Baseball Historian - player profiles, biographies, and stats

Harry Brecheen

Birthdate:

10/14/1914

Died:

1/17/2004

Height / Weight:

5' 10" / 160 lbs.

Place of Birth:

Broken Bow, OK, USA

Bats / Throws:

L / L

Baseball Historian Biography

Harry "the Cat" Brecheen was a St. Louis Cardinals' pitching star during the 1940's and early 1950's. Called "the Cat" for his' expert fielding and feline movements, Brecheen, with his hard-to-hit screwball was 16-5 in 1944. He walked only 46 batters in 189 innings and recorded an ERA of 2.85. Sheer determination played a large part in Brecheen's success with the Cardinals. Outfielder Terry Moore said, "It's because when he's pitching, he's the kind of guy who wouldn't even give his grandma a good ball to hit". In 1945, Brecheen was 15-4, with a 2.52 ERA.

Harry Breecheen's best year was 1948. He was named to his 2nd straight All-Star team and was voted on "The Sporting News" All-Star pitchers' squad. His success that year included leading the NL in winning pct with a 20-7 record, .741 pct, and led in each of the following: ERA 2.24, 7 shutouts and 149 K's. Brecheen pitched his final year with the St. Louis Browns. When the Browns moved to Baltimore, Brecheen stayed on as the Orioles' pitching coach for 14 seasons. Harry Brecheen's lifetime record: 133-92, pct .591, 2.92 ERA, pitched in 318 games, started 240, completed 125, hurled 25 shutouts, 1907 innings. baseballhistorian.com archives

Pitching Statistics

Year	Team	G	GS	W	L	SV	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	IBB	SO	WP	HBP	BK	ERA
1940	STL (NL)	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.1	2	1	0	0	2	0	4	0	0	0	0.00
1943	STL (NL)	29	13	9	6	4	8	1	135.1	98	41	34	4	39	0	68	2	3	0	2.26
1944	STL (NL)	30	22	16	5	0	13	3	189.1	174	67	60	8	46	0	88	3	3	2	2.85
1945	STL (NL)	24	18	15	4	2	13	3	157.1	136	48	44	5	44	0	63	0	5	0	2.52
1946	STL (NL)	36	30	15	15	3	14	5	231.1	212	73	64	8	67	0	117	1	4	0	2.49
1947	STL (NL)	29	28	16	11	1	18	1	223.1	220	92	82	20	66	0	89	3	3	0	3.30
1948	STL (NL)	33	30	20	7	1	21	7	233.1	193	62	58	6	49	0	149	2	2	1	2.24
1949	STL (NL)	32	31	14	11	1	14	2	214.2	207	96	80	18	65	0	88	3	7	0	3.35
1950	STL (NL)	27	23	8	11	1	12	2	163.1	151	77	69	18	45	0	80	2	3	0	3.80
1951	STL (NL)	24	16	8	4	2	5	0	138.2	134	54	50	11	54	0	57	0	1	1	3.25
1952	STL (NL)	25	13	7	5	2	4	1	100.1	82	39	37	12	28	0	54	1	3	0	3.32
1953	SLB (AL)	26	16	5	13	1	3	0	117.1	122	51	40	7	31	0	44	1	3	1	3.07
12 years		318	240	133	92	18	125	25	1907.2	1731	701	618	117	536	0	901	18	37	5	2.92

Batting Statistics

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	IBB	HBP	SH	SF	AVG	OBP	SLG
1940	STL (NL)	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.0	.0	SLG
1943	STL (NL)	29	42	4	8	2	0	0	3	2	8	0	0	0	1	4	0	.190	.244	SLG
1944	STL (NL)	31	68	8	11	0	1	0	4	9	12	0	0	0	0	4	0	.162	.260	SLG
1945	STL (NL)	24	57	1	7	2	0	0	7	4	11	0	0	0	1	2	0	.123	.194	SLG
1946	STL (NL)	37	83	2	11	1	0	0	6	3	17	0	0	0	0	1	0	.133	.163	SLG
1947	STL (NL)	29	83	5	20	2	1	0	8	7	7	0	0	0	1	4	0	.241	.308	SLG
1948	STL (NL)	33	82	4	12	1	1	0	2	5	20	0	0	0	1	2	0	.146	.205	SLG
1949	STL (NL)	32	77	8	21	3	1	0	6	4	14	0	0	0	0	3	0	.273	.309	SLG
1950	STL (NL)	27	58	8	14	0	1	1	2	5	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	.241	.302	SLG
1951	STL (NL)	24	55	4	12	2	0	1	3	1	11	0	0	0	0	1	0	.218	.232	SLG
1952	STL (NL)	25	29	3	6	0	0	0	1	4	5	0	0	0	0	1	0	.207	.303	SLG
1953	SLB (AL)	27	39	1	7	0	0	0	2	1	10	0	0	0	0	2	0	.179	.200	SLG
12 years		321	673	48	129	13	5	2	44	45	121	0	0	0	4	24	0	.192	.247	.SLG

*note: all player information displayed is as accurate as possible, however from time to time there may be omissions or inaccuracies, please contact us if you believe you have found an error.