St. Louis Browns catcher, Verne Clemons, was born on September 8, 1891 in Clemons, Iowa. It is unclear if there is any connections between the Clemons family and the name of the town they were living. There is also little information on either one of his colorful nicknames. He was only 5'9", 190 pounds, so "Tubby" doesn't seem to be corre
St. Louis Browns catcher, Verne Clemons, was born on September 8, 1891 in Clemons, Iowa. It is unclear if there is any connections between the Clemons family and the name of the town they were living. There is also little information on either one of his colorful nicknames. He was only 5'9", 190 pounds, so "Tubby" doesn't seem to be correct. His second nickname "Stinger", doesn't seem to come from his catching abilities. No matter what he was called, Clemons would notch 474 games in the Major Leagues with his entire career being played in St. Louis - 470 games with Cardinals and three games with the Browns.
Verne Clemons began his professional baseball career as an 18-year old prospect with the Bartlesville Boosters. He would move on to the Wichita Jobbers (1910-12) Louisville Colonels (1913-15). He would connect on 102 hits, and a .307 average with the Colonels in 1915, capturing the attention of the Browns.
Verne Clemons would make the opening day roster with the Browns in 1916. He would make his MLB debut on April 22 against the Cleveland Indians. He would appear as a pinch hitter for Dave Davenport in the bottom of the eighth inning. He would get a double as his first hit in his second game on April 29 against the Chicago White Sox. On May 12, Clemons would replace Hank Severeid at catcher in the eighth inning against the Washington Nationals. These three games would make up Verne Clemons' career with the St. Louis Browns. He would have just one hit (double), one strikeout, in his seven plate appearances with a .143 average.
The St. Paul Saints would purchase Verne Clemons' contract on May 30, 1916. He would go on to hit .326 in 110 games with the Saints. After a second stint with Louisville, he would miss the entire 1918 season as he enlisted in the US Navy during World War I. He would be able to continue to play while in the service at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station.
Clemons returned to St. Louis after serving his nation, but this time it was with the St. Louis Cardinals. He would play six seasons with the Cardinals (1919-24), and be Cardinals primary catcher from 1920-21.
There is little information on the life of Verne Clemons after he retired from baseball. He would end up in Bay Pines, Florida, where he would often speak of his great memories of St. Louis, and both of the teams he played for.
HEADLINES
"THE BROWNS CLUB 20 HITS IN A DOUBLE HEADER SWEEP OF THE BOSTON RED SOX"
FEATURED GAME
1936 - In front of the home crowd at Sportsman's Park, the Browns take a double header from the Boston Red Sox, 6-4 and 3-2. Game 1 - Fueled by a three-run fifth inning, the Browns take the first game of the twin bill, 6-4. With the game tied at
HEADLINES
"THE BROWNS CLUB 20 HITS IN A DOUBLE HEADER SWEEP OF THE BOSTON RED SOX"
FEATURED GAME
1936 - In front of the home crowd at Sportsman's Park, the Browns take a double header from the Boston Red Sox, 6-4 and 3-2. Game 1 - Fueled by a three-run fifth inning, the Browns take the first game of the twin bill, 6-4. With the game tied at two, LF Moose Solters and RF Beau Bell both single in front of 1B Jim Bottomley, who then drives them in with a triple to right center field. CF Sam West will follow with a single to left field, driving in Bottomley. 3B Harlond Clift would add a run with his 19th homer in the seventh inning to deep left field. It would be Clift's third hit of the game including a double in the thrid inning. RHP Tommy Thomas would pitch 7.1 innings, scattering four runs on four hits, three walks, while striking out four, for his ninth win of the season. RHP Jack Knott would pitch the final 1.2 innings, earning his fifth save. Game 2 - Using their speed and skilled bunting, the Browns would score two runs in the first inning, then walk off the Red Sox in the tenth inning with more bunts. The Browns SS Lyn Lary would lead off the game with a walk, advance to second on Harlond Clift bunt single, and then advance to third on Moose Solters sacrifice bunt. Lary would then score on a wild pitch. Clift would later score in the inning, when Bottomley doubles to right field. The Red Sox would tie the game with two runs in the sixth inning. The tenth inning would start with a Lyn Lary bunt, who be forced out on a Harlond Clift. Moose Solter would follow with a single, sending Clift to thrid base. Beau Bell would single, driving in Clift for the winning run in glorious walk off fashion.
BROWNS RECORD ON THIS DAY
Overall Record on SEPTEMBER 12
22 Wins, 21 Losses Two Losses (.488)
1902-09: 2-3-1
1910-19: 3-2
1920-29: 5-4
1930-39: 6-6
1940-49: 4-5-1
1950-53: 2-1
DOUBLE HEADERS
Sweeps: 3
Splits: 4
Swept: 1
TRANSACTIONS
There were no trades made on this day
DEBUTS
1946 - LHP Chet Johnson earns a start in his MLB debut, going seven innings, scattering two runs on six hits, three walks, while collecting four strikeouts, in the Browns 9-6 loss to Washington.
BROWNS BIRTHDAYS ON SEPTEMBER 12
1884 - RHP Bob Groom (1916-17)
1903 - UTIL Len Dondero (1929)
The 1910 St. Louis Browns finish a dismal 47-107, with four ties. This team finished in eighth place, 57 games behind the World Series Champion, Philadelphia Athletics. They finished 22 games behind the seventh place team, Washington Nationals.
This was the fewest wins by a Browns team since moving to St. Louis. The team did not have a wi
The 1910 St. Louis Browns finish a dismal 47-107, with four ties. This team finished in eighth place, 57 games behind the World Series Champion, Philadelphia Athletics. They finished 22 games behind the seventh place team, Washington Nationals.
This was the fewest wins by a Browns team since moving to St. Louis. The team did not have a winning month during the season. This team did not have a winning record against any of the other American League teams.
The best way to look at this season was that it could get better for the St. Louis Browns. The Browns lineup included some of the early stars of the franchise. LF George Stone was in his last season with the Browns. SS Bobby Wallace, 3B Roy Hartzell, and utility player Art Griggs helped where they could to pile up the wins. The Browns pitching staff was anchored by RHP Joe Lake, who would be the only pitcher to tally double digit wins (11). The team was managed by Jack O'Connor who was in his first, and last year, leading the team.
As rough as this season was, the 1911 season would be more challenging. In the decade from 1910-19, the Browns would improve to become the team that would challenge the best in the 1920s.