Dave Brown

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Dave Brown was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago American Giants and the New York Lincoln Giants. Across 114 career appearances, he went 61-23 with a 2.40 ERA and 487 strikeouts. He also batted .199 with 1 home runs. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 17963.2.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 61–23
ERA 2.40
WHIP 1.12
SO 487
Pitcher PIV 17963.2
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
5'11" / 165 lb
Born
6/9/1897 in Marquez, TX, USA
Died
5/24/1985 in Los Angeles, CA, USA

Full name: Dave K. Brown

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Dave Brown — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
20.0 19.0 0 3.0 0 0 0 0 1.0 5.0 0 .158 .200 .158 .358

Pitching

Dave Brown — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
4 0 4 3 1 0 49.0 37 13 3 1 10 35 0.55 0.96

Career Pitching Statistics

Dave Brown — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
61 23 114 76 58 11 4 735.1 588 196 9 232 487 2.40 17963.2

Career ERA 2.40 vs. league average 3.96 across their career seasons — 39.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Dave Brown — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1919 CAG WES 1 2 4 3 0 0 0 14.1 17 7 9 6 4.40 3.09 (-42%) -167.4
1920 CAG NNL 12 3 18 15 13 2 0 141.2 77 27 49 97 1.72 3.45 (+50%) 2817.4
1921 CAG NNL 15 1 22 16 13 5 2 151.2 107 31 33 115 1.84 4.02 (+54%) 5437.3
1922 CAG NNL 13 3 28 14 8 3 1 155.0 136 51 55 103 2.96 4.18 (+29%) 3554.9
1923 NLG ECL 5 6 13 8 6 0 0 74.2 90 29 22 47 3.50 4.03 (+13%) 1869.3
1924 NLG ECL 14 8 28 19 17 1 1 189.0 154 50 57 111 2.38 4.13 (+42%) 4451.7
1925 NLG ECL 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 9.0 7 1 7 8 1.00 4.55 (+78%) 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 61 23 114 76 58 11 4 735.1 588 196 232 487 2.40 — 17,963

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Dave Brown — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
122 277 30 55 5 0 1 22 1 23 10 .199 .260 .227 .487 -1,527

Career AVG .199 vs. league average .281 across their career seasons — 29.3% below league average.

Career OBP .260 vs. league average .342 across their career seasons — 23.9% below league average.

Career SLG .227 vs. league average .386 across their career seasons — 41.1% below league average.

Career OPS .487 vs. league average .728 across their career seasons — 33.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Dave Brown — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1919 CAG WES 5 10 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .100 — — — — 0.0
1920 CAG NNL 19 52 3 6 0 0 0 2 1 6 0 .115 .271 (-58%) .331 (-38%) .363 (-68%) .694 (-54%) -419.0
1921 CAG NNL 22 55 4 9 2 0 0 3 0 1 4 .164 .286 (-43%) .344 (-48%) .395 (-49%) .739 (-49%) -442.0
1922 CAG NNL 28 53 6 3 1 0 0 5 0 7 6 .057 .285 (-80%) .345 (-52%) .397 (-81%) .743 (-67%) -587.2
1923 NLG ECL 16 27 6 11 1 0 1 5 0 4 0 .407 — — — — 0.0
1924 NLG ECL 31 77 11 24 1 0 0 6 0 5 0 .312 .283 (+10%) .345 (+2%) .389 (-17%) .734 (-8%) -78.8
1925 NLG ECL 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 122 277 30 55 5 0 1 22 1 23 10 .199 — — — — -1,527

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Dave Brown — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home260100.167

Pitching — Home / Away

Dave Brown — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home216.01536141.69

Last 2 Games — Batting

Dave Brown — Last 2 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1921-07-10 CAGSLGW 301000002
1921-05-07 CAGKCMW 300000000

Last 2 Games — Pitching

Dave Brown — Last 2 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1921-07-10 CAGSLG W 7.01433350
1921-05-07 CAGKCM W 9.0100390

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Dave Brown — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 3 2 3 0 1 0
P 114 76 25 189 13 8

Season-by-Season Fielding

Dave Brown — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1919 CAG OF 1 1 2 0 1 0
1919 CAG P 4 3 0 4 0 0
1920 CAG OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1920 CAG P 18 15 5 39 3 0
1921 CAG P 22 16 4 32 2 2
1922 CAG P 28 14 4 37 3 1
1923 NLG P 13 8 6 29 1 2
1924 NLG OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1924 NLG P 28 19 6 48 4 3
1925 NLG P 1 1 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Dave Brown — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Pitcher 114
Right Field 3

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

  1. 98
    Frank Wickware
    56-38, 2.65 ERA
  2. 84
    Harry Krause
    36-26, 2.50 ERA
  3. 82
    Heinie Berger
    32-29, 2.60 ERA
  4. 80
    Rube Foster HOF
    49-17, 2.24 ERA
  5. 64
    George McConnell
    41-51, 2.60 ERA
  6. 61
    Bugs Raymond
    45-57, 2.49 ERA

Dave Brown: the record in brief

The season rows for Dave Brown begin in 1919. Club by club, the record runs the Chicago American Giants (1919 through 1922) and the New York Lincoln Giants (1923 through 1925). At 5'11" and 165 pounds, Brown is listed as a pitcher. Brown both batted and threw left-handed, per the bio block. Brown was born on June 9, 1897, in Marquez, TX, USA. The bio records the death on May 24, 1985, in Los Angeles, CA, USA. The given name on file is Dave K. Brown.

Across 114 games (76 starts), Brown recorded 61 wins against 23 losses with a 2.40 ERA. The totals include 487 strikeouts, 58 complete games, and 11 shutouts. Against a 3.96 league ERA for the same years, Brown was 39.5% better. 1921 brought Brown a season-high 15 wins. In 1920, one of the busiest seasons, Brown posted a 1.72 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.45.

Frequently Asked Questions about Dave Brown

Was Dave Brown a pitcher?
Yes. Dave Brown pitched in the major leagues, recording 61 wins and 487 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Dave Brown hit?
Dave Brown hit 1 career home runs with 55 hits.
What was Dave Brown's career batting average?
Dave Brown batted .199 over his career, with 55 hits in 277 at bats.
How many RBI did Dave Brown have?
Dave Brown drove in 22 runs in his career.
What was Dave Brown's career ERA?
Dave Brown finished with a 2.40 career ERA, going 61-23 with 487 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Dave Brown have?
Dave Brown recorded 487 career strikeouts.