1.
Braves Field
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Braves Field was a baseball park in the Northeastern United States, located in Boston. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University, the stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915–1952, prior to the Braves move to Milwaukee in 1953. The stadium hosted the 1936 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and Braves home games during the 1948 World Series, the Boston Red Sox used Braves Field for their home games in the 1915 and 1916 World Series since the stadium had a larger seating capacity than Fenway Park. Braves Field was the site of Babe Ruths final season, playing for the Braves in 1935, from 1929 to 1932, the Boston Red Sox played select regular season games periodically at Braves Field. On May 1,1926, Braves Field hosted the longest baseball game in history –26 Innings, the game ended in a 1-1 tie. Braves Field was also home to professional football teams between 1929 and 1948, including the first home of the National Football League franchise that became the Washington Redskins. C. Located on Commonwealth Avenue at Babcock Street, the field was aligned northeast. Most of the stadium was demolished in 1955, but significant portions of the structure still stand. While built for baseball and having a baseball history, Braves Field briefly served as host for football teams. Braves Field was one of two homes of the Boston Bulldogs of the first American Football League and the Boston Shamrocks of the second AFL, the National Football Leagues Pottsville Maroons were sold and relocated to Braves Field in 1929 as the Boston Bulldogs. In 1932, Braves Field became home of the football Boston Braves, the next year, after a 4-4-2 season, the Boston Braves Football franchise moved to Fenway Park and changed its name to the Redskins. In 1937 the franchise relocated and become todays Washington Redskins, later, the Boston Yanks played a few games at Braves Field when Fenway Park was unavailable. Before the Braves became the first modern-era franchise to relocate, in 1952, before Braves Field, the franchise had played at South End Grounds, with play at Congress Street Grounds in 1894 while South End Grounds was rebuilt following the May 5,1894 Roxbury Fire. Shortly after the Boston Red Sox opened Fenway Park in 1912, Braves owner James Gaffney purchased the former Allston Golf Club, construction of the $600,000 Braves Field began on March 20,1915 and was completed before the end of the 1915 season. The park was constructed entirely of steel and an estimated 8 million pounds of concrete, Braves Field officially opened on August 18,1915 with 46,000 in attendance to see the Braves defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1. Braves Park was the largest stadium built in that era, with 40,000 capacity, Braves Field was nicknamed The Wigwam by fans. Later it was nicknamed The Bee Hive and the changed to National League Park, from 1936–1941. The renaming of the team and stadium were both eventually dropped, during this span, it hosted the fourth Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 1936
2.
Boston
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Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Boston is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1,1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles with a population of 667,137 in 2015, making it the largest city in New England. Alternately, as a Combined Statistical Area, this wider commuting region is home to some 8.1 million people, One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U. S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education, through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the original peninsula. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing over 20 million visitors per year, Bostons many firsts include the United States first public school, Boston Latin School, first subway system, the Tremont Street Subway, and first public park, Boston Common. Bostons economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology, the city has one of the highest costs of living in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it remains high on world livability rankings. Bostons early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the renaming on September 7,1630 was by Puritan colonists from England who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest of fresh water. Their settlement was limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 5000 BC, in 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colonys first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history, over the next 130 years, the city participated in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their Indian allies in North America. Boston was the largest town in British America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century, Bostons harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Bostons merchants had found alternatives for their investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the economy, and the citys industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. Boston remained one of the nations largest manufacturing centers until the early 20th century, a network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a network of railroads furthered the regions industry. Boston was a port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies
3.
History of the Boston Braves
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The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, the Boston Franchise played at South End Grounds from 1871 to 1914 and at Braves Field from 1915 to 1952. Braves Field is now Nickerson Field of Boston University, the franchise, from Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta, is the oldest continuous professional baseball franchise. The Cincinnati Red Stockings, established in 1869 as the first openly all-professional baseball team, the original Boston Red Stockings team and its successors can lay claim to being the oldest continuously playing team in American professional sports. Two young players hired away from the Forest City club of Rockford, Illinois, turned out to be the biggest stars during the NAPBBP years, pitcher Al Spalding and second baseman Ross Barnes. Led by the Wright brothers, Barnes, and Spalding, the Red Stockings dominated the National Association, the team became one of the National Leagues charter franchises in 1876, sometimes called the Red Caps. Boston came to be called the Beaneaters by sportswriters in 1883, although somewhat stripped of talent in the National Leagues inaugural year, Boston bounced back to win the 1877 and 1878 pennants. The Red Caps/Beaneaters were one of the dominant teams during the 19th century. For most of time, their manager was Frank Selee. The 1898 team finished 102-47, a record for wins that would stand for almost a century. The team was decimated when the American Leagues new Boston entry set up shop in 1901, many of the Beaneaters stars jumped to the new team, which offered contracts that the Beaneaters owners didnt even bother to match. They only managed one winning season from 1900 to 1913, in 1907, the Beaneaters eliminated the last bit of red from their stockings because their manager thought the red dye could cause wounds to become infected. The American League clubs owner, Charles Taylor, wasted time in changing his teams name to the Red Sox in place of the generic Americans. The all-white outfits gave rise to the sobriquet Doves in 1907, however, clever monikers did nothing to change the National League clubs luck. The team adopted a name, the Braves, for the first time in 1912. Their owner, James Gaffney, was a member of New York Citys political machine, Tammany Hall, two years later, the Braves put together one of the most memorable seasons in baseball history. After a dismal 4-18 start, the Braves seemed to be on pace for a last place finish, on July 4,1914, the Braves lost both games of a doubleheader to the Brooklyn Dodgers. The consecutive losses put their record at 26-40 and the Braves were in last place,15 games behind the league-leading New York Giants, who had won the previous three league pennants
4.
