Alton Brown

Alton Leo Brown
(Deacon)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 195 lb.

• Debut April 21, 1951
• Final Game May 27, 1951
• Born April 16, 1925 in Norfolk, VA USA
• Died January 10, 2016 in Virginia Beach, VA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

"Like most players I had hopes and dreams of a long major league career. That didn't happen, but I still enjoyed my years in baseball. I made some wonderful friendships. I was the teammate of Brooks Robinson when he was on his way up. We became good friends and still keep in touch." - Alton Brown

Alton Brown was a right-hand pitcher who never played organized baseball at any level until he was with an Army team during World War II. He forged a pro career following the war, starting with the lowest level Class D Coastal Plain League with the Roanoke Rapids Jays in 1948. Alton was in the league three seasons, going 8-12 his first year, then 16-12 his second and impressed everyone with a 28-11 mark and a league-leading 204 strikeouts to lead Roanoke Rapids to the league championship, claiming the MVP award in 1950.

Brown was signed by the Detroit Tigers following that season, but hardly stayed with that organization as the Washington Senators selected him in the 1950 Rule V Draft on December 4th. The following spring, he made the long jump to a spot in the Washington bullpen to start the 1951 season. He pitched seven games with no decisions and an ERA of 9.26 before returning to the minors and the Chattanooga Lookouts where he finished 1951 with a 5-8 record. This season was to be Alton's only shot at the majors in a nine-year pro baseball career.

Alton split 1952 between the Lookouts and Richmond Colts, going 12-10. In 1953, he went 11-8 with a 2.24 ERA in 42 games (13 starts) for the Norfolk Tars. In 1954, he played for the Tars and Shreveport Sports, going a combined 13-6 in 44 games. He played his final season in 1955, splitting the year between the Columbus Foxes and San Antonio Missions and going a combined 2-3. That year, he took a stab at managing his hometown team, the Norfolk Tars, for a brief interim. He was the second of three to hold the position, but the team disbanded on July 14th, finishing last in the league standings as well as attendance. Overall, Alton played pro ball from 1946 through 1956 and was active nine years. He appeared in 320 games, going 109-76 while pitching 1,616 innings, giving up 1,531 hits and 757 walks with a 3.49 ERA.

Alton worked for 20 years as a crew foreman on the Norfolk waterfront before being disabled after suffering injuries in a fall onto a barge. He retired and lived in Virginia Beach, VA where he died in 2016 at the age of 90.

Notable Achievements

• 1950 MVP Coastal Plain League Roanoke Rapids Jays

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1955	Norfolk Tars	Piedmont League	2-1	--	New York Yankees	--	replaced Al Evans (11-14) on May 25 replaced by Bill Herring (24-19) on May 28

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database:page
The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Third Edition