St. Louis Browns catcher and pinch hitter, Jack Crouch, was born on October 12, 1903 in Cooleemee, North Carolina. Playing behind the Hall of Fame catcher, Rick Ferrell, "Roxy" Crouch would see limited time as the Browns' backstop. He would compile an extensive 14-year career, where he spent time with 12 different teams. There is limited
St. Louis Browns catcher and pinch hitter, Jack Crouch, was born on October 12, 1903 in Cooleemee, North Carolina. Playing behind the Hall of Fame catcher, Rick Ferrell, "Roxy" Crouch would see limited time as the Browns' backstop. He would compile an extensive 14-year career, where he spent time with 12 different teams. There is limited information available of his playing experience before signing his first contract at the age of 22.
Jack Crouch signed with the Knoxville Smokies in 1926, and would go on to record 29 hits in 33 games with a .276 batting average. Crouch would slug for the Augusta Tygers (.280 BA) in 1927, Joplin Miners (.358 BA) in 1928, before joining the Browns organization in 1929.
The Browns would option him to the Wichita Falls Spudders where he collected 167 hits, including 29 doubles, seven triples, 14 home runs, adding to a .305 batting average. This success led to the Browns bringing Crouch up to the majors for the last week of the 1930 season.
He made his MLB debut on September 18 against the New York Yankees. Crouch entered the game in the bottom of the eighth inning as a pinch hitter for Fed Stiely, earning a walk of Yankees pitcher Herb Pennock. He would appear in six of the final games for the Browns in 1930, recording just two hits, a double, one RBI, one run scored, and batting a career low .143. Crouch would only see eight games with St. Louis in 1931. He would fail to record a hit in these games but did drive in two runs. He would be traded to the Milwaukee Brewers (American Association) on July 17, 1931, for catcher Benny Bengough.
After a full seasons in Milwaukee (1932), Crouch returned to the Browns for a third time in 1933. This would be his longest stint with the team (19 games), and his most productive. He would record five hits, score a run, and drive in five more. His best game came on June 8, 1933 against the Cleveland Indians. In this game Jack Crouch would record his only major league home run, a grand slam off Indians' Clint Brown.
On August 12, 1933, the Browns would send Jack Crouch to the Cincinnati Reds for catcher Rollie Hemsley. He would finish off the season in Cincinnati before spending his final six professioanl seasons in the minor leagues. Crouch would suit up for the Nashville Volunteers (1934), Toronto Maple Leafs (1934-36), Columbus Red Birds (1937), Rochester Red Wings (1937), and Birmingham Barons (1938-39).
Jack Crouch would retire from baseball and settle down in Albany, Georgia. He would raise his family and operate the local saw mill. Even though his time with the Browns was brief, he would be able to say that he caught for some of the best pitchers in Browns history (George Blaeholder, General Crowder, Lefty Stewart)
TRANSACTIONS ON THIS DAY
1903 - The Browns acquired 1B Tom Jones from the Baltimore Orioles of the Eastern Association in the Rule 5 draft. Jones would spend six seasons with the Browns (1904-09) where appear in 834 games at first base. He would record 766 hits, including 93 doubles, 26 triples, and 3 home runs. Along side George Stone, he
TRANSACTIONS ON THIS DAY
1903 - The Browns acquired 1B Tom Jones from the Baltimore Orioles of the Eastern Association in the Rule 5 draft. Jones would spend six seasons with the Browns (1904-09) where appear in 834 games at first base. He would record 766 hits, including 93 doubles, 26 triples, and 3 home runs. Along side George Stone, he was the most important player for the Browns in this era.
1938 - The Browns traded RHP Oral Hildebrand and Buster Miles to the Yankees for Myril Hoag and Joe Glenn. Hildebrand had spend two seasons with the Browns (1937-38), where he was 16-27 with a 5.39 ERA. Mills had only been in St Louis for one season where he batted .285 in 123 games. OF Myril Hoag would be an all-star with the Browns in 1939, and play into the 1941 season for St. Louis. He would hit .285 in his time with the Browns, which included a .295 season in 1938. His contarct would be sold to the Chicago White Sox in 1941, before he enlisted in the service during World War II. Catcher Joe Glenn would be the primry Browns back stop in 1939, appearing in 88 games. In that time he batted .273, with a fielding percentage of .968.
BROWNS BIRTHDAYS ON THIS DAY
1918 - INF Snuffy Stirnweiss (1950)
1885 - C/CF Harry Chapman (1916)
The 1931 St. Louis Browns finished the season in fifth place with a 63-91 record. They would finish 45 games behind the pennant winning Philadelphia Athletics. They would have more competition with the teams that finished in the bottom half of the American League standings. Only 5.5 games separated the fifth place Browns, with the eighth
The 1931 St. Louis Browns finished the season in fifth place with a 63-91 record. They would finish 45 games behind the pennant winning Philadelphia Athletics. They would have more competition with the teams that finished in the bottom half of the American League standings. Only 5.5 games separated the fifth place Browns, with the eighth place Chicago White Sox.
The Browns started the season with a 13-22 record in the first two months. After a winning June (16-15), they would stumble to a 34-54 record in the last half of the season. The Browns would have a winning record at home (39-38), and in games shortened by darkness (2-0). They would have severe difficulties against the other American League teams. They would only have a winning record over the Boston Red Sox (14-8), while dropping double-digit numbers to the reason of the league. But this was not the worst team in the history of the franchise, and things would always get better.
SEASON BREAKDOWN