Milwaukee Braves

We're in the process of updating our website! Learn more about what that means and how you can help create history..

Heroes and Heartbreak

William Povletich

A lively celebration of a championship baseball team often overlooked in the pantheon of Wisconsin sports history.

240 pages, 8 x 9, 230 b&w photos
Paperback: $24.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-423-4
Ebook: $15.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-510-1
Publication Date: 3/20/2009

BUY

-

Front cover of Milwaukee Braves by William Povletich

Description

During their thirteen years in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Braves never endured a losing season, won two National League pennants, and in 1957 brought the city of Milwaukee its only World Series championship (to date). With a lineup featuring future Hall of Famers Henry Aaron, Warren Spahn, Eddie Matthews, Red Schoendienst, and Phil Niekro, the team immediately brought Milwaukee “Big League” credentials, won the hearts of fans, and shattered attendance records. The Braves’ success in Milwaukee prompted baseball to redefine itself as a big business—resulting in franchises relocating west, multi-league expansion, and teams leveraging cities for civically funded stadiums. But the Braves’ instant success and accolades made their rapid fall from grace after winning the 1957 world championship all the more stunning, as declining attendance drove the team to Atlanta in one of the ugliest divorces between a city and baseball franchise in sports history.

Featuring more than 100 captivating photos, many published here for the first time, Milwaukee Braves preserves the team's legacy for its many fans and introduces new generations to a fascinating chapter in sports history. Unlike many sports books that simply glorify a team, Milwaukee Braves digs deep to unearth what the Braves meant, culturally and economically to the city of Milwaukee, the state of Wisconsin, and to the sport of baseball. Based on in-depth research and interviews with players, staff, team officials, and fans, Milwaukee Braves: Heroes and Heartbreak looks not just at the wins but the losses, the disappointments, and the heartbreak of the team’s exodus from Milwaukee.

Author Bio

William Povletich

William Povletich has a wide array of experience in the film and television industry and as an author and writer. His documentary film Henry Aaron’s Summer Up North was an official selection to the 2006 National Baseball Hall of Fame Film Festival and the 2005 Wisconsin Film Festival. Povletich was also an executive producer on the one-hour television special Milwaukee Braves: The Golden Legacy for Fox Sports Net, the exclusive fiftieth-anniversary tribute to the 1957 World Series champions. His History Channel documentary Rwanda: Do Scars Ever Fade?, earned a 2005 Peabody Award and an Emmy nomination. He is the author of Green Bay Packers: Legends in Green and Gold and magazine articles about Road America, The Wizard of Oz, and other topics. Povletich lives in Los Angeles.

William Povletich treats us to a joyous journey through time. This is a rich treasury of photos and stories that will surely please any Milwaukee Braves fan.

Tom Stanton

Author of “Hank Aaron and the Home Run that Changed America”

“Povletich masterfully recounts one of the most important periods in baseball history. By exploring both the what and the why of baseball’s westward expansion, this is truly a must-read for baseball fans and historians alike. I came away from Milwaukee Braves with not only an understanding of what made Milwaukee a sports Mecca in the 1950s, but also a deep appreciation of how the business of baseball affects everything about the game today.”

—Doug Russell, award-winning sports radio host, anchor, and reporter

“Thanks to William Povletich, the Milwaukee Braves are no longer before my time, no longer just the team before the Brewers or merely a line in the Baseball Encyclopedia attached to the year 1957 as World Series winner. . . . This book is a timeless reminder of those thirteen great years the Braves spent in Milwaukee.”

—John Anderson, ESPN Sportscenter