The Miracle Braves Of 1914

The story of the "Miracle" Braves is one of the most memorable in baseball history, but less well known is what the club did after that spectacular season. In 1915, they were strong contenders for the National League pennant, and almost won it again in 1916. This book is the first to look at the team in a larger context. Under innovative manager George Stallings, the Braves swept the mighty Philadelphia Athletics in the 1914 World Series, the National League's only victory from 1909 to 1919. The Braves under Stallings were a roistering, pugnacious crew that battled the opposition, the umpires, and sometimes each other.

In 1914 the Boston Braves experienced the greatest come-from-behind season in baseball history. A perennially woeful team, the Braves rose from the ashes of last place—fifteen games behind on July 4th—to battle in the World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics, one of the most dominant teams of all time.Baseball fans witnessed one of sport’s most spectacular comebacks, and Boston’s National League team earned a new designation: “The Miracle Braves.” Baseball’s Greatest Comeback: The Miracle Braves of 1914 follows the Boston Braves through this rollercoaster year, from their miserable start to their inspiring finish. A collection of likeable, determined, and highly unconventional ballplayers, the Braves endeared themselves to fans who rooted enthusiastically for the team. Sitting in last place midway through the season, the youthful group of castoffs and misfits, many of whom had been rejected by other major league teams, followed the lead of Walter “Rabbit” Maranville, Johnny “The Crab” Evers, and George “Big Daddy” Stallingsto turn things around. The Braves battled their way up the standings, finishing the second half of the season with a miraculous 52 and 14 record. They went on to defeat John McGraw’s powerful New York Giants for the pennant and found themselves face-to-face with the talented Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series. On the 100th anniversary of this memorable season, the 1914 Boston Braves are still remembered as one of the greatest comeback teams in baseball history. Full of timeless images and memorable characters—including a fanatically superstitious manager, a cheerfully madcap star, and an obsessively driven, yet highly sensitive captain—this book will inform and entertain baseball fans and sports historians alike.

Long before the Red Sox "Impossible Dream" season, Boston’s now nearly forgotten “other” team, the 1914 Boston Braves, performed a baseball “miracle” that resounds to this very day. The "Miracle Braves" were Boston's first "worst-to-first" winners of the World Series. Shortly after the turn of the previous century, the once mighty Braves had become a perennial member of the National League’s second division. Preseason pundits didn't believe the 1914 team posed a meaningful threat to John McGraw’s powerful New York Giants. During the first half of that campaign, Boston lived down to such expectations, taking up residence in the league’s basement. Refusing to throw in the towel at the midseason mark, their leader, the pugnacious George Stallings, deftly manipulated his daily lineup and pitching staff to engineer a remarkable second-half climb in the standings all the way to first place. The team’s winning momentum carried into the postseason, where the Braves swept Connie Mack's heralded Athletics and claimed the only World Championship ever won by Boston’s National League entry. And for 100 years, the management, players, and fans of underperforming ball clubs have turned to the Miracle Braves to catch a glimmer of hope that such a midseason turnaround could be repeated. Through the collaborative efforts of a band of dedicated members of the Society for American Baseball Research, this benchmark accomplishment is richly revealed to the reader in The Miracle Braves of 1914: Boston's Original Worst-to-First World Series Champions. The essence of the “miracle” is captured through a comprehensive compendium of incisive biographies of the players and other figures associated with the team, with additional relevant research pieces on the season. After a journey through the pages of this book, the die-hard baseball fan will better understand why the call to “Wait Until Next Year” should never be voiced prematurely. Includes: FOREWORD by Bob Brady THE BRAVES Ted Cather by Jack V. Morris Gene Cocreham by Thomas Ayers Wilson Collins by Charlie Weatherby Joe Connolly by Dennis Auger Ensign Cottrell by Peter Cottrell Dick Crutcher by Jerrod Cotosman George Davis by Rory Costello Charlie Deal by Charles F. Faber Josh Devore by Peter Gordon Oscar Dugey by Charlie Weatherby Johnny Evers by David Shiner The 1914 Evers-Zimmerman Incident and How the Tale Grew Taller Over the Years by Bob Brady The Evers Ejection Record by Mark Sternman Larry Gilbert by Jack V. Morris Hank Gowdy by Carol McMains and Frank Ceresi Tommy Griffith by Chip Greene Otto Hess by Gary Hess Tom Hughes by Greg Erion Bill James by David Jones Clarence Kraft by Jon Dunkle Dolf Luque by Peter Bjarkman Les Mann by Maurice Bouchard Rabbit Maranville by Dick Leyden Billy Martin by Bob Joel Jack Martin by Charles F. Faber Herbie Moran by Charles F. Faber Jim Murray by Jim Elfers Hub Perdue by John Simpson Dick Rudolph by Dick Leyden Butch Schmidt by Chip Greene Red Smith by Charles F. Faber Paul Strand by Jack V. Morris Fred Tyler by John Shannahan Lefty Tyler by Wayne McElreavy Bert Whaling by Charles F. Faber George “Possum” Whitted by Craig Hardee MANAGER George Stallings by Martin Kohout COACH Fred Mitchell by Bill Nowlin OWNER Jim Gaffney by Rory Costello The Braves’ A.B.C. by Ring Lardner 1914 Boston Braves Timeline by Mike Lynch A Stallings Anecdote 1914 World Series by Mark Sternman “I Told You So” by O.R.C. The Rest of 1914 by Mike Lynch How An Exhibition Game Contributed To A Miracle by Bob Brady The National League Pennant Race of 1914 by Frank Vaccaro The Press, The Fans, and the 1914 Boston Braves by Donna L. Halper Return of the Miracle Braves by Bob Brady Miracle Teams by A Comparison of the 1914 Miracle Braves and 1969 Miracle Mets by Tom Nahigian An Unexpected Farewell by The South End Grounds, August 1914 by Bob Ruzzo The Time(s) the Braves Played Home Games at Fenway Park by Bill Nowlin The Kisselkar Sign The Trail Blazers in Indian File by R. E. M. - poems for 1914 Braves, collected by Joanne Hulbert The Story of the 1914 Braves by George Stallings “Mr. Warmth” and “Very Superstitious” – two George Stallings anecdotes by Bob Brady By the Numbers by Dan Fields Creature Feature by Dan Fields

