View source for Bobby Brown (third baseman)

{{Short description|American baseball player (1924–2021)}}
{{other people||Bobby Brown (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Bobby Brown
|image=Bobby Brown 1951.jpg
|position=[[Third baseman]]
|birth_date={{Birth date|1924|10|25}}
|birth_place=[[Seattle, Washington]], U.S.
|death_date={{Death date and age|2021|3|25|1924|10|25}}
|death_place=[[Fort Worth, Texas]], U.S.
|bats=Left
|throws=Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 22
|debutyear=1946
|debutteam=New York Yankees
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=June 30
|finalyear=1954
|finalteam=New York Yankees
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.279
|stat2label=[[Home runs]]
|stat2value=22
|stat3label=[[Runs batted in]]
|stat3value=237
|teams=
* [[New York Yankees]] ({{mlby|1946}}–{{mlby|1952}}, {{mlby|1954}})
|highlights=
* 4× [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1947}}, {{wsy|1949}}–{{wsy|1951}})
}}
'''Robert William Brown''' (October 25, 1924 – March 25, 2021) was an American professional [[baseball]] [[third baseman]] and executive who was the president of the [[American League]] (AL) from 1984 to 1994. He also was a physician who studied for his medical degree during his eight-year playing career with the [[New York Yankees]] (1946–1952, 1954), where he was a member of four [[World Series]] championship teams.

==Early life==
Brown was born in [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], on October 25, 1924.<ref name=SABR>{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bobby-brown/|title=Bobby Brown|first=Mike|last=Huber|publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]|access-date=March 25, 2021}}</ref><ref name=BR>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brownbo03.shtml|title=Bobby Brown Statistics and History|work=Baseball-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|access-date=March 25, 2021}}</ref>  He attended [[Galileo Academy of Science and Technology|Galileo High School]] in San Francisco, where he attained straight-As and served as president of the student body.<ref name=SABR/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rogers III |first=C. Paul |date=October 30, 2024 |title=Brown, Robert William [Bobby] (1924–2021) |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/brown-robert-william-bobby |website=Handbook of Texas Online |publisher=[[Texas State Historical Association]]}}</ref>  He studied at [[Stanford University]] starting in 1942,<ref name=SABR/> where he and another student were involved in the rescue of a Coast Guardsman from a plane crash.  Brown consequently received a [[Silver Lifesaving Medal]] for his effort.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.check-six.com/Coast_Guard/9_May_1943_OS2U_crash.htm|title=Kingfisher Crash Off San Francisco|date=May 9, 1943|last=Freeze|first=Ken|work=Check Six|access-date=September 14, 2019}}</ref> While at Stanford, he joined the Sigma Rho chapter of [[Delta Kappa Epsilon]] fraternity. He was chosen in the [[Selective Service System|Selective Service draft]] one year later and was initially stationed at the naval unit at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]] (UCLA).  There, he played baseball for the [[UCLA Bruins baseball|UCLA Bruins]], before being temporarily assigned to the [[Naval Medical Center San Diego]].  He was subsequently transferred to the [[Tulane University School of Medicine]] in December 1944 and discharged from the navy in January 1946.<ref name=SABR/>  He was signed as an amateur free agent by the [[New York Yankees]] before the 1946 season.<ref name=BR/>

==Professional career==
===New York Yankees (1946–1954)===
Brown played one season in the minor leagues in 1946.<ref name=BRm>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=brown-030rob|title=Bobby Brown Minor League Statistics and History|work=Baseball-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|access-date=March 25, 2021}}</ref>  He made his MLB debut on September 22, 1946, one month short of his 22nd birthday,<ref name=BR/> recording his first [[Hit (baseball)|hit]] and scoring his first [[Run (baseball)|run]] in a 4–3 win over the [[Philadelphia Athletics]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA194609221.shtml|title=September 22, 1946 Philadelphia Athletics at New York Yankees Play by Play and Box Score|work=Baseball-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|date=September 22, 1946|access-date=March 25, 2021}}</ref>  He was employed as a [[pinch hitter]] on four occasions during the [[1947 World Series]] and went a perfect 3-for-3, collecting a [[Single (baseball)|single]], two [[Double (baseball)|doubles]], and a [[Base on balls|walk]].<ref name=SABR/>