Cincinnati Reds
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The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the National League Central division. They were a member of the American Association in 1882. The Reds played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993 and they have won five World Series titles, nine NL pennants, one AA pennant, and 10 division titles. The team plays its games at Great American Ball Park. Bob Castellini has been executive officer since 2006. The origins of the modern Cincinnati Reds can be traced to the expulsion of a team bearing that name. Both were important activities to entice the citys large German population, while Hulbert made clear his distaste for both beer and Sunday baseball at the founding of the league, neither practice was actually against league rules in those early years. On October 6,1880, however, seven of the eight team owners pledged at a league meeting to formally ban both beer and Sunday baseball at the regular league meeting that December. Only Cincinnati president W. H. Kennett refused to sign the pledge, when these attempts failed, he formed a new independent ballclub known as the Red Stockings in the Spring of 1881, and brought the team to St. Louis for a weekend exhibition. The Reds first game was a 12–3 victory over the St. Louis club, upon arriving in the city, however, Caylor and Thorner discovered that no other owners had decided to accept the invitation, with even Phillips not bothering to attend his own meeting. By chance, the duo met a former pitcher named Al Pratt, the ploy worked, and the American Association was officially formed at the Hotel Gibson in Cincinnati with the new Reds a charter member with Thorner as president. The club never placed higher than second or lower than fifth for the rest of its tenure in the American Association, the National League was happy to accept the teams in part due to the emergence of the new Players League. This new league, a failed attempt to break the reserve clause in baseball. Because the National League decided to expand while the American Association was weakening and it was also at this time that the team first shortened their name from Red Stockings to Reds. The Reds wandered through the 1890s signing local stars and aging veterans, during this time, the team never finished above third place and never closer than 10½ games. At the start of the 20th century, the Reds had hitting stars Sam Crawford, seymours.377 average in 1905 was the first individual batting crown won by a Red. In 1911, Bob Bescher stole 81 bases, which is still a team record, like the previous decade, the 1900s were not kind to the Reds, as much of the decade was spent in the leagues second division
5.
Fred Frankhouse
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Frederick Meloy Fred Frankhouse was an American baseball pitcher who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1927 to 1939. His specialty pitch was the old roundhouse curve, and he was referred to as a “spitballer” during his career as a pitcher. He did, however, receive a World Series ring with the rest of his team, in 1934, Frankhouse was a member of the All-Star roster. He made his league debut on September 11,1927 for the St. Louis Cardinals. New York Giants as a pitcher for the Boston Bees, Frankhouse was born on April 9,1904 to Charles David “CD” and Jennie M Frankhouse in Port Royal, Juniata County, Pennsylvania. He had two sisters, Margaret and Martha, and two brothers, Melvin and Joseph, Frankhouse attended Port Royal Elementary school and Port Royal High School and was graduated from Lewistown High School. Frankhouse married St. Louis native, Mabel Skiles, on January 1,1929, Frankhouse did not attend college, rather he began his professional baseball upon graduating high school. Frankhouse began his career in his teens by playing with local teams in Perry and Dauphin counties. He was only 19 when a scout brought him from the lots of his town of Port Royal. He signed his first professional contract with St. Louis in 1922 and was farmed out to the Ottawa Senators, the Syracuse Stars, and my curve ball is fashioned by the snap of my wrist and the position of my fingers on the ball. My middle fingers are bent under, pressing the cover, - Fred Frankhouse in Baseball Magazine In 1927, Frankhouse was recalled by St. Louis, and played in his MLB debut on September 7,1927. While with the Cardinals, Frankhouse knew such greats as Dizzy Dean, also on the Cardinals with Frankhouse were Hall-of-Famers Frankie The Fordham Flash Frisch and Walter Rabbit Maranville, both of whom Frankhouse later joined on the Braves. In 1928, Frankhouse went to the World Series with the Cardinals and he did, however, receive a World Series ring with the rest of his team. He remained with St. Louis until 1930 when he was traded to the Boston Braves, on June 16,1930, Frankhouse, along with Bill Sherdel, was traded by the Boston Braves for Burleigh Grimes. In 1934, Frankhouse had his best year pitching, and was chosen for the All Star Team,1934 was Frankhouses best year with a 17-9 record despite missing a month of the season due to injury. In 1935, while with the Braves, Frankhouse pitched in Babe Ruths final game, on February 6,1936, Frankhouse was traded by the Boston Braves to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Johnny Babich and Gene Moore. On May 17,1939, during a game against the Cincinnati Reds, Ernie Lombardi complained that Frankhouse, Frankhouse promptly hit the next batter, Harry Craft, in the head, knocking him unconscious. Frankhouse then bowed to the fans at the end of the inning
6.
