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Lore & Background

The Cincinnati Red Stockings, formed in 1869, were the first openly all-professional baseball team but disbanded after the 1870 season. Manager Harry Wright and players moved to Boston, forming the Boston Red Stockings, a charter team in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP). Led by the Wright brothers, Ross Barnes, and Al Spalding, they dominated the National Association, winning four of five championships. The original Boston Red Stockings team and its successors can lay claim to being one of the oldest continuously playing franchises in American professional sports, though this is not universally accepted due to the Chicago Cubs' competing claim and the fact that MLB does not fully recognize the National Association years. The club was known as the Boston Red Caps when they played the first National League game in 1876, winning against the Philadelphia Athletics. Despite a weaker roster in the league's first year, they rebounded to secure the 1877 and 1878 pennants. Managed by Frank Selee, they were a dominant force in the 19th century, winning eight pennants. By 1898, the team was known as the Beaneaters and had won 102 games that season, with stars like Hugh Duffy, Tommy McCarthy, and 'Slidin'' Billy Hamilton. In 1901, the American League was introduced, causing many Beaneaters players including stars Duffy and Jimmy Collins to leave for clubs of the rival league. The team struggled, recording only one winning season from 1900 to 1913. In 1907, they temporarily dropped the red color from their stockings due to infection concerns. The club underwent various nickname changes until becoming the Braves

In Their Own Story

In 1948, the Boston Post writer Gerald Hern captured the desperation of a thin rotation with his poem about Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain: "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain." That season ended with a World Series loss to the Indians, marking the franchise's last hurrah in Boston before the 1953 move. In Milwaukee, the atmosphere shifted as the team drew a National League-record 1.8 million fans in their first year there. The 1957 World Series victory against the New York Yankees cemented the city's love for the club, even as attendance later declined. After moving to Atlanta in 1966, the team struggled until 1991. From then until 2005, Braves fans witnessed an unprecedented run: 14 consecutive division titles and eight straight National League Championship Series appearances, anchored by the historic Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz rotation.

Reader's Guide

The Braves have won four World Series championships (1914, 1957, 1995, 2021). Since moving to Atlanta in 1966, the Braves have an overall win–loss record of 4,926–4,547–8 (.520) through the end of 2025.

Did You Know?

• The Braves are the only Major League Baseball franchise to have won the World Series in three different home cities.
• From 1991 to 2005, the Braves won an unprecedented 14 consecutive division titles.
• The 1914 Boston Braves were in last place as late as July 18 but went on to win the pennant and sweep the World Series.