Brown had the fifth-most [[Error (baseball)|errors]] as a [[third baseman]] in the [[American League]] in 1949 with 13.<ref name=BR/>  In the [[1949 World Series|World Series that year]], he hit a bases-loaded [[Triple (baseball)|triple]] in Game 4,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BRO/BRO194910080.shtml|title=1949 World Series Game 4, New York Yankees at Brooklyn Dodgers Play by Play and Box Score|work=Baseball-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|date=October 8, 1949|access-date=March 25, 2021}}</ref> and a two-run triple in the championship-clinching Game 5.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BRO/BRO194910090.shtml|title=1949 World Series Game 5, New York Yankees at Brooklyn Dodgers Play by Play and Box Score|work=Baseball-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|date=October 9, 1949|access-date=March 25, 2021}}</ref>  He tripled again in the final game of the [[1950 World Series]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA195010070.shtml|title=1950 World Series Game 4, Philadelphia Phillies at New York Yankees Play by Play and Box Score|work=Baseball-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|date=October 7, 1950|access-date=March 25, 2021}}</ref>

Nicknamed as "Golden Boy" and "Blond Phenom" during his baseball career,<ref name=Sherrington>{{cite news|title=Dr. Bobby Brown, Fort Worth cardiologist turned American League president, dies at 96|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/rangers/2021/03/25/dr-bobby-brown-fort-worth-cardiologist-turned-american-league-president-dies-at-96/|first=Kevin|last=Sherrington|date=March 25, 2021|access-date=March 25, 2021|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News}}</ref> Brown played 548 regular-season games for the Yankees,<ref name=BR/> mostly as a [[platoon system|platoon]] third baseman.<ref name=AP/> He had a lifetime [[Batting average (baseball)|batting average]] of .279 and 22 [[home runs]].  In addition, he appeared in four [[World Series]] ([[1947 World Series|1947]], [[1949 World Series|1949]], [[1950 World Series|1950]], [[1951 World Series|1951]]) for New York, winning all four while batting .439 (18-for-41) in 17 games.<ref name=BR/><ref name=AP/> Brown batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He missed 19 months due to military service during the [[Korean War]].<ref name=AP>{{cite news|title=Bobby Brown, ex-Yankee and former AL president, dies at 96|url=https://apnews.com/article/mlb-new-york-baseball-rob-manfred-new-york-yankees-a8f21a13d337eea670f9cb1cbf40274a|date=March 25, 2021|access-date=March 25, 2021|work=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>  He played his final major league game on June 30, 1954, at the age of 29.<ref name=BR/>

A famous story that has made the rounds for years in baseball circles, and was told by Brown himself,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRxZM5ST7IM ''SABR 44: From Playing Field to the Front Office,'' YouTube]</ref> concerns the time when Brown's road roommate in [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] was future star Yankee [[catcher]] [[Yogi Berra]], who had little formal education. The two were reading in their hotel room one night – Berra a comic book and Brown his copy of ''Boyd's Pathology''. Berra came to the end of his comic, tossed it aside, and asked Brown, "So, how is yours turning out?"<ref>{{cite news|title=American original: Lovable Yogi Berra|url=https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/american-original-lovable-yogi-berra/article_944fd2d5-6123-58e0-a27b-956e5136dd2e.html|first=Gene|last=Budig|date=October 11, 2015|access-date=March 25, 2021|newspaper=The Post and Courier|location=Charleston, South Carolina}}</ref>

==Post-playing career==
Brown practiced [[cardiology]] in the [[Dallas–Fort Worth]] area until May 1974, when he took a leave of absence to serve as an interim president of the AL [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] – then returned to medicine following the season.<ref name=SABR/>  In 1984, he succeeded [[Lee MacPhail]] as AL president and held the post for a decade. [[Gene Budig]] succeeded him. In [[1992 World Series|1992]] and [[1993 World Series|1993]], Brown presented the [[World Series Trophy]] (on both occasions to the [[Toronto Blue Jays]]), as at the time the office of [[Commissioner of Baseball]] was officially vacant, with [[Bud Selig]] exercising the powers of the commissioner as chairman of the executive council. The presidencies of both the [[American League]] and the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] were eliminated in 2000, and their duties were absorbed by the office of the Commissioner.<ref name="MLB obit"/>

