Brooks Ulysses Lawrence (January 30, 1925 – April 27, 2000) was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

All-Star

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1954–1955),

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

(1956–1959), and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1960). Lawrence was born in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northe ...

, and served in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He enrolled at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

in 1947, and played two seasons of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

before being signed to a professional contract by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

. Lawrence's Major League debut came in 1954. As a 29-year-old rookie, Lawrence went 15–6 with a 3.74 ERA while starting and relieving for the

. He struggled in 1955 and was demoted to Oakland (in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

), but he went 5–1 down the stretch and earned a second chance with the big-league club. Lawrence's best season came in 1956. Prior to that year, St. Louis sent Lawrence and Sonny Senerchia to the

in exchange for Jackie Collum. With the Reds that season, Lawrence posted a 19–10 record and a 3.99 ERA. He opened the season with 13 consecutive wins and earned a spot on the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

All-Star team. That year he led the Reds in wins, innings pitched and shutouts. Lawrence's career came to a close in 1960, and he retired with an overall record of 69–62 with a 4.25 ERA in innings pitched. Due largely to his 13-game winning streak and his association with the surprisingly successful 1956 Reds club, Lawrence earned induction into the

Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame The Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum is an entity established by Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds franchise that pays homage to the team's past through displays, photographs and multimedia. It was instituted in 1958 to recognize th ...

in 1976. After his retirement from baseball, Lawrence worked for

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

in his hometown of

. He later worked for the Reds in scouting, minor league player development, and radio and television. Lawrence died on April 27, 2000.

References

External links

Brooks Lawrence
- Baseballbiography.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Brooks 1925 births 2000 deaths African-American baseball players Sportspeople from Springfield, Ohio Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Cardinals players Cincinnati Redlegs players Cincinnati Reds players National League All-Stars Miami RedHawks baseball players Baseball players from Ohio United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century African-American sportspeople