Billy Meyer
| Billy Meyer | |||
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| Catcher / Manager | |||
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Born: January 14, 1893 Knoxville, Tennessee |
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Died: March 31, 1957 (aged 64) Knoxville, Tennessee |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 6, 1913, for the Chicago White Sox | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 18, 1917, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .236 | ||
| Home runs | 1 | ||
| Runs batted in | 21 | ||
| Games managed | 774 | ||
| Win–loss record | 317-452 | ||
| Winning % | .412 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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William Adam Meyer (January 14, 1893 – March 31, 1957) was an American baseball player and manager. He holds the dubious distinction as having played for, and managed, two of the worst teams in the history of Major League Baseball.
A catcher who spent most of his playing career in the minor leagues, Meyer broke into the majors with the 1913 Chicago White Sox, but played only one game. Three years later, in 1916, he returned to the American League with the Philadelphia Athletics; he appeared in 50 games for a squad that won only 36 games and lost 117. (The following year, he played in 62 games for an A's club that improved by 19 games, but still posted a poor 55-98 mark.)
Then, a generation-and-a-half later, Meyer piloted the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates to the third-worst record in modern National League history, the Bucs winning only 42 of 154 games.
Meyer was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, to William and Carrie Meyer. His father was born in Baden, Germany, came to the United States at age 16 and operated a brewery. He eventually married his neighbor and classmate from grade school, Madelon Warters. He started playing baseball in grade school when his father bought him a catcher's glove to catch his older brother. His hero was catcher Johnny Kling. He was a good student until high school when baseball became such a primary focus that it even resulted in a school suspension. His father operated a brewery in Smithton, Pennsylvania, for a time and the younger Meyer worked there during vacation. During his sophomore year of high school, Billy Meyer was offered $75 per month to catch for a Lakeland, Florida, team, but he was expected to inherit the brewery so his father resisted the idea. He went regardless, and played so well that a Sanford, Florida, team offered him $175 per month to play for them. He caught for other Florida teams and finally hit a championship-winning home run for Gainesville, Florida. When he returned to Tennessee with $250, his father never protested against baseball again.
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