How is it that" Harry the Cat" Brecheen the pitcher, did not make your all Century Team?
I saw Harry many times pitching against the Cubs, and he was undoubtedly one of the best left handed pitchers in his era. His record is as follows: 381 games
Won 133 Lost 92 Pct. .591 ERA 2.92.
Brecheen was the Cardinal pitcher in 1946 when Enos Slaughter raced home from first to beat the Red Sox in the seventh game of the World Series. It gave Harry his third win of the Series, making him the first man to notch three since Stan Coveleski twenty-six years earlier and the only lefthander until Mickey Lolich twenty-two years later. The moment was a teensy tainted: pitching in relief, Brecheen had just allowed two inherited runners to score, blowing the lead he'd been sent in to hold. He nailed the win by shutting out the Sox in the ninth.
Two years later, 1948, Brecheen posted a 20-7 mark and the NL's lowest
ERA. He won 14 games or better six years in a row for the Cardinals and pitched in three World Series, winning four and losing one. After eleven seasons with the proud Cardinals, he moved over to the humble Browns and discovered where their humility came from. He went 5-13 despite a decent 3.07 ERA. The next year the Browns moved to Baltimore and Harry became the pitching coach.
Nicknamed "the Cat" for the way he would pounce off the mound to field his position, Harry's World Series ERA of 0.83 is the second-best ever.
This biography provided to the Birdhouse by Leonard Zablocki
January 18. 2004
Former Cardinal Brecheen Dies
Reported by Brian Walton
Former Cardinal Harry "The Cat" Brecheen passed on Saturday, at the age of 89.
Brecheen pitched for the Cardinals in 1940 and 1943-52 and finished his career with the 1953 Browns. He had a 2.92 career ERA and a record of 132-92 over his 318 games. He had six seasons of 14 or more wins for the Redbirds.
Brecheen's best season was in 1948, when he earned league bests with 149 strikeouts and a 2.24 ERA. That season, he won 20 games, losing only seven, had 21 complete games while tossing seven shutouts. Brecheen came in fifth in the Most Valuable Player balloting that season and was an All-Star in both 1947 and 1948.
The Cat was the first lefthander to win three World Series games, which he did against the Red Sox as a member of the World Champion 1946 Cardinals. Brecheen’s career postseason record is 4-1 with a 0.83 ERA, having appeared in the 1943, 1944 and 1946 Series.