==Personal life==
A decorated veteran of two wars, a noted baseball player who served on five championship teams (only playing in four World Series), an accomplished physician, and president of the American League, Brown is considered to have few equals in the history of major league baseball.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digitaledition.qwinc.com/publication/?i=161091&article_id=1413229.html#5|title=Pro Players Few and Far Between in Korea|date=June–July 2013|page=28|last=Fournier|first=Richard|work=[[VFW Magazine]]|access-date=September 14, 2019}}</ref>

Brown was a contestant on the game show ''[[To Tell The Truth]]'' on March 26, 1957.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CCpqf-8LZM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/_CCpqf-8LZM |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title="To Tell The Truth:" CONTESTANT #2: Dr. Robert W. Brown (Physician & Yankees player)|date=March 26, 1957|work=To Tell The Truth|publisher=CBS|access-date=June 5, 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Brown's wife of more than 60 years, Sara, died on March 26, 2012. They were married in October 1951, shortly after the 1951 World Series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.legacy.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?n=&pid=156739962&referrer=0&preview=True|title=Sara Brown Obituary – Dallas, TX|date=March 28, 2012|work=[[Dallas Morning News]]|via=legacy.com|access-date=September 15, 2019}}</ref>  The Browns made a striking couple for decades. During his final Old-Timers’ Day visit in 2019, Brown recalled their dating days and remembered giving his future wife advice on how she should describe him to her parents. “Tell your mother that I’m in medical school, studying to be a cardiologist,” he said. “Tell your dad that I play third base for the Yankees.” <ref>{{Cite web|author=Ben Walker|agency=Associated Press|date=March 25, 2021|title=Bobby Brown, 96, a life of Yankees, military, medicine, dies|url=https://www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/military-sports/2021/03/25/bobby-brown-96-a-life-of-yankees-military-medicine-dies/|access-date=March 27, 2021|website=Military Times|language=en-US}}</ref>

Brown died on March 25, 2021, at his home in [[Fort Worth, Texas]].<ref name=Reuters>{{cite news|title=Former AL president Dr. Bobby Brown dies at 96|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-baseball-mlb-tex-nyy-brown-obit-idUSKBN2BH3A5|date=March 25, 2021|access-date=March 25, 2021|work=Reuters}}</ref> He was 96, and was the last living member of the Yankees team that won the 1947 World Series.<ref name=Sherrington/><ref name="MLB obit">{{cite news|title=Dr. Brown, 4-time champ, AL prez, dies at 96|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/dr-bobby-brown-yankees-champion-al-president-dies|first=Bob|last=Dittmeier|date=March 25, 2021|work=MLB.com|publisher=MLB Advanced Media|access-date=March 25, 2021}}</ref> He was also the last surviving member of the Yankees teams that won the World Series in 1949, 1950, and 1951. His good friend, Eddie Robinson, was the last surviving member of the 1948 Cleveland Indians World Series-winning team. There are no living players who played on an earlier World Series-winning teams.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
{{baseballstats|mlb=111588|espn=19595|br=b/brownbo03|fangraphs=1001496|brm=brown-030rob|retro=B/Pbrowb105}}
*[https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/abd081a0 Bobby Brown] at SABR (Baseball BioProject)

{{1947 New York Yankees}}
{{1949 New York Yankees}}
{{1950 New York Yankees}}
{{1951 New York Yankees}}
{{AL Presidents}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Bobby}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:American cardiologists]]
[[Category:American League presidents]]
[[Category:Baseball executives]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Seattle]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball executives]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball third basemen]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Seattle]]
[[Category:Newark Bears (International League) players]]
[[Category:New York Yankees players]]
[[Category:Stanford Cardinal baseball players]]
[[Category:Texas Rangers executives]]
[[Category:Tulane Green Wave baseball players]]
[[Category:UCLA Bruins baseball players]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Navy sailors]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Fort Worth, Texas]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]