The answer to the question is really Eddie Mathews: Who was the only Braves player to play in for the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves? Warren Spahn almost did it, in fact, he played for the 1965 Milwaukee Braves, the last season the Braves were in Milwaukee. Hank Aaron was drafted by the Boston Braves, but made his debut in 1954 with Milwaukee.
A legitimate case could be made for long time Braves broadcaster Ernie Johnson, who would be celebrating his 89th birthday today if he were still alive. Johnson stopped pitching in 1959 and for the Braves in 1958, but really had a hand in all three stops of the franchise. He was drafted by Boston Braves in 1942, and would remain property of the Braves through the move from Boston to Milwaukee after the 1952 season. He first pitched professionally for the Braves A affiliate in 1942, but did not pitch from 1943-1945 due to his service in World War II. He would then pitch the bulk of his MLB career (from 1953-1958) for the Milwaukee Braves, including the 1957 World Series Championship and 1958 NL Pennant. As a right handed reliever, Johnson went 40-23, 3.77 in 273 career games from 1950, 1952-1958.
Johnson became a broadcaster for the Milwaukee Braves in 1962, then again from 1965-1998. A case can be made that Johnson made his biggest impact in Atlanta. He will always be known as one of the elite broadcasters in the history of the Atlanta Braves. The fact that he spent almost 10 years belonging to the Boston Braves, 6 years playing and 2 years broadcasting for the Milwaukee Braves and 34 years broadcasting for the Atlanta Braves give him a slight distinction over Matthews. However, Johnson was nowhere near the player Matthews, Aaron or Spahn were (all were obviously Hall of Famers). Perhaps someday Johnson can join them, maybe as a Ford Frick winner in the broadcast wing.
A legitimate case could be made for long time Braves broadcaster Ernie Johnson, who would be celebrating his 89th birthday today if he were still alive. Johnson stopped pitching in 1959 and for the Braves in 1958, but really had a hand in all three stops of the franchise. He was drafted by Boston Braves in 1942, and would remain property of the Braves through the move from Boston to Milwaukee after the 1952 season. He first pitched professionally for the Braves A affiliate in 1942, but did not pitch from 1943-1945 due to his service in World War II. He would then pitch the bulk of his MLB career (from 1953-1958) for the Milwaukee Braves, including the 1957 World Series Championship and 1958 NL Pennant. As a right handed reliever, Johnson went 40-23, 3.77 in 273 career games from 1950, 1952-1958.
Johnson became a broadcaster for the Milwaukee Braves in 1962, then again from 1965-1998. A case can be made that Johnson made his biggest impact in Atlanta. He will always be known as one of the elite broadcasters in the history of the Atlanta Braves. The fact that he spent almost 10 years belonging to the Boston Braves, 6 years playing and 2 years broadcasting for the Milwaukee Braves and 34 years broadcasting for the Atlanta Braves give him a slight distinction over Matthews. However, Johnson was nowhere near the player Matthews, Aaron or Spahn were (all were obviously Hall of Famers). Perhaps someday Johnson can join them, maybe as a Ford Frick winner in the broadcast wing.
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