Warren Brown (sportswriter)
Encyclopedia
Warren Brown was an American
sportswriter who spent the major portion of his career in Chicago, Illinois. Brown was born in Somersville, California
, a mining town near San Francisco. His father Patrick was the local saloon keeper. When the Somersville mines flooded the family moved to San Francisco, where Brown was a firsthand witness to the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake
. Brown attended St. Ignatius College (later renamed The University of San Francisco
) for his prep school as well as university years. During his college years Brown played baseball for the Sacramento minor league team in the summers.
After getting his undergraduate degree he began his sportswriting career with the San Francisco Bulletin. After serving in U.S. Army
intelligence stateside during World War I, Brown returned to the Bulletin, but soon moved to William Randolph Hearst
's San Francisco Call & Post. Brown was one of the first sportswriters to hail a local boxer named Jack Dempsey
. He also doubled as the paper's drama critic, specializing in vaudeville and musical comedy. In the early 1920s Brown was transferred to the Hearst paper in New York for a year. That is where he hired a young sportswriter named Ed Sullivan
, who went on to be a society columnist and then a mid-century American icon with his TV variety show. Starting in 1920, Brown saw every World Series
for fifty years. Brown's final move was to Chicago to be the sports editor of Hearsts Chicago Herald-Examiner. He was a sports editor, columnist and baseball beat writer (usually at the same time) for several Chicago papers over the next 40 years.
Mr. Brown was a friend and confidant of legendary University of Notre Dame
football coach Knute Rockne
. Mr. Brown and former Notre Dame running back Marchy Schwartz had dinner with Mr. Rockne in Chicago the night before his ill fated plane crash. He wrote Rockne's biography in 1931.
Long credited to Grantland Rice
, Mr. Brown was actually the person that coined the nickname for fabled Illinois running back Red Grange
. He wrote a column describing Grange's running style and said he was like a "Galloping Ghost." The nickname is one of the most famous in sports annals. Mr. Brown also coined the nickname "The Sultan of Swat" for legendary baseball icon Babe Ruth
.
As a beat writer and columnist he was known for his acerbic wit and breezy reporting style. Following the 1945 World Series
, he wrote a history of the Chicago Cubs
as part of the Putnam
series of books that covered all the major league baseball
teams. Mr. Brown's famous quote from the 1945 World Series between the Cubs and Tigers of " I don't think either one of them is good enough to win it" usually surfaces as the Cubs reach rare playoff appearances.
It was sufficiently well-received that The Chicago Cubs is one book in that series that has been periodically re-issued. In 1947 he wrote a memoir of sorts called Win, Lose or Draw. It was a collection of anecdotes about celebrated figures in sports Brown had crossed paths with in his first 30 years as a sportswriter.
In 1973 Brown was given the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the National Baseball Hall of Fame
.
Mr. Brown's three sons were all athletes at the University of Notre Dame. Sons Bill and Pete were swimmers while youngest son Roger was a backup quarterback for the Fighting Irish on the 1946 and 1947 National Championship teams. Mr. Brown also had a daughter Mary Elizabeth Rempe (née Brown).
Mr. Brown died at age 84 in Forest Park, Illinois
and is buried in Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, IL next to his beloved wife and best friend, Olive Burns Brown.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sportswriter who spent the major portion of his career in Chicago, Illinois. Brown was born in Somersville, California
Somersville, California
Somersville is an unincorporated ghost town in eastern Contra Costa County, California. It is located north-northeast of Mount Diablo, at an elevation of 741 feet ....
, a mining town near San Francisco. His father Patrick was the local saloon keeper. When the Somersville mines flooded the family moved to San Francisco, where Brown was a firsthand witness to the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
. Brown attended St. Ignatius College (later renamed The University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
) for his prep school as well as university years. During his college years Brown played baseball for the Sacramento minor league team in the summers.
After getting his undergraduate degree he began his sportswriting career with the San Francisco Bulletin. After serving in U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
intelligence stateside during World War I, Brown returned to the Bulletin, but soon moved to William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
's San Francisco Call & Post. Brown was one of the first sportswriters to hail a local boxer named Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
. He also doubled as the paper's drama critic, specializing in vaudeville and musical comedy. In the early 1920s Brown was transferred to the Hearst paper in New York for a year. That is where he hired a young sportswriter named Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
, who went on to be a society columnist and then a mid-century American icon with his TV variety show. Starting in 1920, Brown saw every World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
for fifty years. Brown's final move was to Chicago to be the sports editor of Hearsts Chicago Herald-Examiner. He was a sports editor, columnist and baseball beat writer (usually at the same time) for several Chicago papers over the next 40 years.
Mr. Brown was a friend and confidant of legendary University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
football coach Knute Rockne
Knute Rockne
Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
. Mr. Brown and former Notre Dame running back Marchy Schwartz had dinner with Mr. Rockne in Chicago the night before his ill fated plane crash. He wrote Rockne's biography in 1931.
Long credited to Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice was an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio.-Biography:...
, Mr. Brown was actually the person that coined the nickname for fabled Illinois running back Red Grange
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League...
. He wrote a column describing Grange's running style and said he was like a "Galloping Ghost." The nickname is one of the most famous in sports annals. Mr. Brown also coined the nickname "The Sultan of Swat" for legendary baseball icon Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
.
As a beat writer and columnist he was known for his acerbic wit and breezy reporting style. Following the 1945 World Series
1945 World Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 3, 1945 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan-Game 2:Thursday, October 4, 1945 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan-Game 3:Friday, October 5, 1945 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit, Michigan...
, he wrote a history of the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
as part of the Putnam
G. P. Putnam's Sons
G. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.-History:...
series of books that covered all the major league baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
teams. Mr. Brown's famous quote from the 1945 World Series between the Cubs and Tigers of " I don't think either one of them is good enough to win it" usually surfaces as the Cubs reach rare playoff appearances.
It was sufficiently well-received that The Chicago Cubs is one book in that series that has been periodically re-issued. In 1947 he wrote a memoir of sorts called Win, Lose or Draw. It was a collection of anecdotes about celebrated figures in sports Brown had crossed paths with in his first 30 years as a sportswriter.
In 1973 Brown was given the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the National Baseball Hall of Fame
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
.
Mr. Brown's three sons were all athletes at the University of Notre Dame. Sons Bill and Pete were swimmers while youngest son Roger was a backup quarterback for the Fighting Irish on the 1946 and 1947 National Championship teams. Mr. Brown also had a daughter Mary Elizabeth Rempe (née Brown).
Mr. Brown died at age 84 in Forest Park, Illinois
Forest Park, Illinois
Forest Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago in the United States. The population was 15,688 at the 2000 census...
and is buried in Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, IL next to his beloved wife and best friend, Olive Burns Brown.
Books
- Rockne (Chicago: Reilly & Lake, 1932)
- The Chicago Cubs (New York: Putnam, 1942)
- Win, Lose, or Draw (New York: Putnam, 1946)
- The Chicago White Sox (New York: Putnam, 1952)