St LOUIS PAST!!!!!!! Part eight
OUR St LOUIS BROWNS

Pictured on the left is Satchel Paige maybe he would have been the best pitcher ever to play major league baseball but he never had the opportunity until he was in his forties. You see, African Americans were not allowed to play in the major leagues until Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the mid to late forties.
In addition to being a great pitcher he was a legendary character. Legend has it that one time he walked the bases loaded with no outs. Called all seven fielders to come into the infield and sit down. He then proceeded to strike out the next three batters. He had many rules to live by and one of my favorites is
" Never stand when you can sit
Never sit when you van lay down."
I was able to see Satchel pitch for the Browns several times as a youngster.

The next photo is of a one armed outfielder by the name of Pete Gray. Pete played for the Browns one year 1945.



My memory says I saw Pete play one time .He of course batted with one arm but he could punch the ball as he hit .218 for the Browns.
In the minor leagues he hit over.300 two seasons out of five. In the outfield he perfected a maneuver where he caught the ball, tossed it in the air, dropped his glove, caught the ball with the bare hand and threw it to an infielder.He could do this maneuver in an instant.
In order to try to compete with the Cardinals the Browns always were trying zany things to attract attendance.
*******A three foot seven inch Eddie Gaedel as a pinch hitter
******* A one armed outfielder
******* Grandstand managers night were the fans held up placards directing the manager to bunt, hit and run, take a pitch,etc.
******* A lounge chair in the bullpen for Satchel Paige to sit in.
******* Hall of Famer and announcer Dizzy Dean singing "THE Wabash Cannonball in the seventh inning"
On the serious side
***** Perfect game world series pitcher Don Larson first pitched for the Browns ***** developed Knot Hole Gang for kids to see games at a reduced price
***** Played in the 1944 world series against the Cardinals. It was called the street car series. The Browns came close to winning the series.
***** Browns pitcher Ned Garver only pitcher to ever win twenty games for a team that lost over a hundred games.
***** Hall of famer George Sisler batted .420 for the Browns
The Browns left St Louis at the end of the 1953 season. They moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles.
The scary part of this saga is William DeWitt one of the Browns owners is the father of current owner Bill DeWitt.