Casey Stengel
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Charles Dillon Casey Stengel, nicknamed The Old Perfessor, was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966, Stengel was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and originally nicknamed Dutch, a common nickname at that time for Americans of German ancestry. In the 1950s, sportswriters dubbed him with yet another nickname, The Old Professor, for his sharp wit, although his baseball career spanned a number of teams and cities, he is primarily associated with clubs in New York City. Between playing and managing, he is the person to have worn the uniforms of all four of New Yorks major league clubs. He was the first of four men to both the New York Yankees and New York Mets. Like Joe Torre, he managed the Braves and the Dodgers. Stengel ended his career as the beloved manager for the then expansion New York Mets. Stengel was born on July 30,1890, in Kansas City and he played sandlot baseball as a child, and also played baseball, football and basketball at Central High School. His basketball team won the city championship, while the team won the state championship. Stengel had no vision of sports as a long-term profession. As described in his autobiography, on pages 58 and 75–76 and he had some problems due to the lack of left-handed instruments and the training was a struggle. Stengel signed a contract with the Kansas City Blues of the Class AAA American Association, considered the best minor league and he struggled as a pitcher, leading manager Danny Shay to play Stengel as an outfielder. Kansas City optioned Stengel to the Kankakee Kays of the Class D Northern Association and he had a.251 batting average with Kankakee when the league folded in July. He spent the remainder of the 1910 season with the Shelbyville Grays / Maysville Rivermen of the Class D Blue Grass League, Stengel attended Western Dental College in the offseason, which provided Stengel with enough negotiating leverage to receive a raise from Kansas City for the 1911 season. The Blues assigned Stengel to the Aurora Blues of the Class C Wisconsin–Illinois League and he led the league with a.351 batting average. Brooklyn Dodgers scout Larry Sutton noticed Stengel, and the Dodgers signed Stengel in 1911 and they assigned Stengel to the Montgomery Rebels of the Class A Southern Association for the 1912 season. Playing for manager Kid Elberfeld, Stengel batted.290 and led the league in outfield assists and he also developed a reputation as an eccentric player. Scout Mike Kahoe referred to Stengel as a ballplayer
7.
Frankie Frisch
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Frank Francis Frisch, nicknamed The Fordham Flash or The Old Flash, was a German American Major League Baseball player and manager of the first half of the twentieth century. Frisch was a second baseman who threw right-handed. He played for the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals and he managed the Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs. He is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, born in The Bronx, New York City, Frisch attended Fordham Preparatory School, graduating in 1916. He went on to Fordham University where he continued to star in four sports, baseball, football, basketball and his speed earned him the nickname The Fordham Flash. In 1919, Frisch left Fordham to sign with the New York Giants of the National League and he made an immediate impact, finishing third in the NL in stolen bases and seventh in RBI in 1920, his first full season. Manager John McGraw was so impressed by Frisch that he named him team captain. The Giants played Frisch at both base and second base early in his career, but by 1923 he was installed as the teams full-time second baseman. Frisch batted over.300 in his last six seasons with New York and he was also an expert fielder and a skilled baserunner. In 1921, he led the National League with 48 steals, in 1923 in hits, with Frisch adding his fiery competitiveness to the team, the Giants won the World Series in 1921 and 1922, winning the NL pennant the following two seasons as well. Frisch is tied with Pablo Sandoval for the franchise post-season multi-hit games record of 15, after the 1926 season, Frisch was traded – with pitcher Jimmy Ring – to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for star Rogers Hornsby. Playing second base for the Cardinals, Frisch appeared in four more World Series and he was the driving force of the Gashouse Gang, the nickname for the Cardinals clubs of the early 1930s, which were built around him to reflect his no-holds-barred approach. The Cardinals had won only one pennant before Frisch joined the team, Frisch played eleven seasons with the Cardinals. In 1931, he was voted the Most Valuable Player in the National League after batting.311 with 4 home runs,82 RBI, the 1931 Cardinals also triumphed in the World Series, defeating Connie Macks defending two-time champion Philadelphia Athletics in seven games. Frisch became player-manager of the Cardinals in 1933, and was named to the NLs first three All-Star teams from 1933-35, in 1934, he managed the Cardinals to another seven-game World Series victory – this time over the Detroit Tigers. Frisch finished his career in 1937. His career statistics totaled a.316 batting average, still the highest ever for a switch hitter and he also stole 419 bases in his nineteen playing seasons. His hit total stood as the record for switch-hitters until Pete Rose surpassed it in 1977, Frisch also hit.300 for his career from each side of the plate, the only other switch-hitter with more than 5,000 at-bats with this distinction is Chipper Jones
8.
