Atlanta Apartments | Home of the Braves

The Braves were formed in 1871. Since 1901 the franchise has won nine NL pennants and three World Series championships. The Braves also produced the most prolific home run hitter in baseball historyÑoutfielder Hank Aaron. In 1974 Aaron broke Babe Ruth's 39-year-old record by hitting his 715th career home run. Aaron retired in 1976 with a major league record of 755 career home runs.

Warren Spahn American baseball player Warren Spahn established several National League records as a left-handed pitcher before his retirement in 1965. These included most career wins (363) and most batters struck out (2583). His 15 wins during the 1948 season helped the Braves capture the NL pennant.

The predecessor of the Braves, a team called the Boston Red Stockings, joined the first professional baseball league, the National Association, at the time of its founding in 1871. The team dominated the league, winning four pennants from 1871 to 1875. After the National Association folded in 1876, Boston joined the newly formed National League. The club changed its name to the Beaneaters in 1890, the Doves in 1907, the Rustlers in 1911, and finally the Braves in 1912. The club was called the Bees from 1936 to 1940.

The franchise captured eight NL pennants from 1876 to 1900. Pitcher Tommy Bond led Boston to pennants in 1877 and 1878, and center fielder Hugh Duffy and pitcher Kid Nichols powered Boston to three consecutive pennants in 1891, 1892, and 1893. The club struggled in the early 1900s, winning only two pennants before moving to Milwaukee in 1953. The team that won the 1914 pennant and defeated the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series starred outfielder Joe Connolly and shortstop Rabbit Maranville. In 1948 the Boston Braves won the NL pennant behind pitchers Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain but lost the World Series to the Cleveland Indians in six games.

In 1957, their fifth season in Milwaukee, the Braves won their first World Series in 43 years, beating the New York Yankees in seven games. Young sluggers Aaron and Eddie Mathews powered the offense, and Spahn earned the Cy Young Award. The three led the Braves to another pennant in 1958, but the club lost to the Yankees in another seven-game World Series.

So there you have it; a little knowledge to go with the entertainment of baseball.