The Milwaukee Braves had every reason to believe they'd repeat. They'd beaten the New York Yankees in the 1957 World Series -- Lew Burdette winning three games, including a Game 7 shutout -- and they'd won the NL pennant again in 1958 to earn a rematch. When the Braves took a 3-1 series lead in the '58 Fall Classic, the repeat looked inevitable. Then Bob Turley threw a shutout, the Yankees scored in extra innings, Moose Skowron crushed a three-run homer off Burdette in Game 7, and the dynasty that Milwaukee thought it was building collapsed in three games. The Braves never won another championship in Wisconsin.
The View From Milwaukee
It's easy to tell this story from the Yankees' side -- the , the revenge narrative, the Turley performance. But for Milwaukee, the 1958 World Series was a franchise-defining failure. They had the better team for most of the series. They had the experience of beating this same opponent a year earlier. They had Burdette, their ace, on the mound in Game 7 with four days' rest. And they lost.
The Braves had arrived in Milwaukee from Boston in 1953, and the city embraced them with a fervor that few franchises have ever experienced. County Stadium sold out regularly. The 1957 championship confirmed what Milwaukee fans already believed -- their club belonged alongside the Yankees and Dodgers as baseball's best.
The Series That Got Away
Games 1 and 2 went exactly as Milwaukee planned. The Braves won both at home, establishing the kind of stranglehold that had worked perfectly in '57. Even after the Yankees took Game 3, Milwaukee grabbed Game 4 to go up 3-1. History was on their side -- only the 1925 Pirates had ever come back from that deficit.
His Game 5 shutout kept the Yankees breathing. His Game 6 save -- in extra innings, two days after the shutout -- forced a winner-take-all game. And when Burdette took the mound for Game 7 at County Stadium, the man who'd beaten the Yankees three times a year earlier couldn't finish the job a fourth time.
The Eighth Inning
The score was 2-2 through seven. Burdette had pitched well enough to win, and the home crowd could taste a repeat title. Then doubled with two outs in the eighth. Elston Howard singled him home. And Skowron -- who'd looked bad on Burdette's slider earlier in the at-bat -- got one that didn't slide enough.
"A lousy pitch," Burdette said afterward. "It was a slider -- the same thing he looked bad on before -- but this one I got in too high."
Three-run homer to left-center. Yankees 6, Braves 2. The repeat was dead.
A lousy pitch. It was a slider -- the same thing he looked bad on before -- but this one I got in too high.
What It Cost Milwaukee
The loss didn't just end a World Series. It ended a window. The Braves returned to the World Series exactly zero times before the franchise left Milwaukee for Atlanta after the 1965 season. Warren Spahn kept pitching brilliantly (he won the Cy Young Award the following year), and the roster remained competitive, but the club never got back to October with a championship on the line.
The 1957-58 World Series appearances bookended the peak years of Braves baseball in Milwaukee. Two pennants, one championship -- and the championship they didn't win was the one they led three games to one. That's the kind of thing that stays with a franchise, the kind of collapse that defines a team more than its victories.
's Yankees went on winning. The Braves went on wondering what might have been.
| 1958 WS Result | Braves lost 4-3 (led 3-1) |
| Burdette (Game 7) | Gave up 4 runs in 8th inning |
| Skowron (Game 7) | Three-run HR off Burdette |
| Braves' Milwaukee Titles | 1 (1957) |
| Final Milwaukee Season | 1965 (relocated to Atlanta) |
The Championship
Braves defeat the Yankees in a seven-game World Series. Burdette wins three games including a Game 7 shutout. Milwaukee celebrates its first championship.
NL Pennant Secured
Braves win the National League pennant again, earning a World Series rematch with the Yankees.
3-1 Lead
Braves take a 3-1 World Series lead after winning Games 1, 2, and 4. A repeat championship appears certain.
The Collapse
Bob Turley shuts out the Braves in Game 5, then saves Game 6 in extra innings. The 3-1 lead evaporates in 48 hours.
Game 7 Lost
Skowron's three-run homer off Burdette in the eighth inning turns a 2-2 tie into a 6-2 Yankees win. The Braves' repeat bid ends.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the Braves blow a 3-1 lead in the 1958 World Series?
Yes. The Milwaukee Braves led the 1958 World Series three games to one over the Yankees before losing Games 5, 6, and 7. It was only the second time in World Series history that a team had come back from a 3-1 deficit, after the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates.
Why did the Milwaukee Braves leave Wisconsin?
The Braves relocated from Milwaukee to Atlanta after the 1965 season. While multiple factors contributed to the move (including declining attendance and a new stadium offer from Atlanta), the franchise's failure to build a sustained dynasty after the 1957-58 World Series appearances contributed to the erosion of the team's relationship with the city.
How many championships did the Braves win in Milwaukee?
The Braves won one championship during their 13 seasons in Milwaukee (1953-1965), defeating the Yankees in the 1957 World Series. They returned to the World Series in 1958 but blew a 3-1 series lead to the same Yankees team.