Over the years, the Browns were known best for finishing last or next to last; the great Hall of Fame first baseman George Sisler, who also led the city’s greatest AL club, the 1922 Browns, to a one-game finish behind the Yankees; the single pennant of 1944; Willard Brown hits the first American League HR by a black player for the 1947 Browns; the Barnum & Bailey world of new-in-1951 owner Bill Veeck; the August 19, 1951 appearance of 3’7″ Eddie Gaedel as a pinch hitter; Satchel Paige; Fan Manager Night, also in 1951 under Veeck; and Ned Garver winning 20 games for a last place Browns club that won only 52 games the entire season.
The Garver feat led to one of the most memorable anecdotes in baseball history. When Garver asked for a raise in 1952, owner Veeck is said to have turned him down with a very simple explanation: “No way. We could have finished last without you.”
After a couple of years of falling attendance, more losing baseball, chicanery with also suffering Cardinals, and political pressure from the AL owners who wanted to get rid of Bill Veeck, the Browns were sold to Baltimore interests after the 1953 season. They were re-christened as the Baltimore Orioles in 1954.
The St. Louis Browns Historical Society and Browns Fan Club has existed since 1984 for the purpose of keeping alive the memory of the St. Louis Browns baseball club. The Pecan Park Eagle wants to thank current president Bill Rogers for sending us this new list of the current surviving Browns players. With death of former shortstop Bud Thomas on Saturday, August 15, 2015, the list of living former Browns now has dropped to only twenty names.
The 20 Surviving St. Louis Browns Players Through 8/16/2015
From Oldest to Youngest by Name, Birthdate, and Age in 2015
01) Chuck Stevens 07/10/18 – 97
02) Tom Jordan 09/05/19 – 94
03) Dick Starr 03/02/21 – 94
04) George Elder 03/10/21 – 94
05) Neil Berry 01/11/22 – 92
06) Johnny Hetki 05/12/22 – 93
07) Jim Rivera 07/22/22 – 93
08) Tom Wright 09/22/23 – 92
09) Billy DeMars 08/26/25 – 90
10) Ned Garver 12/25/25 – 90
11) Frank Saucier 05/28/26 – 89
12) Johnny Groth 07/23/26 – 89
13) Ed Mickelson 09/09/26 – 89
14) Roy Sievers 11/18/26 – 89
15) Hal Hudson 05/04/27 – 88
16) Al Naples 08/29/27 – 88
17) Billy Hunter 06/04/28 – 87
18) Joe DeMaestri 12/09/28 – 87
19) Don Larsen 08/07/29 – 86
20) J.W. Porter 01/17/33 – 82
My father had a fraternity brother at the University of Illinois, Murray Franklin, who played with the Tigers in 1941 and 1942, then played in the Pacific Coast League after stints in Mexico and Cuba. Chuck Stevens was one of three ballplayers who attended Franklin's funeral in 1978.
ReplyDeleteDear Brule..
ReplyDeleteWe are in very close touch with Chuck. And even at 97 he is as sound as a pound. He just can't travel to St. Louis for reunions. We have a three hour long interview with Chuck recorded in 2014 that is being edited as we speak by HLK Agency. Out in a few months!
Murray and Chuck were teammates on the Hollywood Stars. One of the stories Chuck tells on our video is that Groucho Marx used to regularly sit on the team bench, smoke a cigar and watch the game.
Chuck would go on and on about what a great and manager Fred Heaney was.
Another one of Moe and Chuck's teammates from that Hollywood team is Mike Sandlock the oldest living Maj. league baseball player, who was working his way back to the major leagues at the time he played for the Stars.