Additionally, Brown was the last living major leaguer whose career began during World War II. With able-bodied men in short supply on the home front, Brown debuted for the Dodgers in '44 at the age of 16. In 1945, he hit a home run at the age of 17; he's still the youngest player ever to homer in the major leagues.

Tommy Brown, the last surviving member of the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers and the youngest player to homer in a Major League Baseball game, died on Wednesday. Brown was 97 years old and

Brooklyn Dodger Tommy "Buckshot" Brown died this morning, after contracting pneumonia while convalescing from a fall, his daughter told me. He was 97, the last living member of the 1947 Dodgers, and the #1 person in the world I wanted to interview. (He was pretty private.) RIP.🧵

He holds distinctions as the youngest player to ever hit a home run in a major league game, and the youngest non-pitcher to ever appear in a major league game.

He was 16 when he made his debut as a shortstop in an Ebbets Field doubleheader, becoming the youngest position player in modern major-league history.

A Brooklyn native who starred for the 'Boys of Summer'-era Dodgers before going on to play for the Cubs and Phillies has passed away at age 97.