#242 George Brunet (original) (raw)

George Brunet looks like a guy that knew how to have fun. With his sweat-slicked hair (complete with cowlick), sideways leer, and whatever that is that's sticking out from his jersey (a wayward shirt tag?), this might be the most visually intriguing portrait in this set.

Fun facts about George Brunet:

-Born in Houghton, MI, way up at the tip of the Upper Peninsula, George began pitching professionally in independent ball in 1953. He was 18 at the time. Two years later, he signed with the Athletics.

-While pitching for AA Little Rock in 1957, he was a bit lacking in run support. From June 21 to August 3, his teammates failed to score a single run while he was on the mound: a 52 and 1/3 inning drought. He lost eight straight starts but led the league in strikeouts with 235.

-Brunet debuted with the A's in 1956, but did not exceed 60 innings in a major league season until 1965. By that time, he was with the Angels, his fifth team of nine total.

-He was a decent starter for the Halos for four and a half seasons, compiling a 3.13 ERA (peaking at 2.56 in 1965) yet twice leading the league in losses.

-While with the Seattle Pilots in 1969, George alleged told teammate Jim Bouton that he never wore underwear because he didn't want to have to worry about losing it.

-He last pitched in the bigs in 1971 with the Cardinals. In parts of 15 seasons, he won 69 games and lost 93 with a 3.62 ERA.

-The lefthander returned to the minors from 1971-1973, wrapping up a minor league career in which he appeared for 16 different clubs in 15 seasons. He is believed to hold the minor league record with 3,175 strikeouts.

-At age 38, George moved to Mexico and began pitching for the club in Coza Rica. He plied his trade in the Mexican League all the way up to 1989, when he was 54 years old! He holds the Mexican League record with 55 shutouts, and he played professionally for 37 years, which it's safe to say is another record.

-George stayed in Coza Rica to teach the game to others, right up until a heart attack ended his life in 1991.

-In 1999, Brunet was posthumously elected to the Salon de la Fama, the Mexican baseball Hall of Fame.