Before Ted Turner bought the Braves in 1976, the club had been owned for three decades by contractor Lou Perini. With star pitchers Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain returning from the war, Perini had high hopes for the franchise when he purchased it in 1946. Except for a first-place finish in 1948, however, the team struggled mightily, and in 1953 Perini moved it to the vacant market of Milwaukee. The relocation was nothing less than a sterling success, as attendance rose a whopping 649% over the previous season. Led by aces Spahn and Bob Buhl and sluggers Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews, in 1957 the Braves captured their first championship in 43 years. Despite the team’s continued success, attendance dropped steadily over the next several years, and Perini was forced to move again in 1966, this time to Atlanta. After Aaron left the team in 1975, Perini sold the reeling club to Turner.
