St. Louis Browns right-handed pitcher, Fay Thomas, was born on October 10, 1903 in Holyrod, Kansas. Thomas would play for 15 teams over his 18 years of professional baseball. He would spend time with four major league teams, but his only full MLB was with the Browns (1935). During his career he would have one of the most amazing/confusing
St. Louis Browns right-handed pitcher, Fay Thomas, was born on October 10, 1903 in Holyrod, Kansas. Thomas would play for 15 teams over his 18 years of professional baseball. He would spend time with four major league teams, but his only full MLB was with the Browns (1935). During his career he would have one of the most amazing/confusing statistical seasons in modern baseball.
Thomas would be the only MLB player to be born in Holyrod, Kansas, before his family moved to Canoga Park, California. He would be the first player to come out of Canoga Park High School, and the first major league player to come out of the University of Southern California.
Fay Thomas signed his first contract with the Ottumwa Cardinals in the Mississippi Valley League in 1925. He would go on to play with the New Haven Profs (1926), Toledo Mud Hens (1926), and Buffalo Bison (1927), before playing nine games with the New York Giants at the end of the 1927 season. He returned to the minor leagues where he saw action with the Oklahoma City Indians (1928), Baltimore Orioles (1929), New Haven Profs (again - 1929), and the Sacramento Solons (1930). He split the 1931 seasons between Oakland and the Cleveland Indians, and the 1932 seasons between the Oaks and the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1933, Fay Thomas became a fixture in the Los Angeles Angels (Pacific Coast League) pitching staff from 1933-34.
The Browns would acquire Fay Thomas on October 2, 1934 in the Rule 5 Draft from the Chicago Cubs. Thomas would become a versatile member of the Browns staff. He would appear in 49 total games for St. Louis. He would start 19 games and record four complete games. He would also finish 13 games, earning a save in the process. In 147 innings, he had a 7-15 record with 67 strikeouts, 89 walks, and a 4.78 ERA. This would be the only full season would spend in the majors.
The Browns would send Fay Thomas to the Chicago Cubs on November 22, 1935 for RHP Mike Meola. He returned to the Angels, a minor league affiliate of the Cubs, where he would pitch until 1941. After missing the 1942 season, Fay Thomas would pitch for the Hollywood Stars and Portland Beavers in 1943.
The post-baseball life of Fay Thomas is undocumented and unclear. He remained in California, where he would be inducted into the Pacific Coast League in 2004.
AMAZING BASEBALL TRIVIA - The 1934 season for Fay Thomas has been described as unbelieveable and impossible. Stats from the seasons show Thomas pitched 300 innings and had a record of 28-4. The numbers show he faced 1152 batters, allowed 464 hits, and opposing batters had a .403 average against him. These numbers do not balance the amount of success he also achieved. Baseball Reference, Spalding, and the Minor League Register have challenged these statistics, but no one has seemed to agree how much is correct.
The 1944 World Series, nicknamed 'The Streetcar Series", was possibly the most unpredictable championship series in the history of baseball.
The impact of the 1944 World Series came with the idea that the "underdog" could compete with the "top dogs" in baseball. The Cardinals were one of the best teams in the game in the early 1940s. They
The 1944 World Series, nicknamed 'The Streetcar Series", was possibly the most unpredictable championship series in the history of baseball.
The impact of the 1944 World Series came with the idea that the "underdog" could compete with the "top dogs" in baseball. The Cardinals were one of the best teams in the game in the early 1940s. They were in their third consecutive World Series, and most beleived that they would sweep the Browns in four games. That didnt happen. The Browns held first place in the American League for 130 days of the 1944 season. They would end up winning 15 of their final 20 games to win their first pennant.
Once the series started, the Browns / Cardinals almost completely mirrored eachother in bothe success and statistics. Two Games were won with the winning team only recording two impactful hits. (Games 1 and 5). Two games were decided by four or more runs, with each team beating the other (Games 3 and 4). Two games were great pitching duels that included the individual bull pens (Games 2 and 6). Eventually, the experienced Cardinals would come out on top, and the Browns would never get another chance to return to the Fall Classic. Final Statistics for the 1944 World Series
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS LINEUP
C: Walker Cooper - .318, R, 7 H, 2x2B, 3B, 2 RBI
1B: Ray Sanders - .286, 5 R, 6 H, HR
2B: Emil Verban - .412, R, 7 H, 2 RBI
SS: Marty Marion - .227, R, 5 H, 3x2B, 2 RBI
3B: Whitey Kurowski - .217, 2 R, 5 H, RBI
LF: Danny Litwhiler - .200, 2 R, 4 H, HR, 2B
CF: Johnny Hopp - .185, 2 R, 5 H
RF: Stan Musial - .304, 2 R, 7 H, 2x2B, 2 RBI
ST LOUIS BROWNS LINEUP
C: Red Hayworth - .118, 2 H, RBI, R
1B: George McQuinn - .438, 7 H, HR, 2x2B, 2 R, 5 RBI
2B: Don Gutteridge - .143, 3 H, 2B, R
SS: Vern Stephens - .227, 5 H, 2B, 2 R
3B: Mark Christman - .091, 2 H, RBI
LF: Chet Laabs - .200, 3 H, 2B, 3B, R
CF: Mike Kreevich - .231, 6 H, 3x2B
RF: Gene Moore - .182, 4H, 4R
This series would make a great baseball movie.
TRANSACTIONS
1950 - The Browns would purchase the player contract of RHP Johnny Hetki from the Cincinnati Reds. Hetki would appear in only 9.1 innings over three games with the Browns, before eing sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs in early May of 1951
The 1939 St. Louis Browns was not best team in the history of the franchise. This team would only win 43 games over the course of the season (43-111-2 full record).
This team failed to reach double digit wins in every month of the season, and against every American League opponent. The team only won 18 games at home, which led to the home
The 1939 St. Louis Browns was not best team in the history of the franchise. This team would only win 43 games over the course of the season (43-111-2 full record).
This team failed to reach double digit wins in every month of the season, and against every American League opponent. The team only won 18 games at home, which led to the home attendance dropping from 130,000 in 1938 to 109,000 in 1939.
The Browns offense was not the issue, for some of of the better hitters in their history was on the team. 1B George McQuinn (.316 BA), 3B Harlond Clift (15 HRs), CF Chet Laabs (.300 BA), and RF Myril Hoag (.295 BA) all had quality seasons, however the team would rank near the bottom of every category.
The Browns pitching was even worse, finishing last in team ERA (6.01). The team did not have a single pitcher with more than 10 wins, and would only record four saves over the entire length of the season. Just FOUR saves?!?! First year manager, Fred Haney could not find any answers in solving the Browns problems.
They would finish 64.5 games behind the New York Yankees. It would truly be a year of patience and frustration.