Byron Browne

Who is Byron Browne?

Byron Ellis Browne is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Browne was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1963. In his first Major League at-bat, Browne lined out in the second inning of Sandy Koufax's 1965 perfect game. Browne had the dubious distinction of leading the league in strikeouts in 1966 with 143. From 1970 to 1972 he was a member of several Philadelphia Phillies teams that were among the worst ever to play professional baseball. Although a few teammates described Browne as having the best natural power on the team, he seldom delivered, particularly in the clutch. To some cynics, his chief contribution was the refreshing breeze on hot and humid South Philadelphia evenings which emanated from his regular swings and misses. During his major league playing career, Browne also was associated with the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, and St. Louis Cardinals.

Browne, along also with Tim McCarver and Joe Hoerner, was part of the St. Louis Cardinals' 1969 attempted trade of Curt Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies for Richie Allen, Cookie Rojas, and Jerry Johnson. Challenging Major League Baseball's reserve clause, Flood's refusal of the trade and subsequent lawsuit against Major League Baseball went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court which in 1972 ruled against Flood. By 1975, however, arbitration effective reversed the Court's verdict, voiding the clause, which led to today's free agency system among major league professional athletes.