Mace Brown

Infobox MLB retired
name=Mace Brown
position=Pitcher


bgcolor1=#e1b81e
bgcolor2=black
textcolor1=black
textcolor2=white
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=May 21, 1909
city-state|North English|Iowa
deathdate=death date and age|2002|3|24|1909|5|21
debutdate= May 21
debutyear= 1935
debutteam= Pittsburgh Pirates
finaldate=September 10
finalyear=1946
finalteam= Boston Red Sox
stat1label=Pitching record
stat1value=76-57
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=3.46
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=435
teams=
* Pittsburgh Pirates (1935-1941)
* Brooklyn Dodgers (1941)
* Boston Red Sox (1942-1943, 1946)
highlights=
*National League pennant: 1941
*American League pennant: 1946
*National League All-Star: 1938

Mace Stanley Brown (May 21, 1909 - March 24, 2002) was a middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1935 through 1946, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1935-1941), Brooklyn Dodgers (1941) and Boston Red Sox (1942-1946).

In a ten-season career, Brown posted a 76-57 record with a 3.46 ERA and 44 saves in 387 appearances (55 as a starter).

Brown was one of the first full time relief pitchers in major league history. In 1938, he led the Pirates with 15 wins (all in relief), led the National League with 51 games pitched, and became the first reliever to play the All-Star Game. In 1943, with the Red Sox, he also led the American League in games pitched with 49.

However, he is probably best known for giving up the "Homer in the Gloamin," the home run that cost the Pirates their lead in the 1938 National League pennant race. On September 28, 1938, the Pirates were playing the Chicago Cubs, who trailed the Pirates by just one-half game in the league standings. Brown entered the game with the teams tied 5-5 entering the bottom of the ninth inning. Darkness was falling fast, and the Cubs' Wrigley Field had no lights, meaning the game could end in a tie. But Hartnett smacked a pitch from Brown over the right-field wall, giving the Cubs the victory and propelling them into first place. The Pirates proceeded to lose four of their final five games, securing the Cubs hold on the pennant.

Brown missed the by|1944 and by|1944 seasons while serving as Lieutenant junior grade in the United States Navy during World War II. [cite web |url=http://www.garybed.co.uk/player_biographies/brown_mace.htm |title=Mace Brown | date= |publisher=Baseball in Wartime | author= |accessdate=2008-05-27]

Following his playing career, Brown served as a coach and scout for the Red Sox organization from 1953-1989. Brown died in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the age of 92.

ee also

* List of Major League Baseball saves champions

References

ources

* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=brownma01 Baseball Almanac]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/B/Brown_Mace.stm Baseball Library]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/brownma01.shtml Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Brown.Mace.Obit.html The Dead Ball Era]