Tuesday, August 17, 2010
By Robert Dvorchak, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1
Joe L. Brown was the architect of two World Series championships and helped lay the groundwork for a third title, but his legacy will always be linked to 1960 because it was the Pirates' first championship in 35 years.
"Look at who we beat. The National League was very tough. And we beat a pretty good Yankee team with [Mickey] Mantle, [Roger] Maris, [Whitey] Ford, [Yogi] Berra," Mr. Brown said earlier this year.
"The Pirates had not won in so long that nobody remembered what it was like. It was a long dry spell. Pittsburgh is a football town. But we showed it's also a baseball town."
Andy Starnes/Post-Gazette
Joe L. Brown at Three Rivers Stadium.
Mr. Brown died Sunday in an assisted living facility in Albuquerque, N.M. He had moved there from his home in Newport Beach, Calif., within the past 10 days to be near his daughter, Cynthia.
Born in New York City, the son of actor/comedian Joe E. Brown, he would have been 92 on Sept. 1.
Mr. Brown, who was in a wheelchair when he visited PNC Park in June for a reunion of the team that beat the Yankees, was present at some of the most pivotal moments in franchise history.
As general manager, he molded the 1960 and the 1971 World Series champion teams, and he had an indirect hand in the 1979 title. He had hired Harding "Pete" Peterson to run the Pirates farm system in 1967, and when Mr. Brown stepped down in 1976, Mr. Peterson succeeded him and was the general manager of the 1979 team.
"He was one of the best baseball men of his time," said former pitcher Bob Friend, a member of the 1960 team. "Joe Brown was a winner. It was a shock to hear the news. His mind was so sharp when he was back with us in June. I think the ovation he received from the fans was tremendous. I think he was overwhelmed by it."
After Branch Rickey stepped down as general manager, Mr. Brown took control of club operations on Nov. 1, 1955. His first act was to hire Bobby Bragan as manager to replace Fred Haney, but midway through the 1957 season, Danny Murtaugh was brought in as manager.
The Brown/Murtaugh team ended what was then the worst stretch of baseball in franchise history at nine straight losing seasons and turned the Pirates into winners.
Steve Blass, the winning pitcher of Game 7 in the 1971 Series, noted that his former general manager was a keen judge of talent.
"Yes, he built championship teams and made superb trades. But he also built a pipeline to supply that team. People don't understand how good that farm system was. He had a stockpile. You had to wait your turn to get to the big leagues," said Mr. Blass, now a color analyst for Pirates broadcasts. "He was the consummate GM.
"He was a baseball father to me. I just thought the world of him. He was living proof that not every champion wears a uniform."
His relationships with his crew did get complicated, and more than one would like to have been treated better even while acknowledging he was one of the best executives in the business.
Bill Virdon was acquired from the Cardinals in the new GM's first impact trade, and Mr. Brown's building of a champion had begun. Mr. Virdon also had the distinction of being fired and replaced by Danny Murtaugh -- during a pennant race in 1973 after he had won a division title the year before.
"I told him I didn't agree with him not giving me a chance to finish the job, but if I was in his shoes and had Murtaugh waiting in the wings, I'd have done the same thing," said Mr. Virdon, who still wears the Pirates uniform as a special instructor in spring training.
With more than 50 years in the game, Mr, Virdon, a bespectacled man who once managed in Yankee pinstripes for George Steinbrenner, can spot a good baseball man when he encounters one.
"He was sharp as a tack. He really knew his business," Mr. Virdon said. "One of the best in the business. No doubt."
In this Jan. 25, 1967, file photo, Pittsburgh Pirates' Roberto Clemente, the National Leagu MVP in 1966, poses with Pirates general manager Joe L. Brown in Pittsburgh, after reaching contract agreement for the upcoming season, as they hold money bags. Brown, whose shrewd trading and expert rebuilding of the Pirates farm system resulted in two World Series championships, died Sunday, Aug. 15, 2010, in Albuquerque, N.M., following an extended illness. He was 91. (AP Photo/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Those of a certain age will recall the Joe L. Brown Show on radio broadcasts when the late Bob Prince would ask him for a name to remember, and the audience would hear about farmhands such as Dave Cash, Al Oliver, Bob Robertson or Richie Zisk.
