Willard Brown

⭐ Hall of Fame 2006

Born: 6/26/1915 in Shreveport, LA, USA

Died: 8/4/1996 in Houston, TX, USA

MLB Debut: 1947-07-19 | Final Game: 1949-09-18

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 200 lbs

Full name: Willard Jessie Brown

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Biography

Willard Brown was a professional baseball player born in 1915, whose career spanned a brief but notable period from July 19, 1947, to August 17, 1947. A position player, Brown's major league tenure comprised 21 games, during which he demonstrated his abilities with 12 hits, including one home run, and six runs batted in. He finished his brief stint with a batting average of .179 and contributed with two stolen bases, showcasing his speed on the bases. Brown's career unfolded during a transformative time in baseball, shortly after the integration of Major League Baseball, which brought new opportunities for African American players. Although his time in the majors was limited, he represented an important chapter in the history of the sport, as he was among the few African American players active in the league during that period. His contributions to the game, although modest in statistical terms, were part of the broader narrative of change and progress in baseball during the late 1940s. Brown's legacy lives on as a part of the ongoing story of the sport's evolution.

Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2360.0	2193.0	507.0	881.0	181.0	59.0	128.0	508.0	153.0	24.0	106.0	0.402	0.441	0.713	1.154

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Season	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1935	12.0	12.0	1.0	4.0	1.0	0	0	1.0	0	0	0	0.333	0.333	0.417	0.750
1936	50.0	48.0	11.0	18.0	1.0	2.0	1.0	7.0	1.0	1.0	3.0	0.375	0.388	0.542	0.930
1937	295.0	276.0	64.0	98.0	18.0	9.0	14.0	68.0	17.0	2.0	12.0	0.355	0.395	0.638	1.033
1938	210.0	202.0	40.0	69.0	17.0	3.0	11.0	36.0	9.0	2.0	17.0	0.342	0.370	0.619	0.989
1939	183.0	176.0	41.0	76.0	17.0	7.0	10.0	41.0	6.0	0	9.0	0.432	0.446	0.778	1.224
1940	11.0	11.0	2.0	3.0	0	0	1.0	1.0	0	0	0	0.273	0.273	0.545	0.818
1941	172.0	158.0	40.0	65.0	10.0	4.0	8.0	32.0	13.0	3.0	14.0	0.411	0.457	0.677	1.134
1942	226.0	206.0	45.0	94.0	15.0	5.0	9.0	29.0	16.0	5.0	12.0	0.456	0.493	0.709	1.202
1943	244.0	222.0	43.0	85.0	15.0	6.0	8.0	40.0	19.0	0	6.0	0.383	0.430	0.613	1.043
1944	10.0	9.0	2.0	3.0	0	0	0	1.0	1.0	0	2.0	0.333	0.400	0.333	0.733
1946	224.0	216.0	52.0	85.0	12.0	6.0	22.0	57.0	8.0	2.0	6.0	0.394	0.415	0.810	1.225
1947	213.0	201.0	47.0	87.0	26.0	5.0	9.0	49.0	12.0	0	11.0	0.433	0.465	0.746	1.211
1948	255.0	229.0	68.0	113.0	29.0	3.0	24.0	87.0	25.0	5.0	11.0	0.493	0.545	0.961	1.506
1949	255.0	227.0	51.0	81.0	20.0	9.0	11.0	59.0	26.0	4.0	3.0	0.357	0.425	0.670	1.095

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
473	1818	368	643	139	46	63	432	95	137	16	0.354	0.400	0.585	0.985	11019.7

Career AVG .354 vs. league average .267 across their career seasons — +32.5% above league average.

Career OBP .400 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — +19.1% above league average.

Career SLG .585 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — +54.7% above league average.

