Earlier this afternoon the Boone County Sheriff’s Office announced that former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tom Browning had passed away. Browning was 62-years-old.
On Monday afternoon the Boone County’s Sheriff Office responded to a call of a report of a man not breathing. After arriving they, along with EMS personnel, attempted life saving measures. Those efforts were not successful and Browning was pronounced deceases at 1:13pm. No foul play is suspected according the the press release from the sheriff’s office.
Tom Browning was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 9th round of the 1982 draft out of Tennessee Wesleyan University. He wouldn’t spend much time in the minor leagues, making his big league debut two years later in 1984 by making three appearances in September. The next season he would make the rotation out of spring training and he barely looked back.
Browning is known best for his perfect game that he threw in 1988. A game of mythical proportions after having an estimated 2.6 million people at it if we take the word of everyone who claims that they were there. The announced attendance for the game was only 16,591 and after a rain delay pushed the start of the game to 10:01pm ET there likely weren’t nearly that many people still there at the end.
On that fateful Friday night Browning dueled with future Cincinnati Red Tim Belcher all night. Browning picked up the 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 6th inning when Barry Larkin doubled and then scored on a throwing error by Dodgers third baseman Jeff Hamilton. It would be the only run scored in the game as both pitchers completed the game. Browning would finish things out be remaining perfect, ending the game with a strikeout of Tracy Woodson and becoming the 12th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw a perfect game – earning the name Mr. Perfect along the way. There have been 11 more thrown since.
In 1990 Browning made three starts in the postseason as he helped the Reds to a World Series Championship. The next season he was named to the National League All-Star team – the only year he made an All-Star team. During his 12-year big league career he led the league in starts four times (1986, 1988, 1989, and 1990). He finished with 123 wins and a 3.94 ERA while throwing 1921.0 innings. In 2006 he joined the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame along with Lee May and Tom Seaver.
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) December 19, 2022
