St Louis Browns Farm Clubs in the 40's

[tdworak]

Was wondering if anyone on this site had any information about the St. Louis Browns Farm Teams in the 40's. I am trying to piece together my Father's Baseball Career after WWII. According to my Mother (who does'nt remember much) and some Photographs she has, she said that my Father was in the St. Louis Browns Farm System in the Forties. She remembers him playing in New York (There is a Picture of his Team with the name "Glovers?) on their Uniform). She also remembers him playing and/or training in Pine Bluff Arkansas and Louisiana and other Places (need to go back to my Mom's House and study the photo's better). There is also a Photo of him (by himeself) with a St. Louis Cap and "Browns" across his Uniform. Looking for any Information on where the Browns Triple A, Double A, Single A and others played.

Thanks,
Tom

[bobw357]

The Gloversville Glovers (NY) were a Browns' farm team from1942-49. They played in the Canadien-American League.

What is your father's name?

[tdworak]

My Father's Name was Joe Dworak. He was a left handed Pitcher out of South Omaha, Nebraska. After High School, He enlisted in the Armed Forces. After the War, he went back to playing baseball but am not sure how far he got before being injured. Thanks for the Information.

Tom

[The Commissioner]

Hi Tom,
I'm sorry it took me so long to reply. I was able to find your father's record as having played professionally between the years 1947-50. He appears to have been a pretty darn good pitcher. In his first year of professional ball (1947) he pitched for Mayfield in the Kentucky, Illinois, Tennesee ("Kitty") League. This was a class D League. That season his record was 11-11, which is a bit misleading. While his won/loss record may have only been .500, his 2.69 ERA was the best in the entire league!!!! He also led the league in ERA by a good margain. He was the only pitcher to post a mark below 3 runs per game. The man that finished second in the ERA race that year was Bob Buhl (3.00) who later went onto win 166 games in 15 ML seasons!!! The next season (1948) your father moved up to Springfield in the Illinois-Iowa Indiana League at Class B level. He posted a 1-4 record with a 4.76 record that season. The next year he moved on to play for Gloversville-Johnston at class C in the Canadian-American League. There he posted a .650 winning percentage (6th best by players with 8 or more wins) by going 13-7 with a 4.48 ERA. For his final season he moved on to Anderson in the Tri-State League at class B level. Unfortunately, this was not his best season. He posted a 5-17 record (second most losses in the league) with a 6.02 ERA. That appears to have been his last season of playing pro ball. Overall, he seems to have had a nice little career for himself there. Along the way he played with and against many former and future Major Leaguers. His most notable teammate was probably Roy Sievers on the 1948 Springfield squad. Sievers went on to win the Rookie of the Year his next season and later became a four time All-Star.

[tdworak]

Thank you for the reply. You have filled in many blanks in my Fathers Baseball Career. I think (according to my mom) that my Dad got injured during his last Year in Baseball and never recovered. I appreciate the Time you spent researching My Dad's Minor League Career.

[NittanyRyan]

Re:

Hello,
First time poster here. I'm trying to find out some similar information on my grandfather who also played in the St. Louis Browns farm system. His name was James (Jim) Roberts, played 2B and I believe he played on some clubs in the Carolinas or possibly Tennessee. He was from Tennessee. Is there any way I can find out some information on his career? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated my my father and myself. He died in '86 so we have no record. Thanks

Ryan

[The Mick]

If you want, I could help either of you contact the St. Louis Browns Historical Society. I've done some stuff for their newsletter "Pop Flies" and know the publisher well. Email me and I can put you in touch with him (off the board).

(BTW: the Commish came up huge!!! Great job!)

[The Commissioner]

Re: Re:

Originally posted by NittanyRyan
Hello,
First time poster here. I'm trying to find out some similar information on my grandfather who also played in the St. Louis Browns farm system. His name was James (Jim) Roberts, played 2B and I believe he played on some clubs in the Carolinas or possibly Tennessee. He was from Tennessee. Is there any way I can find out some information on his career? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated my my father and myself. He died in '86 so we have no record. Thanks

Ryan

Would it be possible for you to provide any more details, such as what decade we should be looking for here? Jim Roberts has been the name of several professional ballplayers.

[NittanyRyan]

Re:

Thanks for the quick reply. He was born Aug 25th 1917 or 1918. Played primarily 2B but some SS as well. Played during the late 1930s and into 1940-1941 I believe.

[The Commissioner]

I'm sorry, but I haven't been able to locate any records on him. The closest that I have found is that there was a Jim Roberts who played for Albany in the Florida-Georgia League in 1946. I have also found various incomplete records of several players who's first names are not even listed, but who's last name was "Roberts" that played in the 1930s. Could it be possible that he played under a different name other than "Jim" or "James"?

[UConnDrTom]

My Dad played for the Yonkers Norsemen in 1939 - he used to say that they were part of the St. Louis Browns Farm Team organization and that he got paid $75.00/ month. I only have one photo and am very curious to find out more information. Any ideas on where we could find out more?

[The Commissioner]

Originally posted by UConnDrTom
My Dad played for the Yonkers Norsemen in 1939 - he used to say that they were part of the St. Louis Browns Farm Team organization and that he got paid $75.00/ month. I only have one photo and am very curious to find out more information. Any ideas on where we could find out more?

Yonkers did not have a minor league ballclub at that time. The only two season in which Yonkers was home to one were in 1905 and 1907. Could it be possible that your father actually played on a semi-pro team instead? If you would let me know your father's name I could run a search on him to see if there is any record of him having played professionally.

[UConnDrTom]

My father's name was James J. Connors Jr. He d.o.b. was Nov. 27, 1914. Thanks for all your help.

[The Commissioner]

The only record of anyone going by that name, who played during that era, that I could locate is of a player named Jim Conners. Het played one season in the PONY League in 1940 for the London Pirates. However, that team was an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and not the Browns.

[starkbucks]

Hi,
My Dad was on the St. Louis Browns farm club in the '40s. If you have any information you can share. Please email me.
He was a right handed pitcher, Michael Rolla.
Thanks,
Lu