Tommy Holmes Day, Braves Field, Boston, 9.2.45

'40s Boston fan favorite Tommy Holmes named to Braves Hall

Also inducted at a ceremony at Turner Field in Atlanta earlier this month was 19th-century pitcher Kid Nichols of the Boston Beaneaters:

Nichols…was represented by a pair of his great grandchildren.

"Fifty-five years ago, when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame [in Cooperstown], he said, 'this is truly the thrill of my life," Nichols' great-grand daughter Sharon Everett said. "So I know if he were here today, he would be saying the same thing. His heart was baseball, and this would be overwhelming for him."

The day was also special for the 87-year-old Holmes, who played with the Boston Braves from 1942-51. A charitable man, who spent much of his life teaching the game to young children in New York City, Holmes was instrumental in developing the current lucrative pension plan enjoyed by Major Leaguers.

"The greatest thing that ever happened to me was getting a call about coming here to the Hall of Fame," said Holmes, who was named The Sporting News Most Valuable Player in 1945.

Holmes shared his moment with his wife and good friend Alvin Dark, who won the 1948 NL Rookie of the Year while batting behind Holmes…

His Baseball Library bio notes Holmes set a National League mark when he hit in 37 games in row in 1945. When Pete Rose broke his hitting-streak record in 1978, a tearful Holmes thanked him "for making people remember me."

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Were the Braves still in Boston, a song to blast from their PA speakers over Gaffney Street would be "That Blue-Eyed Baby From Memphis" by Don Redman & his Orchestra.

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Holmes' induction was applauded at the Boston/Milwaukee Braves message board at Baseball Fever, where the Teams of Yesteryear section also includes a St. Louis Browns forum where the true diehard can track what happened on this day in Brownies history.

I bring up the Browns because Saint Louis, whose feast is today, was on their old logo.

Now it's back to the Senators forum for discussion of what the Expos should be called if they move to D.C. (For a National League team, I say the Nats, natch.)

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Dressed to the Nines, an online exhibit by the Baseball Hall of Fame on the history of the baseball uniform, includes an illustrated database of the evolution of individual teams' uniforms over the years. Want to see how the White Sox looked in shorts, or the Astros in horizontal Technicolor? This is the place. (The sad demise of the stripes on the Red Sox' socks is also noted, for those of us who care about that sort of thing.)