Atlanta Braves History: Fred Tenney manages the team to eighth place (1911)

When you are President  of the club you get to make the decisions. So, William Russell had had enough of Fred Lake and bought out his contract. Fred lasted one year. His predicesor would fare no better. Maybe they needed a new President. None the less, Russell went to a familiar name to manage the team in 1911. Fred Tenney.

So, how did he do? 44-107. Finished eighth. 54 games behind.

But we ought to be fair to Fred. When offered the job, he turned it down. He had a very bad experience doing the same job in 1905-07. His assessment. The club was “rotten”. And, no one argued. But Russell persuaded him to take the job anyway. He offered him some stock in the team. He also let him make some changes. Not good enough I guess.

Atlanta Braves History: Fred Tenney in the most controversial game ever (September 23, 1908)

On September 23, 1908, Giants Pitcher Mathewson and Cubs Pitcher,  Three Fingered Brown, battle in the most controversial game ever played. Now, I would love to meet a pitcher named Three Fingered Brown.

The score is 1-1‚ with 2 outs in the last of the 9th. The Giants’ Harry McCormick is on 3B‚ and Fred Merkle (19‚ and making his first start of the year)‚ is subbing for the sore-legged veteran Fred Tenney‚ on 1B. Fred played for the Braves from 1894 to 1907.

Al Bridwell singles‚ scoring McCormick. Halfway to 2B‚ Merkle turns and heads for the clubhouse in center field. Johnny Evers secures a ball (Joe McGinnity swears he picked up the ball that was in play and threw it into the stands) and touches 2B as the crowd overruns the field. Umpire O’Day at 1B claims he didn’t see the play‚ but that evening he rules the run does not count‚ and the game ended with a tie score.

Years later‚ in an interview‚ Merkle will describe it this way: “When Bridwell shot that long single‚ I started across the grass for the clubhouse. Matty was near me. When Evers began shouting for the ball‚ he noticed something was wrong. Matty caught me by the arm and told me to wait a minute. We walked over toward 2B‚ and Matty spoke to Emslie. ‘How about this‚ Bob‚ is there any trouble with the score of the play?’ ‘It’s all right‚’ said Emslie. ‘You’ve got the game. I don’t see anything wrong with the play.’ Matty then took me by the arm and we walked to the clubhouse confident that we had won the game.”

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Atlanta Braves History: Fred Tenney as an old timer

Prior to the Braves-Giants game on September 30, 1921‚ the Giants Old Timers take on the Giants regulars in a 5-inning contest. Twenty thousand fans cheer as former stars‚ Christy Mathewson‚ Roger Bresnahan‚ George Wiltse‚ Art Devlin‚ Larry Doyle and Fred Tenney (a Brave from 1894 to 1907) whip the current Giants‚ 2-0. The regular game is called because of rain after one inning‚ but only 4‚000 fans ask for a refund.

Atlanta Braves History: Fred Tenney “volunteers” to play in Boston (1894)

On June 16, 1894, despite scoring 26 runs in the 3-game series‚ Louisville is swept by Boston‚ extending its losing streak to 18 games. The streak will reach 20 games before the Colonels manage to win. The next day‚ Fred Tenney‚ star catcher of Brown University‚ “volunteers” to play for Boston. He gets his first hit‚ drives in 2 runs and scores‚ before breaking his finger while catching in the 5th inning. He’ll return to action in 5 weeks. In the 1890’s, it was rare for a college graduate to play baseball. Fred would become one of the first.

Atlanta Braves History – Fred Tenney (1894-1907, 1911)

Fred Tenney played for the Braves when they were know as the Beaneaters, Doves and Rustlers (1894-1907, 1911). He was a first baseman, outfielder, catcher and pitcher. Clearly very versatile. He was born in Georgetown, Massachusetts on November 26, 1871 and passed away on July 3, 1952. He batted and threw as a lefty.

He was truly one of the pioneers in the early years of the game. He was also an amazing first baseman. The Beaneaters great manager, Frank Selee had already won 3 pennants when he spotted Fred. In that day, he was a pretty rare prospect as a left handed catcher. But Selee could spot talent and Tenney would help him win two more pennants and a place in history as the greatest team in the 1890’s.

Not a club to belong to (1924)

Is there a club for managers who loose 100 games? Probably not and you don’t hear a lot about it.

Loosing 100 games as a manager is devastating. Doing it twice in row is inviting disaster. Somehow Fred Tenney did it as the Boston manager in 1907. Fred Mitchell, however, couldn’t do it after 1922 – 23.

So, in came Dave Bancroft. How did he do? Lost 100!! Yep, he was 53-100 finishing eight and 40 games behind. Go figure.

Dave was known for being a pretty bright guy. He came to us from the Giants. Who did he bring with him? Well, a pretty eccentric outfielder. Casey Stengel was the man. Bill Cunningham came with Casey. Out went Bill Southworth and Joe Oeschger.

Really? That is a good name? (1907)

I don’t think a lot of this nickname. But then again this is the Braves I am talking about. So, in 1907 they changed from the Beaneaters to the Doves. It didn’t seem to help since they finished 7th in the pennant race with a record of 58-90. They were a dismal 47 games behind. Fred Tenney continued as manager. What is weird is that this was an improvement over the previous year. Go figure.

The Dovey brothers operated the club. They thought their name would be better than the Beaneaters. They also improved the South End Grounds where they played at the time. They added a new scoreboard (to keep up with the opponents runs better???) and cushioned a few seats. How about some better players? Hmm, there is a thought.

Can’t fire the owners as we have learned.

Tammany Hall (1912)

One of the partners in the Braves was James Gaffney. He had political ties with the Tammany Hall regime. That was in New York. The Braves were in Boston then. In 1912 they became the Boston Braves. Politicians who were affiliated with Tammany Hall were often referred to as the “braves” because the Tammany Society was actually named after a Deleware Indian chief. That was the year a profile of an Indian chief replaced the old English B on the team’s uniform jerseys.

Fred Tenney, the manager in 1911, still had a year on his contract. In baseball that seems to be an invitation to disaster. The team had a new nickname. The team had new uniforms. Why not get a new manager then? So, Johnny Kling came on the scene. He had been a pretty good man with the tools of ignorance (a catcher). He came to us from the Cubs and was name the replacement for Tenney. He actually was traded to us as a player and then got promoted. Well, results weren’t forthcoming. We eneded up 52-101 and finished eight, 52 games behind.

So, what is in a name huh?