View source for Ray Brown (Negro leagues pitcher)

{{short description|American baseball player}}
{{for|the pitcher born 1889|Ray Brown (National League pitcher)}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name          = Ray Brown
| image         = Ray Brown Homestead Grays.png
| image_size         = 
| position      = [[Pitcher]]
| birth_date     = {{birth date|1908|2|23}}
| birth_place    = [[Alger, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date     = {{death date and age|1965|2|8|1908|2|23}}
| death_place    = [[Dayton, Ohio]], U.S.
| bats          = Switch
| throws        = Right
| debutleague   = Negro leagues
| debutdate     = 
| debutyear     = 1930
| debutteam     = Dayton Marcos
| finalleague   = Negro leagues
| finaldate     = 
| finalyear     = 1948
| finalteam     = Homestead Grays
| statyear      = 
|statleague = Negro leagues{{efn|On December 16, 2020, Major League Baseball declared certain Negro leagues, from the span of 1920–1948, to be "Major League".<ref>{{cite web|title=MLB officially designates the Negro Leagues as 'Major League'|url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-mlb-officially-designates-the-negro-leagues-as-major-league|website=MLB.com|date=December 16, 2020|accessdate=December 5, 2024}}</ref> Brown's statistics reflect his time in the Negro leagues from 1931–1933, and 1935 until the end of his career.}}
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
| stat1value    = 119–46
| stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
| stat2value    = 3.12
| stat3label=[[Strikeouts]]
| stat3value    = 719
| teams         = 
*[[Dayton Marcos]] ({{by|1930}})
*[[Kansas City Monarchs]] ({{by|1931}})
*[[Indianapolis ABCs (1931–1933)|Indianapolis ABCs]] ({{by|1931}})
*[[Detroit Wolves]] ({{by|1932}})
*[[Homestead Grays]] ({{by|1932}}–{{by|1945}})
|highlights =
* 2× [[Negro World Series]] champion ([[1943 Negro World Series|1943]], [[1944 Negro World Series|1944]])
*[[Triple Crown (baseball)#Negro league baseball|Triple Crown]] (1938)
*[[Washington Nationals#Ring of Honor|Washington Nationals Ring of Honor]]
*[[Pittsburgh Pirates#Pirates Hall of Fame|Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame]]
| hoflink       = National Baseball Hall of Fame
| hoftype       = National
| hofdate       = [[2006 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|2006]]
| hofmethod     = Committee on African-American Baseball
}}

'''Raymond Brown''' (February 23, 1908 – February 8, 1965) was an American right-handed [[pitcher]] in [[Negro league baseball]], almost exclusively for the [[Homestead Grays]].

During his career, he was widely considered the best pitcher in the Negro leagues at the time, and led the Grays to eight pennants in one nine-year span.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ray Brown |url=https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/brown-ray |publisher=National Baseball Hall of Fame |access-date=24 December 2019}}</ref> He was also considered a very good [[pinch hitter]] and a solid bat. In February 2006, he was [[2006 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|elected]] to the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]].

==Biography==
Born in [[Alger, Ohio]], he had a large variety of pitches in his arsenal, including a sinker, a slider, and even a knuckleball, but his best pitch was his [[curveball]]. Brown would fire the curveball at a batter no matter what the count was, having supreme confidence in that pitch. Brown played for [[Cumberland Posey|Cum Posey]]'s [[Homestead Grays]] from 1932 to 1945. Brown married Posey's daughter, Ethel. In [[1944 in baseball|1944]], he went 9–3 for the champion Grays, and threw a one-hit [[shutout]] in the [[Negro World Series]] to put them on top of the African-American baseball world. In [[1945 in baseball|1945]], he threw a seven-inning [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]].

After his long stint with the Grays, he opted to play in Mexico and in the [[Canadian Provincial League]] in his final years. In those years, he continued to dominate most batters, leading Sherbrooke to a title in the Provincial League. He also pitched a [[no-hitter]] for [[Leopardos de Santa Clara|Santa Clara]] of the [[Cuban Winter League]], a baseball sanctuary, at that time, for many black players during the winter season. Brown also helped them to the Cuban title that year (1936).

In the Negro league version of the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]], the [[East-West All-Star Game]], Brown got the start in [[1935 in baseball|1935]].

Brown led the league in wins eight times (1931, 1935, 1937–38, 1940–42, 1944). He also led the league in ERA twice (1938, 1940) along with three times in strikeouts (1931, 1937–38) among statistics that ranged from games played to innings. He was tied with [[Hilton Smith]] as the second player in Negro league history to win the pitching Triple Crown, doing so in 1938 with 14 wins, 70 strikeouts, and a 1.88 ERA.

Like most great Negro leaguers, Brown [[manager (baseball)|managed]] as well later on in his career. He was one of five black players mentioned as being of major league caliber in a 1938 wire sent to the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] by the ''[[Pittsburgh Courier]]''. The other four were [[Josh Gibson]], [[Buck Leonard]], [[Cool Papa Bell]] and [[Satchel Paige]].

Brown died at age 56 in [[Dayton, Ohio]].

He was named to the [[Washington Nationals#Ring of Honor|Washington Nationals Ring of Honor]] for his "significant contribution to the game of baseball in Washington, D.C." as part of the [[Homestead Grays]] on August 10, 2010.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Baseballstats|mlb=820313|br=b/brownra99}} and [https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=brown-003ray Baseball-Reference Black Baseball stats] and [https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=brown01ray Seamheads]
*{{bbhof|brown-ray}}
*{{Find a Grave}}

{{Homestead Grays}}
{{2006 Baseball HOF}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
{{1943 Homestead Grays}}
{{1944 Homestead Grays}}
{{MLB Triple Crowns (pitchers)}}
{{Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame}}
{{Washington Nationals Ring of Honor}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Ray}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1965 deaths]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Dayton, Ohio]]
[[Category:Dayton Marcos players]]
[[Category:Homestead Grays players]]
[[Category:Indianapolis ABCs (1931–1933) players]]
[[Category:Negro league pitching Triple Crown winners]]
[[Category:Leopardos de Santa Clara players]]
[[Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:People from Hardin County, Ohio]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Cuba]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:Thetford Mines Miners players]]