Prentice Almont "Pidge" Browne Jr. (March 21, 1929 – June 3, 1997) was an American professional

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 ...

player. A

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, he was a longtime

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

star who had a half-season trial 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 ...

in in his 13th and final professional season at the age of 33. That year, as a member of the first-ever Houston Colt .45s squad, he participated in another unusual feat, representing a

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

-based professional baseball team at three different levels — Double-A (with the 1956–57 Houston Buffaloes of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

), Triple-A (with the 1959 and 1961 Buffs of the American Association) and MLB (with the 1962 Colt .45s, known as the ''Astros'' since ). Browne was from

Peekskill, New York Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, north of New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...

and attended Peekskill High School, where he dropped out in May 1946 to join the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He served for two years. He threw and batted left-handed, stood tall and weighed . He spent much of his minor league career in the

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

of 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

and belted 190

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

over the course of his 13 years in the minors. His two best seasons occurred back to back in the Texas League, when he hit 33 home runs for the 1955

Shreveport Sports The Shreveport Sports were a professional Minor League Baseball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the United States. The Sports fielded a team from 1925 to 1935, 1938 to 1942, 1946 to 1957, and 1959 to 1961. They were affiliated with the C ...

, an unaffiliated team, then 29 more homers in 1956 for the Cardinals' Houston Buffaloes affiliate. Acquired by the Colt .45s for their first season in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

, he made his debut on April 19, 1962, as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Turk Farrell; batting against Jack Hamilton of 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 ...

, Browne grounded out to

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

Tony Taylor. Six days later, Browne started at first base for Houston against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

and got his first MLB hit, a triple off Don Cardwell. He would appear in 65

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

for the Colt .45s through the end of July, 15 as a starting player. His best day came May 6 on the road against the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

, when Browne had three hits, including his only Major League home run, in five

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

and scored three runs in a 9–1 Houston win. He was sent to the Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers to finish the 1962 season, and he retired at the end of that campaign. Browne worked in the freight business after his retirement from baseball, and died in Houston at age 68 in 1997.The Houston Chronicle, June 5, 1997
/ref> He is buried at Earthman Resthaven Cemetery in Houston.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Pidge 1929 births 1997 deaths Allentown Cardinals players American expatriate baseball players in Cuba Columbus Jets players 20th-century American sportsmen Denver Bears players Habana players Hamilton Cardinals players Houston Buffaloes players Houston Buffs players Houston Colt .45s players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Major League Baseball first basemen Mobile Bears players Oklahoma City 89ers players Omaha Cardinals players Peekskill Highlanders players People from Peekskill, New York Baseball players from Westchester County, New York Shreveport Sports players United States Navy sailors