Jimmy Brown

James Roberson Brown (April 25, 1910 – December 29, 1977) was an American Major League Baseball infielder and coach.

Early life Born in Jamesville, North Carolina, he played college baseball for the North Carolina State College (now North Carolina State University) Wolfpack. Brown was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed; he was listed as tall and .

Career

He signed with the St. 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. His 1938 season was not as impressive, but he did manage to increase his batting average over .300.

Brown enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces after playing 34 games during the season. When World War II ended, his contract was sold for $30,000 on January 5, 1946, to the Pittsburgh Pirates; he played the season as a utility infielder before being released by the Pirates on November 15.

In 890 games over eight seasons, Brown posted a .279 batting average (980-for-3512) with 465 runs, 146 doubles, 42 triples, 9 home runs, 319 RBI and 231 bases on balls. He finished his career with a .959 fielding percentage playing at second and third base and shortstop. In the 1942 World Series, he hit .300 (6-for-20) with 2 runs, 1 RBI and 3 walks. Brown then returned to the National League as a coach for the Boston Braves, working for three seasons (1949–51) under his old Cardinal skipper, Billy Southworth.

Later life After leaving Boston in 1952, he was a manager for minor league teams in the farm systems of the Cardinals, Braves and Cincinnati Reds. He died December 29, 1977, in Bath, North Carolina, where he was a long-time resident.