1976 Atlanta Braves season
| 1976 Atlanta Braves | |
|---|---|
| Major League affiliations | |
|
|
|
|
| Location | |
|
|
| Results | |
| Record | 70–92 (.432) |
| Divisional place | 6th |
| Other information | |
| Owner(s) | Ted Turner |
| General manager(s) | Eddie Robinson, John Alevizos, Bill Lucas |
| Manager(s) | Dave Bristol |
| Local television |
WTCG (Ernie Johnson, Pete Van Wieren, Skip Caray) |
| Local radio |
WSB (Ernie Johnson, Pete Van Wieren) |
| < Previous season Next season > | |
The 1976 Atlanta Braves season was the franchise's 106th consecutive year of existence in American professional baseball, its 101st in the National League, and its eleventh in its third home city, Atlanta. The Braves finished in sixth and last place in the National League West Division, compiling a 70–92 (.432) win-loss record; although the 70 victories represented a three-game improvement over the fifth-place 1975 edition, the last-place finish would be the first of four straight years in the NL West divisional basement. The club drew 818,179 fans to Atlanta Stadium, a 53 percent increase over its dismal 1975 attendance of less than 535,000 fans.
On January 7, 1976, the modern era of the Braves franchise effectively began when Atlanta broadcast executive and world-class yachtsman Ted Turner bought 100 percent of the team from the Atlanta LaSalle Corp. for $10 million. The previous ownership group, as the LaSalle Corp., had owned the team since October 1962 and spearheaded its move from Milwaukee to Atlanta in time for the 1966 season; its chairman, William Bartholomay, retained his association with the Turner-owned Braves as chairman of the board. Early reports speculated that Turner bought the Braves to provide local programming content for his television station, then WTCG-TV, Channel 17. But Turner would become a highly successful baseball executive and turn WTCG into the WTBS Superstation and a cornerstone of the Turner Broadcasting System.
Turner wasted no time in making headlines and major changes in the Braves' front office. On April 11, 1976, he signed one of baseball's first free agents, starting pitcher Andy Messersmith, who had successfully sued baseball and brought about the end of the reserve clause, for a contract valued at more than $1 million. Messersmith, a 19-game-winner for the 1975 Dodgers, was initially issued a uniform bearing the numeral 17 but the word "Channel" instead of his nameplate above it, promoting Turner's WTCG outlet. He made the NL All-Star team that season, his most successful as a Brave, and was one of the few bright spots in a 92-loss, last-place season. The team's field manager, Dave Bristol, hired by the previous owners three months before the sale, survived the 1976 season—but he would be involved in a bizarre firing-and-rehiring by Turner during the 1977 campaign.
...
Wikipedia