Mordecai Brown

1906 Fan Craze

Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown (Three Finger or Miner)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut April 19, 1903
• Final Game September 4, 1916
• Born October 19, 1876 in Nyesville, IN USA
• Died February 14, 1948 in Terre Haute, IN USA

Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1949

BR page

[edit] Biographical Information

"Brown is my idea of the almost perfect pitcher." - Christy Mathewson

Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown lost part of several fingers in a childhood farming accident. The accident apparently helped him to throw pitches that had unusual properties. Brown's 2.06 lifetime major league ERA is one of the top ERA's of all time. He had 239 victories along with 49 saves, leading the league once in wins and several times in saves (although not an official statistic at the time).

Brown was the top pitcher on the Chicago Cubs staff during their greatest years, in the deadball era. It was not easy to be the best on a team that had a full rotation of excellent pitchers, but Brown was in the top five in the league in ERA each year from 1904 to 1910.

In six minor league seasons, Brown won 62% of his decisions.

From 1919-1920, Brown managed the Terre Haute Browns.

He was inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.

There is an official Mordecai Brown website run by the Mordecai Brown Legacy Foundation: website.

[edit] Notable Achievements

• NL ERA Leader (1906)
• NL Wins Leader (1909)
• 2-time NL Games Pitched Leader (1909 & 1911)
• 4-time NL Saves Leader (1908-1911)
• NL Innings Pitched Leader (1909)
• 2-time NL Complete Games Leader (1909 & 1910)
• 2-time NL Shutouts Leader (1906 & 1910)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 9 (1904-1911 & 1915)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 6 (1906-1911)
• 25 Wins Seasons: 4 (1906, 1908, 1909 & 1910)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 11 (1903-1911, 1914 & 1915)
• 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1908 & 1909)
• Won two World Series with the Chicago Cubs (1907 & 1908)
• Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1949

[edit] Records Held

• Lowest ERA, right-hander, season (since 1893), 1.04, 1906

[edit] Year-by-Year Managerial Record

[edit] Further Reading

• Cindy Thomson and Scott Brown: Three Finger: The Mordecai Brown Story, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 2006.

[edit] Related Sites

Video: Brown and other Indiana Hall of Famers honored by the Indianapolis Indians