| Jimmy Brown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Infielder | |
| Born: April 25, 1910 Jamesville, North Carolina, U.S. | |
| Died: December 29, 1977(1977-12-29) (aged 67) Bath, North Carolina, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 23, 1937, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 15, 1946, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .279 |
| Home runs | 9 |
| Runs batted in | 319 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
James Roberson Brown (April 25, 1910 – December 29, 1977) was aMajor League Baseballinfielder andcoach.
Born inJamesville, North Carolina, he playedcollege baseball for theNorth Carolina State College (now North Carolina State University)Wolfpack.[1] Brown was aswitch-hitter who threwright-handed; he was listed as 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall and 165 pounds (75 kg).
He signed with theSt. Louis Cardinals afterwards and made his major league debut two days before his 27th birthday. He made an immediate impact, not only scoring 9 triples his rookie year, but also leading the league in sacrifice hits with 26.[2] His 1938 season was not as impressive, but he did manage to increase hisbatting average over .300.[2] Brown had a career year in1939, not only leading the league inat-bats with 645, but finishing 6th inMVP voting.[2] He began being known as a reliable leadoff hitter and as an infielder that the Cardinals could put anywhere, having played1936 primarily as asecond baseman,1939 as ashortstop, and1941 as athird baseman.[2]
After a decent season in 1940, he came back with another great year in 1941, tying a career high in triples with 9, earning a career high batting average with .306, and finishing 4th in MVP voting.[2] This, however, was still not enough to earn anall-star appearance. In 1942 he managed to earn his lone all-star appearance and finish 13th in MVP voting.[2] Despite this and leading the league in at-bats with 606, his batting average dipped to .256, a career low.[2] Despite this, during the1942 World Series, he led all Cardinals' hitters in batting average with .300 en route to their World Series victory.[3]
Brown enlisted in theUnited States Army Air Forces after playing 34 games during the1943 season.[4] When World War II ended, his contract was sold for $30,000 on January 5, 1946, to thePittsburgh Pirates; he played the1946 season as a utility infielder before being released by the Pirates on November 15.[5]
In 890 games over eight seasons, Brown posted a .279batting average (980-for-3512) with 465runs, 146doubles, 42triples, 9home runs, 319RBI and 231bases on balls. He finished his career with a .959fielding percentage playing at second and third base and shortstop. In the1942 World Series, he hit .300 (6-for-20) with 2 runs, 1 RBI and 3 walks.[2]
Upon retirement, he became a manager in the Pittsburghfarm system, with theIndianapolis Indians in 1947 and theNew Orleans Pelicans in 1948.[6] Brown then returned to theNational League as a coach for theBoston Braves, working for three seasons (1949–51) under his old Cardinal skipper,Billy Southworth.
After leaving Boston in 1952, he was a manager for minor league teams in the farm systems of the Cardinals, Braves andCincinnati Reds. He died December 29, 1977, inBath, North Carolina.
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