Background
He was born in Hereford, England.
He was born in Hereford, England.
Brain batted and threw right-handed. The English-born Brain was an unreliable fielder who showed some power with his bat and good speed on the basepaths. In 1903 for the Saint Louis Cardinals he stole 21 bases and hit 15 triples, including two three-triple games to become the only player in National League history to perform the feat twice in a season.
In 1904 Brain played around the infield, hitting 24 doubles with 12 triples and 18 stolen bases, and also posted a career-high with 72 runs batted in.
In 1905 he divided his playing time between Saint Louis and the Pittsburgh Pirates, and played the next two seasons with the Boston teams of the National League. Brain led the league batters with 10 home runs in 1907, but he will never hit another home run.
He played his last major league season in 1908, appearing in 27 games with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants. In a seven-season career, Brain was a.252 hitter with 27 home runs and 303 Reserve Bank of India in 679 games.
Brain died in Los Angeles, at the age of 80.