Willard Brown
Willard Brown was born in 1911 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Brown signed his first professional contract with the Monroe Monarchs of the Negro Southern League for $ 10 a week in 1934. Brown was a pure hitter who hit for average and power. He won ten (10) homerun titles during his career. Willard was voted to the Negro League all-star team for the East-West All-Star game seven times. When he closed out his Negro League career he posted a lifetime batting average of .355 and was among the all-time leaders in homeruns. From the late 1940’s though the mid 1950’s, there wasn’t a better hitter in Negro League baseball than Willard Brown.
During his playing career, Willard Brown played professional ball during the regular season with:
Monroe Monarchs 1934 (Negro Southern League)
Kansas City Monarchs 1935-1943, 1946-1952 and 1958-1960 (Negro American League)
Nuevo Laredo 1940 (Mexican League)
Puebla 1941 (Mexican league)
St. Louis Browns 1947 (Major League baseball – American League)
Ottawa 1950 (Border League)
Escogido 1951-1952 (Dominican League)
Jalisco 1951 (Mexican League)
Dallas Eagles 1953-1954 (Texas League)
Houston Buffaloes 1954-1955 (Texas League)
Austin 1956 (Texas League)
San Antonio Missions 1956 (Texas League)
Tulsa 1956 (Texas League)
Topeka 1956 (Western League)
Willard Brown - Kansas City Monarchs
During the off season, Willard played for numerous barnstorming teams and played winter league ball. Brown played one season of winter league ball in Cuba (1937-1938) and ten seasons of winter league ball in Puerto Rico between 1941 and 1957. Nine of his seasons in Puerto Rico were with Santurce. He won the triple crown twice in Puerto Rico, 1947-48 (27 homeruns, 86 runs batted in and .432 batting average) and 1949-50 (16 homeruns, 97 runs batted in and .353 batting average). His 27 homeruns in the 1947-48 season still stands as the all-time number of homeruns in one season for the Puerto Rican Winter League. He also won the Puerto Rican Winter League batting title for a third time in 1946-47 season with a .390 batting average.
Willard Brown passed away in 1996 in Houston, Texas with his best friend and former Negro League player Bill Beverly at his bedside. Brown was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Ted Strong
Ted Strong was born in 1917 in South Bend, Indiana. He was a tall player (six foot six inches tall) who performed equally well on both the baseball field and basketball court.
During Ted’s professional baseball career, he played for the following teams:
Indianapolis Athletics 1937 Negro American League
Indianapolis ABC’s 1938 Negro American League
Kansas City Monarchs 1927-1942 and 1946-1947 Negro American League
Nuevo Laredo 1940 Mexican League
Indianapolis Clowns 1948 Negro American League
Minot Mallards 1950 Mandak League (Canada)
Chicago American Giants 1951 Negro American League
Ted played both the outfield and infield during his career. Buck O’Neil (manager of the Kansas City Monarchs) once commented that:” he was the tallest shortstop I ever saw, he looked like he was seven feet tall.” He was an excellent switch hitter and very good fielder with great hands and a rifle of a throwing arm. Strong led the Negro American League in homeruns (7) and runs batted in (45) in 1946. In 1941 and 1942, Strong hit .319 and .345 respectively. During his Negro American League career, Strong was selected to the East West All Star games five different times.
Ted Strong - Kansas City Monarchs
Strong also played several seasons with the world famous Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. He was the captain of the western team of the Globetrotters for several years in the 1940’s.