Chick Brandom

Right-handed pitcher Chick Brandom reached the pinnacle of his professional career at the tender age of 22. A promising but little-used member of the 1909 World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates, Brandom fared poorly the following spring and was promptly relegated to the minors by the pitching-rich Pittsburgh club. He remained there until reprieved by the 1915 Newark Peppers of the outlaw Federal League. Released shortly before season’s end, Brandom put in several more minor league years before drifting out of public view. He spent the remainder of his life working as a machinist and managing amateur and semipro nines prior to his death in October 1958. A look back at this obscure Deadballer follows.

Chester Milton Brandom was born on March 31, 1887, in Coldwater, Kansas, a sparsely populated south-central county seat located near the border of Oklahoma Territory. He was the second of the three children surviving infancy1 born to rancher Frank V. Brandom (1860-1940) and his first wife Emma (née Mitchell, 1859-1910). Around 1890, the Brandom family moved to Oklahoma City, where patriarch Frank soon became a prominent figure in local business and real estate circles. He also assumed an influential role in territorial politics, holding various positions in Democratic Party ranks.

Second son Chick, as he was always known,2 attended Oklahoma City schools through high school graduation. He then matriculated to the Oklahoma State Military Institute.3 His pitching can be traced back to his high school days and included stints with area amateur teams.4 Much to his father’s initial displeasure – Frank Brandom wanted his sons to follow him into the family realty business5 – Chick chose professional baseball, signing with the Pittsburg (Kansas) Coal Diggers of the Class C Missouri Valley League in 1904.6 The following season, he returned to the MVL, beginning the campaign with the Muscogee (Oklahoma) Reds, logging an 8-11 record. He reportedly finished the season with the league rival Tulsa (Oklahoma) Oilers, “winning seven of the ten games twirled by him.”7 Thereafter, he returned to the Brandom ranch in the Oklahoma City outskirt of Fort Supply, where his postseason hurling for a local team prompted the hometown newspaper to declare that Brandom “is a good pitcher, and in time will be one of the best in the business.”8

Early in 1906 it was reported that “‘Chickie’ Brandom has signed up with Wichita [Jobbers of the Class C Western Association]. … He was a Missouri Valley league star.”9 But Brandom was released by Wichita in late April,10 and spent most of the season at the Class D level, pitching for the Independence and Vanita clubs in the Kansas State League. He finished the campaign with a 16-5 (.762) record and exhibited excellent control, walking but 20 in 173 innings. The 5-foot-8, 161-pound hurler11 began the 1907 season back in Independence, now a member of the new Class D Oklahoma-Arkansas-Kansas League. He took a major step upward in July when purchased by the Kansas City Blues of the Class A American Association.12 Holding his own against much faster opposition, Brandom (by then 20) posted a respectable 6-7 record in 18 games. Hitting was another matter: his 2-for-44 stickwork equaled a laughable .046 BA. A hopelessly poor batsman, Brandom would post two more sub-.100 batting averages in future seasons.

Chick returned to Kansas City in 1908, settling in as the staff leader for a Blues club headed for a seventh-place (70-83, .458) finish in Western League standings. He got off well, throwing a mid-May no-hitter against eventual circuit champion Indianapolis.13 By early August and with his record standing at 17-13 (.567), Brandom’s contract was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Delivery was originally scheduled for WL season’s end. But the Pirates, locked in an epic three-way National League pennant battle with the Chicago Cubs and New York Giants, decided that they could not wait that long to fortify an overworked pitching staff. The arrival of Brandom and Kansas City batterymate John Sullivan was therefore moved up to September 1.14

Chick Brandom made his major league debut on September 3, 1908, in sterling style. Using “more than ordinary speed, a good curve ball and excellent control of a spitball,”15 he set down the Cincinnati Reds on seven hits and registered a 3-1 victory. Three days later, he relieved starter Sam Leever and saved a 9-7 Pittsburgh win over St. Louis.16 Brandom’s final appearance that year came on September 18, when he allowed an unearned run in three innings of mop-up relief in a 7-0 loss to the Giants. He then assumed a seat on the bench as the Pirates eventually finished tied for second, one game behind the pennant-winning Cubs.17