His players say he had a deft approach off the field as well. When Mr. Blass developed control problems that eventually ended his pitching career, Mr. Brown and the Pirates gave him every chance to regain his form.
"He told me to keep trying as long as I wanted, that I would tell them when I had enough. In the end, I just wasn't able to help the club, but I'll never forget what he did for me and that he gave an 18-year-old kid a chance to live my dream," Mr. Blass said. "He had a relationship with people that just doesn't happen anymore."
Nellie King, the former pitcher and announcer who died last week, was quoted in the 1972 Pirates Yearbook about Mr. Brown being a people person. "Joe L. Brown is people oriented, not thing oriented. I've known Joe Brown since 1954 when he was GM of the New Orleans club, and I have always found him to have a deep, sincere feeling for the people who work for him."
Those feelings transcended the sports arena. Former Pittsburgh police detective Francis Butler said that upon the 1979 death of his mother, Kay, who was a hot dog vendor at a Forbes Field concession stand, Mr. Brown came to the funeral home to pay his respects.
"She worked out in the stands, but who shows up to shake hands with everyone in the family? Joe L. Brown. What a great man he was," Mr. Butler said.
Mr. Brown made a number of shrewd trades. He acquired Don Hoak, Harvey Haddix and Smoky Burgess for the 1959 season, and he swung the deal that brought Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell to the starting rotation during the 1960 season.
But not every trade was a winner. In 1964, Dick Groat was shipped to the St. Louis Cardinals, who won the World Series with him at shortstop.
With scout Howie Haak, the Pirates found talent throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. And in their 1971 championship season, they made major league history by fielding the first all-minority lineup.
"Danny Murtaugh put out the best nine players," Mr. Brown said later.
In 1985, when the Pirates were spattered with the sludge of 104 losses and the cocaine trials that included testimony by Dave Parker and Dale Berra, Mr. Brown was brought back on an interim basis to restore some franchise luster. He hired Syd Thrift, who ushered in the Jim Leyland era and three National League Eastern Division titles from 1990 to 1992.
Team president Frank Coonelly issued the following statement yesterday:
"The news of Joe's passing at the age of 91 was met with great sadness by everyone within the Pirates organization. As the architect behind the 1960 and 1971 World Series teams, we were honored that Joe was able to return to Pittsburgh in June to help us celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1960 team.
"The ovation he received from the crowd prior to the game was a special moment for Joe and his family, as was his company the entire weekend with us. ... He will be missed by everyone within the Pirates family."
Sally O'Leary, longtime central clearinghouse for matters related to the Pirates of the past, said she had been in touch with the family, which is requesting privacy now and will provide more details in the future. She said Mr. Brown had really looked forward to spending time with the 1960 team and Vera Clemente, Roberto's widow.
"I'm sure glad Joe was able to be here for the 1960 reunion. It was so good to be with him for that little while," said Ms. O'Leary. "He was so sharp and alert. Had a marvelous time, as did all of us who were with him."
Robert Dvorchak: bdvorchak@post-gazette.com.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10229/1080582-63.stm#ixzz0wrFRNvKq
Joe L. Brown, who built Pirates championship teams, dead at 91
By Bob Cohn, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
His father was a famous entertainer, and he succeeded a baseball legend. But Joe L. Brown ended up making his own name, putting his stamp on three Pittsburgh Pirates world championship teams during a span of 20 years.
The Pirates' general manager from 1955 through 1976 and again briefly in 1985, Brown died Sunday in Albuquerque, N.M., after a long illness. He would have been 92 on Sept. 1.
Former Pirates general manager Joe L. Brown waves to the crowd at PNC Park earlier this season. (File)
Brown, the son of Hollywood actor and comedian Joe E. Brown, replaced Branch Rickey with the Pirates. It was Rickey who started baseball's farm system, helped integrate Major League Baseball when he brought Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers, and began restocking the Pirates.
But it became Brown's team, and the Pirates won the World Series in 1960 and 1971. After he retired, the Pirates won it all again in 1979 with many of the players he had acquired.
