Brown got his nickname because he was discovered playing on the sandlots of Atlantic
City by a scout for Connie Mack. He was 13-11 for the A's in 1912 and followed with
17-11 for the pennant winners of 1913, but was not used in the A's WS victory as
Connie Mack used only three pitchers. After a 1-6 start in 1914, he was sold to New
York.
(NLM)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»May 18, 1912: The Tiger players protest Ty Cobb's suspension and vote to strike. Faced with a $5,000 fine for failing to field a team, club owner Frank Navin orders manager Hugh Jennings to sign up some local amateurs. Al Travers, Bill Leinhauser, Dan McGarvey, Billy Maharg (whose real name was Graham, "Maharg" reversed), Jim McGarr, Pat Meany, Jack Coffey, Hap Ward, and Ed Irvin put on Tiger uniforms. Two Detroit coaches, Joe Sugden, 41, and Jim McGuire, 48, complete the lineup, and score the only two runs for Detroit. The Athletics win 24–2, as Travers goes all the way, giving up 26 hits and 24 runs in eight innings. The only recruit to hit for Detroit is Irvin, who laces two triples in three at bats and closes his ML career with a 2.000 slugging average (only three other players will debut with two triples -— Roy Weatherly, Willie McCovey, and John Sipin). Only one ever plays another ML game: Maharg will bat once for the Phils in 1916. He will also be involved as a conspirator in the Black Sox scandal of 1919. A's starter Jack Coombs leaves after three innings with a 6–0 lead, good enough for a win under the rules at the time. Boardwalk Brown and Herb Pennock divide the rest of the pitching for the A's. Starter Travers, having pitched his only ML game, returns to his studies at St. Joseph's College and later becomes a Catholic priest.
»July 12, 1913: Philadelphia's Boardwalk Brown walks 15 Tigers in seven 2/3 innings, but staggers to a 16–9 win. Brown has only one walkless inning—the first. Ty Cobb, out for a week with an injured knee, plays 2B for the only time in his career, and makes three errors in his five fielding chances.
»July 6, 1914:
The A's sell pitcher Boardwalk Brown, 17–13 last year, to the Yankees. New York also brings back Birdie Cree by sending Bill Holden and cash to Baltimore (IL) in exchange. Birdie hit .348 in 1911 and .332 next season before injuring his leg. Heslumped to .272 last year and was sold to Baltimore, but he will hit .309 in 77 games this year.
»June 23, 1915:
Philadelphia Athletics lefty Bruno Haas makes his debut against New York a memorable one as he walks a record 16 batters, and throws three wild pitches. He goes all the way in a 15–7 loss, his only ML decision. Haas breaks the record of 15 walks, set by Boardwalk Brown, before he was sold by the A's to the Yankees. Haas will pitch in just five more games before ending up in the NFL as a halfback for Akron.
BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
