Murill Brown

Date and Place of Birth:	February 26, 1923 Huntington Beach, CA
Date and Place of Death:	September 1944 Jacksonville, FL
Baseball Experience:	Minor League
Position:	Pitcher/Outfield
Rank:	Ensign
Military Unit:	US Navy
Area Served:	United States

Murill J. Brown, son of Ernest and Clara Brown, grew up in Huntington Beach, California. His father was a rig builder for an oil company and his parents had moved to California from Tennessee. Murill, the second oldest of six children, starred as a pitcher and outfielder at Wilson High School in Long Beach, and with the Samuel Thomas Post 326 American Legion junior team in North Long Beach. He was signed by the Sacramento Senators of the Class AA Pacific Coast League in March 1942, and assigned to the Pocatello Cardinals of the Class C Pioneer League, where he pitched and played the outfield. On May 28, he threw a 6–0 three-hitter against Boise, and was batting .333 by July. However, his bat cooled off as the season progressed and he finished with a .222 average having played 35 games in the outfield. On the mound he made 21 appearances for a 5–9 record and 4.54 ERA. The Cardinals finished the year with a 72–46 record for first place and clinched the Pioneer League title in the best-of-seven series against Boise, with Brown scoring the deciding run in a 3–2 triumph in the seventh game.

Brown, who was living at 5636 Campo Walk in Long Beach, California, was called into military service in April 1943, and joined the Navy. He trained as a pilot at NAAS Waldron in Texas, where he also played baseball, and earned his wings at Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, Texas. He was assigned to active duty as a Navy flyer at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida. In September 1944, Ensign Brown was killed when his plane crashed on a training flight out of Jacksonville.

Murill Brown is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Long Beach, California.

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