The Ballard of Three Fingers Brown
As a boy, Mordecai Brown caught his hand in a feed cutter and lost the top joint of his index finger and the use of his little finger. When his injured hand was still in a cast, he broke the other two fingers, which became permanently disfigured. With his crippled hand, Brown threw a natural sinker ball. He led the Cubs pitching staff that won four pennants in five years and won two World Series titles, including an MLB record 116 victories in 1906.
Brown was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1949 two years after he passed away.
Matty vs Brown
In an era of low scoring games, Brown was a staff ace who often faced the other team’s best arm. Consequently, Brown often faced the Giants’ Christy Mathewson, Pittsburgh’s Babe Adams, Philadelphia’s Pete Alexander, Brooklyn’s Nap Rucker and the Braves’ Vic Willis. A fantastic study would be to research the head-to-head record of these great pitching legends. Mathewson and Brown faced each other 25 times in their careers, “Three-Finger” posting a 13-10 record, Matty going 11-13. Here are some of their memorable moments:
On June 13, 1905, Brown carried a two-hitter into the ninth inning against Matty, only to allow four straight hits and lose 1-0. Mathewson hurled a no-hitter for the win.
In July of that same season, Brown defeated Matty and began a streak of eight straight wins over the Giants’ legend. On July 17, 1908, Matty lost 1-0 to Brown when Cubs’ shortstop Joe Tinker hit an inside-the-park homer in the fifth inning.
In one of the most bizarre games ever played, Brown and Matty hook up on September 23, 1908, in the Polo Grounds. With the score locked 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Giants’ shortstop Al Bridwell hit an RBI_single, apparently winning the game. But the runner on first, Fred Merkle, failed to touch second base, and Cubs’ second baseman Johnny Evers alertly tagged the bag, nullifying the run. After haggling and protests, the game was declared a tie. At the end of the season, it is replayed, and the Cubs win to take the pennant. Brown defeated Mathewson in the rematch.
On July 15, 1913, Mathewson defeated Brown (now with the Reds) 4-2 and ran his streak of innings without a walk to 61.
In 1916, their best years behind them, Brown (back with the Cubs) and Mathewson agreed to face each other in the second game of the Labor Day doubleheader. The game was to be the final appearance for either man in a big league uniform and it was designed as a publicity stunt. Mathewson, now managing the Reds, got the win in a 10-8 contest. Brown lost to finish 13-10 against the great pitcher.
The Mordecai Brown All Teammate Team
C: Johnny Kling
1B: Frank Chance
2B: Johnny Evers
3B: Harry Steinfeldt
SS: Joe Tinker
LF: Jimm Sheckard
CF: Max Flack
RF: Frank Schulte
SP: Ed Reulbach
SP: Red Ames
SP: George McConnell
SP: Hippo Vaughn
M: Frank Chance
Nine Players Who Debuted in 1903
John Titus
Hans Lobert
Solly Hofman
Lee Tannehill
George Moriarty
Jake Stahl
Three-Finger Brown
Chief Bender
Red Ames