Browns fade to Black

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - The St. Louis Browns officially faded into the sunset on this date in 1953. Stockholders of the beleaguered franchise voted to change the team's name from the St. Louis Browns to the Baltimore Orioles. It was the final step in the transition from former owner Bill Veeck to a new group which would start the 1954 season near the shores of Chesapeake Bay rather than the banks of the Mississippi River. Sportsman's Park in St. Louis would be left to the Cardinals.

The Browns began as the Milwaukee Brewers in 1901 - a charter American League franchise - not to be confused with the present day Brewers. The team stayed only one year in Milwaukee, moving to St. Louis in 1902 and becoming the Browns, which was the color of their uniforms.

In all the years spent in St. Louis (and one in Milwaukee) the Browns won just one American League Pennant - 1944. They played the cross-town St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series that year (it wasn't really a cross-town classic since both teams played at Sportsman's Park).

The franchise's change of scenery did them good. The Baltimore Orioles went to the post-season six times from 1966 to 1974, and again in 1983 and 1997, winning the World Series in 1966, 1970 and 1983.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 18, 1953
World Series results year-to-year
More on the St. Louis Browns

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