How Atlanta Won the Braves From Milwaukee

The Braves have been a fixture of Atlanta and the American South for nearly 60 years, but it was a fight to make it happen

Cover imageThis is the story of how Atlanta put itself on the map and established itself as a major-league city / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

These days, the Braves are synonymous with Atlanta and the American southeast. Fans of SEC schools are mortal enemies during the college football season just to be best friends during baseball season. 

But most Braves fans know this wasn’t always the case. The team has its roots in Boston and more famously in Milwaukee. Hank Aaron’s lone World Series title came up in Wisconsin in 1957. 

If you had asked someone back in ‘57, they would have told you that the Braves playing anywhere else would be preposterous. They certainly felt that way in 1966. But the seismic shift that solidified the Braves' place in Atlanta came 60 years ago today.

The Braves, who kickstarted the move west, would be heading back east.

The House That Aaron Built

In the early 1960s, Atlanta wanted to put itself on the map. One of the ways to do that was to attract a Major League Baseball team. Timing is everything, as the American League took notice of this desire. 

The Atlanta Journal (now Journal-Constitution) caught word that the Kansas City Athletics of the American League were interested in Atlanta. Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. and reporter Furman Bisher gave Athletics owner Charles O. Finley a tour of a few sites in 1962. His favorite was just south of downtown and the junction between I-85 and I-20. Longtime Atlanta baseball fans know the foreshadowing here. 

Finely called the plot the best location for a ballpark he had ever seen and was convinced to move to Atlanta. So why not the Atlanta Athletics then? Well, the American League wasn’t on the same page as Finley and voted against the move. A few years later, they’d head to Oakland. 

However, another team took interest in the idea. Construction of what would become Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium began in April 1964. According to the Associated Press, the $18 million stadium would attract a Major League team for the 1965 season. They also added that an unidentified team had agreed to the lease. This team would go public following the conclusion of the 1964 season. 

The Battle to Reach Atlanta 

Up in Milwaukee, the Chicago-based ownership, led by Bill Bartholomay, was growing weary of declining attendance at Braves games. Milwaukee County Stadium wasn’t even that old. It had opened in time for the Braves to arrive from Boston. 

The pitch from Mayor Allen to the Braves worked. The Braves would get a new 50,000-seat stadium in a growing city that had much more television potential. Following the 1964 season, on this day 60 years ago, they made their intentions public to head to Atlanta. 

This move would not go smoothly as Milwaukee and Wisconsin were not going to just let them leave. They took legal action against the Braves to keep them in town. The team ended up sticking around in Milwaukee for the 1965 season. The least at Milwaukee County Stadium held them there for one more year. 

In court, it was argued the Braves violated anti-trust laws, disregarded the stadium lease agreements, and refused to negotiate with prospective local buyers of the franchise. 

The Braves made the move to Atlanta for the 1966 season. Legal proceedings were still ongoing as they went south. Just ahead of opening day in Atlanta, the team was found to be in violation of Wisconsin ant-trust laws in the circuit court and we were barred from playing anywhere other than Milwaukee. 

In the ruling, the Braves had to either return to Milwaukee by mid-May or the National League had to grant Milwaukee a new franchise for 1967. 

The Braves and the National League chose neither and appealed. The Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the decision. Milwaukee tried to take it to the Supreme Court, but they voted not to hear the case. Atlanta had won the Braves. 

The Braves would play at Atlanta-Fulton County stadium for the next 30 years. It would see some iconic moments. Hank Aaron would hit his famous 715th home run and the Braves clinched their first World Series title in Atlanta in 1995.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee would lure the American League’s Seattle Pilots to the city after one season in 1970. Ahead of the 1998 season, the Brewers made the unprecedented move to switch leagues. The National League had at long last returned to Milwaukee.