Tommy Brown (baseball)

Thomas Michael Brown (December 6, 1927 – January 15, 2025), nicknamed "Buckshot", was an American professional baseball player. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with his hometown Brooklyn Dodgers at 16 years and 241 days old, starting at shortstop at Ebbets Field against the Chicago Cubs, on August 3, 1944, during the World War II manpower shortage. Brown thus became the youngest non-pitcher to ever play in a major league game, and the second-youngest overall after Joe Nuxhall, who was 15 years and 316 days old when he first appeared as a hurler for the Cincinnati Reds on June 10, 1944. In Brown's debut game, he collected his first big-league hit, a double off the Cubs' Bob Chipman, and in the field handled three chances, with one error, as the Dodgers fell, 6–2.