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Harry Brecheen
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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



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