Eugene Bremer

Eugene Joseph Bremer Sr., sometimes known as Gene, was born in New Orleans on July 18, 1916. He grew up in the city with his parents, three sisters, and grandmother. His father, Joseph, worked as a driver and his mother, Amanda, as a washerwoman. As a youngster he loved all sports and that led to his career as a pitcher from 1936 through 1948, in which he compiled a career record of 38-27 in 551 innings, with a 3.61 ERA in league competition.

Bremer’s 90 starts included eight shutouts, but the highlight of his 12-year career was winning the Negro League World Series in 1945 as a mainstay of the staff for the Cleveland Buckeyes. Bremer’s path to being a star was not always smooth, but he stuck it out and became a fan favorite in Cleveland, where he spent seven seasons of his career, and lived after his playing days were done.1

A right-hander who was listed at 5-feet-9 and 176 pounds, Bremer began his Negro Leagues pitching career in 1936 with the Cincinnati Tigers after pitching for the New Orleans Crescent Stars from 1932 to 1934 and the Shreveport Giants in 1935. After a second season with the Tigers, Bremer joined the Kansas City Monarchs and Memphis Red Sox in 1938 playing partial seasons with both clubs. After a second season with the Red Sox, Bremer spent 1940 bouncing around from team to team including a late summer stint with the Carta Blanca team in Mexico. He landed back in Cincinnati with the Buckeyes in 1942 as the team split its time between Cincinnati and Cleveland. He remained with the Cincinnati-Cleveland Buckeyes until he retired after the 1949 season when the Buckeyes moved out of Cleveland to Louisville. Bremer then remained in Cleveland until his death in 1971.2

One of Bremer’s earliest shutouts came on July 11, 1937, for the Cincinnati Tigers against the Atlanta Black Crackers. The Tigers won 15-0 while Bremer gave up six hits and two walks. Bremer helped his own cause with one hit, one walk, and two runs scored. Four days later, Bremer pitched a 5-0 shutout over the Jacksonville Red Caps. A third shutout came that season on August 29, 7-0 against the Memphis Red Sox. Bremer was best known for his no-windup delivery, which often confused opposing batters and earned him the nickname Flash. Bremer also led the league that year with a 1.47 ERA. This impressive early work set a pattern for his Negro League career.

Bremer showed early on that he was not just a strong pitcher but also could be dangerous with the bat, hitting .279 in 233 at-bats in his career. In describing his performance in a 1942 game against the Birmingham Black Barons, a reporter wrote, “Eugene Bremmer [sic], pitcher who beat Satchell [sic] has been playing and pitching like a champion. In a recent game against the Barons he was at bat three times and hit three doubles.”3 Bremer had previously bested Satchel Paige and the Monarchs 2-1 on a five-hit complete game.4

Described by a reporter in 1944 as “one of the steadiest and most efficient hurlers in the game,” Bremer made four appearances in the East-West Classic beginning in 1940 with additional appearances in the North-South Classic in 1944, 1945, and 1946.5 The North -South classic was started because of the economic success of the East-West Classic and was planned to take place in early or late September each year. In his first appearance, in 1940, Bremer gave up two consecutive hits in his first inning of pitching. For the 1944 game Bremer was joined by five other Cleveland Buckeyes, giving them the largest contingent from a single team voted to play in the game.6 In preparing the fans for the North-South Classic in September 1945, reporters talked about the “amazing Buckeyes” and the stars playing in the game. Bremer was described as “New Orleans’ own sensational pitcher.”7

As the push grew to integrate the White major leagues, a number of supposed tryouts were proposed for Negro League players in the early 1940s. One of them involved Bremer in 1942. Alva Bradley, owner of the Cleveland Indians at the time, had stated that he was open to the possibility of Black players playing with the Indians if they measured up. The sports editor of the Cleveland Call and Post proposed three players for Bradley to consider: Parnell Woods, Sam Jethroe, and Eugene Bremer. The tryout never actually took place. Bradley said the players did not measure up to the skill level he was looking for.8 While a disappointment for all the players involved, this did not prevent Bremer from continuing to pitch successfully with the Buckeyes.