Al Simmons
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Aloysius Harry Simmons, born Aloisius Szymanski, was an American baseball player. Nicknamed Bucketfoot Al, he played for two decades in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and had his best years with Connie Macks Philadelphia Athletics during the 1930s. He also played with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds, after his playing career ended, Simmons served as a coach for the Athletics and the Cleveland Indians. Simmons was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953 and he died of a heart attack three years later. Simmons was born in Milwaukee and grew up as a fan of the Philadelphia Athletics, in the fourth grade, he received a spanking from his father for insisting that he wanted to play professional baseball. When he persisted in asserting his desire to be a baseball player, Simmons was known by his birth last name until he was playing for a local minor league team and he tired of hearing people mispronounce it. He saw an advertisement for a company named Simmons Hardware and decided to take on the last name of Simmons, in his second season with Philadelphia, Simmons led the AL with 253 hits with a.387 batting average,24 home runs and 129 runs batted in. He scored 122 runs, hit 43 doubles, and finished with a.599 slugging percentage and he earned the second-most votes for the leagues Most Valuable Player Award. In the following three seasons, he hit.341.392 and.351 and drove in 109,108 and 107 runs in those years, while finishing fifth in 1926 MVP voting. Simmons led the As to the AL pennant in 1929 as Philadelphia went 104–46, the As went on to defeat the Chicago Cubs in five games to win the World Series. That season he hit.365 with 34 home runs and led the AL with 157 RBI and he also scored 114 runs, had 212 hits with 41 doubles and a.642 slugging percentage. In his first World Series Simmons batted.300 with 2 home runs,5 RBIs and scored 6 runs. Simmons best year as a player was in 1930, when he won his first of successive batting titles and he had a slugging percentage of.708, drove in 165 runs and scored 152 runs in 138 games. The As won the AL pennant again, going 102–52, in that World Series, Simmons batted.364 with 2 home runs,4 RBI with a.727 slugging percentage. In 1931, the As won their third straight AL pennant, by 13.5 games over the Yankees, going 107–45. Simmons won his second batting title, hitting.390 with 22 home runs,128 RBI,100 runs scored,200 hits,37 doubles,13 triples and he finished third in AL MVP voting behind the MVP and the Yankees Lou Gehrig. The As were upset in their quest for a third consecutive World Series title, Simmons hit.333 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI in the series. In a final season with Philadelphia, Simmons led the AL with 216 hits and he batted.322, with 35 home runs,151 RBIs and 144 runs scored in 1932
9.
Road (sports)
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A road game or away game is a sports game where the specified team is not the host and must travel to another venue. Most professional teams represent cities or towns and amateur sports teams often represent academic institutions, each team has a location where it practices during the season and where it hosts games. When a team is not the host, it must travel to games. Thus, when a team is not hosting a game, the team is described as the team, the visiting team, or the away team. The venue in which the game is played is described as the stadium or the road. The host team is said to be the home team, major sporting events, if not held at a neutral venue, are often over several legs at each teams home ground, so that neither team has an advantage over the other. Occasionally, the team may not have to travel very far at all to a road game. These matches often become local derbies, a few times a year, a road team may even be lucky enough to have the road game played at their own home stadium or arena. This is prevalent in college athletics where many schools will play in regional leagues or groundshare. The related term true road game has seen increasing use in U. S. college sports in the 21st century, while regular-season tournaments and other special events have been part of college sports from their creation, the 21st century has seen a proliferation of such events. These are typically held at sites, with some of them taking place outside the contiguous U. S. or even outside the country entirely. In turn, this has led to the use of true road game to refer to contests played at one home venue. In some association football leagues, particularly in Europe, the teams fans sit in their own section. Depending on the stadium, they will either sit in a designated section or be separated from the home fans by a cordon of police officers. However, in the leagues in England, supporters may be free to mix. When games are played at a site, for instance the FA Cup final in England which is always played at Wembley Stadium. This results in each team occupying one half of the stadium and this is different from other sports, particularly in North America, where very few fans travel to games played away from their home stadium. Home and away fans are not separated at these games
