St. Louis Browns RHP Alvis Newman Shirley was born on April 25, 1918 in Birthright, Texas. Known to the baseball world as "Tex" Shirley, he would play three of his five major league seasons with the St. Louis Browns. He played with the Browns during the war years (1944-46), when pitchers were at a premium and most teams were looking to di
St. Louis Browns RHP Alvis Newman Shirley was born on April 25, 1918 in Birthright, Texas. Known to the baseball world as "Tex" Shirley, he would play three of his five major league seasons with the St. Louis Browns. He played with the Browns during the war years (1944-46), when pitchers were at a premium and most teams were looking to discover anyone who could throw a baseball. Shirley would become a valuable asset to the Browns' staff for he was used as a starter and out of the bull pen. He was almost a perfect example of the players that made up the 1944 American League Championship team.
There have been two stories behind the "Tex" nickname that Shirley preferred to be called. The obvious explanation was that he was from Texas, therefore "Tex" is logical. The second explanation comes from the fact he wore a cowboy hat everywhere he went to hide his premature baldness. Both stories support each other, and Tex Shirley would enjoy a nine season career in baseball.
Shirley played his first professional season with the Clovis Pioneers of the West Texas- New Mexico League in 1940. He would go on to play with minor league clubs like the Wilmington Blue Rocks (1941), Jersey City Giants (1943), and Springfield Rifles (1943). Shirley would spend parts of two seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics (1941-42), but his rowdy temperament and excessive drinking did not impress manager Connie Mack, and was released on August 17, 1942.
Tex Shirley was exactly what the Browns were looking for when they signed him as a free agent on January 29, 1943. The Browns roster was decimated by players serving in World War II. Shirley was classified as "4F" seven different time for the hernia he had suffered. The military didn't want him, and Browns needed him. Over the next three seasons, Shirley would appear in a combined 82 games as a starter (53 times) and out of the bull pen (15 games finihsed). He recorded 19 complete games and three shut outs. He did not have the best control (262 walks, 157 strikeouts), but he would eat up innings for the Browns (403 innings).
Shirley and Browns pitcher, Sig Jakucki, would become the colorful characters of the Browns team. They were drinkers and brawlers that threw hard on the mound, but played harder on their off days.
When the Browns won the 1944 American League pennant, Shirley would appear in games two and four of the World Series. In game two, he was a pinch runner for Frank Mancuso, who singled as the pinch hitter for Nels Potter. He would appear in the eighth inning of game four, as he kept the Cardinals scoreless for two innings.
As World War II came to a close, Shirley would have his worst season with a record of 6-12 and an ERA of 4.96. He would be optioned to the Toledo Mud Hens (1947), and later play for the Buffalo Bison (1947-48) and Paris Rockets (1948). He would retire from organized baseball following the 1948 season, but there are reports of Shirley playing in semipro leagues around the country.
Shirley would eventually settle down in DeSoto, Texas, where he raised a family and talked baseball to anyone who would listen. Tex Shirley may not have been the best Brownie of all time, but he may have been one of the most colorful (most stories could not not be included in this story)
BROWNS HISTORY ON THIS DAY...
The Browns played 41 games on this day.
All-Time Record:
14 wins 27 Losses
A breakdown of the Browns' record by decade (wins - losses):
1902-09: 1 - 4
1910-19: 2 - 4
1920-29: 5 - 3
1930-39: 3 - 7
1940-41: 2 - 6
1950-53: 1 - 3
The Browns were historically a slow starting team. Across their history, they would post
BROWNS HISTORY ON THIS DAY...
The Browns played 41 games on this day.
All-Time Record:
14 wins 27 Losses
A breakdown of the Browns' record by decade (wins - losses):
1902-09: 1 - 4
1910-19: 2 - 4
1920-29: 5 - 3
1930-39: 3 - 7
1940-41: 2 - 6
1950-53: 1 - 3
The Browns were historically a slow starting team. Across their history, they would post losing records in the months of April and May. There is a common baseball logic that states you can't win a championship in April, but you can definitely lose one. The Browns were a classic example of that.
The Browns would split two double headers on this day, both against the Chicago White Sox in 1948 and 1951.
HEADLINE
Stewart Blanks the Sox in Six as Browns Crush Chicago
GAME
1930 - Lefty Stewart brings a no-hitter into the seventh inning in the Browns 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Stewart would give up his first hit to Chicago's SS Smead Jolley in the seventh inning. The only runs he would give up would come from a eighth inning, two-run homer by PH Dave Harris, who was batting for White Sox catcher Johnny Riddle. The Browns hit the scoreboard first with runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. RF Ted Gullic would go 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. In the seventh inning, SS Red Kress would drive a single that scored LF Red Badgro. The next batter, CF Fred Schulte, would bring Kress in with his RBI triple. The early season victory would bring Lefty Stewart's record to 3-0, and would be the Browns fourth win in a row.
TRADE
1928 - Browns traded SS Wally "Spooks" Gerber to the Boston Red Sox for LHP Hal "Whitey" Wiltse. Wally Gerber was the cornerstone of the Browns infield, playing shortstop for St. Louis for 12 years (1917-28) He would play in 1284 games for the Browns, with 1189 hits, 432 RBIs, while batting a solid .264. He would gather MVP votes in three different campaigns (1923, 24, 26). Looking for veteran leadership the Red Sox targeted Gerber to improve their team. At the time of the trade, Hal Wiltse had a 0-2 record in 2 starts with Boston with an ERA of 9.00. The lefty did not bring much success to the Browns as they hoped. He would spend the rest of the 1928 season in St. Louis primarily out of the pen, pitching to a 2-5 record. He would appear in 72 innings with his ERA dropping to 5.25. Wiltse would be sent to the Browns minor league affiliate, Wichita Falls Spudders for the next two seasons.
DEBUTS
1914 - INF Ivan Howard would pinch hit for Earl Hamilton in the ninth inning of the Browns 4-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers. He would fail to get a hit in his first at bat.
1939 - RHP Jack Kramer would pitch a complete game, 7-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers. He would scatter six hits, two walks, and two runs over nine innings. He would also strikeout three Tigers.
1950 - LHP Lou Sleater would close out the 5-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers. He replaced Browns starter Dick Starr, and retire all three batter he would face.
The 1911 St. Louis Browns staff was not the greatest staff to represent the city of St. Louis. They had almost the same group of pitchers as they suited up in 1910, only without their leader Rube Waddell. There were very good pitchers on this staff that would make their marks on the American League. However, each one of these pitcher woul
The 1911 St. Louis Browns staff was not the greatest staff to represent the city of St. Louis. They had almost the same group of pitchers as they suited up in 1910, only without their leader Rube Waddell. There were very good pitchers on this staff that would make their marks on the American League. However, each one of these pitcher would collectively have one of their worst seasons all at the same time. The poor pitching season helped lead to the worst Browns season in the history of the team.
Team Pitching Statistics (American League Rankings)
Player Statistics