St. Louis Browns catcher/centerfielder Harry Chapman was born on October 26, 1885 in Severence, Kansas. His life and baseball career was cut short due to World War I, but was still able to enjoy an eight-year professional baseball career.
Chapman started his career late, at the age of 24, with the Concordia Travelers of the Central Kansas
St. Louis Browns catcher/centerfielder Harry Chapman was born on October 26, 1885 in Severence, Kansas. His life and baseball career was cut short due to World War I, but was still able to enjoy an eight-year professional baseball career.
Chapman started his career late, at the age of 24, with the Concordia Travelers of the Central Kansas League in 1910. He would later see action wit the Topeka Jayhawks (1911) and the Sioux City Packers (1912) before gaining the attention of the Chicago Cubs.
Chapman's only game with the Cubs came on October 6, 1912, when his triple drove in the winning run in a 4-3 victory over the Cardinals. In December of 1912, Chapman was part of an eight man deal between the Cubs and Reds. He would only appear in two games for the Reds in 1913, while splitting time with the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern League.
Prior to the 1914 season, many MLB players were being lured to the new upstart Federal Baseball League. Since he had only seen three games at the Major Leagues, Chapman decided to jump to this new outlaw league and join the St. Louis Terriers. He would enjoy his best seasons in the two years he spent with the Terriers. He would record 75 hits in 126 games, including eight doubles, four triples, and his only career home run. Known for his defensive skills, he batted .204 with only 43 RBIs.
The Federal Baseball League unfortunately folded after two seasons, but Chapman made such an impression that he would be invited to play for the Browns. On February 10, 1916, Chapman would be one of 11 players whose contracts were purchased by the St. Louis Browns after former Terriers owner, Phil Ball, purchased the team.
Chapman would not be able to see the same playing time with the Browns he enjoyed the previous seasons. He would tally just two runs, on three hits, with two walks, and five strikeouts, with the Browns in 1916. It was not a surprise that Chapman was traded on July 14, 1916 with RHP George Baumgardner to the Little Rock Travelers for catcher William Rumler.
Harry Chapman would play two seasons for Little Rock (1916-17) before enlisting in the US Army during World War I. While serving in the Army, he would contract the Spanish Flu, and return home. Harry Chapman would pass after a battle with influenza-induced pneumonia as a result of the Spanish Flu on October 21, 1918. He is one of eight MLB players to have passed due issues from combat in World War I. Harry Chapman was only 30 years old.
PREMIER OF A NEW DOCUMENTARY ON THE 1944 "STREETCAR SERIES" WORLD SERIES DEBUTS
This new look at the St. Louis series in 1944 includes original film footage, and expert break down of the players and teams involved. Please enjoy this original program from the YouTube channel, SPORTS REWIND. Please click on the link below:
The 1944 World Seri
PREMIER OF A NEW DOCUMENTARY ON THE 1944 "STREETCAR SERIES" WORLD SERIES DEBUTS
This new look at the St. Louis series in 1944 includes original film footage, and expert break down of the players and teams involved. Please enjoy this original program from the YouTube channel, SPORTS REWIND. Please click on the link below:
The 1944 World Series Was Closer Than You Think!
https://youtu.be/sp4si6Evjkk
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TOP 100 Browns Countdown
This website has the only Top 100 list of famous St Louis Browns players. Please feel free to free to visit the tab about for the complete list. Here is a brief portion of the list that recognizes some of the best players in the history of the St. Louis Browns.
Players #61-65
The 1931 St. Louis Browns would finish with a 63-91 record, and finish in fifth place in the American League. They would finish 45 games behind the pennant winning, Philadelphia Athletics, and 15 games behind the Cleveland Indians who finished in fourth place.
The Browns would have five players hit over .300 (.304 Fred Schulte, .306 Oscar
The 1931 St. Louis Browns would finish with a 63-91 record, and finish in fifth place in the American League. They would finish 45 games behind the pennant winning, Philadelphia Athletics, and 15 games behind the Cleveland Indians who finished in fourth place.
The Browns would have five players hit over .300 (.304 Fred Schulte, .306 Oscar Melillo, .306 Rick Ferrell, .311 Red Kress) led by LF Goose Goslin with a .328 batting average. With those marks the Browns were still below the American League average. The pitching staff was not the strongest part of the team. Their best pitcher was LHP Lefty Stewart who won 14 games with a 4.40 ERA. Unfortunately the Browns were not able to help a pitcher with a winning record. RHP Sam Gray would win 11 games, but lose 24 and his ERA leaped to 5.05.
The Browns fielding was not stellar this season. They would be one of the worse fielding teams in the franchise history. SS Jim Levey had 58 errors, Oscar Melillo had 32, and Red Kress added 31 errors, totaling 121 errors between the three players. This would be uncharacteristic of this team.
This would be the second of four seasons the Browns were led by manager Bill Killefer, who obviously had his hands full looking for the right combination.