Lou Brissie

Leland Victor Brissie (June 5, 1924 in Anderson, South Carolina) is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher who played for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1947 to 1951 and the Cleveland Indians from 1951-1953 . He bats and throws left handed He was selected, and pitched 3 innings for the 1949 American League All Star team. His career record was 44-48 with 436 Ks and 4.07 ERA. His first full season with the A's in 1948 he was 14-10, and was 16-11 in 1949. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/brisslo01.shtml Lou Brissie Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ] .Lou Brissie began his baseball career in 1940 when at the age of 16 he pitched for Ware Shoales in a textile baseball league. Lou attracted the attention of Connie Mack and the Philadelphia Athletics in 1941, however his father insisted he finish school. In 1942-43 Lou attended Presbyterian College. In December 1942, Lou enlisted in the U. S. Army and in November 1944 found himself in heavy fighting in Italy with the 88th Infantry Division (Blue Devils) Lou's citations included the Purple Heart (with oak leaf cluster), Bronze Star, ETO and American Campaign Medals). On December 2, 1944, Lou's unit suffered an artillery barrage, a shell exploded which shattered his left tibia and shinbone in 30 pieces. After 2 years and 23 major operations on his leg Lou was able to return to baseball (signed by Philadelphia A's on December 15, 1946) with a metal plate in his leg. Lou's amazing comeback began in Savannah in the Southern league where he won 25 games in 1947. At the end of the 1947 season (September 28,1947) he realized his "life's ambition" of pitching in the major leagues. (Legend has it that Lou was pitching against Ted Williams when he was hit on the metal plate in his leg. It is claimed he yelled "Damn it Ted, pull the ball"). Lou was traded to the Cleveland Indians on April 30, 1951 and retired in September 1953. As of June 2005 (according to a baseball digest article 6-1-05) Lou was serving as the National Director of the American Legion Baseball program.

References

Lou Brissie pitched for Savannah in the South Atlantic League (Sally) going 23-5, with a 1.91 ERA and 272 strikeouts. His uniform number 3 was retired by the Savannah Sand Gnats on April 29, 2008, the first player to be honored in Savannah team history.