Hal Brown

Hector Harold Brown
(Skinny)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 182 lb.
• School University of North Carolina
• High School Greensboro High School
• Debut April 19, 1951
• Final Game September 16, 1964
• Born December 11, 1924 in Greensboro, NC USA
• Died December 17, 2015 in Greensboro, NC USA

BR page

Biographical Information

In 1943, Hal Brown was drafted into the United States Air Force and served 32 months in the military during World War II. Upon his return from the service in 1945, the Boston Red Sox agreed to send him to the University of North Carolina where he played shortstop as a freshman for Bunny Hearn, who was a Red Sox scout. The Red Sox signed him as an amateur free agent in 1946 and assigned him to the Roanoke Red Sox of the Piedmont League where he went 1-4 with a 3.95 ERA. He finished out the year with the Durham Bulls of the Carolina League, going 15-5 with a league-leading 2.42 ERA, giving the young war veteran a combined 16-9 record and 2.77 ERA while pitching 208 innings. Hal, or "Skinny" as he was sometimes referred to, was with Roanoke again in 1947 and led the league with 19 victories, helping his team to a pennant and playoff title. His next stop was with the Scranton Red Sox in 1948 where he had a 12-6 record with a 2.63 ERA, again playing a big role in his team's Eastern League title and another playoff championship. "Skinny" fell to 8-13 with the Louisville Colonels in 1949 and Boston sent him to the Seattle Rainiers for the 1950 season; he went 13-13 for the year with Seattle.

Hal was then drafted by the Chicago White Sox on November 16, 1950 in the 1950 Rule V Draft. After an early-season look with the White Sox, he was back in the Pacific Coast League with Seattle in 1951, going 16-6, and again was a big factor in helping his team to the league championship. He then spent the entire 1952 season with the White Sox, going 2-3 with a 4.23 ERA. On February 9, 1953, the White Sox traded Hal, along with Marv Grissom and Bill Kennedy, to the Boston Red Sox for Vern Stephens. Hal went 11-6 for the Red Sox that year but fell to 1-8 in 1954. He wound up with the Baltimore Orioles in 1955, where he would stay until 1962.

During the 1957 season, "Skinny" was one of four Oriole pitchers involved in a run of four straight shutouts. On June 23rd, Hal blanked the DetroitTigers, 6-0. The next day, Billy Loes whitewashed the Kansas City A's 5-0; then Connie Johnson threw a bagel at the A's 1-0 and, finally, Ray Moore shut out the Cleveland Indians, 6-0. The four straight blankings tied an American League record that was broken in 1974 by an Oriole team that tossed five in a row. In 1961, Brown pitched a franchise-record 36 consecutive scoreless innings. But Skinny's most unusual accomplishment came in a loss. On August 31, 1955, Bill Wight started for Baltimore against Cleveland rookie Herb Score. The Indians roughed up Wight for five first inning runs. "Skinny" started the second in relief and proceeded to pitch eight innings of no-hit ball, striking out a career-high 10 batters, but the Indians won, 5-1, behind Score's 13 strikeouts.

The Orioles sold Brown to the New York Yankees in September 1962. Before he could say 'Hello' to anyone, he was sold to the Houston Colt .45's. In 1963 with the Colt .45s, he walked only eight batters in 141 innings. While in Houston, he was the winning pitcher in the first Sunday night game ever played in major league history, combining with Dick Farrell to shut out the San Francisco Giants, 3-0, at Colt Stadium. In Hal's final season, he was 3-15 but with a decent 3.94 ERA in 27 games in 1964.

Like most pitchers, "Skinny" thought he could hit, but while with the White Sox late in the 1952 season, the Indians walked Sherm Lollar to pitch to Brown who responded with a home run. In Boston in 1953, he once beat the Tigers and Art Houtteman, 4-2, hitting his other career home run and driving in three runs.

Hal "Skinny" Brown had spent 19 active seasons in pro baseball (1946-1964). He finished his major league career with a 85-92 record, 13 shutouts, 11 saves and a 3.81 ERA. While going up and down in the minors, he managed a 93-57 record with a 3.45 ERA. Following his playing days, he returned to his home in Greensboro, NC, and for many years was part owner of Mcbane and Brown Inc., heating and air conditioning contractors. He died in his hometown in 2015 at the age of 91.

Sources

Baseball Players of the 1950s
BR Minors Page

Related Sites

• Hal Brown at the SABR Bio Project
• Obituary