Dick Brown

Who was Dick Brown?

Richard Ernest Brown was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher during the 1950s and 1960s. The native of Shinnston, West Virginia, attended Florida State University and batted and threw right-handed. Standing at 6 ft 3 in tall, and weighing 190 pounds, he played from 1957 to 1965 for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles.

Originally signed by the Indians in 1953, Brown — who was the elder brother of former AL infielder Larry Brown — made his big league debut on June 20, 1957 against the Boston Red Sox at the age of 22. After three seasons with the Indians, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox on December 6, 1959 along with Don Ferrarese, Minnie Miñoso and Jake Striker for Norm Cash, Bubba Phillips and Johnny Romano.

Brown caught for six pitchers who would eventually be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He played in 636 games over nine seasons, hitting .244 with 62 home runs and 223 RBI. His best two seasons were the two he spent with Detroit: he hit 16 home runs in 1961 and 12 home runs in 1962. He had a .989 fielding percentage. Career highlights include back-to-back-to-back home runs he hit with Norm Cash and Steve Boros on May 23, 1961. He hit a grand slam less than one month earlier on April 29.