Bremer’s career nearly ended in 1942 when he was involved in a car accident in September. The team’s bus had broken down and so the players were traveling in multiple cars to get to their games. On September 7 Bremer suffered a concussion and fractured skull while two of his teammates, pitcher Joe Brown and catcher Smoky Owens, were killed near Geneva, Ohio.  Alonzo Boone and Herman Watts were also injured in the accident. Bremer’s career suffered a setback and he did not play again until the 1943 season. He later became a mainstay on the team that shut out the Homestead Grays in the 1945 Negro League World Series.9

Bremer came back in 1943 and won more games than all the Buckeyes pitchers except Theolic Smith who won five games to Bremer’s four. The Buckeyes finished in second place behind the Kansas City Monarchs, who were the best overall team that season. Bremer’s return to form shone in an 8-0 shutout over the Memphis Red Sox in July and another complete-game victory against the Cincinnati Clowns, winning 3-2 over Preacher Henry. In August, Bremer set a record with three straight shutouts over the Memphis Red Sox, 8-0, 4-0, and 4-0 in both league and exhibition contests.10

The 1944 season saw the Buckeyes again finish second, this time behind the Birmingham Black Barons. Bremer was able to return after being turned down by his draft board for military service because of the effects of the car accident. Bremer compiled a 4-2 record with a 2.63 ERA, second to teammate George Jefferson with a 1.78 ERA. The season got off to high expectations, resting on the prowess of the Buckeyes’ highly touted “curveball artist” Eugene Bremer.11

The Buckeyes were the surprise in the 1945 World Series, being a young team still recovering from their 1942 tragedy. They had won the first and second halves of the Negro American League split season, but faced a dynasty in the two-time defending World Series champion Homestead Grays. The Grays were a veteran team, featuring five future Hall of Famers including catcher Josh Gibson. On paper the Grays looked like the odds-on favorite to win the series. Instead, the Buckeyes beat the Grays in four straight, including two shutouts. Newspapers wrote about the dominance of the “Big Four” on the mound and they proved to be the difference in the series.12 Willie Jefferson pitched the Buckeyes to a 2-1 victory in Game One while winning pitcher Bremer provided a bases-loaded walk-off double in Game Two for a 4-2 victory. Bremer gave up seven hits in nine innings while walking two and striking out five. He also committed a balk with Cool Papa Bell on third base, allowing him to score the tying run and setting the stage for Bremer’s eventual game-winning hit. George Jefferson shut out the Grays 4-0 in Game Three and Frank Carswell pitched a 5-0 shutout in the deciding game.13 The victory was largely credited to the “brilliant pitching” of the Buckeyes’ “three aces” and the surprise outing by Carswell.14

Early in the 1946 season, manager Quincy Trouppe described his pitching staff as one of the best in baseball, led by the four who won the 1945 World Series. There were high expectations for the Buckeyes, but the club finished the season in third place behind the Kansas City Monarchs and the Birmingham Black Barons. The pitching staff did not live up to the hype and a few key hitters, like Sam Jethroe, saw their numbers drop from 1945. Bremer pitched only 33 2/3 innings, compiling a 3-0 record.15

Bremer had another chance to pitch in the World Series when the Buckeyes took on the New York Cubans in 1947. Bremer pitched in only 34 2/3 innings, mostly in relief, during the season, compiling a 2-2 record. A good example of his contributions came in a 8-6 win over Birmingham in June with Bremer pitching the final three innings for the win. After beating out the Monarchs for the league championship, the Buckeyes went on to lose the World Series 4-1-1 to the Cubans, who featured future Hall of Famer Minnie Miñoso. The Buckeyes tied the first game, 5-5, and won their only contest, 10-7, in the second game. Bremer lost the only game he pitched, starting Game Four against Dave Barnhill. Bremer gave up 12 hits in a complete-game loss, 9-4. As usual he did contribute at the plate, with two hits and one run scored.16

Bremer finished out his last full season with the Buckeyes in 1948 and left the team in early 1949 after the club moved to Louisville.17 He appeared later in the year on the roster for the New Orleans Creoles, a team famous for its female second baseman, Toni Stone. Stone was 0-for-1 in an 11-9 loss to the Winona Chiefs where Bremer came on in relief.18

After his playing career was over, Bremer remained in Cleveland with his wife, Elizabeth, and their eight children. (He and Elizabeth Randolph had married in December 1937.) Bremer worked in the maintenance department for Hershaw Chemical Company in Cleveland. He died at the age of 54 in Cleveland on June 19, 1971.

