The Legacy of the Browns/Oriole, Bob Young

April 16, 2014
The Baltimore Sun

The St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles 60 years ago on March 30, 1954.  Billy Hunter threw out the ceremonial pitch on the exact date of the first home game this year (2014).

Billy Hunter's outstanding double-play partner at second base was the late Bob Young, the only native Marylander to arrive in Baltimore with the former Browns.

Bob Young

Young played all or part of eight years in Major League Baseball, primarily as a second baseman. He played most of his career for the St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles franchise.

He was first signed by the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1946 season, and appeared in three games for them in 1948 before being traded to the crosstown Browns in June 1949. He was the Browns' regular second baseman from 1951 to 1953, tying for the American League lead in double plays as a 1951 rookie with 118, and leading the league again in 1952 with 127.

He continued as the starting second baseman after the team relocated to Baltimore before the 1954 season, and was in fact the first player signed to a contract that year.

Casey Stengel, of the New York Yankees, paid Young a great compliment when he said: "Only two guys pivot properly on the double play — my fellow and the fellow in Baltimore."

As leadoff man, Young was the first Oriole to bat in the stadium on 33rd Street.

NY Times Writes "In St. Louis, Celebrating a Team Long Gone"

Click on photo to Enlarge

By Hillel Kuttler
Published: October 19, 2013
 In the corridor of a St. Louis-area hotel last month, Sam Cash waited in line for autographs from members of the long-departed major league team known as the Browns. The signatures secured, he then sat at an adjacent table with his own Browns display that featured team trivia, a team time line and photographs of his favorite Browns player, Bud Thomas. Fans and several former Browns took a look.

Most of those attending the St. Louis Browns Historical Society and Fan Club’s annual luncheon that day were, understandably, in their 70s and 80s. Cash, a talented baseball player and Kansas City Royals fan, is 10.

Leaders of the Browns group — founded in 1984 on the 40th anniversary of the team’s first and only appearance in the World Series — know that Cash is an exception, that the clock is undoubtedly ticking on a 330-member organization dedicated to a sad-sack franchise that left town six decades ago to become the Baltimore Orioles.

Read the entire article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/sports/baseball/in-st-louis-celebrating-a-team-long-gone.html?_r=0

60 Years Ago the Browns Became the Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles, much like many teams around the league, have worn a patch on both sleeves of their jersey for the past few years commemorating something, and 2014 will be no different.

For the fourth consecutive season, Baltimore will wear a patch on their right sleeve in 2014 and this one is quite important and historic. The patch the Orioles will wear next season will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the St. Louis Browns move to Baltimore.

The Orioles, who were known as the St. Louis Browns, moved to Baltimore from St. Louis and played their first season in 1954. Since then, the franchise has won six American League pennants and three World Series Championships, the latest coming in 1983.

 

The 60th anniversary patch has yet to be leaked, but it's expected to be a unique one.

THEY CAME TO BALTIMORE FROM ST. LOUIS - THE BROWNS

From Bob in Delaware's Blog - http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/754305-they-came-to-baltimore-from-st-louis-the-browns

A friend was recently lamenting the sad performance of his beloved Baltimore Orioles. "After making it to the post-season playoffs in 1996 and 1997, they've had thirteen straight losing seasons!" he exclaimed.

I tried to cheer him up. "Look at the accomplishments the Orioles have achieved over the years", I said, "They won the American League pennant six times and they won three World Series (1966, 1970, and 1983)." "Yeah", he said, "but they haven't been to the World Series for twenty-seven years!"

"Look at me", I said, "I've been a Phillies' fan since I was a little kid. I had to wait thirty years after the 1950 pennant for them to finally win their first World Series in 1980. Then I had to wait 28 more years for them to win the World Series again in 2008! You don't have it so bad!"

He still seemed down in the dumps, so I then reminded him that the Orioles' predecessors were the St. Louis Browns. The Browns spent 52 seasons in the American League and won only one pennant in all that time. "Well", he concluded, "I guess the Orioles sure have done a whole lot better than the Browns did." And that ended the discussion.

Afterwards, I decided to do a little research on the St. Louis Browns and their only pennant-winning season. It was very intriguing...

Read more: http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/754305-they-came-to-baltimore-from-st-louis-the-browns#ixzz143MjAMfV

Browns Players Still Hold Team Records After 55 Years

Team records for the Baltimore Orioles are mostly held by players from its earlier history as the St. Louis Browns. Here's a quick rundown on some key areas.

Single Season Records
Home Runs: Brady Anderson 50, 1996
Runs Batted In: Ken Williams 155, 1922 (Browns)
Batting Average: George Sisler .420, 1922 (Browns)
Hits: George Sisler 257, 1920 (Browns)
Runs: Harlond Clift 145, 1936 (Browns)
Doubles: Beau Bell 51, 1937 (Browns)
Triples: Heinie Manush 20, 1928 (Browns)
Stolen Bases: Luis Aparicio 57, 1964
Hitting Streak:
Walks: Lu Blue 126, 1929 (Browns)
Wins: Urban Shocker 27, 1921 (Browns)
Saves: Randy Myers 45, 1997
Strikeouts: [[Rube Waddell 232, 1908 (Browns)
Earned Run Average: Barney Pelty 1.59, 1906 (Browns)

September 16: This Date in Browns Baseball

September 16

1924 - Jim Bottomley of the St. Louis Cardinals set a major-league baseball record by knocking in 12 runs in a single game.

1953 - The St. Louis Browns of the American League were given the OK to move to Baltimore, MD, where they became the Baltimore Orioles.