1907
Born April 30, 1907
Greene, RI, USA
Jumbo Brown Marquee
b. April 30, 1907 · Chicago Cubs 1925, Cleveland Indians 1927–1928, New York Yankees 1932–1933, 1935–1936, Cincinnati Reds 1937, New York Giants 1937–1941
Jumbo Brown was listed at 6 feet 4 inches and around 295 pounds, which made him the heaviest player in the major leagues by a wide margin and was the first thing anyone wrote about him. He was also, at the end of his career, one of the best relief pitchers in the National League.
The New York Giants used him almost exclusively out of the bullpen from 1937, and he led the league in saves in 1940 and again in 1941, at thirty-four. Before that came scattered spells with the Cubs, Cleveland and the Yankees across a decade.
Born in Greene, Rhode Island in 1907, Brown finished 33-31 with 29 saves across 249 appearances. Brown was fifty-nine at his death in October 1966.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | CHC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1927 | CLE | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 |
| 1928 | CLE | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .667 |
| 1932 | NYY | 19 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | .174 |
| 1933 | NYY | 21 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .179 |
| 1935 | NYY | 20 | 32 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 0 | .313 |
| 1936 | NYY | 20 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | .000 |
| 1937 | CIN/NYG | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1938 | NYG | 43 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | .188 |
| 1939 | NYG | 31 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .364 |
| 1940 | NYG | 41 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .100 |
| 1941 | NYG | 31 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .111 |
| Career | — | 249 | 157 | 13 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 40 | 0 | .204 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | CHC | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3.00 |
| 1927 | CLE | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 18.2 | 19 | 13 | 26 | 8 | 6.27 |
| 1928 | CLE | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14.2 | 19 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 6.75 |
| 1932 | NYY | 5 | 2 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 55.2 | 58 | 28 | 30 | 31 | 4.53 |
| 1933 | NYY | 7 | 5 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 74.0 | 78 | 43 | 52 | 55 | 5.23 |
| 1935 | NYY | 6 | 5 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 87.1 | 94 | 35 | 37 | 41 | 3.61 |
| 1936 | NYY | 1 | 4 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 64.0 | 93 | 42 | 29 | 19 | 5.91 |
| 1937 | CIN/NYG | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 18.1 | 21 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 4.91 |
| 1938 | NYG | 5 | 3 | 43 | 0 | 5 | 90.0 | 65 | 18 | 28 | 42 | 1.80 |
| 1939 | NYG | 4 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 7 | 56.1 | 69 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 4.15 |
| 1940 | NYG | 2 | 4 | 41 | 0 | 7 | 55.1 | 49 | 21 | 25 | 31 | 3.42 |
| 1941 | NYG | 1 | 5 | 31 | 0 | 8 | 57.0 | 49 | 21 | 21 | 30 | 3.32 |
| Career | — | 33 | 31 | 249 | 23 | 29 | 597.1 | 619 | 270 | 300 | 301 | 4.07 |
On this day & linked events
1966
Died October 2, 1966
1925
Major-league debut: Jumbo Brown
Jumbo Brown made a major-league debut on August 26, 1925.
1941
Final major-league game: Jumbo Brown
Jumbo Brown played a final major-league game on August 27, 1941.
Image: Goudey, public domain