Although his audition was brief, Brandom favorably impressed observers. Pittsburgh sportswriter A.A. Cratty described him as “a neat appearing lad … most eager to work and seems to have everything [including] a great fastball mixed with a spitter.”18 Nor did he lack confidence. Notwithstanding the exceptional depth of the Pittsburgh pitching staff, Brandom declared in 1909 spring camp that “there is no question about [my] holding a berth with the Pirates.”19 And against the seeming odds, he made the Opening Day roster. Given an early season start, however, he turned in a lackluster effort – surrendering 10 base hits and two walks over five innings – in a 7-4 loss to Cincinnati.20 Thereafter, he saw only sparse action, trapped behind a stalwart rotation of Howie Camnitz (25-6), Vic Willis (22-11), Lefty Leifield (19-8), and Nick Maddox (13-8). Babe Adams (12-3), Deacon Phillippe (8-3), and Leever (8-1) were allotted all but seven of the other starting assignments.

In mid-June, the Pirates sought waivers on Brandom, hoping to option him back to Kansas City.21 But claims from other NL clubs thwarted that gambit. With Pittsburgh cruising to a 110-42 (.724) finish and the National League crown, manager Fred Clarke gave Brandom an August 10 start against the Boston Rustlers. The youngster responded with a first-rate performance, holding Boston to five hits over nine innings while striking out six. He left the game with the score tied, 1-1; reliever Adams got credit for the 12-inning Pirates triumph. Brandom’s lone decision, a relief outing victory, came in late July. He completed the season with a 1-0 record in 13 appearances. In 40 2/3 innings, he allowed 33 hits and 10 walks while striking out 21. His ERA was a sparkling 1.11.

Brandom saw no action in the 1909 World Series, as Pittsburgh prevailed over the Detroit Tigers in seven games. His Series share subsequently became a bone of contention among his teammates. According to Brandom, some of the Pirate veterans engineered his denial of a full share, a matter which led him to file an unsuccessful grievance with the National Commission and aroused hard feelings all around.22

Whatever the strife with teammates, Brandom displayed his customary self-confidence over the winter. In mid-January, he informed Pittsburg Press sports editor Ralph Davis that “I am looking forward to a very successful season next summer. I am in splendid shape, and as hard as nails. I hope Clarke won’t decide he can do without me, because I want to help Pittsburgh land another pennant.”23

With everyone but Vic Willis returning,24 competition for pitching staff spots was brisk in the Pirates’ 1910 spring training camp. Unhappily for Brandom, he did poorly, being hit hard in both intrasquad and exhibition game outings. Shortly before Pittsburgh broke camp, his contract was sold to his erstwhile employer, the Kansas City Blues.25 Brandom took his demotion philosophically, maintaining the belief that “I still have a chance to get back to the majors.”26 He eschewed resorting to the bottle, consoling himself only with a forbidden cigarette, manager Clarke having banned smoking by Pirate players. “I am not going to dissipate my disappointment in drink,” explained Chick. “But I’ve got to dissipate in some way.”27

It took another six seasons and the arrival of a renegade third major league to get Brandom back to the top echelon. In the meantime, he began his minor league exile with a difficult season in the American Association. There was friction between Kansas City manager Danny Shay and the pitcher that ultimately resulted in an August confrontation between the two. Shay thereupon suspended Brandom for the remainder of the season for “insubordination.”28 An abject apology quickly led to Brandom’s reinstatement,29 but reports that the young hurler had developed a drinking problem were published.30 The National Commission then added to Brandom’s woes, ruling that he had to repay the Pirates $103.50 in advance salary money.31 If the debt were not satisfied within three days of the ruling, Brandom would be placed on the ineligible list.32 Through it all, Chick provided yeoman service to Kansas City, making 54 appearances for the Blues. He went 20-15 (.571) for a fifth-place (85-81, .512) club, and led the staff in innings pitched (337) and strikeouts (134).33 That October he was reserved by Kansas City for the 1911 season.34

In late winter, reports surfaced that Brandom intended to quit baseball to go into the banking business in Oklahoma with his father.35 Thereafter, his objection – on principle, mind – to the “anti-souse” clause placed in his contract by management was said to be the sticking point of settlement between him and the club.36 This led a local newspaper to strike a paternalistic tone: “Chester Milton isn’t a bad boy,” allowed the Kansas City Times. “He’s like the only child, spoiled a bit, but susceptible to humoring. ‘Chick’ likes to get out occasionally and kick up his heels at the red lamps. If Daniel [Shay] can stifle this unworthy ambition in the young man he will have added a flinger of excellent merit to the Blue staff.”37

