Jack Brittin

John Albert Brittin

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 175 lb.
• School University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• High School Morrisonville High School
• Debut September 15, 1950
• Final Game May 13, 1951
• Born March 4, 1924 in Athens, IL USA
• Died January 5, 1994 in Springfield, IL USA

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Biographical Information

“Everybody agrees he is the smartest pitcher in our league... He doesn’t overpower the hitters — he beats them with a fine curveball that he controls marvelously.” - Jack Sanford, to the Illinois State Journal-Register, September 4, 1949

In a mound career that was cut short by illness, right-hander John Brittin was with the Philadelphia Phillies "Whiz Kids" briefly in 1950 and 1951, with no record in six relief appearances.

Brittin was a graduate of Illinois in special education. He served as a commissioned officer in the Navy during World War II. John pitched in the International League for the Baltimore Orioles and with the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association in the early 1950s but was plagued by a numbness in his legs that forced his retirement in 1954. A few years later, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He was a schoolteacher and coach until taking a position with the Office of Public Instruction for the Illinois State Board of Education. He retired in 1989 and died January 4, 1994 in Springfield, IL.

Source

Baseball Players of the 1950s
The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Third Edition

Related Sites

• Jack Brittin at the SABR Bio Project