Raymond Brown - Homestead Grays' ace

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.”

 

After leaving Negro League baseball in 1946, Brown pitched first in the Mexican League and then during the early 1950’s in Canadian semi-professional leagues.

 

What team did the Homestead Grays defeat in three Negro League World Series contests during the 1940’s?

 

For more of Raymond Brown’s Negro League baseball story, read Last Train to Cooperstown:The 2006 Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees from the Negro League Baseball Era”.    For more information, go to http://booklaunch.io/kevinlmitchell/last-train-to-cooperstown.