Harry David Brecheen (, , October 14, 1914 – January 17, 2004), nicknamed "The Cat", was an American left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played most of his career for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. In the late 1940s he was among the team's stars, in 1946 becoming the first left-hander ever to win three games in a single

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, and the only pitcher ever to win consecutive World Series games. He later led the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in several categories in 1948. His career World Series

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 0.83 was a major league record from 1946 to 1976. From 1951 to 1971 he held the Cardinals franchise record for career

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s by a left-hander, and he also retired with the fourth-highest

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

among pitchers (.983), then the top mark among left-handers.

Early life

Born in

Broken Bow, Oklahoma Broken Bow is a city in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,120 at the 2010 census. It is named after Broken Bow, Nebraska, the former hometown of the city's founders, the Dierks brothers. Other Dierks-associated ...

, he was acquired by the Cardinals in 1938 after two minor league seasons, but did not get a chance to start for the team until 1943. He was nicknamed "The Cat" because of his ability to cover bunts.

Career

He appeared in three innings in 1940. Exempted from military service during World War II with a 4-F classification due to a spinal malformation and a boyhood ankle injury, he pitched in the

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

and

1944 World Series World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1943, Brecheen pitched in 29 games, starting 13 of them. He went 9–6 with a 2.29

in 135 innings pitched. The next season, he went 16–5. He won game four of the 1944 World Series against the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

. He was key to the Cardinals' upset win over the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in the

1946 World Series The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the National League) and the Boston Red Sox (representing the American League). This was the Red Sox's first appearance in a World Series since their c ...

. He won three games during the series. He recorded his finest season in 1948, posting a

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

of 20–7 with 21

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s and led the league in earned run average (2.24),

s (149) and

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s (7). A two-time All-Star, his overall career record was 133 wins and 92 losses, with a 2.92 earned run average over 12 seasons. After breaking

Bill Sherdel William Henry Sherdel (August 15, 1896 – November 14, 1968) was a professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher over parts of fifteen seasons (1918–1932) with the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Braves. For his career, he compil ...

's club record for career strikeouts by a left-hander in 1951, he held the mark until

Steve Carlton Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the Philadelphi ...

surpassed it in 1971. His 25 career shutouts remain the Cardinal record for left-handers. His career World Series ERA of 0.83 stood as the record (with at least 25 innings) until

Jack Billingham John Eugene Billingham (born February 21, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty th ...

broke it in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

with a mark of 0.36. Playing his entire career for St. Louis teams, Brecheen ended his career in 1953 as a playing coach with the

; it was that team's final season in the city before their move to Baltimore. He won his only start of the 1944 Series, which matched the city's two teams. As a hitter, Brecheen was better than average, posting a .192

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(129-for-673) with 48 runs, 2

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, 44 RBI and 45

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

. Brecheen's

screwball A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known a ...

was ranked the eighth-best of all time by

Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics. ...

and

Rob Neyer Rob Neyer (born June 22, 1966) is an American baseball writer known for his use of statistical analysis or sabermetrics. He started his career working for Bill James and STATS and then joined ESPN.com as a columnist and blogger from 1996 to 2011 ...

Later life

Following his playing career, Brecheen remained with the Browns when they became the Baltimore Orioles. His playing career ended in 1954 when he hurt his arm trying to pick up a suitcase, but he remained with the organization as their pitching coach from 1954 to 1967. While coaching the Orioles pitchers for the next 14 years, the Orioles’ staff ranked in the top four in ERA. He trained many young pitchers including

Billy O'Dell William Oliver O'Dell (February 10, 1933 – September 12, 2018), known as Billy O'Dell and also as Digger O'Dell, was an American professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues in thirteen seasons: 1954 and from 1956 to 1967. ...

Jack Fisher John Howard "Fat Jack" Fisher (March 4, 1939) is an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through for the Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, Chicago White S ...

Jim Palmer James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the ...

Dave McNally David Arthur McNally (October 31, 1942 – December 1, 2002) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1962 through 1975, most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dyn ...

Steve Barber Stephen David Barber (February 22, 1938 – February 4, 2007) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Baltimore Orioles and six other teams between 1960–74. Barber compiled 121 wins, 1,309 str ...

Chuck Estrada Charles Leonard Estrada (born February 15, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from to , playing for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. After his retirem ...

Jerry Walker Jerry Allen Walker (born February 12, 1939) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Athletics, and Cleveland Indians between 1957 and 1964. Born in Ada, ...

and

Milt Pappas Milton Steven Pappas (May 11, 1939 – April 19, 2016) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Nicknamed "Gimpy", the 17-year veteran pitched for the Baltimore Ori ...

; He changed 36-year-old

Hoyt Wilhelm James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angel ...

into a starter in 1959. The knuckleballer led the league with a 2.19 era while winning 15 games and losing 11; With Brecheen's help, washed up Phillies legend Robin Roberts, made a comeback with the Orioles. Brecheen was let go after the 1967 season after too many promising Orioles pitchers turned up with arm troubles during his long tenure. He was voted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. He died at age 89 in a nursing facility in

Bethany, Oklahoma Bethany is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The community was founded in 1909 by followers of the Church of the Nazarene from Oklahoma City. History Bethany was founded July 28 ...

References

External links

The Deadball Era
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brecheen, Harry 1914 births 2004 deaths Baltimore Orioles coaches Bartlesville Bucs players Baseball players from Oklahoma Columbus Red Birds players East Central Tigers baseball players Galveston Buccaneers players Greenville Buckshots players Houston Buffaloes players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches National League All-Stars National League ERA champions National League strikeout champions People from Ada, Oklahoma People from Broken Bow, Oklahoma Portsmouth Cubs players St. Louis Browns coaches St. Louis Browns players St. Louis Cardinals players Screwball pitchers

Early life

Career

Later life

See also

References

External links