Like all pitchers in Negro League baseball during the 1930s and 1940s, Raymond Brown’s accomplishments on the mound were overshadowed by the talent, charismatic personality, and showmanship of Satchel Paige. However Brown, born on February 23, 1908 in Algiers, Ohio, helped pitch the Homestead Grays to eight Negro National League (NNL) pennants and two Negro League World Series championships.
The following is an excerpt from my book, Last Train in Cooperstown: The 2006 Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees from
the Negro League Baseball Era:
”Of the five players the sportswriters suggested
to the Pirates,
Brown has
received the least notoriety in his career. Like other
Negro League
hurlers, Raymond Brown’s abilities on the mound
were
overshadowed by the great Satchel Paige. The most famous
pitcher in
Negro League baseball during the 1930s and 1940s,
Paige’s
accomplishments and showmanship antics on the mound
were well
known. Articles on him appeared not
only in Negro
newspapers,
but also in large national ones that seldom carried
anything
about black baseball. Because of their refusal to cover the
Negro
Leagues, those newspapers missed heralding that no Negro League pitcher won
more than Raymond Brown. When Brown
pitched his
Homestead Grays knew they had a great chance for
victory. If he
had possessed some of Paige’s talent for showmanship
on the
mound, Brown would have received more of Satchel’s fame.
A versatile
athlete, Brown made his debut into the world in
Algers, Ohio
on February 22 or 23, 1908. Located in
western Ohio,
the town is
half the distance between Toledo and Dayton. He used
his 6’1”,
195 pound frame to become an all‐state basketball center
in high
school. But that did not distract him from playing the
game
he loved ‐
baseball. Brown could not only pitch,
but he swung a
solid bat. Early
in his career he played outfield on days he had not
been
scheduled to pitch. The switch hitter also frequently pinch hit.”