The story of the "Miracle" Braves is one of the most memorable in baseball history, but less well known is what the club did after that spectacular season. In 1915, they were strong contenders for the National League pennant, and almost won it again in 1916. This book is the first to look at the team in a larger context. Under innovative manager George Stallings, the Braves swept the mighty Philadelphia Athletics in the 1914 World Series, the National League's only victory from 1909 to 1919. The Braves under Stallings were a roistering, pugnacious crew that battled the opposition, the umpires, and sometimes each other.

Hall of Fame sportswriter Harold Kaese chronicles the ups and downs of the storied baseball franchise's 82 seasons in Boston.

The remarkable story of the 2019 World Series champion Washington Nationals told by the Washington Post writer who followed the team most closely. By May 2019, the Washington Nationals—owners of baseball’s oldest roster—had one of the worst records in the majors and just a 1.5 percent chance of winning the World Series. Yet by blending an old-school brand of baseball with modern analytics, they managed to sneak into the playoffs and put together the most unlikely postseason run in baseball history. Not only did they beat the Houston Astros, the team with the best regular-season record, to claim the franchise’s first championship—they won all four games in Houston, making them the first club to ever win four road games in a World Series. “You have a great year, and you can run into a buzz saw,” Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg told Washington Post beat writer Jesse Dougherty after the team advanced to the World Series. “Maybe this year we’re the buzz saw.” Dougherty followed the Nationals more closely than any other writer in America, and in Buzz Saw he recounts the dramatic year in vivid detail, taking readers inside the dugout, the clubhouse, the front office, and ultimately the championship parade. Yet he does something more than provide a riveting retelling of the season: he makes the case that while there is indisputable value to Moneyball-style metrics, baseball isn’t just a numbers game. Intangibles like team chemistry, veteran experience, and childlike joy are equally essential to winning. Certainly, no team seemed to have more fun than the Nationals, who adopted the kids’ song “Baby Shark” as their anthem and regularly broke into dugout dance parties. Buzz Saw is just as lively and rollicking—a fitting tribute to one of the most exciting, inspiring teams to ever take the field.

Babe Ruth and the 1918 Red Sox is the first complete account of Boston's fifth World Series championship. The year is famous, but most fans know very little about the season. During that tumultuous summer, the Great War in Europe cast an ominous shadow over the national game, as enlistments and the draft wreaked havoc with every team's roster. Players and owners fought bitterly over contracts and revenue, the parks were infested with gamblers, and the Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs almost called off the World Series. And a Boston player known as The Colossus -- 23-year-old Babe Ruth -- began his historic transformation from pitching ace to the game's greatest slugger. Wood also poses a chilling question: Was the 1918 World Series fixed? Sports Illustrated called the book "an entertaining and exhaustive account of a tumultuous season" and Robert W. Creamer, author of the definitive biography of Ruth, said "Mr. Wood has lit upon one of the most turbulent and important and at the same time least known years in baseball history. He has done remarkable, revelatory research, and he has a clean, clear way of writing."