Tommy Brown, a former shortstop, left fielder and pinch hitter for three MLB teams from 1944 to ’45 and 1947 to ’53, died Wednesday, according to a Wednesday afternoon social media post from Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer. He was 97.
A native of Brooklyn, Brown was the final living member of the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers—the team for which Jackie Robinson debuted at first base on April 15, integrating the National League.
Additionally, Brown was the last living major leaguer whose career began during World War II. With able-bodied men in short supply on the home front, Brown debuted for the Dodgers in ’44 at the age of 16.
In 1945, he hit a home run at the age of 17; he’s still the youngest player ever to homer in the major leagues.
After a one-year stint in the army, Brown played in 15 games for Brooklyn in ’47. In 1949, he saw his only postseason action, going 0-for-2 with a strikeout as a pinch hitter in the World Series against the New York Yankees.
Brown finished his big-league career with the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs, and his baseball career more broadly with a quartet of minor-league teams.
