St. Louis Browns - The World War One Years (1910-1919)

Browns
Home
Click
on Logo

1910

Decade

1910

107

Click

107

on Logo

101

Titles:

Top Browns Players of the Teens

None

Pitchers:

BallPark:

Carl Weilman (23.25) - 49

Sportsman's Park

Earl Hamilton (13.15) - 38

Allen Sothoron (9.32) - 35

Team Name:

Dave Davenport (2.07) - 28

St. Louis Browns

George Baumgardner (6.85) - 23

Joe Lake (3.49) - 18

Owner:

Jack Powell (6.57) - 17

Robert L Hedges (1910-1916)

Urban Shocker (6.82) - 13

Phillip D Ball (1916-1919)

Bert Gallia (1.1) - 13

Bill James (3.15) - 12

General Managers:

Bob Groom (6.17) - 11

Branch Rickey (1916)

Eddie Plank (6.36) - 10

Bob Quinn (1917-1919)

Barney Pelty (3.69) - 9

Managers:

Catchers:

John O'Connor (1910)

Hank Severeid (6.31) - 14

Bobby Walker (1911-1912)

Jim Stephens (2.49) - 10

George Stovall (1912-1913)

Sam Agnew (0.13) - 10

Jimmy Austin (1913, 1918)

Branch Rickey (1913-1915)

First Basemen:

Fielder Jones (1916-1918)

George Sisler (23.29) - 57

Jimmy Burke (1918-1919)

Second Basemen:

No Hitters:

Del Pratt (22.72) - 46

Earl Hamilton (1912)

Ernie Koob (1917)

ShortStop:

Bob Groom (1917)

Bobby Wallace (8.3) - 17

Doc Levan (3.86) - 12

Hall of Famers:

Eddie Plank

Third Basemen:

Branch Rickey

Jimmy Austin (18.97) - 39

George Sisler

Frank LaPorte (5.02) - 10

Rube Waddell

Bobby Wallace

Outfield:

Burt Shotten (20.57) - 66

MVP:

Tilly Walker (8.53) - 23

None

Jack Tobin (4.35) - 16

Baby Doll Jacobson (4.72) - 16

Notable Events:

Gus Williams (4.73) - 16

Armando Marsans (1.68) - 13

1913 - Branch Rickey is hired on as manager. He accomplishes

a mini-miracle as the Browns avoid losing a hundred games

Notable Events:

for the first time this decade

1916 - Twenty four year old outfiielder Jack Tobin moves to the

1916 - Rickey moves on to the front office and leaves the

Browns from the defunct St. Louis Terriers along with ten others

managing to Fielder Jones

1917-1919 Branch Rickey goes to war, thus postponing the .

1916 - The Federal League folds and, as part of the merger

eventual clash of egos that he was to have with owner Phillip Ball

agreement, the St. Louis Terriers merge with the St. Louis

until after Rickey returned from the service in 1919.

Browns. Phillip D Ball , the Terriers owner, buys out Robert L

Hedges and takes over control of the Browns.

1917 - Bob Quinn is hired on as General Manager. Quinn gets a

a huge amount of credit for taking advantage of the changing times

1916 - The Browns have a winning season! Their first since 1908

in baseball and building the Browns into a contender by the early

and the fourth in their sixteen year history. Its their only winning

Twenties. However, his legacy will always be tarnished for being

season this decade and they didn't even make the first division,

associated with two of the biggest losers in big league history, the

finishing fifth.

Red Sox of the 1920's and the Braves of the 1930's.

Neither disaster was his fault as Quinn was working with less than

1915 - Branch Rickey, in a stroke of good fortune, signs future

a shoestring budget at both venues. You could only feel for his plight.

Hall of Famer George Sisler. Rickey was Sisler's college coach

at Michigan and after Branch had moved to the Browns, Sisler

1917 - The Browns purchase journeyman outfielder Ken Williams

wanted to play for him. However, before going to college, Sisler

from the Reds. Once again, It was the dead ball era and slugging

had signed a contract with the Pirates. The Pirate contract was

outfielders didn't have much value at the time. They would in the Twenties.

voided by the National Commission and Rickey had successfully

"pirated" Sisler away from Pittsburgh. This was a major coup because

1918 - The Browns pick up twenty eight year old journeyman

the Browns were never a player in getting top prospects while the

righthander Urban Shocker in a deal with the Yankees. Urban

Pirates, led by owner Barney Dreyfuss and Manager Fred Clarke,

proceeds to "shock" everyone by becoming one of the top pitchers

always were.

in the game.

1915 - Rickey purchases twenty four year old outfielder

1919 - Phillip D Ball and Branch Rickey have a clash of egos

Baby Doll Jacobson from Detroit. Rickey took advantage of the

resulting in Rickey's firing. Bad luck for Browns fans. Rickey

fact that Detroit's outfield was stacked with Ty Cobb in center.

was a baseball genius. Ball was a baseball buffoon. Another

Sam Crawford and Bobby Veach and Jacobson was surplus.

case in point of might often doesn't make right. Rickey went on to the

Jacobson was a decent centerfielder with fair speed and wasn't

Cardinals organization and produced a dynasty. Ball stayed with

considered anything special as a dead ball era outfielder.

the Browns until 1932 and produced a mess. You could rightfully

But he could hit with power which would make him a major

say that this firing was the turning point in St. Louis baseball as

star moving into the next decade when the live ball era came to life.

the Cards are still in St. Louis while the Browns were forced to

to move to Baltimore in the Fifties.