Mordecai Brown by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Mordecai Brown

Page 181

pitcher. He took some pride in his hitting, and had a fair batting average for a pitcher, compiling a career .206 batting average; 235 for 1143, with 93 runs, 2 home runs and 73 RBI.

Following his retirement from the majors, he returned to his home in Terre Haute, where he primarily operated a gas station, he also continued to occasionally pitch in the minor leagues and in exhibition games for more than a decade, as well as coaching and managing.

In an exhibition game against the famous House of David touring team in 1928, at the age of 51, he pitched three innings as a favor to the local team, and struck out all nine batters he faced.

From 1920 to 1945, Brown ran a filling station in Terre Haute that also served as a town gathering place and an unofficial museum. He was also a frequent guest at Old-Timers' games in Chicago. In his later years, Brown was plagued by diabetes and then by the effects of a stroke in 1947. He died in 1948 of diabetic complications. He was posthumously elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in May 1949 alongside Kid Nichols.

F. Scott Fitzgerald refers to "Three-finger Brown" in his first novel, “This Side of Paradise” - 1920. The television series “The Simpsons” made reference to Brown in "Homer at the Bat,"