About this Book

Long
before the Red Sox "Impossible Dream" season, Boston’s
now nearly forgotten “other” team, the 1914 Boston Braves,
performed a baseball “miracle” that resounds to this very day.
The "Miracle Braves" were Boston's first "worst-to-first"
winners of the World Series.

Shortly
after the turn of the previous century, the once mighty Braves had
become a perennial member of the National League’s second division.
Preseason pundits didn't believe the 1914 team posed a meaningful
threat to John McGraw’s powerful New York Giants. During the first
half of that campaign, Boston lived down to such expectations, taking
up residence in the league’s basement.

Refusing
to throw in the towel at the midseason mark, their leader, the
pugnacious George Stallings, deftly manipulated his daily lineup and
pitching staff to engineer a remarkable second-half climb in the
standings all the way to first place. The team’s winning momentum
carried into the postseason, where the Braves swept Connie Mack's
heralded Athletics and claimed the only World Championship ever won
by Boston’s National League entry. And for 100 years, the
management, players, and fans of underperforming ball clubs have
turned to the Miracle Braves to catch a glimmer of hope that such a
midseason turnaround could be repeated.

Through
the collaborative efforts of a band of dedicated members of the
Society for American Baseball Research, this benchmark accomplishment
is richly revealed to the reader in The
Miracle Braves of 1914: Boston's Original Worst-to-First World Series
Champions. The essence
of the “miracle” is captured through a comprehensive compendium
of incisive biographies of the players and other figures associated
with the team, with additional relevant research pieces on the
season. After a journey through the pages of this book, the die-hard
baseball fan will better understand why the call to “Wait Until
Next Year” should never be voiced prematurely.

Includes:

FOREWORD
by Bob Brady

THE
BRAVES

Ted
Cather by Jack V. Morris

Gene
Cocreham by Thomas Ayers

Wilson
Collins by Charlie Weatherby

Joe
Connolly by Dennis Auger

Ensign
Cottrell by Peter Cottrell

Dick
Crutcher by Jerrod Cotosman

George
Davis by Rory Costello

Charlie
Deal by Charles F. Faber

Josh
Devore by Peter Gordon

Oscar
Dugey by Charlie Weatherby

Johnny
Evers by David Shiner

The
1914 Evers-Zimmerman Incident 
and How the Tale Grew Taller Over

the Years by Bob Brady

The
Evers Ejection Record by 
Mark Sternman

Larry
Gilbert by Jack V. Morris

Hank
Gowdy by Carol McMains and Frank Ceresi

Tommy
Griffith by Chip Greene

Otto
Hess by Gary Hess

Tom
Hughes by Greg Erion

Bill
James by David Jones

Clarence
Kraft by Jon Dunkle

Dolf
Luque by Peter Bjarkman

Les
Mann by Maurice Bouchard

Rabbit
Maranville by Dick Leyden

Billy
Martin by Bob Joel

Jack
Martin by Charles F. Faber

Herbie
Moran by Charles F. Faber

Jim
Murray by Jim Elfers

Hub
Perdue by John Simpson

Dick
Rudolph by Dick Leyden

Butch
Schmidt by Chip Greene

Red
Smith by Charles F. Faber

Paul
Strand by Jack V. Morris

Fred
Tyler by John Shannahan

Lefty
Tyler by Wayne McElreavy

Bert
Whaling by Charles F. Faber

George
“Possum” Whitted by Craig Hardee

MANAGER

George
Stallings by Martin Kohout

COACH

Fred
Mitchell by Bill Nowlin

OWNER

Jim
Gaffney by Rory Costello

The
Braves’ A.B.C. by Ring Lardner

1914
Boston Braves Timeline by Mike Lynch

A
Stallings Anecdote

1914
World Series by Mark Sternman

“I
Told You So” by O.R.C.

The
Rest of 1914 by Mike Lynch

How
An Exhibition Game Contributed To A Miracle by Bob Brady

The
National League Pennant Race of 1914 by Frank Vaccaro

The
Press, The Fans, and the 1914 Boston Braves by Donna L. Halper

Return
of the Miracle Braves by Bob Brady

Miracle
Teams by A Comparison of the 1914 Miracle Braves and 1969 Miracle
Mets by Tom Nahigian

An
Unexpected Farewell by The South End Grounds, August 1914 by Bob
Ruzzo

The
Time(s) the Braves Played Home Games at Fenway Park by Bill Nowlin

The
Kisselkar Sign

The
Trail Blazers in Indian File by R. E. M. - poems for 1914 Braves,
collected by Joanne Hulbert

The
Story of the 1914 Braves by George Stallings

“Mr.
Warmth” and “Very Superstitious” – two George Stallings
anecdotes by Bob Brady

By
the Numbers by Dan Fields

Creature
Feature by Dan Fields