John Tomlinson Brush

Biography

John Tomlinson Brush, born in 1845, was a visionary baseball executive who helped professionalize the sport and build modern ballparks in the Midwest and East Coast. He organized teams, secured stable leagues, and treated the game as a civic treasure.

Brush also invested in other enterprises, yet he always returned to the diamond with plans to uplift players and fans alike, believing in baseball’s ability to unite communities. His passing in 1912 was mourned by the baseball world, and Crown Hill Cemetery marks the grave of a man who advanced the national pastime.