"Brown once fielded a ground ball and threw it past Howie Schultz into the upper deck. One time somebody hit a ground ball to Brown, and the ball went through his legs, but Brown continued the motions as though he had fielded it, and he made a phantom throw to first, and Howie Schultz stretched as though he was going to catch it, and Augie Galan, who was in left field, was fooled watching the play, and when the ball rolled by him, Brown was charged with a four-base error.

Galan said 'I kinda thought it might have gone through him, but when Schultz stretched and Brown followed through, I figured he had thrown the ball.'" - Larry King, to Peter Golenbock, Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers

Born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, NY, Thomas Michael Brown (born December 6, 1927) is a former shortstop and leftfielder. 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. He thus became the youngest non-pitcher to ever play in a major league game and the second-youngest overall.

Nicknamed "Buckshot", Tommy became the youngest player ever to hit a home run in the major leagues on August 20, 1945, at the age of 17.

Brown spent 1946 in the United States Army, then in 1947, the second postwar season, returned to a Dodger team with a set lineup that included Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop Pee Wee Reese. He became a utility man for the remainder of his MLB career, appearing in 166 games as a shortstop, 94 as an outfielder, 50 as a third baseman, 24 as a second baseman, and 21 as a first baseman.

The highlight of his career, however, came on September 18, 1950, against the Cubs at Ebbets Field. Starting in left field and batting lead-off, Tommy hit three home runs and a single, with a base on balls, in five plate appearances, scoring three runs and collecting five runs batted in (RBI).

Brown's big-league career came to an end September 25, 1953, as a member of the Cubs. He played minor league baseball through 1959 before retiring. Brown had married a woman from Nashville and so stayed in the area after his playing career, working at the Ford Glass Plant for thirty-five years, before retiring in 1993.

(excerpted from Wikipedia, BR Bullpen & SABR)