Career OPS 0.985 vs. league average 0.714 across their career seasons — +37.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1935	KCM	IND	13	47	8	16	3	0	5	13	2	5	1	0.340	—	—	—	—	393.3
1936	KCM	IND	11	47	11	18	1	2	1	10	3	1	1	0.383	—	—	—	—	0.0
1937	KCM	NAL	56	214	51	81	11	10	10	60	10	19	0	0.379	.276 (+37%)	.342 (+26%)	.398 (+67%)	.740 (+48%)	1761.1
1938	KCM	NAL	47	180	36	62	16	4	7	48	20	11	0	0.344	.272 (+26%)	.341 (+12%)	.392 (+51%)	.734 (+33%)	943.4
1939	KCM	NAL	45	179	36	64	15	7	4	44	9	8	0	0.358	.274 (+30%)	.342 (+12%)	.393 (+49%)	.735 (+32%)	868.9
1940	KCM	NAL	3	11	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.182	—	—	—	—	0.0
1941	KCM	NAL	42	159	35	54	9	4	6	34	14	16	1	0.340	.262 (+30%)	.332 (+21%)	.373 (+50%)	.705 (+36%)	948.2
1942	KCM	NAL	46	182	36	69	12	2	6	38	7	16	1	0.379	.253 (+50%)	.323 (+33%)	.349 (+62%)	.672 (+48%)	1383.7
1943	KCM	NAL	54	204	33	68	13	2	7	33	4	16	0	0.333	.255 (+30%)	.324 (+18%)	.346 (+50%)	.671 (+34%)	1083.5
1944	KCM	NAL	3	9	2	3	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0.333	—	—	—	—	0.0
1946	KCM	NAL	38	145	30	48	11	6	3	27	3	7	2	0.331	.256 (+29%)	.328 (+10%)	.358 (+54%)	.687 (+33%)	660.6
1947	KCM	NAL	48	200	42	75	22	7	6	64	12	15	0	0.375	.262 (+43%)	.336 (+25%)	.376 (+71%)	.712 (+50%)	1573.7
1947	SLA	AL	21	67	4	12	3	0	1	6	2	0	7	0.179	.262 (-32%)	.336 (-47%)	.376 (-29%)	.712 (-37%)	1573.7
1948	KCM	NAL	46	174	43	71	23	2	7	54	8	22	3	0.408	.263 (+55%)	.340 (+40%)	.379 (+80%)	.719 (+61%)	1835.5

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
25	98	19	33	7	2	4	21	5	1	0.337

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1948	ALC	KCM	7	28	4	10	3	0	1	5	1	0	0.357
1946	NWS	KCM	7	29	4	7	1	0	2	10	0	1	0.241
1942	NWS	KCM	4	15	7	7	1	1	1	2	4	0	0.467
1939	ALC	KCM	3	10	0	3	1	1	0	2	0	0	0.300
1937	ALC	KCM	4	16	4	6	1	0	0	2	0	0	0.375

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	1	0	1	0	0	0
2B	12	12	30	34	6	3
3B	9	8	7	15	3	2
OF	404	383	740	35	32	10
SS	52	48	72	122	18	20

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1935	KCM	SS	13	13	16	27	9	8
1936	KCM	SS	11	11	14	36	3	5
1937	KCM	1B	1	0	1	0	0	0
1937	KCM	OF	41	39	47	3	1	0
1937	KCM	SS	19	17	28	42	5	5
1938	KCM	3B	6	6	4	9	1	1
1938	KCM	OF	41	41	67	2	1	1
1938	KCM	SS	1	0	0	0	0	0
1939	KCM	3B	2	1	2	4	0	0
1939	KCM	OF	44	44	66	3	4	2
1939	KCM	SS	1	0	0	2	0	0
1940	KCM	OF	3	3	2	0	0	0
1941	KCM	3B	1	1	1	2	2	1
1941	KCM	OF	42	41	68	2	3	0
1942	KCM	OF	46	46	97	5	5	2
1943	KCM	OF	50	50	116	4	5	1
1943	KCM	SS	4	4	8	10	1	1
1944	KCM	OF	2	2	1	0	0	0
1946	KCM	2B	12	12	30	34	6	3
1946	KCM	OF	26	26	62	3	0	1
1947	KCM	OF	45	45	105	6	5	0
1947	KCM	SS	3	3	6	5	0	1
1947	SLA	OF	18	0	41	0	0	0
1948	KCM	OF	46	46	68	7	8	3