Major League Baseball Greatest Name: Alpha Brazle
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I was recently sorting through a bunch of old baseball cards that I found in a box sitting by my condo’s garbage disposal- no unfortunately they weren’t worth very much- that’s Hollywood Fantasy and one of the cards held me spellbound. In fact it was the only baseball card I kept as I threw the rest out. What made this 1953 Bowman Baseball Card #140 so special was the players name, Alpha Brazle, which in my opinion is the greatest actual birth name ever for a Major League Baseball player.
Sure there have been players with Nicknames or Name Changes that have probably been better, but as a Natural Birth Name for a Major League Baseball Player it doesn’t come any better! I mean the name Alpha Brazle sounds like a 50′s Comic Book Superhero name or a cartoon character, I say this as a compliment, like Tom Terrific! Alpha Brazle’s full birth name was in fact Alpha Eugene Brazle but unless your a serial killer or something, most people usually aren’t referred to by their First Middle and Last Names. Strangely given his incredible name, Alpha Brazle also was called by a nickname, “Cotton”.
This blog post is a tribute to the man with the greatest birth name in Major League Baseball: Alpha Brazle.
Who was Alpha Brazle? Well according to Wikipedia under their free use act: Alpha Eugene Brazle (October 19, 1913 – October 24, 1973) was a left handed pitcher “signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1936, and later traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Mike Ryba in September, 1940. He played his entire MLB career for the Cards (1943, 1946-1954). In 1954, at the age of 40, he was the oldest player to appear in a National League game that season.
A native of Loyal, Oklahoma, Brazle played 7 1/2 years in the minor leagues before he became a 29-year old Cardinal rookie. He completed 47 of 117 starts, with 7 shutouts, and twice led the National League in saves (1952 and 1953).
Brazle finished in the league’s top ten in a dozen pitching categories, including games pitched (7 times), saves (6 times), games finished (5 times), winning percentage (4 times), and earned run average (3 times).
His career totals include a record of 97-64 (.602), 441 games, 60 saves, 178 games finished, 1376.2 innings pitched, 554 strikeouts, and a 3.31 ERA. He was a member of two pennant-winning clubs, losing in the 1943 World Series to the New York Yankees, and winning the 1946 World Series against the Boston Red Sox. Brazle died at the age of 60 in Grand Junction, Colorado.”
According to the great Stan Musial, “Old Alfie was a terrific relief pitcher because he was a lefthander with good control and a great natural sinker that dipped better the more he worked and the more tired he became. He didn’t have much of a curve, but somehow his knee action when he sidearmed lefthanded hitters seemd to drive some pretty good ones crazy.” – Hall of Famer Stan Musial in The Man’s Own Story (Stan Musial, 1964)
Here’s some more interesting info on Alpha Brasle from a really cool website, Baseball in Wartime : Alpha Brazle and Harry Walker were inducted into the Military the day after the 1943 World Series ended and assigned to the Cavalry Replacement Training Center (CRTC) at Fort Riley, Kansas.
Alpha Brazle and Harry Walker played baseball for the CRTC Centaurs baseball team managed by Pete Reiser which included major leaguers: Ken Heintzelman, Lonnie Frey, Murry Dickson, Joe Garagiola and Rex Barney and put in a full military work day as well.
Alpha Brazle was later assigned to the 65th Reconnaissance Troop (Mechanized) of the 65th Infantry Division and arrived in Europe in January 1945. Alpha Brazle rejoined the St. Louis Cardinals in 1946. He won 14 games in 1947 and 1949, and led the National League in saves in 1952 and 1953. His last season with the Cardinals and Major League Baseball was 1954.
If they ever make an Alpha Brazle movie, the great character actor, James Rebhorn should play Alpha Brazle:
Alpha Brazle I salute you! Please check out our large Online Discount Gift Store Click Here and our other Online Discount Stores below which helps support this politically incorrect blog. Thank you.
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