1966 Atlanta Braves season
| 1966 Atlanta Braves | |
|---|---|
| Major League affiliations | |
|
|
| Location | |
|
|
| Results | |
| Record | 85–77 (.525) |
| League place | 5th |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | William Bartholomay |
| General manager(s) | John McHale, Paul Richards |
| Manager(s) | Bobby Bragan, Billy Hitchcock |
| Local television | WSB-TV |
| Local radio |
WSB (Larry Munson, Ernie Johnson, Milo Hamilton, Dizzy Dean) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1966 Atlanta Braves season was the first for the franchise in Atlanta, following their relocation from Milwaukee, where the team had played the previous 13 seasons. The Braves finished their inaugural year in Atlanta in fifth place in the National League with a record of 85–77, ten games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves played their first season of home games at Atlanta Stadium.
The Atlanta Braves' first-ever game was played at home, at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, on Tuesday, April 12, 1966, against the Pittsburgh Pirates before 50,671 fans. Braves' starting pitcher Cloninger, a 24-game winner in Milwaukee in 1965, pitched a 13-inning complete game but absorbed a hard-luck, 3–2 loss. With the game tied at one in the top of the 13th, eventual Hall of Famer Willie Stargell hit a two-out, two-run home run to put Pittsburgh ahead 3–1. Atlanta catcher Joe Torre hit his second solo homer of the game to narrow the deficit to one run, but the Pirates held on to win. Earlier, in the fifth inning, Torre had hit the first homer in Atlanta's Major League history.
The Braves' first year in Atlanta featured an unusual amount of management churn in both the front office and dugout. On June 28, it was announced that Paul Richards, a veteran former MLB manager and general manager, would join the team as a roving troubleshooter in its farm system. The Braves were then a disappointing 34–42 (.447) and in eighth place in the ten-team National League. Braves president and GM John McHale remarked that Richards, 57, was poised to assume greater responsibilities within the Atlanta organization if called upon, leading to speculation that he would replace embattled field manager Bobby Bragan. More than a quarter-century earlier, in 1938, Richards had begun his management career as the successful player-manager of the minor league Atlanta Crackers.
...
Wikipedia