St. Louis Browns catcher/pinch hitter Joe Jenkins was born in October 12, 1890 in Shelbyville, Tennessee. His 16-season baseball career would primarily be in the minor leagues, with just 63 plate appearances in the major leagues. He would witness combat in World War I, see the "Black Sox Scandal" first hand, and deal with family tragedy w
St. Louis Browns catcher/pinch hitter Joe Jenkins was born in October 12, 1890 in Shelbyville, Tennessee. His 16-season baseball career would primarily be in the minor leagues, with just 63 plate appearances in the major leagues. He would witness combat in World War I, see the "Black Sox Scandal" first hand, and deal with family tragedy within Mexico.
Joe Jenkins signed his first baseball contract in 1911 after being a standout baseball player at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tennessee. Although there are no statistics to refer to, Jenkins played two seasons with Rome of the Southern League (1911-12) and one season with Keokuk of the Central Association (1913).
The Browns acquired Joe Jenkins on September 15, 1913 in the Rule 5 Draft from Keokuk. He would play the entire season with St. Louis, but would only see action in just 19 games. The Browns would have seven catchers on their active roster throughout the 1913 season, and Jenkins would serve as a bull pen catcher for most of the campaign. Jenkins saw nine games of action behind the plate, and 11 games as a pinch hitter. His best game came on May 5 when he took over for Sam Agnew in the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox. He would record his only multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with a double, which at the time raised his batting average to a season high .286. Jenkins would finish the season with just four hits in 33 plate appearances (.125 batting average). He was able to register a double (May 5) and a triple (September 2), between his 11 strikeouts. Jenkins would be released by the Browns after the 1914 season, and return to the minor leagues.
After playing for the Atlanta Crackers (1915) and Houston Buffaloes (1916), he began his tenure with the Chicago White Sox. He would serve as the White Sox bull pen catcher, but would see action in 21 total games over the 1917 and 1919 seasons. He would witness the questionable actions of his Sox teammates during the 1919 World Series, but was never involved in any agreements to throw the series.
During his time with Chicago, Joe Jenkins would be drafted into the armed services in 1918 to support actions in World War I. He would serve with the 132 Infantry unit in France. He saw combat at the the battles of Meuse-Argonne, Flanders, and St. Mihiel. He was able to return to the White Sox before the beginning of the 1919 season.
Following the 1919 season, and weeks after being exonerated of any knowledge of the scandal, Jenkins' brother, William Jenkins, was kidnapped by Zapatista rebels in Mexico. Reports merged that William Jenkins staged his kidnapping and the Mexican president then had him arrested. After personal and national turmoil over the situation, his brother was finally released and Joe Jenkins could begin to focus on baseball again.
The final eleven years of Joe Jenkins career was spread out among seven minor league organizations. He played for the Salt Lake City Bees (1920-24), Los Angeles Angels (1924), Atlanta Crackers (1925), Seattle Indians (1926-27), Newark Bears (1928-29), Buffalo Bison (1929), and the Elmira Colonels (1929-30).
Joe Jenkins had one of baseball careers that seemed a but dull and unsuccessful. But considering that in a five-year span, he endured personal and national attentions that would challenge any professional baseball player. After retiring from baseball he moved to northern California to help maintain the family farm. It has been reported that he was an avid golfer, even playing up to 313 days a year at King Country Club. He was also involved in coaching local softball teams and raising his family.
REMEMBERING THE 1944 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPION, ST. LOUIS BROWNS
The 1944 St. Louis Browns won 89 games and captured the American League pennant.
Many baseball purists discredit this championship and do not give this team any credit for this accomplishment. The claim that since many of the "stars" of the league were off fighting World War I
REMEMBERING THE 1944 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPION, ST. LOUIS BROWNS
The 1944 St. Louis Browns won 89 games and captured the American League pennant.
Many baseball purists discredit this championship and do not give this team any credit for this accomplishment. The claim that since many of the "stars" of the league were off fighting World War II, that discredits this championship.
It is not well known that the Browns had the highest number of "4F" players than any team in baseball. These are players that were declined by military service and mots served in war production plants during the 1944 season. Every team had players in the same situation as the Browns, but with their past history against them most writers of history do not give them any credit.
The Browns had a .701 home winning percentage, and a .455 road winning percentage. That is due to many players having to work in the miliatry plants Monday through Thursday, and not able to reach the Browns when away from Sportsman's Park.
A breakdown of the Browns record against the rest of the American League shows they would have a winning record over every team.
Boston Red Sox: 12-10
Chicago White Sox: 14-8
Cleveland Indians: 12-10
Detroit Tigers: 13-9
New York Yankees: 12-10
Philadelphia Athletics: 13-9
Washington Nationals: 13-9.
This shows the Browns were better than every team in the American League. This team was not a dominating power in the league. 79 of the 89 wins came in 9 inning games. Once the games extended into extra innings, the Browns were 9-13 due to the fact their extended pitching staff could often not cover the extra frames. This team was not strong in one run games (20-24), but did enjoy a 23-18 record in blowout games (wins of 5+ runs).
The St. Louis Browns fought hard and deserved to win the 1944 American League pennant. This purpose of this website is to remind people of that.
The St. Louis Browns of 1939 may have been one of the least successful teams in baseball history. Coming out of the Great Depression, the Browns were known for trading away their young talented athletes for the needed revenue to maintain the team's existence. This team was made up of young players that would eventually be the base of the
The St. Louis Browns of 1939 may have been one of the least successful teams in baseball history. Coming out of the Great Depression, the Browns were known for trading away their young talented athletes for the needed revenue to maintain the team's existence. This team was made up of young players that would eventually be the base of the American League Champions in 1944. Until then, this team suffered through a season where they only won 43 games, including only 18 games at Sportsman's Park. They would fail to win three games in a row at any point of the season, but reach their season best two-game winning streak nine times. Three of these streaks were included in a double header sweep. There are not too many teams that can say they reached that level of winning.
SEASON BREAKDOWN