Persuading the Milwaukee Braves to Become the Atlanta Braves
October 14, 1964: Statement by William C. Bartholomay, Chairman of the Board for the Milwaukee Braves, following his visit to Atlanta to see the construction of the new stadium.
Highlight: "The Stadium Authority has given me a firm contract for consideration of the Braves."
Mid-October 1964: A compilation of telegrams sent to William Bartholomay from city of Atlanta officials and Aldermen in support of the Braves's move to Atlanta.
Highlight: "Atlanta is big league in every way."
October 16, 1964: A series of messages from Georgia residents offering enthusiastic support for the Milwaukee Braves to move to Atlanta, including a two-line poem and note from 16 female baseball fans who "need 'Brave' men."
Highlight: "Come to the land where people have craves / For women, money and the Milwaukee Braves."
October 20, 1964: News release by the office of Mayor Allen announcing that the Milwaukee Braves have officially petitioned to move to Atlanta.
Highlight: "We feel it is uniquely fitting that this decision has been made today, a date which marks almost exactly the centennial of the day when Atlanta was left an ash strewn ruin, symbol of a region's defeat."
No date: A document outlining "Suggestions for Graphic Presentation to National League Owners" on behalf of the city of Atlanta. Mayor Allen and other city officials would make this presentation to the National League in New York City in
Highlight: "The idea here is to show them the rapid growth of Atlanta, the city's position as the population center of the Southeast, and the center of a vast, untapped audience potential for major league baseball."
October 24, 1964: Copy of a letter from Atlanta-based lawyer and Morehouse College graduate Walter J. Leonard to baseball player Hank Aaron persuading him "to give Atlanta a chance."
Highlight: "You will find Atlanta to be a city with its eyes fixed on the future."
October 24, 1964: A letter from Georgia State Senator Leroy Johnson to baseball player Hank Aaron persuading him to reconsider his perception of Atlanta.
Highlight: "Having been born and raised in the South, I can understand your fears and apprehensions relative to your moving to the south with the Braves Baseball Team."
October 28, 1964: A letter from Milwaukee-based lawyers to Mayor Allen notifying him of a lawsuit filed by minority owners of the Milwaukee Braves that would block the team from moving to Atlanta until after the 1965 season.
Highlight: "The contract provides for the rental by the Milwaukee Braves from Milwaukee County of Milwaukee County Stadium for purposes of playing national league baseball home games by the Milwaukee Braves for the 1965 season."
November 5, 1964: A clipping of a newspaper article "Can a Negro Play Ball in Atlanta?" by Whitney M. Young, Jr., published in the New York World Telegram, that addresses baseball player Hank Aaron's perspective on possibly playing major league baseball in Atlanta, including his public comments refusing to agree to the move from Milwaukee to Atlanta.
Highlight: "'I just won't step out on the field' if the club moves there, he told a wire service reporter. 'I certainly don't like the idea of playing in Atlanta and I have no intention of taking my family there.'"
November 9, 1964: A news release from WSB-TV announcing that the Atlanta Braves will officially begin play in Atlanta starting in the 1966 baseball season.
Highlight: "Some local fans are understandably disappointed that there will be no big league baseball here next year, and in case they're inclined to go scapegoating we suggest they shy away from Mayor Allen."
November 11, 1964: A letter from a local business owner expressing enthusiastic support for the finalization of the contract to bring the Milwaukee Braves to Atlanta. The writer, Bernard South, gives a lively portrait of his own history with professional baseball in Atlanta.
Highlight: "I peddled Coca-Colas in Ponce de Leon park in 1919 and made the handsome sum of $3.65 on the last day of the season when the Crackers defeated New Orleans in a battle for the pennant before some 13,000 fans. Most of this profit came from selling Coca-Cola bottle crates for the rightfield standees after we sold out of cold drinks."
November 12, 1964: A letter to Mayor Allen from a resident of Chicago, Illinois expressing racist views on the integration and expansion of major league baseball.
Highlight: "Atlanta can't be THAT big. (Last time I visited it was about 250,000--mostly poor people)."
November 24, 1964: A letter from Mayor Allen to journalist Whitney M. Young, Jr. concerning his article "Can a Negro Play Ball in Atlanta?"
Highlight: "I think you have stated the matter very clearly and I appreciate your careful consideration of the problems with which we are confronted."
These files are the full contents of Box 17 Folder 6 and Box 17 Folder 7 labeled "Atlanta Braves 1964." All of the above documents have been extracted from these two folders. However, the folders contain a range of additional documents that speak to the events and perspectives surrounding the Braves' move to Alanta. Two of the most prominent narratives relate to how the city of Atlanta worked to persuade the Milwaukee Braves to move to Atlanta and how residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin responded to Mayor Allen's "theft" of their city's baseball team. Concerning the former topic, there are a number of letters and telegraphs from Atlanta business leaders, politicians, and organizations addressed to William Bartholomay, the Chairman of the Board for the Milwaukee Braves. It is possible to read these documents as a focused, sustained public relations strategy aimed at persuading the Braves to move to Atlanta. Concerning the latter topic, there are a handful of colorful, passionate letters from Milwaukee Braves fans maligning Mayor Allen and Atlanta.