Bremer’s athletic legacy continued with his grandson J.R. Bremer, who played basketball with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and Golden State Warriors in the NBA from 2002 to 2004. The younger Bremer also played for many years in Europe before retiring and taking on the head coaching job at Cleveland Heights High School in 2019.19

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org, and relied on Seamheads.com for all statistical information.

Notes 

1 Amanda Rumer, 1920 census, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061/records/57129539?tid=&pid=&queryId=cc76bc1e-18f8-4f3e-beac-edd62e8355f8&_phsrc=vkO32&_phstart=successSource; Joseph Rumer, 1920 census, https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6061/records/57129538?tid=&pid=&queryId=0e42a547-e6e2-4387-b6e3-7b33d87693b5&_phsrc=vkO30&_phstart=successSource.

2 “Mexico’s Pros Clash Friday in Local Park,” Brownsville (Texas) Herald, August 24, 1939: 22; https://agatetype.typepad.com/agate_type/2009/08/eugene-bremer.html.

3 “Am. Giants Vs. Buckeyes on Sunday,” Chicago Defender, July 4, 1942: 19.

4 “Buckeyes in Split with Kansas City,” Chicago Defender, June 20, 1942: 19.

5 “Negro Nines End Season Saturday,” Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Evening News, September 13, 1944: 13.

6 “Fans Warming up to Negro Classic,” Munster (Indiana) Times, August 28. 1944: 9.

7 “Interest Soars in North-South Classic,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 29, 1945: 12; “Ninth Inning Single Decides,” Pittsburgh Courier, October 12, 1940: 18.

8 “Cleveland Indians to Tryout Three,” Norfolk (Virginia) New Journal and Guide, September 12, 1942: A15; “Buckeye Player Profile – Eugene Bremer,” http://www.clevelandbuckeyesbaseball.com/Bremer.html.

9 First String Battery of Negro League Team Killed,” Bowling Green (Ohio) Daily-Sentinel Tribune, September 8, 1942: 3.

10 Eddie P. Jennings, “Say Forgotten Man of Buckeyes Is Bremmer,” Cleveland Call and Post, March 11, 1944: 9B; “Buckeyes Split with Red Sox,” Cleveland Call and Post, July 31, 1943: 11A; “Buckeyes’ Jinx Lingers,” Cleveland Call and Post, September 11, 1943: 11A; “Buckeyes Lead League,” Cleveland Call and Post, August 14, 1943: 11A.

11 “Buckeyes of Baseball All Set,” Cleveland Call and Post, January 22, 1944; “Bremer’s Pitching May Halt Cubans’ Power,” Pittsburgh Courier, April 22, 1944.

12 “Negro Kings Play at Alcyon Tonight,” Camden (New Jersey) Courier-Post, August 2, 1946: 21.

13 Dave O’Karma, “The Forgotten Championship,” https://clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/sports/articles/the-forgotten-championship; “Battling Bucks win 2-1, 4-2 in World Series,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 22, 1945: 12. 

14 “Win Four in Row to Dethrone Homestead,” Pittsburgh Courier, September 29, 1945: 12.

15 “Negro Champs Boast Classy Pitching Staff,” Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle, June 4, 1946: 20.

16 “Buckeyes and Birmingham Split Two,” Pittsburgh Courier, June 14, 1947: 15.

17 “Eugene Bremer, Vet Buckeye Hurler,” Cleveland Call and Post, August 27, 1949: 6B.

18 “7 in 7th Give Chiefs 11-9 Win,” Winona (Minnesota) Republican Herald, August 1, 1949: 12.

19 Bremer obituary, Cleveland Plain Dealer, June 22, 1971; Telephone conversation with Julius Bremer, January 7, 2025; “J.R. Bremer,” https://www.nba.com/stats/player/2452/career.