Raymond Brown Santurce (1946-47)

This Liga Profesional de Base Ball de Puerto Rico Player’s Contract is between Raymond “Ray” Brown of Homestead, Pennsylvania and the Santurce Baseball Club.  The contract is for the 1946-47 Puerto Rican Winter League season and calls for Brown to be paid $ 75.00 per week. The contract is signed by both Ray Brown (player) and Pedro Zorrilla (Club President).

Raymond Brown

When the Negro National League and Negro American League seasons were over, many of the players would play winter league baseball in order to earn extra income. Brown played winter league baseball in Puerto Rico on five different occasions. During the 1946-47 season he went to Puerto Rico to play for Santurce. The Santurce Crabbers of the Puerto Rican Winter League have been one of the mainstays of the league. Santurce has fielded a team and continues to do so for every season since the 1939-40 season.

Raymond “Ray” Brown was born in Ashland Grove, Ohio in 1908. His career in Negro League baseball spanned from 1930 to 1948. After his Negro League career he continued to play in Mexico and Canada until 1954. During his career, he was considered one of the best pitchers in Negro League and winter league baseball. He possessed one of the best curveballs in baseball.

During his baseball career, Ray Brown played for the following teams:

            Dayton Marcos                    Independent                              1930

            Indianapolis ABC’s               Negro National League           1931

            Detroit Wolves                     East-West League                    1932

            Homestead Grays               East-West League                    1932

            Homestead Grays               Negro National League           1933-1945

            Tampico                                Mexican League                       1946-1948

            Vera Cruz                              Mexican League                       1948

            Mexico City                          Mexican League                       1949

            Sherbrooke                          Canadian Provincial League   1950-1951

            Thetford Mines                    Canadian Provincial League   1953

Brown played winter league ball and barnstormed extensively in the Negro League off -season. He played five winter league seasons in Cuba and five winter league seasons in Puerto Rico.

Highlights from Ray Brown’s baseball career include:

• Selected to two East-West All Star games (1935 and 1940)
• Won 28 straight games over the 1936 and 1937 seasons.
• Member of Negro National League All-Star team that won the Denver Post Tournament in 1936.
•  Led Cuban Winter League in wins twice while pitching for Santa Clara with 21 wins (1936-37) and 12 wins (1937-38).
• Led Puerto Rican Winter League twice in earned run average while playing for San Juan (1939-40) 1.05 ERA and Ponce (1941-42) 1.80 ERA.
• Posted a record of 24-4 with Homestead Grays in 1940
• Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (2006)