6 B r a v e s A CLUB OF MANY NAMES hen Atlanta Georgia was established in 1837 its founders had trouble coming up with a good name At first the settlement was called Terminus because it was the end point of several different railroad lines That name didn’t attract many new residents however and a railroad executive suggested naming the town Atlanta after his daughter Martha Atalanta The name change seemed to add to the town’s appeal and Atlanta grew rapidly The city was nearly burned to the ground during the Civil War by Union general William T Sherman but residents rebuilt it into a major business and cultural hub By the 1960s Atlanta would also become the sports capital of the Southeast Although Atlanta boasts professional teams in football Falcons basketball Hawks and hockey Thrashers local fans feel the strongest loyalty to their National League NL baseball club the Braves The Braves arrived in Atlanta after having assembled a 90 year history playing in cities located farther north and under several different names The club’s roots were established first in Boston W
Atlanta is today the headquarters of such world famous companies as Coca-Cola and host to popular teams in all four major pro sports
B r a v e s 8 Massachusetts where it started out as the Red Caps in 1876 before playing under the names Beaneaters Doves and Rustlers Braves didn’t become the official name until 1912 when the franchise’s new owner named the team after a political club to which he belonged Between 1876 and 1911 Boston’s NL team captured eight league pennants The club was particularly dominant in the 1890s led by outfielder Hugh Duffy and pitcher Charles Kid Nichols The pint-sized Duffy batted over 300 in 8 of his 9 seasons with the team while Nichols won 30 or more games 7 times in 8 years and recorded 361 career wins tied for 7th-best in baseball history Boston fell on hard times in the early 1900s finishing near the bottom of the league for 10 consecutive years When new manager George Stallings took over in 1913 he remarked to the club’s owner I’ve been stuck with some terrible teams in my time but this one beats em all Then Stallings quickly turned things around by making strategic trades and instilling confidence in his players His efforts began to pay off midway through the 1914 season HUGH DUFFY
The Boston Beaneaters were almost impossible to keep off the bases during their heyday scoring 20 or more runs in 8 games during the 1894 season B r a v e s 9 9
