1948 Boston Braves season

1948  Boston Braves
National League Champions
League	National League
Ballpark	Braves Field
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Record	91–62 (.595)
League place	1st
Owners	Louis R. Perini
General managers	John J. Quinn
Managers	Billy Southworth
Television	WBZ-TV/WNAC-TV
Radio	WHDH (Jim Britt, Tom Hussey)
←  1947 1949  →

The 1948 Boston Braves season was the 78th consecutive season of the Major League Baseball franchise, its 73rd in the National League. It produced the team's second NL pennant of the 20th century, its first since 1914, and its tenth overall league title dating to 1876.

Led by starting pitchers Johnny Sain and Warren Spahn (who combined for 39 victories), and the hitting of Bob Elliott, Jeff Heath, Tommy Holmes and rookie Alvin Dark, the 1948 Braves captured 91 games to finish 61⁄2 paces ahead of the second-place St. Louis Cardinals. They also attracted 1,455,439 fans ^[1] to Braves Field, the third-largest gate in the National League and a high-water mark for the team's stay in Boston. The 1948 pennant was the fourth National League championship in seven years for Braves' manager Billy Southworth, who had won three NL titles (1942–44, inclusive) and two World Series championships (1942 and 1944) with the Cardinals. Southworth would be posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 2008.

However, the Braves fell in six games to the Cleveland Indians in the 1948 World Series, and would experience a swift decline in both on-field success and popularity over the next four seasons. Attendance woes—the Braves would draw only 281,278 home fans ^[1] in 1952—forced the team's relocation to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in March 1953. (It later moved to Atlanta in 1966.)

After playing .500 baseball in April and May 1948, the Braves vaulted into first place on the strength of a 39–21 record during June and July. Hampered by second baseman Eddie Stanky's broken ankle and center fielder Jim Russell's season-ending illness, the club slumped slightly in August, going only 14–17 and falling out of the lead August 29. But then it righted itself to win 21 of its final 28 games, regain the top spot September 2, and clinch the NL flag on the 26th. Meanwhile, the city's American League team, the Red Sox, ended their season in a first-place tie with the Indians and lost a playoff game to Cleveland at Fenway Park on October 4; this ruined the prospect of what would have been the only all-Boston World Series, now an impossibility since the Braves left Boston after the 1952 season. (The Tribe were doubtlessly very unpopular in Beantown after defeating both of their teams in the post-season.)

For both the Braves and Red Sox, the 1948 season was the first in which their games were broadcast on television, with telecasts alternating between WBZ-TV and WNAC-TV and the teams sharing the same announcers. The first-ever telecast of a major league game in New England occurred on Tuesday night, June 15, with the Braves defeating the visiting Chicago Cubs 6–3 behind Sain's complete game. ^{[2] [3]}

Offseason

• October 28, 1947: Hoyt Wilhelm was purchased by the Braves from the Mooresville Moores. (Date given is approximate. Exact date is uncertain.) ^[4]
• November 20, 1947: Hoyt Wilhelm was drafted from the Braves by the New York Giants in the 1947 minor league draft. ^[4]
• March 6, 1948: Bama Rowell, Ray Sanders, and $40,000 were traded by the Braves to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Eddie Stanky. ^[5]
• Prior to 1948 season: Carl Sawatski was acquired from the Braves by the Chicago Cubs. ^[6]

Regular season

Postcard showing the team.

Season standings

v t e National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Boston Braves	91	62	0.595	—	45–31	46–31
St. Louis Cardinals	85	69	0.552	6½	44–33	41–36
Brooklyn Dodgers	84	70	0.545	7½	36–41	48–29
Pittsburgh Pirates	83	71	0.539	8½	47–31	36–40
New York Giants	78	76	0.506	13½	37–40	41–36
Philadelphia Phillies	66	88	0.429	25½	32–44	34–44
Cincinnati Reds	64	89	0.418	27	32–45	32–44
Chicago Cubs	64	90	0.416	27½	35–42	29–48

Record vs. opponents

1948 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	14–8	16–6–1	13–8	11–11	14–8	12–10	11–11
Brooklyn	8–14	—	11–11	18–4	11–11–1	15–7	9–13	12–10
Chicago	6–16–1	11–11	—	10–12	11–11	7–15	8–14	11–11
Cincinnati	8–13	4–18	12–10	—	10–12	11–11	9–13	10–12
New York	11–11	11–11–1	11–11	12–10	—	14–8	12–10	7–15
Philadelphia	8–14	7–15	15–7	11–11	8–14	—	12–10–1	5–17
Pittsburgh	10–12	13–9	14–8	13–9	10–12	10–12–1	—	13–9–1
St. Louis	11–11	10–12	11–11	12–10	15–7	17–5	9–13–1	—

Roster

1948 Boston Braves
Roster
Pitchers 34 Johnny Antonelli 13 Red Barrett 17 Johnny Beazley 24 Vern Bickford 16 Glenn Elliott 37 Bobby Hogue 25 Al Lyons 11 Ray Martin 25,22 Nels Potter 38 Jim Prendergast 33 Johnny Sain 26 Clyde Shoun 21 Warren Spahn 39,96 Bill Voiselle 29 Ernie White 16 Ed Wright		Catchers 11 Paul Burris 10 Phil Masi 15 Bill Salkeld Infielders  2 Al Dark  3 Bob Elliott  6 Frank McCormick  8 Connie Ryan  7 Sibby Sisti 12 Eddie Stanky 14 Bobby Sturgeon  9 Earl Torgeson		Outfielders 19 Clint Conatser 4,36 Jeff Heath  1 Tommy Holmes  7 Danny Litwhiler 31 Mike McCormick  4 Marv Rickert  5 Jim Russell Other batters 5,20 Ray Sanders		Manager 30 Billy Southworth Coaches 28 Johnny Cooney 27 Fred Fitzsimmons 36 Si Johnson 35 Bob Keely

