Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the people that have made this work on the 150 Years of the Braves from Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta possible. I, like the Braves, have traveled through three cities: from Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta to research the rich history of Major League Baseball’s longest continuously running franchise.

A tremendous amount of research has gone into my work. I have relied heavily on the work of others to build the foundation for this book. Gary Caruso’s Braves Encyclopedia offers a wealth of information.   

High-resolution black and white images from the Leslie Jones Collection highlight the book. The generous contributions by the famed Boston photographer’s family of his treasured photographs magnificently portray the story of the Boston Beaneaters/Braves over the first fifty years of the twentieth century.

This book would not have been possible without the help of Herbert Kuper, Joe Chapman, and staff at Advanced Photo and Imaging located in Atlanta, Due to the age and condition of many of the photographs, some required minor restoration, cropping, and in some cases changes in composition. They handled each picture with care and special attention to detail.

Rounding third and heading for home, I give special thanks to my editor, Gerald Shaw, for his good eye, thoroughness, and willingness to go the extra mile to make things right. Working with you again has been a fruitful journey.

Every kid with the love of baseball in his heart remembers the days of asking their father to take them up to the local drugstore to pluck down a nickel for a stick of gum and ten of the newest baseball cards. I was one of those enthusiasts, and sixty-five years later, I thank The Topps Company, Inc. for sharing their images in my book. 

Topps is indeed part of the fabric of the American Pastime. “Throughout its remarkable history, Topps has proudly fostered an enduring connection between fans and their heroes.”

Milam McGraw Propst was my first mentor. Her inspirational talks and guidance on the steps necessary to improve my writing skills were invaluable. 

Best friends, Shelby White and Gray, and Cynthia Oliver, it is always nice to know that you are always in my corner when another opinion or some extra support is needed. 

I am grateful for my close group in my writer’s circle. Most have met every Friday for three years. Ed, Ken, Michael, Harry, and Sharon, I look forward to their critique and friendship every week.

Michael March, you are a talented writer and have been a wonderful friend in the journey of writing the 150 Years of the Braves from Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta. Your daily check-ins, writing tips, and suggestions have been so helpful. 

I cannot thank Baseball’s Hall of Fame and their archivist John Horne enough for the classic photographs of some of the Braves’ most outstanding players and moments in their rich 150-year history. John, the trip around the bases would not have been possible without your help. Your skill as an archivist and knowledge of the game is unmatched.

Danny Pucci, Aaron Schmidt, and the staff at the Boston Public Library, your contributions and digging deep into the archives all the back to 1871 have brought the Braves’ history alive from their birth into baseball. It is a story that few Atlanta Braves followers are not aware of and will greatly appreciate.

The fantastic story of the Milwaukee Braves is descriptively told in David Klug’s recently published book, Memories & Memorabilia of the Milwaukee Braves. Your shared documents and those from Robert Kohler have been a fine addition to my work.

Special thanks to Kevin Abing, archivist for the Milwaukee County Historical Society. The time and efforts you spent assisting me on the project are certainly treasured and showcased through your images the amazing history of the Braves in Milwaukee 

I have always been a fan of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. My mother was a friend of chief editor Ralph Mcgill, and I was privileged to have had a friendship with Furman Bisher.

I grew up reading the box scores at age seven out of the Atlanta Constitution during breakfast before I climbed on the bus to first grade at my school, R.L. Hope.

The impactful photos shot by the Atlanta-Constitution photo staff bring life to the book. The photographic and editorial teams have been very generous in helping me capture the current highlights on the playing fields and retrieving treasured photos of the Braves fifty-five years in Atlanta.

Enough credit cannot be given for the marvelous job my graphic designer, Tiffany Drawdy achieved in the formatting of 150 Years of the Braves. The challenging task of the proper placement of over 225 photographs was done with a keen eye and brought a handsome and inviting look to my work. Steve Slaton and North Georgia Reprographics were valued contributors to my project. I could not be more pleased with the printing of my book. 

Even though putting out books of their own in the year 2021, the Braves organization has been generous in its efforts to help me weave together the story of their 150-year history. Sam Wallace and Carolyn Serra, your help with my work, and many Braves authors before me have helped us cross home plate. The Braves have one of the classiest organizations in all of baseball.

I feel like the Braves Broadcast booth members are family to me. Like Pete, Ernie, Don, and Skip did on so many summer nights, Joe Simpson, Jim Powell, and Ben Ingram continue the tradition of bringing the game right into our living rooms and I tune in for almost every one of your broadcasts.

One player’s achievement does not win a baseball game. Nor is a book of this volume (or magnitude) possible without so many key individuals participating. A team effort achieves victory. I thank each of you that went to bat for me.