St. Louis Browns left-handed pitcher, Weldon West, was born on September 3, 1915 in Gibsonville, North Carolina. He is the only major league player to come from the small town in the north central region of the 'Tar Heel' state. There is limited information on the life of Weldon West before and after baseball.
"Lefty" West would spend se
St. Louis Browns left-handed pitcher, Weldon West, was born on September 3, 1915 in Gibsonville, North Carolina. He is the only major league player to come from the small town in the north central region of the 'Tar Heel' state. There is limited information on the life of Weldon West before and after baseball.
"Lefty" West would spend seven years in the minor leagues before debuting with the Browns in 1944. His minor league statistics would include 59 wins in 193 games, with 42 games started and 33 complete games. He would allow 464 earned runs in 1412 innings pitched with 370 strikeouts.
West would pitch for eight teams between 1937 - 42. His first contract was with the Lexington Indians in 1937 as a 21 year-old prospect. He would go on to play for the Winston-Salem Twins (1937-38), Americus Pioneers (1939), Macon Peaches (1940), Durham Bulls (1941), Pensacola Pilots (1942), and the Memphis Chickasaws (1942-43).
There are no transaction records between Weldon "Lefty" West and the St. Louis Browns. He made the 1944 Browns roster after spring training, and made his MLB debut on April 30 against the Chicago White Sox. He entered the game in relief of Bob Muncrief and pitched a scoreless seventh inning. West would go on to appear in just 11 games throughout the 1944 season. He was used strictly out of the bull pen, appearing in just 24.1 innings. He was able to strike out 11 batters while giving up 19 walks and 17 earned runs. He was not involved in any decisions in his rookie season, and although he was not on the Browns 1944 World Series roster, West was able to witness franchise history.
Weldon West returned to the Browns in 1945 and saw more action on the mound. Of the 24 games he pitched, he started eight games and finished five more. His best game was on August 18, when he pitched his only MLB complete game over the New York Yankees. He held New York to just two hits, one earned run, and six strikeouts in the 3-2 win. In his two seasons with the Browns, "Lefty" West would have a 3-4 record in 35 total games, recording 49 strikeouts, a 4.29 ERA, and a 1.571 WHIP.
West finished his baseball career after playing for the Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triples in 1946.
Weldon West would settle down in his home state of North Carolina. He would easily be assumed that he told long stories baseball games, the players he played with, and that he was witnessed to the 1944 American League Champions.
HEADLINES
"BROWNS PLATE TWO RUNS IN THE TOP OF THE NINTH INNING OVER FELLER AND THE INIDANS"
FEATURED GAME
1949 - In a classic pitcher duel, RHP Cliff Fannin would out work Cleveland's legendary Bob Feller in the Browns' 4-3 victory. Both pitchers would complete the game, with Fannin scattering six hits and three walks, while striking out s
HEADLINES
"BROWNS PLATE TWO RUNS IN THE TOP OF THE NINTH INNING OVER FELLER AND THE INIDANS"
FEATURED GAME
1949 - In a classic pitcher duel, RHP Cliff Fannin would out work Cleveland's legendary Bob Feller in the Browns' 4-3 victory. Both pitchers would complete the game, with Fannin scattering six hits and three walks, while striking out seven Indians. Cleveland would score two runs in the fourth inning, with a run scoring triple, followed by an RBI single. The Indians would add another run in the eighth to pad their lead, 3-2. The Browns would take the lead in the top of the ninth in the same fashion that Cleveland scored in the fourth. 1B Jack Graham would lead of the ninth with a walk. RF Dick Kokos would drive him in with a triple off Feller to right field. The next batter was catcher Les Moss who singled to left field, scoring Kokos from third. Fannin would shut down the Indians in the bottom of the ninth for his seventh win of the season. 2B Jerry Priddy would hit two singles on the day, while 3B Don Gutteridge would add a double to his day.
BROWNS RECORD ON THIS DAY
Overall Record on SEPTEMBER 3
24 Wins, 26 Losses One Tie (.470)
1902-09: 8-3
1910-19: 2-4
1920-29: 5-5
1930-39: 3-6-1
1940-49: 5-4
1950-53: 1-4
DOUBLE HEADERS
Sweeps: 3
Splits: 5
Swept: 3
TRANSACTIONS
There were no transactions made on this day
DEBUTS
1937 Two Browns made their debut in the Browns 15-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians. CF Eddie Silber enters the game in the eighth inning for Sam West. He would hit into a ground out to end the game. PH Tom Cafego enters the game in the ninth inning for Ed Baecht, and struck out two batter ahead of Silber.
BROWNS BIRTHDAYS ON SEPTEMBER 3
1873 - Catcher Mike Kahoe (1902-04)
1876 - LF George Stone (1905-10)
1915 - LHP Weldon West (1944-45)
The 1915 St. Louis Browns pitching staff was a crowded bench during the season. Manager Branch Rickey used 23 pitcher throughout the season. Only six of these pitchers appeared in more than 15 games. Unforetunately only four of the 23 recoded a winning record in any kind, with rookie RHP Jim Park reaching a 2-0 tally. As a group, the Brow
The 1915 St. Louis Browns pitching staff was a crowded bench during the season. Manager Branch Rickey used 23 pitcher throughout the season. Only six of these pitchers appeared in more than 15 games. Unforetunately only four of the 23 recoded a winning record in any kind, with rookie RHP Jim Park reaching a 2-0 tally. As a group, the Browns staff would settle in the middle of the pack in most of the pitching categories. They would lead the league with 64 hit batters (16 more than the league average). They would be one of the worst with 3.9 walks per nine innings, 3.6 strikeouts per nine innings, and 1062 men left on base. The ace of this staff is clearly LHP Carl Weilman, who leads the team in almost every category.
Team Pitching Statistics
(American League Rankings)
Player Statistics