Featured Panoramic Photo Above:
Scene from the 1960 World Series
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Irish and Bob Meusel Photo Gallery
Mark Kolier returns today with an interesting essay about the two Meusel brothers, Irish (Emil) and Bob. Younger brother “Long Bob” had a near-Hall-of-Fame career and is the better known due to being a part of the 1927 Yankees’ Murders’ Row. But older brother Irish had a fine career too, as you’ll soon see. –GL
Bob and Irish Meusel –
A baseball family affair
The brothers played on opposing teams in 3 consecutive World Series
HOFer Stan the Man Musial retired in 1963, so I never got to see him play. Over the years I’ve read about Bob Meusel and Irish Meusel and I was a bit confused as to whether they were the same person. I mean “Irish” couldn’t have been his real name, right? Musial and Meusel are pronounced similarly adding to my confusion of how many there were. It was time for me to unravel it.
From Oakland to Los Angeles
The Polo Grounds was where it was ‘at’!
The Giants under manager John McGraw were a powerhouse and defeated the Yankees in the 1921 World Series, which was held entirely at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan. That’s because Yankee Stadium was being built across the river in the Bronx and would not open until 1923. Babe Ruth, who joined the Bronx Bombers in 1920 from the Boston Red Sox, hit a record 59 home runs in 1921 taking advantage of the short right field porch (258 feet from home plate) in the Polo Grounds. Yankee Stadium, the “House that Ruth Built” was configured similarly to the Polo Grounds intentionally to take advantage of the hitting skills of the Bambino.
Emil “Irish” Meusel debuted at age 21 with the Washington Nationals/Senators in 1914. He played one game notching two plate appearances and then did not appear in another MLB game until 1918 for the Phillies. Irish was traded to the New York Giants during the 1921 season and helped them secure the NL pennant. His kid brother Bob, like Babe Ruth, also joined the Yankees in 1920 at age 23, contributing to the team immediately.
The Meusels were not Irish, as their grandparents were born in Germany. Emil looked Irish enough to be given that as his nickname. A different time to be sure.
As their best player, Irish was named captain of the 1921 Phillies who were a bad team toiling in last place in the NL. John McGraw wanted Irish for the pennant drive and the Giants essentially bought him from the Phillies in a deal that raised much consternation since the Giants were thought to be buying a pennant. It turned out that was the case! Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was preoccupied with the Black Sox scandal and later told a sportswriter that he wouldn’t have sanctioned the trade if he’d known the inside details.
Brother Bob, sometimes known as “Silent Bob” because he did not say much, or “Long Bob” since he was 6’3” tall and lean, had a terrific 1921 season for the Yankees and the two teams met in the World Series for the first of three consecutive meetings in the Fall Classic. The older brother ruled in 1921 and 1922 as the Giants won in eight games (5-3) in 1921 and in a sweep in 1922. Irish had an excellent 1921 series with 10 hits batting .345 and hit .250 in the 1922 series romp.
From a SABR bio on Irish:
Their families during that time lived in the same apartment building in New York. The brothers had somewhat similar career statistics. For example, they both played eleven years, with one batting .310 and the other .309. They were the first siblings to combine for fifty home runs in the same season (1925). They were also the only brothers who both won RBI titles.
“Bob’s family and my family lived in the same apartment building in New York. We’d go home after each Series game in 1921, ’22 and ’23 and we’d sit down and re-hash the games. The guy whose team had won that day would have himself a good time bragging and the loser would have to stand for some ribbing. Bob and I had some good times.”
Two brothers, living in the same building near their parents and discussing the day’s World Series contest in which they both played, just tickles me to no end!
The Yankees in the first season at Yankee Stadium finally vanquished the Giants in the 1923 World Series in six games. The Giants would reach and lose the 1924 World Series to Walter Johnson’s Nationals, and they would not return to the Fall Classic until winning in 1933 after both Meusels were retired.
After their careers were over
Irish Meusel spent 18 years in professional baseball including coaching a bit after his playing days were over. He passed away at age 69 in 1963 – the same year that Stan Musial retired. During his playing career, Bob Meusel was suspended for barnstorming for more than 20 games of the 1922 season before being reinstated in May of that year. Bob’s SABR bio is worth reading as well. Bob also had cameo appearances in a couple of movies about baseball. He passed away in 1977 at the age of 81.
The playing careers of Irish and Bob Meusel were remarkably similar. Irish had the higher career OPS+ at 119 to 118, and slightly higher career batting average .310 to .309., but his little brother beat him out in virtually every other statistical category. But not by much.
Mark Kolier
About the Author: Mark Kolier along with his son Gordon co-hosts a baseball podcast called ‘Almost Cooperstown’ where this article was published. He also has written baseball-related articles that can be accessed on Medium and Substack
We’d love to hear what you think about this or any other related baseball history topic…please leave comments below.
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Gary,
Based on the background buildings in the picture, that looks like the Polo Grounds.
One team looks like the Pirates based on the uniform sleeves.
With bunting all around, it is probably Opening Day. So, it is either the old NY Giants or the “new” New York Mets, who used the Polo Grounds for two years before moving into the new Shea Stadium.
Haha! You beat me to it before I updated the title. That’s the 1960 World Series at Forbes Field.
Shows you what I know..😆
Would not have guessed Forbes Field.
Great story on the Meusel brothers. They both were fine players. Usually, when bothers make the Majors one generally outshines the other. Ths was not the case here. The World Series pic is either game one or two, the only times Smokey Burgess batted with Roberto Clements on first. It could also be Game Two when Rocky Nelson batted with Clenente on first, but the stature of the batter looks like Smokey to me, although a little thinner compared to later years. The first baseman is Bill Skowron. The Yankee catcher is either Elston Howard (Game Two) or Yog Berra (Game One). The Pirate coach is Mickey Vernon. The umpires are Game one Dusty Boggess HP and Johnny Stevens 1B, Game two, Johnny Stevens HP, Bill Jackowski 1B. Thanks to Retrosheet.
Thanks Kevin…that’s pretty much what I got out of that 1960 photo, too. I had Clemente, Skowron at first, and I also thought that batter was Smokey Burgess rather than Rocky Nelson (looking at stature), and Mickey Vernon coaching first. I used the box score from Baseball Reference.
Notice the poor grass and infield in the pic. The Pirates infield at Forbes Field was notorious for its bad surface as Yankees Tony Kubek would discover in Game 7. Also interesting in the pic, the photographer circles so close to the infield and batter.