Harry Brecheen

Harry Brecheen
Brecheen with the Baltimore Orioles in 1955
Pitcher
Born: (1914-10-14)October 14, 1914
Broken Bow, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died: January 17, 2004(2004-01-17) (aged 89)
Bethany, Oklahoma, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 22, 1940, for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
September 13, 1953, for the St. Louis Browns
MLB statistics
Win–loss record133–92
Earned run average2.92
Strikeouts901
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Harry David Brecheen (/brəˈkn/, brə-KEEN, October 14, 1914 – January 17, 2004), nicknamed "the Cat", was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the St. Louis Cardinals. In the late 1940s, he was among the team's stars, in 1946 becoming the first left-hander ever to win three games in a single World Series, and the only pitcher ever to win consecutive World Series games. He later led the National League in several categories in 1948.

Bracheen's career World Series earned run average of 0.83 was a major league record from 1946 to 1976. From 1951 to 1971, he held the Cardinals' franchise record for career strikeouts by a left-hander, and he also retired with the fourth-highest fielding percentage among pitchers (.983), then the top mark among left-handers.