St. Louis Browns - The Final Years (1940-1953)

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1940

Decade

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101

Titles:

Top Browns Players of the Forties / Early Fifties

1944 AL Pennant (Lost to Cards in World Series)

Pitchers:

BallPark:

Ned Garver (23.7) - 40

Sportsman's Park

Bob Muncrief (15.3) - 37

Jack Kramer (8.49) - 37

Team Name:

Nels Potter (19) - 35

St. Louis Browns

Denny Galehouse (14.2) - 29

Elden Auker (4.25) - 27

Owner:

Johnny Niggeling (11.9) - 17

Donald F Barnes (1940-1945)

Sig Jakucki (4.24) - 17

Richard C Muckerman (1946-1948)

Cliff Fannin (4.34) - 17

William D DeWitt (1949-1950)

Al Hollingsworth (5.59) - 16

Bill Veeck (1951-1953)

Duane Pillette (5.77) - 15

Satchell Paige (6.79) - 13

General Managers:

Fred Sanford (5) - 13

None

Steve Sundra (3.44) - 13

Sam Zoldak (6) - 13

Managers:

George Caster (4.37) - 11

Fred Haney (1940-1941)

Stubby Overmire (5.12) - 6

Luke Sewell (1941-1946)

Bobo Hollomon (0.12) - 1

Muddy Ruel (1947)

Zach Taylor (1946-1951)

Catchers:

Rogers Hornsby (1952)

Sherm Lollar (4.48) - 24

Marty Marion (1952-1953)

Les Moss (1.92) - 15

Clint Courtney (1.61) - 12

No Hitters:

Rick Ferrell (1.53) - 12

Bobo Hollomon (1953)

Frank Mancuso (0.79) - 11

Hall of Famers:

First Basemen:

Dizzy Dean

George McQuinn (12.44) - 49

Rick Ferrell

Roy Sievers (0.33) - 13

Satchell Paige

Bill Veeck

Second Basemen:

Don Gutteridge (0.19) - 20

Rookie of the Year:

Jerry Priddy (5.57) - 14

Roy Sievers (1949)

ShortStops:

MVP:

Vern Stephens (24.64) - 72

None

John Berardino (0.79) - 13

Notable Events:

Third Basemen:

Harlond Clift (12.03) - 30

1940 - On the heels of a putrid decade where their best seasonal

Bob Dillinger (3.64) - 29

mark was 67-85, the Browns have their best and last full decade

Mark Christman (3.22) - 15

in their tenure in St. Louis. Of course, for the Brownies, everything is

relative. The first half of the decade, helped mightily by the fact that

Outfield:

every other team was depleted severely by the war, saw St. Louis

Chet Laabs (10.41) - 33

have three above .500 seasons in the first half dozen including a

Walt Judnich (14.13) - 50

pennant in 1944. The remaining eight years in St. Louis, however,

Milt Byrnes (7.08) - 26

once everyone was back from the war and functioning normally,

Al Zarilla (2.65) - 20

would be typical Browns awfulness. They would average 58-96

Dick Kokos (3.63) - 19

running out the string until the franchise, mercifully, is shifted to

Mike Kreevich (2.38) - 16

Baltimore

Jeff Heath (4.91) - 14

Ray Coleman (0.33) - 13

1941 - Donald F Barnes tries to move the Browns to Los Angeles.

Rip Radcliff (3.48) - 11

As luck would have it for the luckless Browns franchise, the day of

Vic Wertz (7.87) - 10

the hearing for the move was scheduled for December 8, 1941.

Roy Cullenbine (5.4) - 10

Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7th and league owners

Bob Nieman (2.8) - 10

were now in no mood to consider franchise moves. Barnes was

Gene Moore (0.52) - 10

stuck in St. Louis.

Pete Gray (1,04) - 0

1942 - Vern Stephens comes up as a twenty one year old shortstop.

Midget:

He will be a vital cog in the Browns lineup in the forties.

Eddie Gaedel (0.03) - 0

1942 - The Browns have their first winning season in 13 years

Notable Events:

1944 - St. Loiuis wins the pennant. They didn't add anybody new

1952 - The Browns still owned Sportsman's Park, probably their

of significance, but while other teams lost the war of attrition to WWII,

biggest asset at this stage of the game. Veeck, in his battle for

the Browns kept their players. They lose their only World Series to the

St.Louis supremacy against the Cardinals, paints the stadium

cross town Cardinals ironically enough.

brown and adorns it with Browns paraphanelia and memorabelia

1945 - The Browns have their third winning season in the last four.

1952 - Veeck introduces the fans vote in the stands. A Browns

This is the last season that other teams' players are away at war.

employee holds up a placard facing towards the stands asking the

fans what to do and they flash a Yes or No placard in response.

1945 - Donald F Barnes takes advantage of the Browns recent

You had to love Bill Veeck

success on the field to sell the ballclub to Richard C Muckerman at

top dollar. Muckerman does not infuse cash into the franchise.

1952 - Two major accomplishments for Veeck. They double their

attendance to over 500,000 and they don't lose 100 games.

1945 - St. Louis employs one armed outfielder Pete Gray

1952 - Veeck's dream of the Browns being kings of St. Louis comes

1947 - Star shortstop Vern Stephens is dealt to the Red Sox

to an abrupt end when August Busch buys the Cardinals from Fred

for cash and a bunch of nothings providing a graphic display of

Saigh. Saigh was in all kinds of tax trouble, thus putting the Cardinals

where owner Muckerman's priorities lie.

franchise in some jeopardy. However, the sale to deep pocketed

Busch ends Veeck's gambit.

1949 - Bill DeWitt buys the Browns. He runs the team on the cheap.

1953 - Veeck sells Sportsman's Park to the Cardinals. It's over.

1951 - DeWitt sells the club to Bill Veeck. This is the Browns' last

chance for survival in St. Louis and who better to give it a try?

1953 - Rookie Bobo Holloman pitches a no hhitter on May 6. It's

one of three total major league wins for Holloman who is out of the .

1951 - Bill Veeck signs Satchell Paige who had helped him get to the

major leagues by the end of the year

World Series with the Indians in 1948. This is not a pure publicity stunt

as Paige is still an effective pitcher despite being in his late forties.

1953 - The other AL owners despise Veeck, who, unlike them, considers

himself a regular guy and not a mogul. The Browns are dead in

1951 - In a pure publicity stunt, Veeck signs 3 foot 7 inch midget

St. Louis and the other owners will only let the franchise be moved if

Eddie Gaedel and puts him in an August 18th game against Detroit.

Veeck sells the club, which he does.

Midgets are banned from baseball after the game, but Veeck had a

legitimate point - if you need a baserunner, a designated midget would

do the trick. Also, midgets could probably win an anti-descrimination

suit against the ban in today's world.