Russ Meyer (baseball)

American baseball player (1923–1997)

Baseball player

Russ Meyer

Meyer with the Phillies in 1951

Pitcher
Born: (1923-10-25)October 25, 1923
Peru, Illinois, U.S.
Died: November 16, 1997(1997-11-16) (aged 74)
Oglesby, Illinois, U.S.

Batted: Switch

Threw: Right

MLB debut
September 13, 1946, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
June 28, 1959, for the Kansas City Athletics
MLB statistics
Win–loss record| 94–73
Earned run average| 3.99
Strikeouts| 672
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
As player

* Chicago Cubs (1946–1948)
* Philadelphia Phillies (1949–1952)
* Brooklyn Dodgers (1953–1955)
* Cincinnati Redlegs (1956)
* Chicago Cubs (1956)
* Boston Red Sox (1957)
* Kansas City Athletics (1959)

As coach

* New York Yankees (1992)

Career highlights and awards

* World Series champion (1955)

Russell Charles Meyer (October 25, 1923 – November 16, 1997) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Meyer's professional career lasted for 16 seasons, including 319 games pitched over all or part of 13 years in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs (1946–48; 1956), Philadelphia Phillies (1949–52), Brooklyn Dodgers (1953–55), Cincinnati Redlegs (1956), Boston Red Sox (1957) and Kansas City Athletics (1959). The native of Peru, Illinois, was listed as 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and 175 pounds (79 kg). His hot temper earned him the nickname "Mad Monk".[1]

Initially signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1942, Meyer spent 1943 performing United States Army service during World War II. While pitching for his camp team, Meyer was stricken with appendicitis, then contracted peritonitis; he was given a medical discharge and released by the White Sox organization.[2] He signed with the crosstown Cubs, spent three seasons in the Class A1 (now Double-A) Southern Association, and made his major league debut with the Cubs on September 13, 1946.

Among Meyer's ten full big-league seasons, two stand out. In 1949, with the Phillies, he won 17 of 25 decisions with a 3.08 earned run average (seventh in the National League), as Philadelphia finished in the first division for only the second time since World War I. Then, in his maiden campaign for the Dodgers in 1953, he went 15–5, for a sparkling .750 winning percentage. However, his ERA was a poor 4.56 and he surrendered 25 home runs in 1911⁄3 innings pitched—testimony to the Dodgers' potent offense and the intimate dimensions of Ebbets Field, where Meyer's earned run average was 5.28.[3] That season, Brooklyn won 105 games and its second consecutive National League pennant.

Overall, Meyer posted a career MLB win–loss record of 94–73 (.563) with an ERA of 3.99 in his 319-game career, which included 219 starting pitcher assignments. He allowed 1,606 hits and 543 bases on balls in 1,5311⁄3 innings pitched, striking out 672\. He registered 65 complete games and 13 shutouts, and five saves. He worked in three World Series (1950, 1953 and 1955), all against the New York Yankees. In four relief appearances, he went 0–1 (3.09), allowing four earned runs in 112⁄3 innings of work. He was a member of Brooklyn's 1955 World Championship squad.

Several years after his active career ended, he became a minor league pitching coach in the Yankees' organization, and served one season (1992) on the MLB staff of Yankees' manager Buck Showalter.[4] On May 6, 1961, Meyer served as a television color commentator alongside Bob Finnegan for a game between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox on CBS. He died in 1997 at age 74.

Meyer was the first of three pitchers in major league history to have at least 23 consecutive road starts without a loss: Allie Reynolds has the record with 25, spanning the 1948 and 1949 seasons, a feat Kansas City Royals pitcher Chris Young nearly matched. Meyer had 24 consecutive road starts without a loss during the 1953 and 1954 seasons.[5]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Goldstein, Richard (November 18, 1997). "Russ Meyer, a Fiery Pitcher For Dodgers in 50's, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
2. ^ Berger, Ralph. "Russ Meyer". Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
3. ^ 1953 pitching splits for Russ Meyer, Retrosheet
4. ^ Russ Meyer, Retrosheet
5. ^ "Player Profile: Chris Young 32 (2006 Career Highlights)". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2007.

## External links

[edit]

* Career statistics from MLB · Baseball Reference · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet
* Russ Meyer at Find a Grave

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Brooklyn Dodgers 1955 World Series champions

1 Pee Wee Reese
4 Duke Snider
6 Carl Furillo
8 George Shuba
10 Rube Walker
12 Frank Kellert
14 Gil Hodges
15 Sandy Amorós
17 Carl Erskine
19 Jim Gilliam
23 Don Zimmer
30 Billy Loes
32 Sandy Koufax
34 Russ Meyer
36 Don Newcombe
37 Ed Roebuck
39 Roy Campanella (NL MVP)
40 Roger Craig
41 Clem Labine
42 Jackie Robinson
43 Don Hoak
45 Johnny Podres (World Series MVP)
46 Don Bessent
48 Karl Spooner
54 Dixie Howell

Manager
24 Walter Alston

Coaches
22 Billy Herman
31 Jake Pitler
33 Joe Becker

Regular season
Dodgers–Yankees rivalry
Subway Series

* v
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Chicago Cubs Opening Day starting pitchers

* Vic Aldridge
* Grover Cleveland Alexander
* Bob Anderson
* Jake Arrieta
* Mike Bielecki
* Doug Bird
* Sheriff Blake
* Bill Bonham
* Hank Borowy
* George Bradley
* Jim Brosnan
* Clay Bryant
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* Jimmy Lavender
* Bill Lee
* Dutch Leonard
* Jon Lester
* Jon Lieber
* Pat Luby
* Carl Lundgren
* Greg Maddux
* George McConnell
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* Russ Meyer
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* Albert Spalding
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* Kevin Tapani
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Major League Baseball on CBS

Related programs|

* Major League Baseball Game of the Week (1955–1965; 1990–1993)
* Major League Baseball on CBS Radio (1927–1941; 1976–1997)
* Sunday Afternoon Baseball (1958–1965; 1990–1991)
* College World Series on CBS (1988–2002)
* The Franchise (2011–2012)

Related articles|

* World Series television ratings
* Television contracts
* 1940s
* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1990s

| 1964 season|

* Baltimore Orioles
* Chicago Cubs
* New York Yankees
* Philadelphia Phillies
* St. Louis Cardinals

|

CBS
TV stations|

* WJZ 13 (Baltimore Orioles, 1954)
* WBZ 4 (Boston Braves, 1948–1949; Boston Red Sox, 1948–1954)
* WCBS 2 (Brooklyn Dodgers, 1946–1949; New York Yankees, 2002–2004)
* KPIX 5 (Oakland Athletics, 1975–1981; 1985–1992)
* WPTZ 3 (later KYW) (Philadelphia Athletics, 1947–1954)
* KDKA 2 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1958–1995)

Sponsors|

* Falstaff Brewing Corporation

Commentators|

* All-Star Game
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* Prime time

World Series|

* 1947 (Games 3-4)
* 1948
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* 1950
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993

AL Championship|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993

NL Championship|

* 1990
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All-Star Game|

* 1949
* 1990
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* 1992
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Lore|

* 1951 National League tie-breaker series (Game 1)
* Nasty Boys (Cincinnati Reds) (1990)
* "And we'll see you tomorrow night!" (1991)
* "The Slide" (1992)
* Michael Jordan's first retirement (1993)
* "Touch 'em all Joe!" (1993)

Seasons|

| Early World Series coverage|

* 1947
* 1948
* 1949

|

Initial Game of the Week era|

* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965 (New York Yankees games only)

Exclusive network package|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993

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