Larry Brown (brownla01)

Note: This page links to 1960s and 1970s infielder Larry Brown. For the former Negro League catcher in the 1920s through 1940s, click here.

Larry Leslie Brown

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 165 lb.
• High School Holy Name High School (Lake Worth)
• Debut July 6, 1963
• Final Game September 29, 1974
• Born March 1, 1940 in Shinnston, WV USA
• Died April 13, 2024 in Stuart, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

"When people meet me for the first time, they ask about the collision. That was probably the most famous thing that ever happened to me." - Larry Brown, to Terry Pluto, The Curse of Rocky Colavito

Larry Brown is the younger brother of Dick Brown and a former infielder who played from 1963 to 1974 for the Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers. On May 4, 1966, he collided skull-to-skull with left fielder "Daddy Wags" Leon Wagner chasing down a fly ball at Yankee Stadium. Wagner suffered a broken nose and a slight concussion. Brown took the brunt of the collision, suffering a fractured skull, cheekbone, and nose. He swallowed his tongue on the field, did a stretcher job and was unconscious and laid up in intensive care for the next three days, spending 18 days in several hospitals. This collision led to the downfall of whatever power he may have possessed. Further, he had to race back into action, returning 43 days after the collision to fend off a charge from Chico Salmon trying to seize his starting shortstop job.

Larry was originally signed by the Indians in 1958, and, on July 6, 1963 against the New York Yankees, he made his big league debut at the age of 23. Pinch-hitting for Tito Francona, he struck out in his first at-bat, but he collected a single in his second plate appearance. He collected his first hit off Al Downing and his first home run off Paul Foytack. As a starter for Cleveland between 1964 and 1969, his batting averages were consistently low - his highest batting average during that span was .253, while his lowest was .227. However, it should be remembered that he played during the second dead-ball era, when averages were uniformly low - his batting average of .234 in 1968 was higher than the league average of .230 that year.

In 1970, Larry lost his starting job to a young Jack Heidemann and officially entered the role of part time player. On April 24, 1971, he was sold to the Oakland A's. He wound up hitting below .200 during his time in Oakland, and just before the start of the 1973 season he caught on with the Baltimore Orioles. He played only 17 games that season, batting .250. On May 13th, he hit his final home run, off Lindy McDaniel. He finished his career with the Texas Rangers in 1974. On September 22nd, in his final career at-bat, he collected his final hit, a single... off old pal Lindy McDaniel. He played his final game on September 29th as a defensive replacement.

Overall, Larry hit .233 with 47 career home runs and 254 RBI. Although those numbers do not sound too great, he was still a good batter in his own right - twice he ranked in the top 5 in sacrifice hits (1965 and 1967). He also ranked in the top ten in intentional walks in 1968, and, because of his good eye at the plate, he ranked in the top ten for best at-bats per strikeout ratio twice (1968 and 1969). His fielding percentage stood at .966. According to Baseball-Reference, the player that is most similar to him by similarity scores is former All-Star Joe DeMaestri. Sam McDowell was his teammate for ten seasons - longer than any other teammate. At last check, he lived in West Palm Beach, FL.

Further Reading

• Gregory H. Wolf: "Larry Brown", in Chip Greene, ed.: Mustaches and Mayhem, Charlie O's Three-Time Champions: The Oakland Athletics 1972-74, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2015, pp. 145-150. ISBN 978-1-943816-07-1

Related Sites

• Larry Brown at the SABR Bio Project