Let there be light (1940)

The new trend in baseball in the 1940’s was to install lights for night games. The Braves (then known as the Boston Bees) had not invested yet. Probably a good thing. They played their first night game at the Polo Grounds. It was May 24, 1940. They lost 8-1. The next week they lost in the lights at Forbes Field. There were only two teams that year without lights.

It really didn’t matter in 1940 whether they played in the lights or not. They ended the season, under Casey Stengel as manager, in 7th place. They were 34 1/2 games behind with a 65-87 record.

The Names

I wouldn’t think there would be a controversy on baseball team names. You would think the history would be clear. But amazingly enough, for 1876 to 1882, some still called them the Red Stockings, some called them the Red Caps and others the Braves during those years.

The Braves franchise began in 1876 in Boston, moved to a Milwaukee in 1953, and came to a stop in Atlanta in 1966. Over the course of a century-plus they have seen three cities and many different official names.

So, I will use the following as the “official” reference but I could be wrong. 🙂

• Boston Red Caps 1876-1882
• Boston Beaneaters 1883-1906
• Boston Doves 1907-1910
• Boston Rustlers 1911-1911
• Boston Braves 1912-1935
• Boston Bees 1936-1940
• Boston Braves 1941-1952
• Milwaukee Braves 1953-1965
• Atlanta Braves 1966-Today