Tom Brown

Thomas Tarlton Brown (September 21, 1860 – October 25, 1927) was an American professional baseball center fielder. Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, son of William Henry Tarlton Brown and Mary Nixon Lewis, he played for 17 seasons, a career in which he batted .265 while scoring 1,524 runs with 1,958 hits. Upon his retirement he served as an umpire, working mostly in the National League in 1898 and 1901–1902.

Career In June , Tom signed with the Baltimore Orioles, of the American Association, as a non-drafted free agent. As a right fielder, he hit one home run with 23 runs batted in for that season with Baltimore. He was a right fielder for most of his early career, switching over to center later in his career. and Brown was sent to the Columbus Buckeyes in an unknown transaction before the season. He played two seasons in Columbus, both of which he hit five home runs and drove in 32 runs. His best season with them occurred in , when he batted .273 and scored 93 runs in 106 games played.

Before the season, he was sent to the Boston Beaneaters. Brown was one of Boston's star players. As their starting right fielder he hit nine home runs with 49 RBIs, and stole 46 bases. For the season, he only hit two home runs, and drove in 24 runs, but placed third in the league with 63 stolen bases. He also scored 93 runs while only accumulating 84 hits.

After the 1891 season, the Association folded, Brown was granted to the league and was later obtained by the Louisville Colonels on January 1, 1892.

Other baseball capacities After his retirement early in the 1898 season, he became an umpire and finished the season in the National League, umpiring a total of 96 games that year. During his time umpiring, he ejected seven players from games, three of which were in 1898. On September 30, Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Nap Lajoie was sent to the bench after a heated argument, insisting Brown is crooked. Nap was suspended for three days. The following season, in he only umpired two games before becoming manager of the minor league Springfield Ponies in the Eastern League. He returned to umpiring for the and seasons when he called 65 and 143 games respectively. He again left the profession until he returned for 12 more games in in the American League.

Post baseball career Tom was predeceased by his wife, Christine, and his daughter, Ethel May Brown Stratton. In later life he owned a tobacco store on M Street in Washington, DC. Tom died in Washington, D.C. at the age of 67, and is interred at the Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Brentwood, Maryland.