Do You Know What the Five Oldest Franchises are in Baseball?
By: Steven Luker
Part 1
The Atlanta Braves
The five oldest teams in the MLB are some of the teams that you might still root for today. You may be surprised to learn that your favorite team may have gone by a different name a century ago and I will do my best to bring some facts you may not already know about the ball club that you ride or die with.
Let’s take a look at the which teams have been playing ball the longest and who their top 5 all time players are bases on WAR.
Founded in 1871 as The Boston Red Stockings, this franchise comes in as the oldest in baseball.
Going by 8 different names over the past century and a half ranging from Boston Red Stockings; Boston Red Caps; Boston Beaneaters; Boston Doves; Boston Rustlers; Boston Braves; Boston Bees; Milwaukee Braves to the team we know today, the Atlanta Braves.
The franchise called Boston home for just over 70 years before relocating to Milwaukee in 1952, becoming the Milwaukee Braves.
Turns out their time in Milwaukee was just a layover as they packed up again and headed south to the peach state in 1966 becoming the Atlanta Braves.
The team have over 10,935 victories as of today. They have 28 playoff appearances, 18 pennants and four World Series championships.
The most successful manager in franchise history is Bobby Cox who has over 2,100 wins against 1709 loses. Cox guided the team to the World Series 5 times, winning the Championship once in 1995.
The organization have won a World Series championship in each of the cities they called home.
The top five Braves players of all time are all based on the wins against replacements.
- Hank Aaron Hammer, Hammerin’ Hank or Bad Henry 1954-1974. Mr. Aaron is known for being the all time homerun leader before Barry Bonds took it over. Hank Aaron hit over 733 home runs with the team .310 average 3,600 hits. Hank Aaron is a 24X all star with the organization, two time MVP with the team. He was a member of one of the four World Series titles. Hank Aaron had a war of 142.5.
- Kid Nichols 1890-1901. Mr. Nichols was a Pitcher for the Braves that had a total of 330 wins as a pitcher. Nichols had 7 seasons with 30+ wins and three seasons with 20+ wins. Nichols has thrown 476 complete games with the team. Nichols is also a hall of famer and his WAR was 107.4.
- Warren Spahn 1942, 1946-1964. Spahn is a World War II veteran and served in the army and he was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. Spahn is a 17 time all star all with the Braves. He was also part of the 1957 World Series team and teammate to Hank Aaron. Spahn had nine seasons with 20+ wins. His WAR with the team was 91.8
- Eddie Mathews, Eddie Mattress, Cap’n Eddie, Santa Barbara Bomber or Brookfield Bomber 1952-1966. Eddie Mathews is a 12 time all star all with the choppers and a two time World Series Champion. Eddie Mathews had four 40+ home run seasons. Mathews is a .273 hitter and 493 home runs under his belt as a Brave. Mathews had a career WAR with the Braves of 94.0.
- Phil Nierko Knucksie 1964-1983,1987. Phil Nierko is known for being the ultimate Knuckleballer. Niekro had three 20+ win seasons. Nierko has four all star appearances as a Brave. Nierko’s war with the Braves was a 89.6.
Some of the Braves mascots over the years are Chief Noc-A-Homa then after that was Bleacher Creature then Homer the Brave and now Blooper.
