1952 Boston Braves
LeagueNational League
BallparkBraves Field
CityBoston, Massachusetts
Record64–89 (.418)
League place7th
OwnersLouis R. Perini
General managersJohn J. Quinn
ManagersTommy Holmes, Charlie Grimm
TelevisionWNAC
WBZ-TV
(Jim Britt, Bump Hadley)
RadioWNAC
(Jim Britt, Les Smith)
← 1951
1953 →

The 1952 Boston Braves season was the 82nd season of the franchise; the team went 64–89 (.418) and was seventh in the eight-team National League, 32 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers. Home attendance for the season at Braves Field was under 282,000.[1]

This was the final season for the franchise in Boston, Massachusetts, and the last home game at Braves Field was played on September 21. Several weeks prior to the 1953 season, the team moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin,[2][3][4] which was the first franchise relocation in the majors in a half century.[1] By 1958, four other teams had moved. The Braves stayed for thirteen years in Milwaukee, and then went to Atlanta prior to the 1966 season.

Regular season

Season standings

National League 		W L Pct. GB Home Road
Brooklyn Dodgers 96 57 0.627 — 45–33 51–24
New York Giants 92 62 0.597 4½ 50–27 42–35
St. Louis Cardinals 88 66 0.571 8½ 48–29 40–37
Philadelphia Phillies 87 67 0.565 9½ 47–29 40–38
Chicago Cubs 77 77 0.500 19½ 42–35 35–42
Cincinnati Reds 69 85 0.448 27½ 38–39 31–46
Boston Braves 64 89 0.418 32 31–45 33–44
Pittsburgh Pirates 42 112 0.273 54½ 23–54 19–58

Record vs. opponents

1952 National League record

Sources:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Team BOS BR CHC CIN NYG PHI PIT STL
Boston — 3–18–1 12–10 9–13 9–13 9–13 15–7–1 7–15
Brooklyn 18–3–1 — 13–9–1 17–5 8–14 10–12 19–3 11–11
Chicago 10–12 9–13–1 — 13–9 10–12 10–12 14–8 11–11
Cincinnati 13–9 5–17 9–13 — 6–16 10–12 16–6 10–12
New York 13–9 14–8 12–10 16–6 — 10–12 15–7 12–10
Philadelphia 13–9 12–10 12–10 12–10 12–10 — 16–6 10–12
Pittsburgh 7–15–1 3–19 8–14 6–16 7–15 6–16 — 5–17
St. Louis 15–7 11–11 11–11 12–10 10–12 12–10 17–5 —


Roster

1952 Boston Braves
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
C Walker Cooper 102 349 82 .235 10 55
1B Earl Torgeson 122 382 88 .230 5 34
2B Jack Dittmer 93 326 63 .193 7 41
SS Johnny Logan 117 456 129 .283 4 42
3B Eddie Mathews 145 528 128 .242 25 58
OF Sid Gordon 144 522 151 .289 25 75
OF Bob Thorpe 81 292 76 .260 3 26
OF Sam Jethroe 151 608 141 .232 13 58

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
Sibby Sisti 90 245 52 .212 4 24
Jack Daniels 106 219 41 .187 2 14
George Crowe 73 217 56 .258 4 20
Paul Burris 55 168 37 .220 2 21
Ebba St. Claire 39 108 23 .213 2 4
Roy Hartsfield 38 107 28 .262 0 4
Jack Cusick 49 78 13 .167 0 6
Willard Marshall 21 66 15 .227 2 11
Pete Whisenant 24 52 10 .192 0 7
Billy Reed 15 52 13 .250 0 0
Buzz Clarkson 14 25 5 .200 0 1
Billy Klaus 7 4 0 .000 0 0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Warren Spahn 40 290.0 14 19 2.98 183
Jim Wilson 33 234.0 12 14 4.23 104
Max Surkont 31 215.0 12 13 3.77 125
Vern Bickford 26 161.1 7 12 3.74 62

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Ernie Johnson Sr. 29 92.0 6 3 4.11 45
Virgil Jester 19 73.0 3 5 3.33 25
Dick Donovan 7 13.0 0 2 5.54 6
Gene Conley 4 12.2 0 3 7.82 6

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Lew Burdette 47 6 11 7 3.61 47
Sheldon Jones 39 1 4 1 4.76 40
Bob Chipman 29 1 1 0 2.81 16
Dave Cole 22 1 1 0 4.03 22
Bert Thiel 4 1 1 0 7.71 6
Dick Hoover 2 0 0 0 7.71 0

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Milwaukee Brewers American Association Charlie Grimm, Red Smith
and Bucky Walters
AA Atlanta Crackers Southern Association Dixie Walker
A Hartford Chiefs Eastern League Del Bissonette
B Wichita Falls Spudders Big State League Frank Mancuso
B Evansville Braves Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League Bob Coleman
B Hagerstown Braves Interstate League Dutch Dorman
C Ventura Braves California League Bobby Sturgeon and Jose Perez
C Eau Claire Bears Northern League Bill Adair
C Quebec Braves Provincial League George McQuinn
D Welch Miners Appalachian League Jack Crosswhite
D Danville Dans Mississippi–Ohio Valley League Virl Minnis
D Harlan Smokies Mountain States League Rex Carr
D Appleton Papermakers Wisconsin State League Travis Jackson

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Hagerstown, Quebec, Harlan

References

  1. ^ a b 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.
  2. ^ Larson, Lloyd (March 14, 1953). "Big league ball here this year!". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 1.
  3. ^ "Boston Braves go to Milwaukee". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. March 18, 1953. p. 1.
  4. ^ Thisted, Red (March 19, 1953). "We're home of the Braves!". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 1.

External links


1952 MLB season by team
Atlanta Braves
Categories