Mace Brown

Mace Brown
Pitcher
Batted: Right Threw: Right
debut
May 21, 1935, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last appearance
September 10, 1946, for the Boston Red Sox
Career statistics
Pitching record	76-57
Earned run average	3.46
Strikeouts	435
Saves	48
Teams
Pittsburgh Pirates (1935-1941) Brooklyn Dodgers (1941) Boston Red Sox (1942-1943, 1946)
Career highlights and awards
National League pennant: 1941 American League pennant: 1946 National League All-Star: 1938

Mace Stanley Brown (May 21, 1909 - March 24, 2002) was a middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1935 through 1946, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1935–1941), Brooklyn Dodgers (1941) and Boston Red Sox (1942–1946).

In a ten-season career, Brown posted a 76-57 record with a 3.46 ERA and 44 saves in 387 appearances (55 as a starter).

Brown was one of the first full time relief pitchers in major league history. In 1938, he led the Pirates with 15 wins (all in relief), led the National League with 51 games pitched, and became the first reliever to play the All-Star Game. In 1943, with the Red Sox, he also led the American League in games pitched with 49.

However, he is probably best known for giving up the "Homer in the Gloamin," the home run that cost the Pirates their lead in the 1938 National League pennant race. On September 28, 1938, the Pirates were playing the Chicago Cubs, who trailed the Pirates by just one-half game in the league standings. Brown entered the game with the teams tied 5-5 entering the bottom of the ninth inning. Darkness was falling fast, and the Cubs' Wrigley Field had no lights, meaning the game could end in a tie. But Hartnett smacked a pitch from Brown over the right-field wall, giving the Cubs the victory and propelling them into first place. The Pirates proceeded to lose four of their final five games, securing the Cubs hold on the pennant.

Brown missed the 1944 and 1945 seasons while serving as Lieutenant junior grade in the United States Navy during World War II.

Following his playing career, Brown served as a coach and scout for the Red Sox organization from 1953-1989.

Brown died in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the age of 92.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball saves champions
• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders

References

• Baseball Almanac
• Baseball Library
• Baseball Reference
• The Dead Ball Era