The 50 Greatest Players in Braves History examines the careers of the 50 men who made the greatest impact on one of Major League Baseball’s oldest and most iconic franchises. Using as measuring sticks the degree to which they impacted the fortunes of the team, the extent to which they added to the Braves legacy—in Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta—and the levels of statistical compilation and overall dominance they attained while wearing a Braves uniform, The 50 Greatest Players in Braves History ranks, from 1 to 50, the top 50 players in team history. Quotes from opposing players and former teammates are provided along the way, as are summaries of each player’s greatest season, most memorable performances, and most notable achievements.

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.

1996 marked the 125th season of the oldest continuously operating professional sports franchise in America: the Atlanta Braves. This comprehensive reference begins with the team's birth in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings, and follows them to Milwaukee in 1953 and to Atlanta in 1966, playing under such a variety of names as Beaneaters, Doves, Rustlers, Braves, Bees, and back to the Braves. Because of this transient past, much of the franchise's history has been misplaced over the years—until now. Beloved not only by their tomahawk-chopping local fans but by baseball fans everywhere, the Braves have become one of today's most successful sports organizations. The Braves Encyclopedia brings it all together. 150 player profiles—from Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Warren Spahn, and Eddie Matthews to all-time greats Dale Murphy, Phil Niekro, and Terry Pendleton to today's stars like David Justice, Greg Maddux, and Steve Avery 600 photographs of players, game highlights, and memorabilia extensive statistics, including box scores, team and individual records, and trades season-by-season descriptions bring to life the great moments, the World Series championships, the managerial strategies, the personalities, and the milestones a comprehensive history of the ballparks a wealth of little-known facts and surprising anecdotes Author note: Gary Caruso is the editor of Chop Talk a monthly magazine covering the Atlanta Braves. As a sports reporter for nearly 25 years, he has written for the Atlanta Journal has been executive sports editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and a senior editor and writer for The National Sports Daily.

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