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Ollie Lee Brown
San Diego Padres
Outfield
Born: February 11, 1944, Tuscaloosa, AL
Signed: Signed by the San Francisco Giants as an amateur free agent before 1962 season
Major League Teams: San Francisco Giants 1965-1968; San Diego Padres 1969-1972; Oakland Athletics 1972; Milwaukee Brewers 1972-1973; Houston Astros 1974; Philadelphia Phillies 1974-1977
Died: April 16, 2015, Buena Park, CA (age 71)
"Downtown" Ollie Brown spent parts of 13 seasons in the major leagues and was the first right fielder in Padres' franchise history. Brown was signed as a pitcher and threw a no-hitter in 1963 as a member of the Class-A Decatur Commodores. Converted to a full-time outfielder in 1964, Brown was known for his exceptionally strong throwing arm. He was left unprotected by the Giants in the 1968 expansion draft, and was chosen by the Padres as their first overall pick. It would prove to be a great selection by the Padres, as Brown was arguably the team's MVP for their first few seasons. He reached career highs in batting average (.292), home runs (23) and RBIs (89) in 1970.
"Downtown" Ollie Brown spent parts of 13 seasons in the major leagues and was the first right fielder in Padres' franchise history. Brown was signed as a pitcher and threw a no-hitter in 1963 as a member of the Class-A Decatur Commodores. Converted to a full-time outfielder in 1964, Brown was known for his exceptionally strong throwing arm. He was left unprotected by the Giants in the 1968 expansion draft, and was chosen by the Padres as their first overall pick. It would prove to be a great selection by the Padres, as Brown was arguably the team's MVP for their first few seasons. He reached career highs in batting average (.292), home runs (23) and RBIs (89) in 1970.
Brown was on the move frequently between 1972 and 1974, and spent time with the Athletics, Brewers, Angels and Astros organizations before finding a home with the Phillies in mid-1974. He was a back-up outfielder and pinch-hitter for the Phillies when the team won pennants in 1976 and 1977, retiring following the 1977 NLCS. For his career, he batted .265 with 102 home runs and 454 RBIs
January 17, 2023 from Greg Morris Cards - Los Angeles, CA
On the evening of January 8th, I found myself sitting in Terminal C of the Philadelphia International Airport waiting to board my flight to Dallas. Earlier that day, I had enjoyed watching our oldest son Doug at a winter track meet as he pole vaulted for his high school. I was in a good mood despite the the fact that like most flights that day, my flight had been delayed. This was for a work trip, and I was doing my best to stay positive and keep myself in the post-holiday happiness hangover that had lingered into the year's second week. eBay seller Greg Morris Cards, based out of Los Angeles, somehow seems to post cards from various vintage baseball card set breaks on a weekly basis, with the cards typically all in fantastic condition. With time to kill, knowing that bidding on baseball cards was a surefire good mood sustainer, and having only 40 cards so far for our 1969 Topps set, I pleasantly passed the time by bidding on 62 commons, all with no previous bidders, and all ending within the next 30 hours.
The next afternoon, while on a break at our work conference in the Hilton Anatole, I checked on the auctions, noting I had been outbid on a few, but was still the high bidder for most of the 62 cards. That night, as auctions were close to ending, and as I was enjoying a few adult beverages at the fine Rodeo Goat establishment across the street from the Hilton, my Apple Watch began vibrating every few seconds as I was outbid on dozens of auctions. When the dust had settled, I had won 24 new cards at an average price of about $2.50 per card. This Brown card was $3.25, and arrived a week after I had made the return trip home from Dallas.
The Card / Padres Team Set / Accuracy Index -12
Topps recycled the photo used for Brown's 1967 card here. The back of the card refers to his time as a minor league pitcher in 1963.
Accuracy Index: This card loses points for using the same photo as Brown's 1967 Topps card (-4), featuring him in a Giants uniform (-5) and wiping out the logo on his hat (-3).
1969 Season
As mentioned above, Brown was the Padres' first pick in the 1968 expansion draft and he'd be their regular right fielder for the 1969 season. He'd lead the team with a .264 average and his 20 home runs were second on the club behind Nate Colbert (#408), who had 24. Brown played in 151 games, collecting 61 RBIs for the last place Padres. On the strength of his throwing arm, he led all right fielders with four double plays.
On June 24, 1974, the Phillies selected Brown off waivers from the Astros. Wearing #23, he'd bat .303 in 1975 while appearing in 84 games, mostly as a pinch-hitter. His playing time would increase in 1976 as he was used in a successful platoon with Jay Johnstone (#59). Brown would draw starts against left-handed pitchers while Johnstone would start against right-handed pitchers. The Phillies advanced to the playoffs in both 1976 and 1977, but ran into the Big Red Machine in 1976 and the Dodgers in 1977. Brown went 0 for 4 in the two postseason series and his final big league game came during a rainy Game 4 of the 1977 NLCS. The Dodgers downed the Phillies, 4-1 to advance to the World Series in that game, with Brown pinch-hitting for pitcher Ron Reed (#177) in the sixth inning. Brown would ground out, ending his time with the Phillies and his big league career. In 272 games with the Phillies, he batted .264 with 16 home runs and 82 RBIs.
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First Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #524
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (12): 1966-1977
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1981 TCMA The 1960s II #368
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 57 in the Beckett online database as of 2/1/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
The Phillies Room
The Phillies Room
#148 Lee Stange - Boston Red Sox / #150 Denny McLain - Detroit Tigers
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