The Jacksonville Braves were a minor league baseball team based in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, U.S. The Class A affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

team, they played in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

(the "Sally League") from 1953 to 1961. They played their home games at Durkee Field and then

Wolfson Park Samuel W. Wolfson Baseball Park (originally Jacksonville Baseball Park) was a baseball park in Jacksonville, Florida. It stood from 1954 until 2002, when it was demolished and replaced by the new Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. During that tim ...

. The Braves were established in 1953 by Samuel W. Wolfson, replacing the

Jacksonville Tars Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

baseball club. They were a far more successful team than the Tars had been, winning the league championship in 1956 and making four other playoff appearances under manager

Ben Geraghty Benjamin Raymond Geraghty (July 19, 1912 – June 18, 1963) was an American infielder in Major League Baseball and one of the most successful and respected minor league managers of the 1950s. A Jersey City native, Geraghty went right from Vill ...

. One of the first integrated professional baseball teams in the league and in Florida, the Braves fielded standout players such as

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

and Félix Mantilla. In 1961 an ownership deal changed the team's major league affiliation, and the Braves were replaced by the Jacksonville Jets for the 1961 season.

History

Two teams named the

had played in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

since 1926, with the last incarnation playing in the Sally League from 1936. The Class A affiliate of the New York Giants, the Tars were described as an unprofessional outfit, and played mostly losing baseball during their run.Foley, Bill (October 22, 1997)
"Braves ousted again: It's the Jacksonville jinx"
''

The Florida Times-Union ''The Florida Times-Union'' is a daily newspaper in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Widely known as the oldest newspaper in the state, it began publication as the ''Florida Union'' in 1864. Its current incarnation started in 1883, when th ...

''. Retrieved June 29, 2011. In 1953 Jacksonville businessman Samuel W. Wolfson bought the Tars franchise, and signed an affiliation agreement with the Boston Braves (who became the Milwaukee Braves very shortly after). The team was reorganized and renamed the Jacksonville Braves. Wolfson retained manager

, but little else of the Tars survived the transition. Among the major changes included integration. Wolfson brought in black players from the Braves' farm system, including

, Félix Mantilla, and Horace Garner, making Jacksonville one of the first two integrated teams to play in the South Atlantic League. As such, they were also one of the first teams in Florida to field black players.McCarthy, Kevin (1996)
''Baseball in Florida''
pp. 97–100. Pineapple Press. Retrieved June 29, 2011. Aaron in particular was a standout, and was named league MVP in 1953; both he and Mantilla were later called up to the major leagues after their success in Jacksonville. The Braves drew strong crowds and performed well on the field, proving more successful than the Tars had ever been. They went to the South Atlantic League playoffs five times in eight years, advancing to the finals in 1953, 1954, and 1958, and winning the championship in 1956. They were the impetus for the construction of a new stadium, which opened in 1955 and replaced the aging Durkee Field. The new park was later named

after Samuel W. Wolfson.Frenrette, Gene (August 25, 2002)
"Wolfson Park nears its final innings"
''

''. Retrieved June 29, 2011. In 1957 Wolfson, suffering from ill health, sold the team to a group of businessmen including Bill Terry, who in turn sold it to Texas millionaire Craig F. Cullinan, Jr. When Cullinan won a Major League Baseball expansion franchise in 1960, league rules required the Milwaukee Braves to pull their affiliation with Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Braves came to an end, and were replaced with the short-lived Jacksonville Jets, affiliates of Cullinan's new team, the Houston Colt .45s (now the Houston Astros). The Jets were not nearly as successful as the Braves had been. They played in Jacksonville for only one year before Samuel Wolfson returned with a new Triple-A team, the

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

References

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External links

Baseball Reference
1953 establishments in Florida South Atlantic League (1904–1963) teams Defunct Southeastern League teams Baseball teams established in 1953 Baseball teams disestablished in 1961 Baseball in Jacksonville, Florida Milwaukee Braves minor league affiliates Houston Colt .45s minor league affiliates New York Giants minor league affiliates Washington Senators minor league affiliates 1961 disestablishments in Florida Defunct baseball teams in Florida Defunct South Atlantic League teams