St. Louis Browns Hall of Fame OF/SS Willard Brown was born on June 26, 1915 in Shreveport, Louisiana. The legendary figure of the Negro Baseball Leagues would have a 20-year career that included time in the Major Leagues, Mexican League, and the minor leagues. Nicknamed "Ese Hombre" (The Man), or just "Home Run", Brown would be one of the
St. Louis Browns Hall of Fame OF/SS Willard Brown was born on June 26, 1915 in Shreveport, Louisiana. The legendary figure of the Negro Baseball Leagues would have a 20-year career that included time in the Major Leagues, Mexican League, and the minor leagues. Nicknamed "Ese Hombre" (The Man), or just "Home Run", Brown would be one of the most celebrated players in the great history of the Negro Leagues.
Brown's love for baseball started at an early age, when he served as a bat boy for the Kansas City Monarchs during their Spring Training in Shreveport. He would join the Monarchs as a player in 1935, when he signed as a free agent at the age of 20. Over the next 11 seasons, Brown would build his Hall of Fame resume. He would lead the Negro American League in hits (eight times), doubles (six times), triples (six times), home runs (six times), RBIs (eight times), runs (three times), and slugging percentage (six times). He would record an OPS over .900 nine times. He was a four-time Negro League All-Star (1937, 42, 43, 48), and would hit .318 in two Negro League World Series.
In just 410 Negro Baseball games, Brown would record 568 hits, 124 doubles, 44 triples, 53 home runs, 385 RBIs, and reach a batting average of .358.
After the introduction of Jackie Robinson into the Major Leagues, many organizations were eager to follow the path of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Cleveland Indians were the first American League team to integrate baseball when they signed Larry Doby. The St. Louis Browns were the first team to have two Negro legends on their roster, when they signed Willard Brown and 2B Hank Thompson on July 17, 1947.
Brown would make his MLB debut on July 19, joining Thompson in the Browns lineup. Brown would make baseball history as the first Black player to hit a home run in an MLB game. This occured on August 13, in the second game of a double header against the Detroit Tigers. Brown was pinch hitting for Joe Schultz, and ripped a ball into center field, for an inside-the-park home run.
After just one month with St. Louis, Willard Browns and Hank Thompson were both released by the Browns. This was not a good fit for either the players or the team. Brown stated several times that he never wanted to leave the prestige of the Kansas City Monarchs, to go to the lowly status of the St. Louis Browns. In just 21 games with the Browns, he tallied just 12 hits, three doubles, one home run, six RBIs, two stolen bases and a dismal .179 batting average.
Brown returned to the Monarchs, where the happy Brown batted .408 in 1948. The rest of Willard Brown's career would have added legendary status. From 1950-57, he would play for eight minor league teams and several teams in Mexico, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico. Although the statistics from these teams are incomplete, there is a story of how Brown hit for the "Triple Crown" in the Puerto Rican League in 1947. His final season came at the age of 42, when he played for the Minot Mallards of the Manitoba-Dakota League in 1957.
Willard Browns would miss the most of the 1944-45 seasons while serving his country in World War II. He was involved in the Normandy invasion on D-Day, served as a member of the Quartermasters Corp, and later transferred to the Special Services.
After retiring from baseball, Browns moved his family to Houston, Texas, where he worked in the steel industry for 30 years. Willard Browns was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2006 as one of the first Negro Baseball legends to join the shrine.
HEADLINE
"LAVERENZ GOES THE DISTANCE IN
14-INNING WIN OVER TIGERS"
FEATURED GAME
1913 - In a feat that would baffle modern pitchers, Browns LHP Walt Leverenz would pitch a 14 inning, complete game vs the Detroit Tigers. He would face an unbelievable 55 batters in a game that lasted under three hours. Of the five runs scored by the Tigers, fo
HEADLINE
"LAVERENZ GOES THE DISTANCE IN
14-INNING WIN OVER TIGERS"
FEATURED GAME
1913 - In a feat that would baffle modern pitchers, Browns LHP Walt Leverenz would pitch a 14 inning, complete game vs the Detroit Tigers. He would face an unbelievable 55 batters in a game that lasted under three hours. Of the five runs scored by the Tigers, four would be unearned runs. With the game tied at five, the Browns would score the two decisive runs in the top of the 14th Inning. With CF Burt Shotton on third base, 2B Del Pratt singled, driving in Shotton. 1B George Stovall moved to third base on Pratt's hit. Browns' Bunny Brief would drive Stovall in with a single. Leverenz would retire the final three batters in the bottom of the inning
BROWNS RECORD ON THIS DAY
Overall Record on June 26
18 Wins, 29 Losses (.382)
1902-09: 2-4
1910-19: 6-5
1920-29: 4-7
1930-39: 3-6
1940-49: 3-4
1950-53: 0-3
DOUBLE HEADERS
Sweeps: 0
Splits: 4
Swept: 2
TRANSACTIONS
1913 - Browns purchased the contract of Sam Covington from Denison. He would bat .150 in 20 games with the Browns, connecting on just nine hits in 66 plate appearances.
DEBUTS
There were No Debuts on this day
BROWNS BIRTHDAYS
1907 - UTIL Deb Garms (1932-36)
1915 - OF/SS Willard Brown (1947)
The impact of the 1906 St. Louis Browns showed how good this team could have been in the era. This team was full of individual talent, that would only come together during this season. The Browns finished with a record of 76-73, which was the only winning record they would 1903 through 1908. This same team would bookend the 1906 season wi
The impact of the 1906 St. Louis Browns showed how good this team could have been in the era. This team was full of individual talent, that would only come together during this season. The Browns finished with a record of 76-73, which was the only winning record they would 1903 through 1908. This same team would bookend the 1906 season with seasons of 65, 65, 54, and 69 win totals.
This team had one of the best hitters of the decade in George Stone. Most Browns fans may not remember the hard-hitting centerfielder, but in 1906 he led the American League in batting average (.358), slugging percentage (.501), on base percentage (.417), OPS (.918), OPS+ (193) and total bases (291). This was one of the best season of any hitter in Browns/Orioles history.
The pitching staff was amazing considering there was only 6 pitchers through the entire season. Barney Pelty would record a 1.59 ERA, which is the lowest mark in franchise history.
The manager was one of the best baseball minds of the era, and yet this team could not combine multiple winning seasons. The impact of this team may have been more individual than team accomplishments, but they showed what the team could have been.