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Rogers Hornsby and the 1928 Boston Braves Photo Gallery
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The 1928 Boston Braves Play Nine Consecutive Doubleheaders!
Talk About A Miserable Year…
This week marks the anniversary of something that happened back in 1928 that gives us another look at how the game has changed over the years. On September 4, 1928, the Boston Braves started a record-setting span of nine consecutive doubleheaders. Can anyone imagine any team today playing nine consecutive doubleheaders? And just to make matters even worse, the Braves lost 14 of the 18 games!
In a year that Braves fans back then I’m sure tried to forget, the team was plagued with weather problems that started in April and continued throughout the season. The end result was a slew of late-season doubleheaders. Out of 153 games played, only 89 were single games, meaning they played an unheard-of 32 twin bills that year, while posting a 50-103 record.
In the featured photo above, we see player-manager Rogers Hornsby with catcher Zack Taylor and pitcher Charlie Robertson. The lone bright spot in a miserable year, Hornsby led the league in average (.387), walks (107), on-base percentage (.498), and slugging percentage (.632).
Thanks to the adverse weather, the Braves did not play their 100th game until August 14. With six weeks to go, they had to squeeze in 54 games. They played 14 double-headers during September and just seven single games. The most trying stretch was from Sept. 4-5 when they played nine consecutive double-headers. After single games on Sept. 17-18, four more doubleheaders followed from Sept. 20-24.
Just how bad was the 1928 season for the Braves? Here’s a few interesting tidbits:
The Braves finished seventh at 50-103, 44.5 games behind the Cardinals. The Phillies were even worse at 43-109, 51 games out.
From Sept. 10-14, they played four straight double-headers against the Giants, and lost every game, even though all were played at Braves Field.
The Braves drew only 227,001 fans. Cincinnati, the team immediately ahead of them drew more than twice as many (490,490).
The Braves scored just 631 runs, last in the league. Their team ERA was 4.83, ahead of only the Phillies at 5.61.
At one point the Braves set another record with five consecutive doubleheader losses.
Their September winning percentage (.286) was only slightly worse than in July (.296), but June (.167) was by far their worst month.
All told a very forgettable year for the Boston Braves!
Gary Livacari
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Photo Credits: All from Google search
Information: Excerpts edited from the Wikipedia page; and from article in Hardball Times: http://www.hardballtimes.com/the-boston-braves-marathon-of-1928/
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