Agate Type: Adventures in Baseball Archeology

the death of country brown

Written by

Gary Ashwill

Sorry, another macabre story.  Much like Joe Green, Elias “Country” Brown, an infielder/outfielder for east coast teams in the 1920s, was known for his on-field comedy act.  He’d go to bat on his knees, or pretend to dig a grave for the umpire, or hold imaginary phone conversations, sort of like a louder, bawdier version of Bob Newhart.

James Riley writes of Brown:

His wife was an actress and, in the off-season, he pulled the curtain for her.  Brown was involved in a tragic altercation with his wife’s brother that resulted in his brother-in-law’s death.  When Brown knocked the man down, his head struck the sidewalk and the impact killed him. (Biographical Encyclopedia, p. 119)

However…in the New York Amsterdam News, January 1, 1938 (p. 3), we find this:

Amsterdam News_1.1.1938_p3

So instead of Brown killing his brother-in-law accidentally, his brother-in-law killed him, perhaps accidentally.  Was Riley reporting a version of the story that had been so garbled that it turned the particulars of the incident completely upside down?  And here we’re told that “Country Brown” was his baseball name, with his real name being Elias Bryant.

I’ve had zero luck so far tracking down either Elias Brown or Elias Bryant.  Anybody happen to know what’s going on here?

2 responses

  1. Lawrence Brown Avatar
    Lawrence Brown

    Hello, Elias Bryant was my great-grandfather. He was my paternal grandmother’s father (Alice Bryant-Brown). He was originally from Seneca, South Carolina and migrated to Atlanta, GA with Alice (my Grandmother) and her Sister Mary Lee, after their mother passed away in Seneca, South Carolina.
    It was in Atlanta where he met Edna his 2nd wife and opened a restaurant. Per my Grandmother, Alice, they migrated north and he lived in Harlem. My grandmother resided in Philadelphia. MY father was born in Philadelphia but was raised by Elias Bryant and Edna.
    Elias Bryant (Country Brown) was a baseball player for several negro league teams including the Black Yankees.
    I am not sure how he ended up with adopting the last name Brown.
    However, My Grandmother Alice married a Willie Brown from West Virginia. They had 11 children. One of the 11 children was my father whose name is Elias Edward Brown. My father and was raised by Elias Bryant (his maternal grandfather) and his wife Edna in Harlem. My eldest brother is named after my dad.

    Reply
  2. Gary Ashwill Avatar
    Gary Ashwill

    Hi Lawrence, thank you very much! The most recent research on the baseball career of Country Brown (Elias Bryant) can be found here (along with a much better photo):
    https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=brown01eli

    Reply

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