AMERICAN GLADIATOR: The Life And Times Of ... - The Book Locker

AMERICAN GLADIATOR
In any event, paresis was not the lone—or principal—cause of death.
And whatever the causes of death, two things were for certain. First, effective treatments for all that ailed him
were years away. Secondly, Browning’s end had not easy.
But neither had been his life. They had mirrored each other, and in places they defy comprehension,
interpretation or understanding.
******
One final note on Browning’s end.
It has been suggested that the alleged paresis factor is the principal reason for Browning’s continued
exclusion from Cooperstown. Not so.
Indeed, three top-notch pitchers from the same era all died from paresis, one of them a Hall of Famer (Hoss
Radbourne), and two others who should be there—Bobby Mathews and Bob Caruthers.
The continued exclusion of Browning, as well as Mathews and Caruthers, is based upon league affiliation
(detailed in Chapter VII).
******
News of Browning’s untimely death was carried the next day by Louisville’s two leading newspapers, the
Courier-Journal and the Times, as well as the Louisville Post and the Louisville Herald. (Numerous national
newspapers also carried the story, including the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Cincinnati
Enquirer.)
“Called Out For All Time On Life’s Field” ran the headline of the Courier-Journal while the Times bannered
their piece with: “Pete Browning ‘Out’ Of Life’s Game.”
Both stories were masterpieces filled with rich detail, newsy biographical facts and colorful anecdotes, though
their leads were substantially different. Far from being duplicates, each were separate entities with their own
special flavor and character. The evening Times carried the most extensive story of all, using a brief, poetic, twosentence
lead that led simply into a voluminous story.
Pete Browning’s old grave marker. Note misspelled first name. (Eclipse BBHR)
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