Bob Brown (baseball, born 1876)


Robert Paul "Bob" Brown was an American-born Canadian professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. From 1938 to 1953 he was president of the Western International League.

Life

Born on July 5, 1876 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Brown attended the University of Notre Dame during the 1890s, where he played football with the Fighting Irish and won letters in football and baseball. He graduated in 1900.
In 1898, he enlisted in the U.S. Army to fight in the Spanish–American War. Brown died on June 23, 1962 in St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver.

Baseball

He played professional baseball from 1900 until 1909. Starting as an infielder in Helena, he was teammates with Joe Tinker. From there, he went to Pendleton, Oregon, ending up in Aberdeen, Washington in 1904, where he was catcher, manager and ran a shoe store.
In 1908, he helped his team, the Spokane Indians capture the Pacific Coast League championship.
In 1910, he took over sixty percent ownership of the Vancouver Beavers for $500. moving to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to take on the role of the team's playing manager. While Brown owned the Beavers, manager Kitty Brashier guided the team to Northwestern League championships in 1911; the Beavers were also champions in 1913 and 1914, while the team was second in the league in 1912. In 1942, as the Capilanos, manager Don Osborne led them to a Western International League title, while Bill Brenner did the same in 1947.
Brown also owned the Vancouver Bears.
As a shrewd promoter, he organized the first night baseball game played in Canada, in 1930.
Brown had built 5,000-seat Athletic Park on land leased from the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Beavers moved from Recreation Park that same year. As a promoter, he organized the first night baseball game played in Canada.
He also initiated the building of Capilano Stadium, a 5,157-seat baseball stadium which opened 1951 in Vancouver. He retired as owner of the Capilanos in 1953, the year he became President of the Western International League, a post he held only one year. He was named honorary league president in 1954, and honorary president of the Vancouver Mounties in 1956.

Honours

In 1952, Sporting News named him one of the ten best general managers in baseball.
In 1966, Brown was inducted as an inaugural member into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in the baseball category, and in 1989 he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame as a builder.
The Vancouver Canadians mascot is named “Bob Brown Bear” in honour of him.