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Brown Baseball Pioneers
Asa Evans Stratton, 1873
Asa Evans Stratton is recognized as the first Brown baseball player to reach the major leagues, playing for Worcester in 1881. He played shortstop for one game and had one hit in four at bats.
J. Lee Richmond, 1880
J. Lee Richmond pitched the first perfect game in major league history, hurling a 1-0 victory for Worcester over Cleveland on June 12, 1880. He also pitched Brown to the collegiate national championship in 1879.
William Edward White, 1883
William Edward White was a first baseman on the University’s 1883 national collegiate championship team and is considered the first known black man to play Major League Baseball. According to Brown University Baseball: A Legacy of the Game, author Rick Harris states that White “played one game with the National League Providence Grays on June 21, 1879, making him the first black man to play major league baseball.” In the game, White "had one hit, scored one run, and fielded 12 plays without error.”
According to research by Peter Morris of the Society for American Baseball Research, White “entered the game for the Grays when the regular first baseman, ‘Old Reliable’ Joe Start, ‘broke the second finger on his left hand’ during the Grays game of June 19. Though White played well, he was replaced, in turn, by Jim O’Rourke, the Grays’ regular right fielder, for the remainder of Start’s absence.”
Fred Tenney, 1894
Tenney revolutionized play at first base, becoming the first player to play back and off the bag when all first basemen had stationed themselves with one foot off the bag. He had 2,239 career hits and owned a lifetime average .294 batting average, including a .350 mark in 1899. Tenney hit .300 or better in seven seasons and also had 285 stolen bases.
Bill Almon, 1975
Bill Almon boasts the distinction of being the only Ivy Leaguer to be drafted first overall in any of the four major professional sports. The Warwick, Rhode Island native was selected by the San Diego Padres with the first pick of the 1974 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, capping a stellar two-year varsity career on College Hill. Almon was an All-Ivy and All-EIBL selection in 1973 and 1974, earning College Baseball Player of the Year honors in 1974. A versatile player, Almon saw time at multiple positions over his 15-year career with seven different MLB clubs, and then served as head coach at Brown for four seasons.
Asa Evans Stratton is recognized as the first Brown baseball player to reach the major leagues, playing for Worcester in 1881. He played shortstop for one game and had one hit in four at bats.
J. Lee Richmond, 1880
J. Lee Richmond pitched the first perfect game in major league history, hurling a 1-0 victory for Worcester over Cleveland on June 12, 1880. He also pitched Brown to the collegiate national championship in 1879.
William Edward White, 1883
William Edward White was a first baseman on the University’s 1883 national collegiate championship team and is considered the first known black man to play Major League Baseball. According to Brown University Baseball: A Legacy of the Game, author Rick Harris states that White “played one game with the National League Providence Grays on June 21, 1879, making him the first black man to play major league baseball.” In the game, White "had one hit, scored one run, and fielded 12 plays without error.”
According to research by Peter Morris of the Society for American Baseball Research, White “entered the game for the Grays when the regular first baseman, ‘Old Reliable’ Joe Start, ‘broke the second finger on his left hand’ during the Grays game of June 19. Though White played well, he was replaced, in turn, by Jim O’Rourke, the Grays’ regular right fielder, for the remainder of Start’s absence.”
Fred Tenney, 1894
Tenney revolutionized play at first base, becoming the first player to play back and off the bag when all first basemen had stationed themselves with one foot off the bag. He had 2,239 career hits and owned a lifetime average .294 batting average, including a .350 mark in 1899. Tenney hit .300 or better in seven seasons and also had 285 stolen bases.
Bill Almon, 1975
Bill Almon boasts the distinction of being the only Ivy Leaguer to be drafted first overall in any of the four major professional sports. The Warwick, Rhode Island native was selected by the San Diego Padres with the first pick of the 1974 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, capping a stellar two-year varsity career on College Hill. Almon was an All-Ivy and All-EIBL selection in 1973 and 1974, earning College Baseball Player of the Year honors in 1974. A versatile player, Almon saw time at multiple positions over his 15-year career with seven different MLB clubs, and then served as head coach at Brown for four seasons.
