Mordecai Brown

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Brown was born in Nyesville, Indiana, to Jane and Peter Brown. He was also known as "Miner", having worked in western Indiana coal mines for a while before beginning his professional baseball career. Nicknames like "Miner" (or misspelled as "Minor") and "Three Finger" (or sometimes "Three-Fingered") were headline writers' inventions. To fans and friends he was probably best known as "Brownie". To his relatives and close friends, he was also known as "Mort". His three-part given name came from the names of his uncle, his father, and the United States Centennial year of his birth, respectively. According to his biography, he had two separate injuries to his right hand. The first and more famous trauma came when he was feeding material into the farm's feed chopper. He slipped and his hand was mangled by the knives, severing much of his index finger and damaging the others. A doctor repaired the rest of his hand as best he could. While it was still healing, the injury was aggravated by a fall he took, which broke several finger bones. They were not reset properly, especially the middle finger. He learned to pitch, as many children did, by aiming rocks at knot-holes on the barn wall and other wooden surfaces. Over time, with constant practice, he developed great control. As a "bonus", the manner in which he had to grip the ball resulted in an unusual amount of spin. This allowed him to throw an effective curve ball (or knuckle curve), and a deceptive fast ball and change-up. The extra topspin made it difficult for batters to connect solidly. In short, he "threw ground balls" and was exceptionally effective.

In Their Own Story

The rivalry between Brown and Christy Mathewson defined an era of National League pitching. New York Giants manager John McGraw regarded them as the two best pitchers in the league. In their 25 pitching matchups, Brown held a 13–11 edge with one no-decision. Their final meeting occurred on September 4, 1916, billed as the last game for both warriors in a Labor Day doubleheader. Mathewson's Cincinnati Reds prevailed 10–8 over Brown's Chicago Cubs in a high-scoring affair featuring 33 combined hits. Even after his major league retirement, Brown remained active; at age 51 in 1928, he pitched three innings against the House of David touring team and struck out all nine batters he faced.

Reader's Guide

Brown was a third baseman in semipro baseball in 1898 when his team's pitcher failed to appear for a game and Brown was put in to pitch. Players in the league quickly noticed the spin and movement created by Brown's unusual grip. After a spectacular minor league career commencing in Terre Haute of the Three-I League in 1901, Brown came to the majors rather late, at age 26, in 1903, and lasted until 1916 when he was close to 40. Brown's most productive period was when he played for the Chicago Cubs from 1904 through 1912. During this stretch, he won 20 or more games six times and was part of two World Series championships. New York Giants manager John McGraw regarded his own Christy Mathewson and Brown as the two best pitchers in the National League. Brown had a career 13–11 edge on Mathewson, with one no-decision in their 25 pitching matchups. Brown's most important single game effort was the pennant-deciding contest between the Cubs and the New York Giants on October 8, 1908, at New York. With Mathewson starting for the Giants, Cubs starter Jack Pfiester got off to a weak start and was quickly relieved by Brown, who held the Giants in check the rest of the way as the Cubs prevailed 4–2, to win the pennant. The Cubs then went on to win their second consecutive World Series championship, their last until 2016, a span of 108 years. In late 1909, Brown was on a team that played some games in Cuba. He planned to spend the winter there, but returned home when he caught a mysterious sickness. Brown saw limited action in 1912 and was released by the Cubs in October, a week before he turned 36. After the 1912 season, he was advised by a physician to retire from baseball as, if he suffered another knee injury (his knee has previously been injured), he risked losing use of the leg altogether. However, Brown continued to play, signing with the Louisville Colonels, who traded him to the Cincinnati Reds for the 1913 season. After the 1913 season, Brown jumped to the Federal League, signing his contract on the same day as Joe Tinker. While Tinker went to the Chicago Whales, Brown was the player-manager for the St. Louis Terriers in 1914. Brown was dismissed as manager in August, then finished the season with the Brooklyn Tip-Tops, and was rumored to retire again in October 1914. He stayed in the league and played for the Chicago Whales in 1915. He returned to the Cubs for

Did You Know?

• F. Scott Fitzgerald refers to "Three-finger Brown" in his first novel, This Side of Paradise (1920).
• The television series The Simpsons made reference to Brown in "Homer at the Bat", when Mr. Burns lists three ringers he wants for his company's softball team: Honus Wagner, Cap Anson, and Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown.
• In 1999, he was named as a finalist to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
• Between Brown and Antonio Alfonseca, the Cubs have featured both a "three-fingered" pitcher and a six-fingered pitcher on their all-time roster (Brown technically had four, including the thumb).