Joe L. Brown

Joe L. Brown
Brown in 2010
Born	(1918-09-01)September 1, 1918 New York City, U.S.
Died	August 15, 2010(2010-08-15) (aged 91) Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
Occupation	Baseball executive
Years active	1939–1976; 1985

Joe LeRoy Brown (September 1, 1918 – August 15, 2010)^[1] was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball.

Brown served as the

Early life

Brown was a native of

When Rickey, 73, retired to become the club's board chairman at the close of the 1955 campaign, Brown was the unanimous choice of that board (which also included part-owner Bing Crosby, the entertainer) to succeed him. Brown's first order of business was to find a successor to fired skipper Fred Haney. While his first choice, Bobby Bragan, was a misfire, Brown struck gold in August 1957 when he replaced Bragan with Danny Murtaugh, a former Pirate second baseman then in his second season as a coach. Under Murtaugh, the Bucs became contenders in 1958, finishing in second place, won the 1960 and 1971 World Series, and three more NL East titles (1970; 1974–75). Although he twice was compelled to step down for health reasons, Murtaugh would serve four separate terms as Brown's field manager (1957–64; 1967; 1970–71; 1973–76), and compile a 1,115–950 (.540) record. Two months after Brown's and Murtaugh's joint retirement at the conclusion of the 1976 campaign, Murtaugh suffered a fatal stroke at age 59.

Legacy

Brown maintained and built upon the strong

He died on August 15, 2010, in Albuquerque, New Mexico at age 91.^[1] He was survived by his son Don and daughter Cynthia.

References