1951 St. Louis Browns season

MLB yearly infobox-pre1969
name = St. Louis Browns
season = 1951
misc =

current league = American League
y1 = 1901
ballpark = Sportsman's Park
y4 = 1902
city = St. Louis, Missouri
y5 = 1902
owners =Bill Veeck
managers = Zack Taylor
television =KSD
radio = KWK
(Buddy Blattner, Howard Williams)|The 1951 St. Louis Browns season involved the Browns finishing 8th in the American League with a record of 52 wins and 102 losses.

Regular Season

When Veeck bought an eighty percent interest in the St. Louis Browns, the first thing he did was sign Satchel Paige. In his first game back in the major leagues, on July 18, 1951, against the Washington Senators, Paige pitched six innings of shutout baseball, but was roughed up in the seventh, giving up three runs. He ended the season with a 3-4 record and a 4.79 ERA.

Another of Veeck's promotions included the signing of Eddie Gaedel. Gaedel gained immortality in the second game of a doubleheader on Sunday, August 19, 1951. Weighing just 65 pounds (29.5 kg), and 3 feet 7 inches (1.09 m) tall, he became the shortest player in the history of the major leagues. He stood 3 feet 4 inches (1.02 m) shorter than Jon Rauch, whose height of 6'11" (2.11 m) made him the tallest person to play in a Major League Game. He was secretly signed by the St. Louis Browns and put in uniform (complete with elf slippers & the number "⅛" on the back) as a publicity stunt by maverick Browns owner and showman Bill Veeck.

Gaedel popped out of a papier-mache cake between games of a doubleheader to celebrate the American League's 50th anniversary, and as a Falstaff Brewery promotion. Falstaff, and the fans, had been promised a "festival of surprises" by Veeck. Before the second game got underway, the press agreed that the "midget-in-a-cake" appearance had not been up to Veeck's usual promotional standard. Falstaff personnel, who had been promised national publicity for their participation, were particularly dissatisfied. Keeping the surprise he had in store for the second game to himself, Veeck just meekly apologized.

Eddie Gaedel entered the game between the Browns and Detroit Tigers as a pinch-hitter for leadoff batter Frank Saucier. Immediately, umpire Ed Hurley called for Browns manager Zack Taylor. Veeck and Taylor had the foresight to have a copy of Gaedel's contract on hand, as well as a copy of the Browns' active roster, which had room for Gaedel's addition.

eason standings

Transactions

*July 14, 1951: Satchel Paige was signed as a Free Agent with the St. Louis Browns. [ http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/paigesa01.shtml]
*August 19, 1951: Eddie Gaedel was signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/gaedeed01.shtml]

Roster

Starting pitchers

Farm system [Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., "The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball". Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 1997]

* Class AAA: Toronto Maple Leafs (International League; Joe Becker, manager)
* Class AA: San Antonio Missions (Texas League; Jo-Jo White, manager)
* Class A: Dayton Indians (Central League; Jim Crandall, manager) — LEAGUE CHAMPION
* Class A: Wichita Indians (Western League; Joe Schultz, manager)
* Class B: Wichita Falls Spudders (Big State League; Bruce Ogrodowski and Cecil McClung, managers)
* Class B: Anderson Rebels (Tri-State League; Len Schulte and Hillis Layne, managers)
* Class C: Pine Bluff Judges (Cotton States League; Bob Richards, manager)
* Class C: Aberdeen Pheasants (Northern League; Joe King, Jim Post and Bruce Ogrodowski, managers)
* Class D: Redding Browns (Far West League; Ray Perry, manager)
* Class D: Pittsburg Browns (Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League; Bill Enos, manager)
* Class D: Ada Herefords (Sooner State League; Stan Gallo, manager)
* Class D: Appleton Papermakers (Wisconsin State League; Joe Skurski and Paul Erickson, managers)

References

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SLB/1951.shtml 1951 St. Louis Browns team page at Baseball Reference]
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/roster.php?y=1951&t=SLA 1951 St. Louis Browns season at baseball-almanac.com]