Whether the product of bad habits or just poor pitching, Brandom’s work in 1911 was substandard and excoriated in the local press. With his record standing at 4-9, the Kansas City Star declared that “the toil of Chester Milton Brandom has been the biggest disappointment [Manager] Shay has had to cope with this season,” and branded Chick’s slab work “a miserable failure.”38 From there, he rallied somewhat, winning seven of his final 12 decisions to finish the season with an 11-14 (.444) log.39 The falloff in Brandom’s production, however, may have cost the second-place (94-70, .573) Blues the AA crown. Immediately thereafter, the young hurler salved any wounds inflicted during the season via a trip to the altar. In early October, he took Theodosha Noland, a 23-year-old native of Shreveport, Louisiana, who had spent the summer in Kansas City, as his bride.40 The marriage proved brief, but nothing else about it, including the date or cause of its dissolution, has been uncovered.

Kansas City retained Brandom for the 1912 season, but his hold on a roster spot was tenuous. He opened with a complete game win over Indianapolis but dropped his next four decisions. In mid-May, Kansas City conveyed Brandom to the New Orleans Pelicans of the Class A Southern League.41 One no-decision start later, New Orleans sent him back.42 Kansas City then sold Brandom’s contract to the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Black Sox of the Class B Central League,43 but the pitcher refused to report. He did acquiesce, however, in his ensuing transfer to the Topeka (Kansas) Jayhawks of the Class A Western League.44

Joining the WL cellar dweller, Chick pitched no worse than the company, going 6-13 (.316) in 23 outings for (51-109, .319) Topeka.45 In late August, however, a dispute over responsibility for paying Brandom’s $300/month salary precipitated his remand to Kansas City.46 He saw no Western League action upon returning to the Blues, but was used at least once in postseason exhibition game play.47 Brandom was then signed, perhaps surprisingly, for the coming 1913 campaign by Kansas City club boss George Tebeau.48

That spring Brandom failed to impress in exhibition game play and was unconditionally released by Kansas City as the 1913 regular season commenced.49 Days later, he signed with the Jersey City Skeeters of the Class AA International League.50 Here, Brandom repeated his performance in Topeka, posting a dismal 8-16 (.333) record about on par with that turned in by a last-place (53-101, .344) Jersey City club. Over the winter, the Skeeters unloaded him, trading Chick to an IL rival, the Buffalo Bisons.51

Used as both a starter and reliever in 1914, Brandom made 41 appearances and posted a 10-10 (.500) record for a second-place (89-61, .593) Buffalo club. The highlight of his year, however, occurred off the diamond: marriage to 19-year-old Eva Arnett of Oklahoma City.52 The couple would remain together for the next 44 years and have four sons.53

Over the winter of 1914-1915, the Indianapolis Hoosiers – Federal League champions but failing financially – were acquired by oil tycoon Harry Sinclair. The new club owner then relocated the franchise to Newark, New Jersey. With 25-game winner Cy Falkenberg, former Chicago Cubs star Ed Reulbach, and the nucleus of a pennant-winning pitching staff under contract, the newly named Newark Peppers were not in dire need of more arms – much less that of a minor league mediocrity like Chick Brandom. But for reasons unknown, the Newark club signed him in early March 1915.54 Brandom was thrilled by his unexpected return to the major leagues and fulsome in his praise of club boss Sinclair, the onetime co-owner of the lowly Kansas State League club for which Chick had played nearly a decade earlier.55

Although he made the regular season roster, Brandom saw little service with the Peppers. By early July, he had twice received 10 days’ notice of his release by the club.56 But pressed into emergency starting duty on July 7, Brandom came through with a complete-game victory over the Baltimore Terrapins. The effort gained him a reprieve but not another start. Used sparingly thereafter in relief, Brandom’s record stood at 1-1, with a 3.40 ERA in 50 1/3 innings when Newark released him shortly before the 1915 season ended.57

Although he continued pitching professionally into the 1921 season, Chick Brandom’s major league days were now behind him. His final numbers, while modest in scope, were eminently respectable. In 32 appearances, he posted a 3-1 (.750) record, with an excellent 2.08 ERA in 108 innings pitched. Over that span, he allowed 101 base hits and walked 29, while striking out 44 enemy batsmen. His defensive statistics (3 putouts, 43 assists, and 4 errors, for a .920 fielding percentage), were pedestrian. Nonetheless, Brandom was considered a capable fielder by contemporary observers.58 And his .148 major league batting average (4-for-27) was at least an improvement over the anemic .115 mark that he posted during his nine recorded minor league seasons.

