Jimmy Brown (baseball)
| Jimmy Brown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: April 25, 1910 Jamesville, North Carolina, U.S. | |
| Died: December 29, 1977 (aged 67) Bath, North Carolina, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 23, 1937, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 15, 1946, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .279 |
| Home runs | 9 |
| Runs batted in | 319 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
James Roberson Brown (April 25, 1910 – December 29, 1977) was a Major League Baseball infielder and coach.
Early life
[edit]Born in Jamesville, North Carolina, he played college baseball for the North Carolina State College (now North Carolina State University) Wolfpack.[1] Brown was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed; he was listed as 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall and 165 pounds (75 kg).
Career
[edit]
He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals afterwards and made his major league debut two days before his 27th birthday. He made an immediate impact, not only scoring 9 triples his rookie year, but also leading the league in sacrifice hits with 26.[2] His 1938 season was not as impressive, but he did manage to increase his batting average over .300.[2] Brown had a career year in 1939, not only leading the league in at-bats with 645, but finishing 6th in MVP voting.[2] He began being known as a reliable leadoff hitter and as an infielder that the Cardinals could put anywhere, having played 1936 primarily as a second baseman, 1939 as a shortstop, and 1941 as a third baseman.[2]
After a decent season in 1940, he came back with another great year in 1941, tying a career high in triples with 9, earning a career high batting average with .306, and finishing 4th in MVP voting.[2] This, however, was still not enough to earn an all-star appearance. In 1942 he managed to earn his lone all-star appearance and finish 13th in MVP voting.[2] Despite this and leading the league in at-bats with 606, his batting average dipped to .256, a career low.[2] Despite this, during the 1942 World Series, he led all Cardinals' hitters in batting average with .300 en route to their World Series victory.[3]
Brown enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces after playing 34 games during the 1943 season.[4] When World War II ended, his contract was sold for $30,000 on January 5, 1946, to the Pittsburgh Pirates; he played the 1946 season as a utility infielder before being released by the Pirates on November 15.[5]
In 890 games over eight seasons, Brown posted a .279 batting average (980-for-3512) with 465 runs, 146 doubles, 42 triples, 9 home runs, 319 RBI and 231 bases on balls. He finished his career with a .959 fielding percentage playing at second and third base and shortstop. In the 1942 World Series, he hit .300 (6-for-20) with 2 runs, 1 RBI and 3 walks.[2]
Upon retirement, he became a manager in the Pittsburgh farm system, with the Indianapolis Indians in 1947 and the New Orleans Pelicans in 1948.[6] Brown then returned to the National League as a coach for the Boston Braves, working for three seasons (1949–51) under his old Cardinal skipper, Billy Southworth.
Later life
[edit]After leaving Boston in 1952, he was a manager for minor league teams in the farm systems of the Cardinals, Braves and Cincinnati Reds. He died December 29, 1977, in Bath, North Carolina.
References
[edit]- ^ "North Carolina State University Baseball Players Who Made it to the Major Leagues". Baseball-Almanac.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2005. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Jimmy Brown Statistics – Baseball-Reference.com". Retrieved May 6, 2007.
- ^ "Jimmy Brown – baseballbiography.com". Retrieved May 6, 2007.
- ^ "Those Who Served". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
- ^ "Jimmy Brown Baseball Statistics". Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved May 6, 2007.
- ^ "History of New Orleans Baseball". Retrieved May 8, 2007.
Further reading
[edit]External links
[edit]- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or Baseball Almanac
- Jimmy Brown at Find a Grave
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1910 births
- 1977 deaths
- United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
- Baseball players from North Carolina
- Boston Braves coaches
- Greensboro Patriots players
- Indianapolis Indians managers
- Indianapolis Indians players
- Major League Baseball infielders
- NC State Wolfpack baseball players
- New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players
- People from Martin County, North Carolina
- Pittsburgh Pirates players
- Rochester Red Wings players
- St. Louis Cardinals players
- United States Army Air Forces soldiers