Education
The native of Shinnston, West Virginia, attended Florida State University and batted and threw right-handed.
The native of Shinnston, West Virginia, attended Florida State University and batted and threw right-handed.
He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher during the 1950s and 1960s. Standing at 6 ft 3 in (191 m) tall, and weighing 190 pounds, he played from 1957 to 1965 for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles. Originally signed by the Indians in 1953, Brown – who was the elder brother of former Alabama infielder Larry Brown – made his big league debut on June 20, 1957 against the Boston Red Sox at the age of 22.
Brown caught for six pitchers who would eventually be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
He played in 636 games over nine seasons, hitting.244 with 62 home runs and 223 runs batted in. His best two seasons were the two he spent with Detroit: he hit 16 home runs in 1961 and 12 home runs in 1962.
He had a.989 fielding percentage. He hit a grand slam less than one month earlier on April 29.
He played his final game on October 3, 1965.
He had been expected to continue as the Orioles" starting catcher entering the 1966 season. The discovery of a brain tumor early in spring training necessitated surgery to remove it on March 7. Additional surgery 11½ weeks later revealed another brain tumor, an inoperable one that effectively ended Brown"s playing career.
He served as a scout for the Orioles until his death at age 35 in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1970.
He is buried in Pinecrest Cemetery in Lake Worth, Florida.