After the season, Brandom was the primary source of a rumor that the Class D Western Association intended to affiliate with the Federal League in 1916.59 But the Federal League was actually then in the process of dissolution. Thereafter, it was reported that Brandom, with the putative financial backing of Sinclair, was making a bid to purchase the Western Association franchise in Tulsa.60 But nothing ever came of it. Brandom did, however, spend time in that city, splitting the 1916 season between pitching for the Tulsa Producers and the WA-rival Oklahoma City Senators. Combined, he posted a 4-7 (.367) record in 20 games.61

By then, Brandom and wife Eva had settled in El Campo, Texas, where he operated a billiard parlor and farmed rice.62 He also enlisted in the Oklahoma National Guard, but by then 30 years old with a spouse and infant child to support, he was not called to active service during World War I. When minor league baseball resumed in April 1919, he signed with the Dallas Marines of the Class B Texas League,63 but was released early in the season. Brandom finished his professional playing career back in Independence, Kansas, pitching for the local entry in the Class D Southwestern League.64

After a five-year hiatus, Brandom returned to the professional game in 1926 as manager of the Corpus Christi (Texas) Seahawks of the Class D Gulf Coast League but quit the post in midseason with his club in the circuit’s basement.65 The following year, the Brandom family relocated to the Long Beach, California, area. From then on, Chick restricted his activities to pitching for and thereafter managing various amateur and semipro clubs. Otherwise, he worked as a machinist for several local concerns, including the Brandom Manufacturing Company, a business run by his sons.

In his late 60s, Brandom developed heart disease and hypertension. In September 1958, he suffered a stroke. He lingered for several weeks before dying at his Santa Ana residence on October 7, 1958.66 Chester Milton “Chick” Brandom was 71. Following Seventh Day Adventist funeral rites, the deceased was interred in Fairhaven Memorial Park, Orange, California. Survivors included his widow, Eva; sons Jack, Herbert, Joe, and Bill; and his older brother Reginald.

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Norman Macht and fact-checked by Kevin Larkin.

Sources

Sources for the biographical info provided above include the Chick Brandom file at the Giamatti Research Center, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Cooperstown, New York; US census and other government records accessed via Ancestry.com; and certain of the newspaper articles cited in the endnotes. Unless otherwise specified, stats have been taken from Baseball-Reference.

Notes

1 Brother Reginald (born 1881) and sister Nancy Alice (1893) grew up with our subject. The names of the four Brandom children who died young are unknown.

2 The lifelong nickname Chick was often humorously elongated into Chicken by the baseball press, but its actual origin has not been discovered by the writer.

3 Brandom attended Oklahoma State Military Institute in Oklahoma City during the 1903-1904 academic year. See “Stillwater Team Defeated,” (Stillwater, Oklahoma) Democrat, November 11, 1903: 1. Brandom’s attendance at OSMI is also noted in his player questionnaire at the Giamatti Research Center. No evidence for the reference work assertion that Brandom was a student at the University of Oklahoma in Norman was encountered during research.

4 See “Brandom’s Fine Work,” (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman, August 24, 1904: 5; “Baseball Notes,” (Oklahoma City) Weekly Times-Journal, April 10, 1903: 6.

5 According to one yarn, the elder Brandom took young Chick out to the woodshed and “doubled him over the paternal knee for tagging at the heels of ballplayers.” See “Brandom Ran Away to Join Ball Club,” Pittsburgh Times Gazette, March 28, 1910: 7. But in time Frank Brandom became an ardent supporter of his son’s baseball aspirations.

6 As reported in “City News Briefs,” Oklahoman, September 18, 1904: 18, and memorialized on the Brandom TSN player contract card. See also, “Who’s Who on the Diamond,” Baseball Magazine, Vol. 3, No. 5, September 1908.

7 Per “Baseball Gossip,” Oklahoman, September 9, 1905: 8.

8 Fort Supply (Oklahoma) Republican, September 28, 1905: 1.

9 “Baseball News,” Topeka (Kansas) State Journal, March 10, 1906: 13.

10 See “Two Players Leave,” Wichita (Kansas) Eagle, May 1, 1906: 7.

11 The height/weight assigned to Brandom by Baseball-Reference, Retrosheet, and other current authority. His TSN player contract card and GRC player questionnaire list Brandom as slightly taller and heavier.

