several league championships, led by stars such as second baseman Ross Barnes and pitcher, and later Sporting Goods mogul, Al Spalding. When the National League became an official association in 1876 Cincinnati was once again back in the fray and were allowed to reclaim their original appellation. Subsequently, the Boston team began to be known as the \”red caps.\” By 1883, they were known as the Boston Beaneaters, though the team color continued to be red.

Led by later Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, William Robert \”Sliding Billy\” Hamilton, Hugh Duffy and Tommy McCarthy, the Boston team won several pennants in the 80s and 90s. The 1892 Beaneaters, under the management of Frank Selee, became the first team to win 100 games in a season.

With the formation of the new American League in 1901, Boston baseball fans had a new team to vie for their affections. Switching allegiances to the new team became a fairly simple matter, as the American League management, eager to make a successful start, offered contracts to the players that the National League owners would not, or could not, challenge. The subsequent talent drain led to a 12-year draught that saw only won winning team and five years in which losses exceeded 100 games.

After going through several nicknames, the American League team would not officially become the Red Sox until opening day of the 1908 season. The struggling Beaneaters were also afflicted by identity crises, referring to themselves as “the Doves” during the 1907 season and “the Rustlers” by 1911. The team officially became the Braves in 1912 when the new owner, Tammany Hall veteran James Gaffney, adopted the image of an Indian Chief as the team’s logo.

The Boston Braves regained the winning ways of their early origins by making a spectacular comeback in the 1914 season to win the national league pennant and then go on to sweep the Philadelphia Athletics in four games to win the World Series. The Braves\’ home field, the South End Grounds, proved to be too small for a World Series crowd, and the team borrowed the newly-opened Fenway Park to host the championship games. As a result, owner Gaffney, commissioned the construction of Braves Field (now Boston University’s Nickerson Field). With 40,000 seats and modern conveniences, the new park would remain state-of-the-art stadium for years to come.

Often plagued with financial difficulties, the Braves remained in Boston until 1953. Winning seasons were generally few and far between. In 1935 Babe Ruth, at the end of his career, played for the Braves for a time. Then owner Emil Fuchs had found himself in such financial difficulty that he could no longer pay the rent on Braves Field. Fuchs saw an opportunity to recoup his losses by purchasing the aging Bambino from the New York Yankees. Ruth was given the title of vice-president and assistant manager and promised a share of the profits as well as a co-ownership deal. On the field Ruth was a shadow of his former self and, though he could still hit, his athletic skills were clearly on the decline. The Braves were playing poorly and it soon became apparent to the Babe that he was being used by Fuchs and that his titles were meaningless. He retired from baseball in June 1935 and Fuchs lost control of the team by August. The Braves finished with a record of 38-115 that year, one of the worst losing records in baseball history. The new ownership tried to revitalize the team by renaming it the Boston Bees. After 5 years of lackluster results, the name was changed back to the Braves by new owner Lou Perini.

It was not until 1948 that the Boston Braves finally won pennant thanks, in large part, to the all-star pitching of Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain. Losing the World Series to the Cleveland Indians was the beginning of the end for the Braves in Boston. Another few years of undistinguished baseball and low attendance convinced owner Perini that a move to Milwaukee would be in his best interests.

The Braves had some outstanding seasons during the years they played in Milwaukee. Indeed, the Milwaukee Braves are the only major league team to have played more than one season and never had a losing record. But new ownership and a desire for a larger television market precipitated a move to Atlanta. The franchise continues to reside in The Big Peach where they have been a successful baseball team since 1966.

Robert MacGuffie is webmaster at bostonbaseballfan.com

Robert MacGuffie is webmaster at http://bostonbaseballfan.com

Author Bio: Robert MacGuffie is webmaster at bostonbaseballfan.com

Category: Sports
Keywords: red sox,the red sox,boston baseball,boston braves,world series,baseball,red stockings