1952 Boston Braves season

The 1952 Boston Braves season was the 82nd season of the franchise; the team went 64–89 (.418) and was seventh in the eight-team National League, 32 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers. Home attendance for the season at Braves Field was under 282,000.^[1]

1952 Boston Braves
League	National League
Ballpark	Braves Field
City	Boston, Massachusetts
Record	64–89 (.418)
League place	7th
Owners	Louis R. Perini
General managers	John J. Quinn
Managers	Tommy Holmes, Charlie Grimm
Television	WNAC WBZ-TV (Jim Britt, Bump Hadley)
Radio	WNAC (Jim Britt, Les Smith)
← 1951 1953 →

This was the final season for the franchise in Boston, Massachusetts, and the last home game at Braves Field was played on September 21. Several weeks prior to the 1953 season, the team moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin,^[2][3][4] which was the first franchise relocation in the majors in a half century.^[1] By 1958, four other teams had moved. The Braves stayed for thirteen years in Milwaukee, and then went to Atlanta prior to the 1966 season.

Regular season

Season standings

• v
• t
• e

National League

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Brooklyn Dodgers	96	57	.627	—	45‍–‍33	51‍–‍24
New York Giants	92	62	.597	4½	50‍–‍27	42‍–‍35
St. Louis Cardinals	88	66	.571	8½	48‍–‍29	40‍–‍37
Philadelphia Phillies	87	67	.565	9½	47‍–‍29	40‍–‍38
Chicago Cubs	77	77	.500	19½	42‍–‍35	35‍–‍42
Cincinnati Reds	69	85	.448	27½	38‍–‍39	31‍–‍46
Boston Braves	64	89	.418	32	31‍–‍45	33‍–‍44
Pittsburgh Pirates	42	112	.273	54½	23‍–‍54	19‍–‍58

Record vs. opponents

1952 National League record v t e Sources:
Team	BOS	BR	CHC	CIN	NYG	PHI	PIT	STL
Boston	—	3–18–1	12–10	9–13	9–13	9–13	15–7–1	7–15
Brooklyn	18–3–1	—	13–9–1	17–5	8–14	10–12	19–3	11–11
Chicago	10–12	9–13–1	—	13–9	10–12	10–12	14–8	11–11
Cincinnati	13–9	5–17	9–13	—	6–16	10–12	16–6	10–12
New York	13–9	14–8	12–10	16–6	—	10–12	15–7	12–10
Philadelphia	13–9	12–10	12–10	12–10	12–10	—	16–6	10–12
Pittsburgh	7–15–1	3–19	8–14	6–16	7–15	6–16	—	5–17
St. Louis	15–7	11–11	11–11	12–10	10–12	12–10	17–5	—

Roster

1952 Boston Braves
Roster
Pitchers 24 Vern Bickford 33 Lew Burdette 16 Bob Chipman 29,30 Dave Cole 56 Gene Conley 20 Dick Donovan 30 Dick Hoover 22 Virgil Jester 32 Ernie Johnson 11 Sheldon Jones 21 Warren Spahn 36 Max Surkont 22 Bert Thiel 19 Jim Wilson		Catchers 14 Paul Burris 39 Walker Cooper 42 Ebba St. Claire Infielders 40,44 Buzz Clarkson 37 George Crowe 10 Jack Cusick  6 Jack Dittmer 12 Roy Hartsfield  2 Billy Klaus 23 Johnny Logan 41 Eddie Mathews  6 Billy Reed 13 Sibby Sisti  9 Earl Torgeson		Outfielders  7 Jack Daniels  4 Sid Gordon  5 Sam Jethroe 27 Willard Marshall 18 Bob Thorpe  8 Pete Whisenant		Manager 40 Charlie Grimm  1 Tommy Holmes Coaches 28 Johnny Cooney 35 Bob Keely 31 Bucky Walters

Player stats

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	Walker Cooper	102	349	82	.235	10	55
1B	Earl Torgeson	122	382	88	.230	5	34
2B	Jack Dittmer	93	326	63	.193	7	41
SS	Johnny Logan	117	456	129	.283	4	42
3B	Eddie Mathews	145	528	128	.242	25	58
OF	Sid Gordon	144	522	151	.289	25	75
OF	Bob Thorpe	81	292	76	.260	3	26
OF	Sam Jethroe	151	608	141	.232	13	58

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
Sibby Sisti	90	245	52	.212	4	24
Jack Daniels	106	219	41	.187	2	14
George Crowe	73	217	56	.258	4	20
Paul Burris	55	168	37	.220	2	21
Ebba St. Claire	39	108	23	.213	2	4
Roy Hartsfield	38	107	28	.262	0	4
Jack Cusick	49	78	13	.167	0	6
Willard Marshall	21	66	15	.227	2	11
Pete Whisenant	24	52	10	.192	0	7
Billy Reed	15	52	13	.250	0	0
Buzz Clarkson	14	25	5	.200	0	1
Billy Klaus	7	4	0	.000	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
Warren Spahn	40	290.0	14	19	2.98	183
Jim Wilson	33	234.0	12	14	4.23	104
Max Surkont	31	215.0	12	13	3.77	125
Vern Bickford	26	161.1	7	12	3.74	62

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
Ernie Johnson Sr.	29	92.0	6	3	4.11	45
Virgil Jester	19	73.0	3	5	3.33	25
Dick Donovan	7	13.0	0	2	5.54	6
Gene Conley	4	12.2	0	3	7.82	6

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
Lew Burdette	47	6	11	7	3.61	47
Sheldon Jones	39	1	4	1	4.76	40
Bob Chipman	29	1	1	0	2.81	16
Dave Cole	22	1	1	0	4.03	22
Bert Thiel	4	1	1	0	7.71	6
Dick Hoover	2	0	0	0	7.71	0

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Milwaukee Brewers	American Association	Charlie Grimm, Red Smith and Bucky Walters
AA	Atlanta Crackers	Southern Association	Dixie Walker
A	Hartford Chiefs	Eastern League	Del Bissonette
B	Wichita Falls Spudders	Big State League	Frank Mancuso
B	Evansville Braves	Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League	Bob Coleman
B	Hagerstown Braves	Interstate League	Dutch Dorman
C	Ventura Braves	California League	Bobby Sturgeon and Jose Perez
C	Eau Claire Bears	Northern League	Bill Adair
C	Quebec Braves	Provincial League	George McQuinn
D	Welch Miners	Appalachian League	Jack Crosswhite
D	Danville Dans	Mississippi–Ohio Valley League	Virl Minnis
D	Harlan Smokies	Mountain States League	Rex Carr
D	Appleton Papermakers	Wisconsin State League	Travis Jackson

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Hagerstown, Quebec, Harlan

References

1. Hand, Jack (March 19, 1953). "Transfer of Braves to Milwaukee viewed as first in series of future changes". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. p. 38.
2. Larson, Lloyd (March 14, 1953). "Big league ball here this year!". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 1.
3. "Boston Braves go to Milwaukee". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. March 18, 1953. p. 1.
4. Thisted, Red (March 19, 1953). "We're home of the Braves!". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 1.

External links

• 1952 Boston Braves season at Baseball Reference