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

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	Phil Masi	113	376	95	.253	5	44
1B	Earl Torgeson	134	438	111	.253	10	67
2B	Eddie Stanky	67	247	79	.320	2	29
SS	Al Dark	137	543	175	.322	3	48
3B	Bob Elliott	151	540	153	.283	23	100
OF	Tommy Holmes	139	585	190	.325	6	61
OF	Jeff Heath	115	364	116	.319	20	76
OF	Jim Russell	89	322	85	.264	9	54

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
Mike McCormick	115	343	104	.303	1	39
Clint Conatser	90	224	60	.277	3	23
Sibby Sisti	83	221	54	.244	0	21
Bill Salkeld	78	198	48	.242	8	28
Frank McCormick	75	180	45	.250	4	34
Connie Ryan	51	122	26	.213	0	10
Bobby Sturgeon	34	78	17	.218	0	4
Danny Litwhiler	13	33	9	.273	0	6
Marv Rickert	3	13	3	.231	0	2
Ray Sanders	5	4	1	.250	0	2
Paul Burris	2	4	2	.500	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
Johnny Sain	42	314.2	24	15	2.60	137
Warren Spahn	36	257.0	15	12	3.71	114
Bill Voiselle	37	215.2	13	13	3.63	89
Vern Bickford	33	146.0	11	5	3.27	60
Glenn Elliott	1	3.0	1	0	3.00	2

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
Red Barrett	32	128.1	7	8	3.65	40
Nels Potter	18	85.0	5	2	2.33	47
Jim Prendergast	10	16.2	1	1	10.26	3
Johnny Beazley	3	16.0	0	1	4.50	4

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
Clyde Shoun	36	5	1	4	4.01	25
Bobby Hogue	40	8	2	2	3.23	43
Ernie White	15	0	2	2	1.96	8
Al Lyons	7	1	0	0	7.82	5
Johnny Antonelli	4	0	0	0	2.25	0
Ed Wright	3	0	0	0	1.93	2
Ray Martin	2	0	0	0	0.00	0

1948 World Series

Main article: 1948 World Series

Game 1

October 6, 1948, at Braves Field in Boston, Massachusetts

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cleveland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Boston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	X	1	2	2
WP: Johnny Sain (1–0)   LP: Bob Feller (0–1)

Game 2

October 7, 1948, at Braves Field in Boston, Massachusetts

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cleveland	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	4	8	1
Boston	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	8	3
WP: Bob Lemon (1–0)   LP: Warren Spahn (0–1)

Game 3

October 8 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Boston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
Cleveland	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	X	2	5	0
WP: Gene Bearden (1–0)   LP: Vern Bickford (0–1)

Game 4

October 9, 1948, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Boston	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	7	0
Cleveland	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	X	2	5	0
WP: Steve Gromek (1–0)   LP: Johnny Sain (1–1) Home runs: BOS: Marv Rickert (1) CLE: Larry Doby (1)

Game 5

October 10, 1948, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Boston	3	0	1	0	0	1	6	0	0	11	12	0
Cleveland	1	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	5	6	2
WP: Warren Spahn (1–1)   LP: Bob Feller (0–2) Home runs: BOS: Bob Elliott 2 (2), Bill Salkeld (1) CLE: Dale Mitchell (1), Jim Hegan (1)

Game 6

October 11, 1948, at Braves Field in Boston, Massachusetts

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cleveland	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	4	10	0
Boston	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	3	9	0
WP: Bob Lemon (2–0)   LP: Bill Voiselle (0–1) Home runs: CLE: Joe Gordon (1) BOS: None

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Milwaukee Brewers	American Association	Nick Cullop
A	Hartford Chiefs	Eastern League	Earl Browne
B	Evansville Braves	Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League	Bob Coleman
B	Pawtucket Slaters	New England League	Hughie Wise
B	Jackson Senators	Southeastern League	Willis Hudlin
C	Kingston Ponies	Border League	Ben Lady
C	Eau Claire Bears	Northern League	Andy Cohen
C	Leavenworth Braves	Western Association	Dutch Dorman
D	Bluefield Blue-Grays	Appalachian League	George Lacy
D	Marysville Braves	Far West League	Ed Wheeler, James Keller and Spencer Harris
D	Mount Vernon Braves	Illinois State League	Creepy Crespi
D	Owensboro Oilers	KITTY League	Rex Carr
D	High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms	North Carolina State League	Jim Gruzdis
D	Richmond Braves	Ohio–Indiana League	Ollie Byers

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Evansville

Notes

1. Baseball-Almanac.com
2. Halper, Donna L., June 15, 1948: Televised Baseball Debuts in Boston. Society for American Baseball Research
3. Retrosheet box score:1948-06-15
4. Hoyt Wilhelm at Baseball-Reference
5. Eddie Stanky at Baseball-Reference
6. Carl Sawatski at Baseball-Reference

References

• Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN   978-0-9637189-8-3.
• 1948 Boston Braves season at Baseball Reference