Atlanta Braves History: Joe Adcock gets beaned (1954)

You have to love Joe Adcock. On August 1, 1954,  Dodgers Clem Labine beans Joe Adcock in the 4th. His helmet apparently saves him from a serious injury‚ but he is taken out of the game as a precautionary measure. He will appear in the starting line-up the next day. Gene Conley reciprocates by knocking down Jackie Robinson in the 6th and Robinson ends up scrapping with Eddie Mathews. The Braves win 14-6‚ their 10th win in a row‚ as Conley runs his record to 10-5. The Braves set a ML mark for extra bases on long hits in 2 consecutive games (44).

1954 was a great year for the Braves. It was tough for Joe when you play with the likes of Hank Aaron and Eddie Matthews.

The year of the Hammer (1974)

The off season was all about Hank Aaron. No one could talk about anything else. He would break the record in 1974. No doubt about it. It was Eddie Matthews last year as manager. Clyde King would end the year as the manager. The Atlanta Braves would end up third in the East with a 88-74 record. 14 games behind was not anything to speak of. But it didn't seem to matter too much in the year when the Hammer would become the home run King.

The season did start with some controversy though. The Braves would open the season in Cinncinnati. Everyone wanted Hank to hit his record home run in Atlanta. So, they were going to keep Hank out of the line up. Bowie Kuhn had to step in and demand the Hank play.