In the

1939 Major League Baseball season The 1939 Major League Baseball season was contested from April 17 to October 8, 1939. The Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees were the regular season champions of the National League and American League, respectively. The Yankees then defeated ...

, the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

finished eighth in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

with a record of 43 wins and 111 losses.

Regular season

The Browns lost a franchise record 111 games—not surpassed until the 2018 Baltimore Orioles (the team moved from St. Louis to Baltimore in )—and finished 64.5 games out of first place.''As Good As It Got, The 1944 St. Louis Browns'', David Alan Heller, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina, 2003, The Browns played particularly poorly at home, posting an 18–59 record. The 59 home losses stood as the most in a modern-era major league season until it was matched by the 2019 Detroit Tigers, who went 22–59 at home. Because of the shorter season, the Browns home winning percentage in 1939 (.234) is still the worst in history. Browns pitching struggled tremendously. The pitchers allowed 739 walks, which was over 100 walks more than the next worse team. The team had an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 6.01. The next time that a team would have an ERA over 6.00 was the 1996 Detroit Tigers, who had an ERA of 6.38.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Notable transactions

* May 13, 1939:

Red Kress Ralph "Red" Kress (January 2, 1905 – November 29, 1962) was an American shortstop, third baseman, first baseman and coach in Major League Baseball. From through , he played for the St. Louis Browns (1927–1932; 1938–1939), Chicago White Sox ...

Beau Bell Roy Chester "Beau" Bell (August 20, 1907 – September 14, 1977) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1935 to 1941 for the St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers, and Cleveland Indians. Bell ...

Bobo Newsom Louis Norman "Bobo" Newsom (August 11, 1907 – December 7, 1962) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Also known as "Buck", Newsom played for nine of the 16 then-existing big-league teams from 1929 through 1953 over all or ...

, and Jim Walkup were traded by the St. Louis Browns to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

for

Vern Kennedy Lloyd Vernon Kennedy (March 20, 1907 – January 28, 1993) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinna ...

, Bob Harris, George Gill,

Roxie Lawson Alfred Voyle "Roxie" Lawson (April 13, 1906 – April 9, 1977) was an American baseball player and manager. He was a right-handed pitcher in professional baseball for 13 years from 1929 to 1941, including nine years in Major League Baseball with t ...

Chet Laabs Chester Peter Laabs (April 30, 1912 – January 26, 1983) was an American baseball right-handed outfielder. He played professional baseball from 1935 to 1950, including 11 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers (1937–1939), St. ...

, and

Mark Christman Marquette Joseph "Mark" Christman (October 21, 1913 – October 9, 1976) was an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop who appeared in 911 games in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns and Washi ...

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Springfield, LafayetteJohnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball". Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 1997

References

External links

1939 St. Louis Browns team page at Baseball Reference1939 St. Louis Browns season at baseball-almanac.com
{{Baltimore Orioles St. Louis Browns seasons Saint Louis Browns season

St Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...