News of Brown's death, which first came to light yesterday in a statement by team President Frank Coonelly, circulated while fans and former players and officials were still mourning the loss of Nelson J. "Nellie" King. A popular former pitcher and broadcaster, King died Wednesday at 82.
Noting that Brown, who used a wheelchair, attended June's celebration of the 1960 team at PNC Park, Coonelly wrote, "He was a great man and a true Pittsburgh Pirate." Brown received a hearty ovation when introduced.
"Not only was he a good friend but a good general manager," said Vern Law, the ace of the pitching staff and the National League Cy Young Award winner in 1960.
Law's pitching partner, Bob Friend, said, "He was a favorite of mine, I'll tell you that. I always had a good relationship with Joe Brown. Some didn't, but being a general manager, you've got to make decisions."
One whose relationship with Brown had soured was shortstop Dick Groat, who was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals after the 1962 season.
"I was heartbroken," recalled Groat, the 1960 N.L. batting champ and most valuable player. "I'm a Pittsburgh native, and I love this city, and the last thing I wanted was to be traded."
Groat, who continued to flourish with the Cardinals, heard that Brown had said he "couldn't play on a world champion again." Groat held a grudge for nearly 50 years until he sought out Brown at PNC Park in June to clear the air.
"We buried the hatchet," Groat said. "We had a great conversation at the reunion. I said to myself, 'He's 91, and I'm 79. No use carrying this grudge till one of us dies.'
"We talked for maybe half an hour. It was a little bit emotional. In fact, more than a little. We kind of buried things and got them out of the way."
Groat , who was nearly traded to Kansas City in 1959 for Roger Maris, said Brown denied making the comment he had heard.
"I'm glad I got it over with," Groat said. "Obviously, it haunted me for a long time. ... No use carrying a grudge like that to your grave. And let's face it. He did a hell of a job when I was here."
Although Brown inherited many of Rickey's players, he swung a major trade with the Cincinnati Reds in 1959 for third baseman Don Hoak, catcher Smokey Burgess and pitcher Harvey Haddix. All were mainstays of the 1960 club. So was pitcher Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell, whom Brown acquired in a trade early in the season.
"He put the pieces together that helped us win that championship," Law said.
Joe L. Brown, right, built the Pirate teams that Manager Danny Murtaugh coached to glory. (Submitted)
The Pirates slipped from their perch in 1961 and remained out of postseason play until 1970. The next year, they won the World Series. Hall of Famers Roberto Clemente and Bill Mazeroski were the only holdovers from 1960, but Brown, who emphasized scouting in Latin America and the Caribbean, had rebuilt the club. In all, the Pirates would make the playoffs six times in the 1970s.
Amid a drug scandal and a 104-loss season that led to the John Galbreath family's selling the team to a local consortium, Brown came out of semi-retirement (he was scouting for the club on the West Coast) in 1985 to ease the transition.
"Joe Brown was a like a baseball father to me," said Pirates broadcaster Steve Blass, a star pitcher on the 1971 club. "He was an absolute friend of mine. He had time for an 18-year-old kid from Falls Village, Conn., that didn't get a big bonus."
After he suddenly and mysteriously lost his control during an outstanding career, Blass said, it was he, not Brown, who ended his attempt to get back on track.
"When I was going bad and I was no long a major league pitcher, he let me make the decision as to when I'd had enough," Blass said. "That was unheard of. It made me feel like a million bucks."
Speaking of bucks, it was well-known that Brown could be rather frugal.
"He knew baseball, but he was a little tight with the money," former pitcher ElRoy Face said.
"He was prudent," Blass chuckled. "I used to argue about salaries with him, and at the end, I'd give in, and he'd say, 'You're worth every penny.'"
Other negotiations in the days before players had agents were not so cordial. "We had difficulties at times," said Face, an outstanding relief pitcher.
Face noted that after going 18-1 in 1959 and helping win a championship in 1960, he had an "off year" and Brown cut his salary by $5,000 -- a considerable amount then. In 1962, after he won the Fireman of the Year award, Face said, Brown offered him a $2,500 pay raise.
The reliever said he eventually got more, but not without a warning from Brown. "He said, 'I'll give you what you want, but I'll be tough with you from now on,''' Face said.
Law said Brown once told him, "If I had to do it over again, I wouldn't be so stingy."
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