St. Louis Browns left-handed ptcher, Joe Willis, was born on April 9, 1890 in Coal Grove, Ohio. Often referred to as "Smiling Joe" Willis, he would be the only MLB player from the small village along the Ohio River. His story is a bit of a mystery for there is very little written of his life outside of baseball. He would enjoy a ten-year
St. Louis Browns left-handed ptcher, Joe Willis, was born on April 9, 1890 in Coal Grove, Ohio. Often referred to as "Smiling Joe" Willis, he would be the only MLB player from the small village along the Ohio River. His story is a bit of a mystery for there is very little written of his life outside of baseball. He would enjoy a ten-year baseball career, with his entire Major League time in St. Louis.
Joe Willis began his baseball dreams in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League playing for the Springfield Senators in 1910. He would appear in 31 games, and reach a 15-12 record. This drew the attention of the Browns who gave him an opportunity to start the 1911 season in St. Louis.
Joe Willis would make his MLB debut on May 3, 1911, as the Browns played host to the Detroit Tigers. He would start the game and complete seven innings of play. He would scatter eight hits, and three walks, while giving up five runs to the Tigers. He was not able to record a strikeout, but would keep the legendary Ty Cobb, from a hit. He was replaced by Howie Gregory in the eighth inning to complete the game. This would be the only game that "Smiling Joe " Willis would appear with the Browns.
In June of 1911, the St. Louis Cardinals would purchase his contract and he would finish the season as a Redbird (appearing in just two games). Willis would remain with the Cardinals for two more seasons (1912-13). In 1912 he would pitch in 31 games for the Cardinals, recording four complete games of the 17 he started. He would close out eight games while getting credit for two saves. His final stats for the Willis in 1912 included 129 innings pitched, with 64 earned runs, 62 walks, 55 strikeouts, five hit batters, and an ERA of 4.44.
Willis would split time between the Cardinals and the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association in 1913. He would end up playing for Indianapolis through the 1916 season, and later see action with the Columbus Senators (1917, 19) and the Bloomington Bloomers (1917).
There is little information about the life of "Smiling Joe" after baseball. He would settle down in Ironton, Ohio, which was just five miles away from his birth place. He surely led a quiet life away from the game, but also told the story of his MLB debut he had with the Browns to everyone who wanted to listen.
UPCOMING BROWNS SCHEDULE
The St. Louis Browns opened their 1913 season on April 10th.
BEGINNING TOMORROW,
"St. Louis Browns 764" will document the record for every game played during the baseball season. It will also include every debut, trade, and include the breakdown of one amazing game in Browns history for every date of the season. Th
UPCOMING BROWNS SCHEDULE
The St. Louis Browns opened their 1913 season on April 10th.
BEGINNING TOMORROW,
"St. Louis Browns 764" will document the record for every game played during the baseball season. It will also include every debut, trade, and include the breakdown of one amazing game in Browns history for every date of the season. This is the most comprehensive look at the history of the St. Louis Browns on the web, and every day will bring more incredible stories. PLEASE CONTINUE TO ENJOY THESE STORIES.
BROWNS' BIRTHDAYS ON THIS DAY
1890 - Walter "Heinie" Jantzen (1912)
1870 - CF Ollie Pickering (1907)
1888 - 3B Joe McDonald (1910)
1890 - LHP Joe Willis (1911)
1905 - RHP Earl Caldwell (1935-37)
TRANSACTIONS
1947 - The Browns trade outfielder Chet Laabs to Philadelphia Athletics for cash. Chat Laabs was a Browns legend from 1939 through 1946. In his 8 seasons in St. Louis, he was a dependable and consistant player who gave the Browns everything. He would play in 794 games. He would record 813 hits, inlcuding 151 doubles, 44 triples, 117 home runs, and drove in 509 runs. No runs were bigger than the 2 home runs he hit on October 1, 1944. These home runs against the Detroit Tigers clinched the 1944 American League pennant and sent the Browns to their only World Series. Earlier in 1942, he would hit 7 Homes runs, including 2 grand slams, and 22 RBIs in 8 games. He would be named to the American League All Star team in 1943. This trade came in the twilight of Laabs career. He would only see action in 15 games for the Athletics before spending the rest of hs career in the minors. Chet Laabs will forever be known as a St. Louis Brown. He is listed at #34 on the Top 100 Browns of all time list found on this website.
1953 - The beloved Sportsman's Park is renamed Busch Stadium. The name change came with the purchase of the St. Louis Cardinals by the Anheuser-Busch company. It was said that August Busch wanted to originally name the ball park Budweiser Stadium, but Major League Baseball did not want it a stadium named after an alcoholic beverage. Within a year of the name change, Busch Beer was introduced by the St. Louis brewery.
The St. Louis Browns pitching staff of 1929 was a group anchored by veteran pitchers with a mix of younger hurlers. Sam Gray would win 18 games, and lead the league in games started, shutouts, innings pitched, hits allowed, and batters faced. He would be in his second year in St. Louis, and by the time he retired in 1933 he would win 67 g
The St. Louis Browns pitching staff of 1929 was a group anchored by veteran pitchers with a mix of younger hurlers. Sam Gray would win 18 games, and lead the league in games started, shutouts, innings pitched, hits allowed, and batters faced. He would be in his second year in St. Louis, and by the time he retired in 1933 he would win 67 games for the browns. The other main pitcher for the Browns was Alvin "General" Crowder, who would win 17 games and tie Gray for the most shutouts in the league. Along with Lefty Stewart, George Blaeholder, and Rip Collins, this Browns team put up some very respectable numbers.
Team Pitching Statistics
(American League Rankings)
Player Statistics