St. louis browns, history, & legends

Robert Hedges (1902-16) – Kansas City carriage maker served as the team’s first owner as they had moved from Milwaukee under the guidance of American League president Ban Johnson. Established the brand and was the first to bring Branch Rickey to the Browns

Robert Ball (1916-33) - Described as a firey, passionate baseball man, whose decisions did not always work out to his benefit. Phil Ball would make his impact on St Louis Baseball by owning the St. Louis Terriers of the Federal League (1914-15) prior to purchasing the Browns. He was responsible for building the best teams in the history of the franchise.

Robert Ball passed in 1933 leaving the organization in the hands of a group of unqualified business men who had no idea how to run a successful team.

Donald Barnes (1936-45) – Branch Rickey helped organize the sale of the team to the St. Louis businessman. Barnes guided the organization through failed westward move to Los Angeles and the war years. He built the team that won the only American League pennant in 1944

Richard Muckerman (1945-48) – Responsible for renovating Sportsman’s Park, as well as a new stadium for their top minor league team, San Antonio Missions. He struggles to turn a profit with the team, and was forced to sell off most of the team that won the American League title.

Bill and Charley DeWitt (1948-50) – Longtime team official Bill DeWitt purchased the organization in order to keep the team in St. Louis. Learned the tasks of baseball under Branch Rickey and Donald Barnes, DeWitt worked with a dwindling budget against the powers of the league. They loved the team and the city.

Bill Veeck (1950-53) – One of the most colorful and under rated leaders in the history of baseball. Veeck was responsible for bringing “fun” back to the ballpark with the “Eddie Gaedel”, “Grandstand Managers” and the first “Ladies Nights” promotions. Unable to make St. Louis a “Browns” city, he was forced to sell the team to a group from Baltimore. Bill Veeck’s legacy in St. Louis baseball is often overlooked.

1936 - Browns owner and local businessman Donald Barnes was lookin for ways to bring more attention to his ball club, so he decided "rebrand" his team's logo in order to spark the fanbase in St. Louis. The result was the iconic "Louis IX" logo that would become the classic symbol of this franchise. The emblem shows off one the cities most identified symbols of the city, the statue of King Louis IX which sits atop Art Hill in Forest Park. The statue sits atop a shield with nine stripes and eight stars. The stripes represent the nine players on the field, and the stars represent the eight teams in the American League.

1952 - Browns owner Bill Veeck introduced a new mascot for the team. His name was "Louie". he was a combination of a elf-like figure and a mysterious leprechaun, and Veeck saw him as an ambassador to young fans of St. Louis. Louie was everywhere. Many of the traditional Browns fans disliked the new look, but Veeck was a master salesman and Louie has become a piece of baseball history

List of great leaders in the order in which they managed the Browns

• James McAleer – 1902-09
• John O’Connor – 1909
• Roderick Wallace – 1911-12
• George Stovall – 1912-13
• Jimmy Austin – 1913, 18, 23
• Branch Rickey – 1913-15
• Fielder Jones – 1916-18
• Jams Burke – 1918-20
• Lee Fohl – 1921-23
• George Sisler – 1924-26
• David Howley – 1927-29
• Bill Killefer – 1930-33
• Allen Sothoron – 1933
• Rogers Hornsby – 1933-37, 1952
• Jim Bottomley – 1937
• Charles Street – 1938
• Oscar Melillo – 1938
• Fred Haney – 1939-40
• Luke Sewell – 1940-46
• Zach Taylor – 1946, 48-51
• Muddy Ruel – 1947
• Marty Marion – 1952-53

St Louis Browns in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown

• 1B/Mgr George Sisler (1915-27) Inducted in 1939
• 2B/Mgr. Rogers Hornsby (1933-37) Inducted in 1942
• OF Jesse Burkett (1902-04) Inducted in 1946
• RHP Rube Waddell (1908-10) Inducted in 1946
• RHP Eddie Plank (1916-17) Inducted in 1946
• RHP Dizzy Dean (1947) Inducted in 1953
• SS Bobby Wallace (1902-16) Inducted in 1953
• OF Heinie Manush (1928-30) Inducted in 1964
• C/Mgr/GM Branch Rickey (1905-06, 1913-15, 1919) Inducted in 1967
• OF Goose Goslin (1930-32) Inducted in 1968
• RP Satchell Paige (1951-53) Inducted in 1971
• 1B/Mgr. Jim Bottomley (1936-37) Inducted in 1974
• Catcher Rick Ferrell (1929-33, 41-43) Inducted in 1984
• Owner Bill Veeck (1951-53) Inducted in 1991
• Willard Brown (1947) Inducted in 2006

The ST. LOUIS CITY SERIES was a rivalry series between the St. Louis Browns and their National League neighbor, the St. Louis Cardinals. This exhibition series was maintained throughout most the time the two teams shared "The Gateway City". 

SPORTSMAN'S PARK

Known as one of the classic ballparks of the first half of the 20th century, Sportsman's Park was the home of the St. Louis Browns for the 52 years the team was in St. Louis. Located at the corner of Grand and Dodier, the history of this ballpark dated back to as early as 1867. The first called the Grand Avenue Ball Grounds, the name changed to Sportsman's Park in 1876. It was first home to the St. Louis Browns Stockings between 1875 and 1893. As everyone knows, this "Browns Stockings" team would become the St. Louis Cardinals and they would move to their own field after the 1893 season. From 1894 to 1902, the field was still used by local teams. When the Milwaukee Brewers moved to St. Louis and became the beloved St. Louis Browns, the life of Sportsman's Park began again. Eventually it would become the center of baseball in St. Louis. It would be home to ten World Series, and three MLB All-Star games. This park would take on many changes throughout the years, but the stories of this field are always inspiring. This is one of many installments of the Sportsman's Park on this website. There are too many stories to limit it to a single entry. Please continue to check in and learn more about this classic ballpark of St. Louis.

  From 1885-88, the ST. LOUIS BROWN STOCKINGS would win the American Association pennant. In 1886, the Browns would win the World Series Champions, and tied for the crown in 1885. Over these four season, the Browns would compile a 360-162-5 record. In this time, the Browns were lead by Charlie Comiskey who was widely known as one of the best and colorful players of the era.

ST. LOUIS TERRIERS were members of the Federal Baseball League from 1914 -1915. They were the third professional team in St. Louis during the era. The team was owned by Phil Ball, who would purchase the Browns after the Federal League folded in 1915. Ball would continue to lead the Browns until 1933. The Terriers would finish at the top of the FBL in 1915, but would have to claim second place to the Chicago Whalers. Even though they finished with a league best 87 wins, the Terriers would only reach a .565 Winning Percentage. The FBL Championship would go to the Chicago Whalers who achieved a .566 Winning Percentage. 

ST. LOUIS STARS of the Negro Baseball Leagues had their share of great players and incredible athletes. The Stars existed in St. Louis from 1911 to 1931, and compiled a record of 712 wins with 518 losses. From 1911 to 1919, they were actually called the "Giants" and competed as an independent baseball team within the Western Independent Clubs. In 1920, they would join the Negro National League (NNL) going 32-40, while also playing in the exhibition "Negro Leagues vs. Major Leagues" (NvM) where they would go 3-2. In 1922, the Giants would change their name to the Stars, and for the next 10 years the Stars were consistently at the top of the Negro National League. The Stars would finish at the top of the league in 1928, 1930, and 1931, while finishing second in 1930.