Arthur Washington Bramhall (February 22, 1909 – September 4, 1985) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player. He played minor league baseball from 1930 to 1935 and in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in 1935. He also played professional

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. After his playing career ended, he worked as a sportscaster for radio stations in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Early years

Bramhall was born in 1909 in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...

, and attended Oak Park High School and St. Mel High School. He was the star

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

of the 1929 St. Mel's basketball team that was coached by football great

Paddy Driscoll John Leo "Paddy" Driscoll (January 11, 1895 – June 29, 1968) was an American professional football and baseball player and football coach. A triple-threat man in football, he was regarded as the best drop kicker and one of the best overall ...

. He then attended

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

Professional athlete

Baseball

He played professional baseball from 1930 to 1935, including two games in

with the 1935 Philadelphia Phillies. He was known for his fielding, rather than batting. At the time of his promotion to the Phillies, ''

The Capital Times ''The Capital Times'' (or ''Cap Times'') is a weekly newspaper published Wednesday in Madison, Wisconsin, by The Capital Times Company. The company also owns 50 percent of Capital Newspapers, which now does business as Madison Media Partners. ...

'' wrote: "Bramhall is a fine fielder, fast and possesses a splendid throwing arm, and if he can hit at a .250 clip he will remain with the Phils all season." His major-league career began and ended in April 1935. His minor league baseball career included stints with the Springfield Senators (1930),

Reading Keystones The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Re ...

(1932),

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

(1932),

Binghamton Triplets The Binghamton Triplets were a minor league baseball team based in Binghamton, New York between 1923 and 1963. The franchise played as members of the New York–Penn League (1923–1937), Eastern League (1938–1963), New York–Penn League ( ...

(1932), and

Madison Blues "Madison Blues" is a blues song by American blues musician Elmore James. It is an upbeat Chicago-style shuffle featuring James' amplified slide guitar and vocal. He recorded it in 1960 for Chess Records, during a session that also produced " Tal ...

(1933–1934).

Basketball and football

Bramhall also played professional basketball and football, making him one of the few athletes who ever played at the professional level in all three sports. For three seasons from approximately 1930 to 1932, he played professional basketball as a forward for the

Chicago Bruins The Chicago Bruins were an American basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by Chicago Bears football team owner George Halas, the Bruins were a member of the American Basketball League, a league that also featured other National Footbal ...

of the American Basketball League. In 1931, he was described as "one of the best basketball players in the game", the "life of the party" and the Bruins' "super-showman." He also reportedly "travelled on the stage with a basketball act." In 1934, he played for the Chicago Circus Clowns, a traveling basketball team that played in full clown suits against local teams. Bramhall's professional football career is not as well documented, but some sources assert that he played, at least briefly, with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

in the early 1930s. The football Bears and basketball Bruins were under the common ownership of

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...

Later years

After his career as an athlete ended, Bramhall and his wife operated a restaurant and bar, Justo's, in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, from 1939 to 1971. He was also a sports broadcaster on Wisconsin radio stations in the late 1930s and 1940s. Beginning in 1942, his broadcasting career included radio play-by-play for

Wisconsin Badgers football The Wisconsin Badgers football program represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the sport of American football. Wisconsin competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Bi ...

games. Bramhall died in 1985 at age 76 in Madison.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bramhall, Art 1909 births 1985 deaths Philadelphia Phillies players DePaul Blue Demons baseball players Chicago Bruins players Baseball players from Madison, Wisconsin Baseball players from Oak Park, Illinois Binghamton Triplets players Harrisburg Senators players Springfield Senators players Reading Keystones players Albany Senators players