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Brinquitos
Barney Brown
Lloydminster, 1955-56.
On his player form, Brown stated he was a pitcher-OF, 5'11 1/2", 155, BL TL, born
Hartsville SC, home Philadelphia PA, 42, pro ball for 16-17 years (10
years in AAA). (He
gave his date of birth as October 23, 1912. The Social Security
Death Index lists a Barney Brown, Philadelphia, who died in October, 1985
as having been born October 23, 1907. Thus, he would have been 47 when he
first pitched for the Meridians in 1955.)
"Ageless Barney Brown, the reliable
Lloydminster 'junker' who tosses everything but the kitchen sink at the
plate, unfurled a nifty two-hitter to gain credit for the win."
(Moose Jaw Times-Herald, July 13,
1956)
Curly
Williams (on Barney Brown) "Let me tell you, he was
great. When we had him in Lloydminster he'd probably throw
two pitches that would hit the front of the plate that couldn't
even get to the catcher. Then he'd come up there and
strike the side out. And he was an old man. When Barney Brown
came to Lloydminster he was almost fifty years old. He was
like Satchel Paige, he just didn't get the breaks. That
guy was something else. Just a little guy too.
Didn't weight over 170 pounds. But he had so much stuff on
the ball he had guys swinging at the ball before it got to the
plate. He was amazing."
 "One of the best left-handed hurlers
in the Negro National League, his screwball, good control, and competitive
spirit made the slick southpaw a leading pitcher during the late
 1930s and
the 1940s. Brown pitched in five East-West All-Star games in four years,
appearing in both games played in 1946 . . . He began his professional
career in 1931 and, before joining the (New York) Black Yankees, played
with the Cuban Stars of the East-West League in 1932 . . . Playing winters
in Latin America, he led the Puerto Rican League in victories twice
(1941-42 and 1946-47); in the latter year he won 16 games and had an ERA
of 1.24 for San Juan . . . Always a good hitter with reasonable power at
the plate, he had a high walk ratio as a batter. He sometimes played
in the outfield or pinch-hit to utilize his bat in the lineup . . . He was
the best pitcher in Mexico in 1941, with a record of 19-4, and after
finishing the season he pitched for Guayama in the Puerto Rican winter
league. While there he offered his services to the Newark Eagles for $200
a month. Willie Wells, who was to manage the Eagles in 1942,
beseeched owner Abe Manley to sign Brown, but Manley failed to act
decisively, and the Eagles lost the pitcher who could have meant a
championship for them. Instead he signed with the Philadelphia Stars
for the 1942 season and is credited with a record of 23-8 against all
levels of opposition (but with a 5-7 league ledger) and earned another
All-Star appearance. Brown wore uniform number 1 with the
Philadelphia Stars, indicative of his status as ace of the mound corps."
-- James A. Riley The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball
Leagues.
 Brown played in the Negro Leagues, Mexico,
Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico from 1931 to 1952. He
moved to Canada and the Mandak League in 1952-53 (9-4, .306 in 18 games
with the 1953 Brandon Greys), Brantford of Ontario's InterCounty League in
1954 and Lloydminster in 1955-56. (In 1955, Brown
was among the elite pitchers in the Western Canada Baseball League.
In 11 starts, all complete games, he went 5-5 with a 2.90 ERA, 5th best in
the circuit. He made 11 starts in 1956, but with a 4-6 record and a
6.31 ERA.)
Year
Club League G
IP W L H R ER BB SO
ERA
1931 Cuban Stars
1932 Cuban Stars
1933
1934 Jamestown
ND
14 6 ***
1935-36 Marianao CWL
9 3 4
1936 New York NNL
1936-37 Marianao CWL
19 7 9
1937 New York,Phil NNL
1937-38 Havana CWL
4 0 1
1938 New York NNL
1938-39 Havana CWL
24 6 9
1939 New York NNL
1939 Vera Cruz MEX 23 173.1
16 5 138 48 33 141 2.49
1940 Vera Cruz MEX 29
175 16 7 206 78 56 113 4.01
1941 Farceur MEX 28 173.2
16 5 183 76 60 78 3.94
1941-42 Guayama
PRWL 16 6
1942 Philadelphia NNL
1943 Philadelphia
NNL
4 3
1943 Mex City Reds
MEX
6
8
4.52
1944 Philadelphia NNL
1944-45 Veracruz MEX
1945 Mexico City MEX 24 137.1 6 8
170 69 72 56 4.52
1945 Philadelphia NNL 5 29
3 1 26 8 19
1946 Philadelphia NNL 12 93
8 4 79 15 52
1946-47 San Juan PRWL 166
16 5
23 1.25
1947 Philadelphia NNL 13 62
2 8
82 16
1947-48 Ponce
PRWL 47.2 2
4 25 28 17 4.72
1948 Philadelphia NNL
1949 Philadelphia NAL 12 78
1 8 93 48 39 30 38 4.50
1950 Torreon MEX 30 213.2
12 10 198 66 86 157 2.78
1951 Torreon MEX 32
230 15 12 245 80 94 98 3.13
1952 Brandon * MADK
1952 Escogido DMSL 5
29.2 3 1
7 2.12
1952 Torreon MEX 12
83 3 6 94 43 50 40
4.66
1953 Brandon
MADK 122 9 4
53 76
1954 Brantford IC
7 3
1954 Cibaenas DMSL 4
13 0
1
8 5.54
1955 Lloydminster** WCBL 10 87 5
5 92 32 28 20 47 2.90
1956 Lloydminster WCBL 11 67 4
6 93 63 47 30 14 6.31
Year Club League
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BA
1934 Jamestown
ND
156 48
2 .308 ***
1939 Vera Cruz MEX 46 148 24
47 4 2 0 16 0 .318
1940 Vera Cruz MEX 66 192 36 54
17 0 0 27 1 .281
1941 Farceur MEX 78 251 38 81
12 2 0 39 0 .323
1944 Philadelphia NNL 30 71 6 14
3 0 12 0 .197
1945 Mexico City MEX 47 129 32 41 2
6 0 18 0 .318
1945 Philadelphia NNL 11 35 5 8
3 0 0 4 0 .229
1946 Philadelphia NNL 36 70 8 12
2 0 0 7 1 .171
1947 Philadelphia NNL 13 63 4 7
0 0 0 0 .111
1947-48 Ponce
PRWL 33 3 9 0 0
0 3 0 .273
1949 Philadelphia NAL 20 39 5 13
0 0 0 0 .333
1950 Torreon MEX 41
88 11 26 1 1 0 8 1 .295
1951 Torreon MEX 45 102 11
28 3 0 0 7 0 .275
1952 Torreon MEX 13
30 2 7 2 0 0 2 0 .233
1952 Brandon MADK
1953 Brandon MADK 18
49 15 0
10 0 .306
1954 Brantford IC
1955 Lloydminster WCBL 20 56 6 7
0 1 0 4 0 .125
1956 Lloydminster WCBL 24 94 5 11 0
0 0 6 1 .117
* No final statistics are available,
but Brown appears to have played in just three or four regular season
games. He won his first three starts, all complete games. He allowed
just one run in each.
** The final stats were incomplete.
Brown was in at least 12 games. He started 11 and completed them
all. It is believed he started the season with Minot of the Mandak
League (he joined Lloydminster in July, 1955).
*** Stats from Ted "Double
Duty" Radcliffe, by Kyle McNary
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