CINCINNATI — This December, baseball fans in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky lost a beloved icon.
Tom Browning, who wore the number "32" when he pitched for the Reds, was found dead in his northern Kentucky home. While not from the area originally, those who knew Browning said he grew to love it, and people in the area loved him right back.
Browning, or “Mr. Perfect,” as some liked to call him, was known for how he endeared himself to his community, perhaps even more so than his on field accomplishments—of which there were many, as explained Marty Brennaman, a Cincinnati sports legend in his own right. Brennaman called Reds games on the radio for 46 years, from 1974 to 2019.
“Unlike so many other ballplayers who play out a career after many years with a ball club, pick up and leave to go to warmer climates. They go to Florida, they go to California, whatever the case might be. Tom Browning stayed here and became a very important part of the fabric of this community. This is a very provincial town. And once they determine that you’re one of theirs, even if you come from outside, then they will go to no end to show you how much they feel about you,” Brennaman said. “I sometimes think that people who come from somewhere else in the United States, rather than having been born and raised here, have a better appreciation of this town and what it has to offer. I learned it. And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Tom did the same thing.”
On Monday, Dec. 19, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office and other emergency personnel responded to Browning’s home in Union. They found the Reds Hall of Famer unresponsive on his couch, and attempts at resuscitation were unsuccessful.
Mr. Perfect was pronounced deceased at just 62 years old. No foul play is suspected, according to the sheriff’s office.
“And the impact it had on me personally. I can’t remember the last time I was so emotional over the passing of someone I knew and loved as I was when I got the news Monday that Tom had passed away,” Brennaman said. “Tom Browning, quite honestly, was one of the most loved players in the history of this franchise.”
Andy Furman, another Cincinnati sports media giant, talks sports nationally for Fox Sports Radio. He also writes for the Northern Kentucky Tribune.
Previously, Furman was a radio host, along with Cris Collinsworth, for WLW in Cincinnati for 18 years. During that stretch, he covered Browning’s career with the Reds.
“Death is terrible at any time, probably even more so this time of the year, the season. When I see guys that I followed and watched on TV, It hurts me. But when you see a guy that you watched play, but you also got to know, then it becomes even more real. And it was devastating, it really was,” Furman said of Browning’s passing.
While Browning was perhaps not quite in the same stratosphere as a player as other Reds legends like Joe Morgan, Pete Rose and Johnny Bench, “he’s up there because he’s beloved,” Furman said. “He was there for Reds opening day parades, and the media would always flock around him. He was always available, you know, he never ‘big-leagued’ you.”
As Furman wrote for the Northern Kentucky Tribune, he and Browning developed a close relationship.
“I’d go down to the clubhouse almost every day when they were home, prior to the games in the afternoon. And obviously I had a show on the radio after the games. And I could be pretty critical. I could be harsh. But I think the average fan knows if you’re a shill, or if you tell it the way it is. A guy made an error, I’d say, ‘this guy stinks.’ You know, ‘paying him this kind of money, I mean, catch the baseball, really?’ But I’d go down there, and I’d get a living hell. It’s never one on one. It’s like 24 against one. They’d circle you, ‘he’s here, let’s get him!’ And Tommy always kind of made peace,” Furman said.
Browning, with Dann Stupp, wrote a book titled “Tales from the Cincinnati Reds Dugout: A Collection of the Greatest Reds Stories Ever Told.”
“He wrote a chapter on me. He said he didn’t appreciate what I said all the time. But he gave me a lot of credit because I showed my face down there. A lot of guys hid behind the microphone. But I was down there every day,” Furman said.
Furman admired Browning, too.
“He’s such a good guy. He’s one of those guys that you can’t help but like. He was like a regular guy. The type of guy, you go to a bar, sit down and have a beer with the guy,” Furman said. “He was a tremendous player, but he wasn’t one of those guys that if a cop pulled him over, he’d give them the ‘do you know who I am?’ deal, you know. Just a super guy, a regular Joe, who happened to be a great baseball player.”
Brennaman also spoke about Browning’s friendliness, being one of his most endearing qualities.
“He was the most approachable guy in the world. He was not one of those celebrities that people see and recognize, but are reluctant to walk up for fear of him not wanting to be bothered. People realized that Tom was anything but that. And all of those things, on top of the fact that he was a very productive pitcher for this franchise for 11 years, Tom Browning just had the whole package,” Brennaman said.
A southpaw (left-handed pitcher) from Wyoming, Browning went to college in upstate New York. He pitched his first game for the Reds in 1984. He was named The Sporting News’ NL Rookie Pitcher of the Year.
“I mean, the fact that he even made the major leagues was amazing, because he was born in Wyoming. And I’m sure there’s a short baseball season in Laramie and Casper, Wyoming,” Furman said.
A few years later, in 1988, Browning earned his nickname “Mr. Perfect” by throwing the 12th perfect game in Major League Baseball history. It was also the first in Reds franchise history.
Then in 1990, Browning helped the Reds win the World Series. He won game three of the series for the Reds as they swept the Oakland Athletics.
Furman was insistent the Reds couldn’t beat the ‘A’s.’ He was even willing to wager having his head shaved if the Reds won. When they did, Furman kept his promise, and Browning was there waiting with sheers.
What some might remember most about Browning is when he spent a half inning with fans in Chicago on a rooftop overlooking Wrigley Field while the Reds’ game against the Cubs was in progress.
“He was a jokester. I think he kept the locker room loose, and kept the clubhouse loose,” Furman said. He said Browning was also superstitious and wouldn’t shave between starts.
Moments like the rooftop visit made people like Chad Cutter, a lifelong Reds fan, fall in love with Browning, and in Cutter’s case, the game of baseball.
“I grew up going to games with my dad, and now I’m taking my kids to games. So to share that tradition, and spend that time with them, is a big deal to me,” Cutter said. “It’s sad to see [Browning] go, but there are a lot of great memories there with all the stuff he did with the Reds, and all the stuff he’s been doing in the community since his retirement. So, we’ll miss you, Tom. RIP, buddy.”
Despite a lack of success in recent years, Reds fans still love their team, as evidenced through the heartbreak on display after losing one of their own, in Browning.
Furman said players taking the field with a ‘32’ patch on their uniforms next season would be a great first step, at least symbolically, back toward the kind of greatness the teams with Tom Browning on the mound once displayed.
Browning’s 123 wins as a Reds player rank 12th on Cincinnati’s all-time leaders list. He became a Reds Hall of Famer in 2006.