Hector Harold Brown (December 11, 1924 – December 17, 2015) 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 and right-handed

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, ...

. He played 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 ...

from through for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and

Houston Colt .45s The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. They are one of two major league clubs based in Tex ...

. Brown was a

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch (baseball), pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from Laminar flow, lamin ...

er with outstanding control who worked as both a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

and as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. He played for all or portions of eight seasons (1955–1962) with the Orioles, posting a 62–48 won–lost record, and was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1991. He was a veteran of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

who served in the

European theatre of World War II The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union and Franc ...

Baseball career

Brown was born in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

, and was nicknamed "Skinny" by his parents because he was a chubby child.Hal Brown
- Baseballbiography.com Brown weighed and stood tall during his active career. He was 26 years old when the White Sox purchased his contract from the Triple-A

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were prev ...

and he made his major league debut with the team on April 19, 1951. He spent two years with the ChiSox before moving to the Red Sox, the team that had originally signed him to a pro contract in 1946. In , Brown went 11–6 in 25 starts. He joined the Orioles in July 1955, winning 34 games for them from 1956 to 1959. In , he compiled a 12–5 mark with a career-low 3.06

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

for a contending Baltimore team that finished second in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

. The

next year "Next Year" is a song released as the last single from the third Foo Fighters' album '' There Is Nothing Left to Lose''. History A shorter version (running at just 3:21 compared to the original's 4:36) was released as a single in 2000 and wa ...

, he went 10–6 and 3.19 He was sold to the pennant-bound Yankees in

September 1962 The following events occurred in September 1962: September 1, 1962 (Saturday) *A 1962 Bou'in-Zahra earthquake, 7.1 magnitude earthquake killed 12,225 people and destroyed 91 villages in northwest Iran. The epicenter was near Buin Zahra in t ...

. Brown worked in two late-season games for the Yankees, and was ineligible for the Bombers'

1962 World Series The 1962 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1962 Major League Baseball season, 1962 season. The 59th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the defending Amer ...

roster. He was purchased by the Colt .45s at the outset of the season. It was the third time that Houston

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Paul Richards, who managed Brown in Seattle in 1950, had acquired the right-handed pitcher — he had done so in 1951 when Richards managed the White Sox and in 1955 when he was both general manager and field manager with the Orioles. With Houston in 1963, Brown was a victim of poor run support, as he walked just eight batters in 141 innings and posted a 3.31 ERA, but tallied a 5–11 record. In , his last major league season, he finished 3–15 with a 3.95 ERA. In a 14-season major league career, Brown posted an 85–92 record with a 3.81 ERA in 358 appearances, including 211 starts, 47

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, 13 shutouts, 11 saves, 1,680

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

, and a 1.83

strikeout-to-walk ratio In baseball statistics, strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) is a measure of a pitcher's ability to control pitches, calculated as strikeouts divided by bases on balls. A hit by pitch is not counted statistically as a walk, and therefore not counted in ...

(710-to-389). He allowed 1,677

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, but only 389

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

, 14 hit by pitches and 37

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third st ...

es as a major leaguer.

League Leader

*Twice led

in Walks/9IP (1.76 in 1959; 1.25 in 1960) *Led AL in

WHIP A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

(1.113 in 1960) *

Hall of Fame

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Hal 1924 births 2015 deaths Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Greensboro, North Carolina Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Durham Bulls players Houston Colt .45s players Knuckleball pitchers Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Roanoke Red Sox players Scranton Red Sox players Seattle Rainiers players United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Grimsley High School alumni