Tweet
Prior to the 1902 season, businessman Robert Hedges bought the last-place (1901) Milwaukee Brewers of the American League and moved the franchise to St. Louis. He called the team the Browns, the name that had been abandoned by the St. Louis National League team just a couple of years earlier, and provided uniforms with brown trim for the players. (The St. Louis Nationals had adopted a color described as "a lovely shade of cardinal".) He acquired Jimmy McAleer to manage the club; McAleer had been an outfielder with the National League Browns and in 1901 had managed the American League Cleveland Blues. Only six players from the 1901 Brewers remained on the 1902 Browns--pitcher Bill Reidy, first baseman John Anderson, backup catchers Jiggs Donahue and Billy Maloney (converted to outfielder in 1902), backup outfielder Davy Jones, and utility player Bill Friel. Hedges convinced seven of the 1901 Cardinals to jump to the Browns--pitchers Jack Powell, Jack Harper, and Willie Sudhoff, infielders Dick Padden and Bobby Wallace, and outfielders Emmet Heidrick and Jesse Burkett. This decimated a Cardinal team that had competed for the NL pennant and made the Browns instant contenders. The Cardinals went to court to try to keep Harper, Heidrick, and Wallace, but the judge ruled in the Browns' favor (and against the reserve clause). As a result, Bobby Wallace became the highest-paid player in baseball at $6500 per season for the next five years.
The team contended for first place for most of the season, and were briefly in first after winning on August 13th, but the Philadelphia Athletics overtook them for the pennant and the Browns finished in second place, five games behind. They dropped to sixth in 1903 and did not finish second again until 1922, and won their only American League pennant (while in St. Louis) in 1944.
Most of the on-field photographs of the players in this thread are from 1903 or later; very few on-field photos from before then still exist.
The team contended for first place for most of the season, and were briefly in first after winning on August 13th, but the Philadelphia Athletics overtook them for the pennant and the Browns finished in second place, five games behind. They dropped to sixth in 1903 and did not finish second again until 1922, and won their only American League pennant (while in St. Louis) in 1944.
Most of the on-field photographs of the players in this thread are from 1903 or later; very few on-field photos from before then still exist.
Comment