12 As noted in “Villepigue Saw K.C. Win,” Chanute (Kansas) Tribune, July 26, 1907: 3. See also, Fort Supply Republican, August 1, 1907: 6.

13 See “Pitched a No-Hit Game,” Kansas City Times, May 15, 1908: 10.

14 As reported in “Pirates to Try New Battery,” Pittsburgh Post, September 2, 1908: 12, and “New Battery Soon for Buccaneers,” Pittsburg Press, September 1, 1908: 1. The Brandom purchase price was reportedly a steep $5,000. See “Pitcher Brandom Sends in His Contract,” Pittsburgh Gazette Times, February 11, 1910: 9.

15 Per the Pittsburg Press, September 6, 1908: 19.

16 Brandom entered the game in the top of the fifth inning and would be credited with the victory under modern scoring rules.

17 Chicago (99-55, .643) captured the 1908 NL pennant by defeating New York (98-56, .636) in the celebrated make-up game necessitated by Merkle’s Boner. Pittsburgh, eliminated the day before, finished with the same season record as the Giants.

18 A.A. Cratty, “Pirate Points,” Sporting Life, September 19, 1908: 7.

19 “National League News,” Sporting Life, April 3, 1909: 8.

20 The defeat was charged to reliever Lefty Leifield. Brandom notched a no-decision.

21 As reported by C.B. Power in “Timely Sports Comment,” Pittsburgh Times Gazette, June 18, 1909: 9. See also, “Diamond Dust,” Pittsburg Press, June 18, 1909: 22.

22 As related by Brandom some years later in “Gameness Is Sinclair’s Chief Asset, Says Pitcher Brandom,” Newark Evening Star, March 18, 1915: 14.

23 Ralph S. Davis, “Chuck Brandom Is Mighty Nimrod; Hunts Successfully in Oklahoma,” Pittsburg Press, January 17, 1910: 10.

24 Reportedly intoxicated during the World Series, Willis was sold to the St. Louis Cardinals in February 1910.

25 See “Brandom Is Sent Back to Kansas City Team,” Pittsburgh Post, April 10, 1910: 18; “Pitcher Brandom Released,” Pittsburgh Times Gazette, April 10, 1910: 19.

26 See again, “Brandom Is Sent Back to Kansas City Team,” above.

27 Per Pittsburgh Post, April 12, 1910: 11. In various, often distorted, form, the cigarette anecdote was republished in small town newspapers throughout the Midwest. See e.g., Mexico (Missouri) Evening Ledger, May 14, 1910: 2; Weeping Water (Nebraska) Republican, May 12, 1910: 6; (Winfield, Kansas) Evening Free Press, May 4, 1910: 3.

28 See “Pitcher Brandom Suspended,” Louisville Courier-Journal,” August 27, 1910: 9; “Brandom Has Been Suspended,” Independence (Kansas) Reporter, August 27, 1910: 4; “‘Chick’ Brandom is Given Ax Also,” Salt Lake Telegram, August 26, 1910: 7.

29 See “‘Chick’ Brandom Reinstated,” St. Joseph (Missouri) Gazette, August 28, 1910: 2.

30 See e.g., “Brandom Another Rube Waddell,” Chanute Tribune, September 1, 1910: 8. See also, (Nebraska City) Nebraska Press, September 15, 1910: 3.

31 As reported in “Brandom Must Pay Pirates,” Chicago Tribune, September 15, 1910: 14: “Player Must Repay Advance,” Washington Post, September 15, 1910: 8; and elsewhere.

32 See “In Short Metre,” Sporting Life, October 1, 1911: 4.

33 Per the 1911 Reach Official Baseball Guide, 311.

34 See Sporting Life, October 15, 1910: 16.

35 Per “The Blues Slow to Sign,” Sporting Life, March 4, 1911: 12. See also, Kansas City (Kansas) Gazette-Globe, February 25, 1911: 4.

36 According to “Advance Guard Gains,” Kansas City Times, March 7, 19teresting and unique Black Sox project. Best,11: 8. See also, “‘Chick’ Brandom Reports,” Kansas City Star, March 12, 1911: 13.

37 “As to Chester Milton,” Independence (Kansas) Evening Star, March 3, 1911: 6, re-printing an undated item from the Kansas City Times.

38 “Time to Show Something,” Kansas City Star, June 28, 1911: 11.

