Boston home of the brave and the Braves is baseball through and through and over and over. We can speak of records and proclaim this is the all time leader. Would you hazard a two pence wager on which team holds a whopping .804 winning percentage over a four year span? We have heard rumors of the record exploits of the Chicago Cubs in the early days of baseball. There is also a history of Connie Mack and his legendary Athletics. Modern era baseball witnessed the Pinstripes of those D'''Yankees set the pace for what seemed to be an eternity. From 1872-1875 Boston won 206 games and lost 50 for a sensational .804 average. The average fan would not figure I added one (1) game on the winning total. You see it is so easy to embellish the truth just a little for who would know? Harry Wright a British-born baseball leader and champion of class and professional integrity was hired by Boston in 1871. Finishing 2 games out of first place in 1871 saw to it that failure would not be the Boston Red Stockings stock in trade. Wright brought players from Cincinnati and he also enticed some of the best young talent of baseball to come play for the Boston Red Stockings. Two 21 year old jam up players, Al Spalding a pitcher and Ross Barnes a sensational hitter, were brought to Boston from the Rockford club. When you have a team of winners you can produce a .804 positive record. Young Al Spalding pitched in every one of the 1872 Boston's games and compiled a 38-8 won lost record. Ross Barnes provided a .430 batting average. From these auspicious beginnings the Red Stockings became the Braves and the Boston Braves became the Milwaukee Braves who became the Atlanta Braves. |
