Ivan Allen Jr. Braves Museum and Hall of Fame facts for kids
The Ivan Allen Jr. Braves Museum and Hall of Fame was a special place that celebrated the history of the Atlanta Braves baseball team. It opened in 1999. This museum honored many great players, coaches, and others who were part of the Braves. The team has played in different cities over the years: Boston (1871–1952), Milwaukee (1953–1965), and Atlanta (1966–today).
The museum was named after Ivan Allen Jr., a former mayor of Atlanta. It was located at Turner Field, which used to be the Braves' home stadium.
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Exploring the Museum's Exhibits
The museum had several cool exhibits. They showed off important moments and people from the Braves' long history.
Braves Hall of Fame
The Braves Hall of Fame is a special group of people honored for their big contributions to the team. There are 32 members, including players, managers, and even broadcasters. They all helped make the Braves what they are today.
Some very famous players in the Braves Hall of Fame include:
- Hank Aaron: A legendary slugger who broke many records.
- Warren Spahn: A fantastic pitcher.
- Phil Niekro: Known for his unique knuckleball pitch.
- Eddie Mathews: A powerful third baseman.
- Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz: Three amazing pitchers who played together.
- Bobby Cox: A successful manager.
- Chipper Jones: A popular third baseman who played his whole career with the Braves.
Many of these Braves Hall of Fame members are also in the main Baseball Hall of Fame!
City Exhibits: A Journey Through Time
The museum had three "city" exhibits. Each one showed items and information from when the Braves played in Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta.
- Boston Braves: This exhibit showed items from the team's early days. It even included things about Babe Ruth when he played for the Boston Braves! There was also a display about the 1914 World Series they won.
- Milwaukee Braves: This part of the museum featured items from their time in Milwaukee. You could see a piece of an old train car and learn about their 1957 World Series win.
- Atlanta Braves: This exhibit focused on the team's history in Atlanta. A highlight was the display about Hank Aaron's 715th home run, which broke a huge record. You could also see replica rings and the Commissioner's Trophy from the Braves' 1995 World Series championship.
Braves in Cooperstown
This exhibit showed photos of all the players from the Braves team who are members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. This is the highest honor in baseball!
How Turner Field Was Built
Another exhibit, called "The Transformation of Turner Field," showed how the stadium changed. It explained how Centennial Olympic Stadium, which was used for the 1996 Summer Olympics, became Turner Field for the Braves.
Braves Leaderboard
This exhibit had a big scoreboard. It kept track of how current players were doing. It showed their progress towards breaking pitching and hitting records for the Braves team.
Moving to Truist Park
When the Braves moved to their new stadium, Truist Park, they decided not to build a new museum. Instead, they spread out all the cool Braves memorabilia and historical items throughout the new park for everyone to see.
