Video of Mordecai Three Finger Brown's pitching motion

The Library of Congress had a series of pictures of Brown's pitching motion. A clever guy named Nate Little looped them into a video that's pretty cool to watch.

6 months ago gharp 23 comments 9 recs |

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Neat

thanks for sharing. He hid the ball pretty well, a style you don’t see any more. Reminds me of the figure eight in softball pitching.

Do you think this was at Wrigley? Looks like the scoreboard in center.

This is only the beginning....Lou Pinella end of '07 season and Chicago Transit Authority (the band when they were really good).

by mrcubsfan on May 6, 2009 10:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I was trying to figure if it was Wrigley, which may have been called Weeghman then, too. Someone from the comments on that site linked to an old picture of Weeghman down the third base line (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Whales) but I can’t say for sure if that is or isn’t the same place.

by gharp on May 6, 2009 12:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's doubtful.

Remember, the current scoreboard dates only from 1937. That looks like West Side Park to me.

The motion (in which he curls up the ball at the end of the motion) looks like Rick Sutcliffe’s.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on May 6, 2009 1:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's who

he reminded me of. Sutcliffe. Good memory.

by Josh77 on May 6, 2009 1:24 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes, much like Sut

but he pulls the ball back even farther. Still pretty neat to see a picture like this.

This is only the beginning....Lou Pinella end of '07 season and Chicago Transit Authority (the band when they were really good).

by mrcubsfan on May 6, 2009 6:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Holy smokes

That is the bee’s knees. I didn’t think they had cameras that could shoot that fast back then. Thank you for sharing; I’m Tweeting this.

One day I hope to come up with something worthy of this space.

by chilango2 on May 6, 2009 12:54 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Three Finger

There has got to be something at Wrigley Field honoring Three Finger Brown. There needs to be a flag with his name on it.

"The big possums walk late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on May 6, 2009 1:25 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I second that!

He came back on zero days rest (and death threats) to win the playoff game that put them in the 1908 World Series He then won games one and four in a five game series, kicking Ty Cobb’s ass in Detroit. THAT deserves a statue!

by 3fingerbrown on May 8, 2009 7:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is really cool.

I first saw it off Rob Neyer’s page and found it kind of hypnotic. Obviously there are differences between the pitching motion now and them, but it’s kind of jarring how there are still the fundamental similarities. I know it shouldn’t surprise me, though. I guess I fall victim to the tendency to think that because we’re on the cutting edge in the present, we must be totally different/more advanced that our forefathers…

Really cool stuff.

by CubsWin!Oregon on May 6, 2009 1:53 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs