Dan Brouthers (May 8, 1858 - August 2, 1932) was a pre-1900 era Major League Baseball player. He was nicknamed "Big Dan". His surname was pronounced with a long "o" and a hard "th", the way one would say "smoothers" if such a word existed. Brouthers' career began in 1879 and didn't finish until 1904 (with a gap between 1896 and 1904), a span of four decades. From the last weeks of the 1886 season to the first month of the 1890 season, Brouthers had more career home runs than any other player. He was the third Major Leaguer to reach 100 or more career homers (after Harry Stovey and Roger Connor).
Major League Baseball claims his career batting average was .349. Other sources such as baseball-reference.com indicate his career mark was .342. This disparity results from a league rule in effect in 1886 and 1887, which counted walks as hits. Some sources reflect the statistics as originally recorded, while others change them retroactively.
After retiring from the Major Leagues, Brouthers played minor league baseball for Poughkeepsie of the Hudson River League. He hit a league-leading .373 at age 46.
Brouthers was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1945.
Dan Brouthers is interred in Saint Mary's Cemetery in Wappingers Falls, New York.