39 Per American Association stats published in the 1912 Reach Official Base Ball Guide, 273. The Baseball-Reference listing of a 1-14 (.067) record for Brandom in 1911 presumably reflects an undetected clerical error.

40 As reported in “Chick Brandom Married,” Hutchinson (Kansas) Gazette, October 3, 1911: 3; “Chick Brandom Marries,” Wichita Eagle, October 2, 1911: 7.

41 See “Brandom Goes to New Orleans,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 17, 1912: 10; “Brandom Is Released,” (Springfield) Illinois State Journal, May 16, 1912: 4; “Chick Brandom Released,” Kansas City Times, May 16, 1912: 8.

42 See “Orlie Weaver Signed; Brandom Turned Back,” New Orleans Times-Democrat, May 26, 1912: 31.

43 Per “Chick Brandom’s Release Bought Off Kansas City,” Grand Rapids (Michigan) Press, May 28, 1912: 8.

44 See “Bits of Baseball,” Washington (DC) Herald, July 15, 1912: 8.

45 Per Western League stats published in the 1913 Reach Official Base Ball Guide, 285.

46 As reported in the Topeka State Journal, August 29, 1912: 4, and August 21, 1912: 4.

47 On October 5, 1912, Brandom pitched in relief for the Blues during a 10-9 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. See “The Blues Won in Pittsburg,” Kansas City Star, October 6, 1912: 12.

48 As reported in the Kansas City Star, October 20, 1912: 12.

49 As reported in “Latest News by Telegraph Briefly Told,” Sporting Life, April 19, 1913: 6, and the St. Joseph (Missouri) News-Press, April 17, 1913: 11.

50 See “Chick Brandom Signs,” Boston Herald, April 15, 1913: 9; “Jersey City Gets Pitcher Brandom,” New York Times, April 15, 1913: 9.

51 As reported in “The Hot Stove League,” San Antonio Light, December 28, 1913: 12; “Frill Traded to Skeeters,” Newark Evening Star, December 13, 1913: 15. In exchange for Brandom, Jersey City received left-hander Jack Frill.

52 See “Arnett-Brandom,” (Newkirk, Oklahoma) Republican-News Journal, October 9, 1914: 5.

53 The Brandom children were Joe (born 1916), Herbert (1920), Jack (1923), and William (1926).

54 As reported in “Chick Brandom to Feds,” Independence Reporter, March 8, 1915: 3; “Chick Brandom Jumps to Newark Federals,” Hartford Courant, March 7, 1915: 34; and elsewhere.

55 See again, “Gameness Is Sinclair’s Chief Asset, Says Pitcher Brandom,” above. Sinclair and H.L. Truby had operated the Independence Coyotes in 1906, but it is unlikely that Sinclair influenced the Peppers decision to acquire former Coyotes hurler Brandom. Player personnel moves were left almost entirely to savvy Newark club president Pat Powers.

56 As reported in the (Jersey City) Jersey Journal, July 8, 1915: 6, and June 25, 1915: 7.

57 The Brandom release was reported in the Jersey Journal, September 19, 1915: 7.

58 When he was returned to Kansas City, the Pittsburgh Post described Brandom as “one of the best fielding pitchers who ever played ball.” See again, “Brandom Is Sent Back to Kansas City Team,” above.

59 See “Fed Alliance Just Clever Press Work,” The Sporting News, November 11, 1915: 8; “W.A. and Feds to Join?” (Little Rock) Arkansas Gazette, October 29, 1915: 13.

60 See “Brandom May Buy Club,” Newark Evening Star, January 12, 1916: 14; “Chick Brandom May Become a Manager,” Buffalo Evening News, January 10, 1916: 14.

61 Per Western Association stats published in the 1917 Reach Official Base Ball Guide, 234.

62 See “Diamond Warriors Depart for Winter Occupations,” Tulsa Evening Times, September 14, 1916: 6.

63 As reported in “Dallas Signs Chick Brandom,” Des Moines Register, April 17, 1919: 10; “Dallas Signs Pitcher,” Chicago Daily News, April 14, 1919: 2.

64 See “Producers Get ‘Chick’ Brandom,” Coffeyville (Kansas) Journal, May 28, 1921: 5.

65 Per “Hawks Add Hurler; Manager Resigns,” San Antonio Light, July 23, 1926: 11.

66 Per an unidentified obituary contained in the Chick Brandom file at the GRC. The death certificate lists ventricular standstill as a result of arteriosclerotic hypertension disease as the official cause of death.