Heinie Meine
| Heine Meine | |||
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| Pitcher | |||
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Born: May 1, 1896 St. Louis, Missouri |
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Died: March 18, 1968 (aged 71) St. Louis, Missouri |
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| MLB debut | |||
| August 16, 1922, for the St. Louis Browns | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 18, 1934, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 66–50 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.95 | ||
| Strikeouts | 199 | ||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Henry William "Heine" Meine (May 1, 1896 – March 18, 1968), sometimes "Heinie" Meine, was a professional baseball player. Meine was a right-handed pitcher who played for the St. Louis Browns in 1922 and for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1929 to 1934. He was given the nickname "The Count of Luxemburg" on account of his operating a speakeasy/tavern in the Luxemburg section of St. Louis. He led the National League in wins and innings pitched in 1931 and compiled a 66–50 record in seven seasons of Major League Baseball.
Born to parents of German descent and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Meine served in the United States Army during World War I. After a tip that Meine, who was playing semipro ball in 1920, threw "a good spitball", he was signed to play professional baseball for Beaumont in the Texas League. Meine made his professional baseball debut in 1921 at age 25. He entered professional baseball the same year that the spitball, Meine's mainstay, was outlawed. Interviewed in 1963, Meine recalled:
"After the Carl Mays–Ray Chapman accident in 1920, baseball outlawed all freak pitches and trick deliveries. I had one break. Either the news was slow in reaching Texas or they didn't care what the rest of the world did. The spitball was still a legal pitch in the Texas League in 1921. I could use it, but I knew if I wanted to go to the majors I'd have to change over completely."
In the years that followed, Meine was forced to develop new pitches. He became a control pitcher who did not pitch with great velocity, but could hit his spots. Some referred to him as a "junk man" or a "junkballer."
In 1922, Meine was sold to the St. Louis Browns but he appeared in only one game for the club, pitching four innings in relief. After the 1922 season, Meine spent three years in the minor leagues, pitching for the Syracuse Stars and Kansas City Blues. In 1926, he compiled a 17–14 record with a 3.27 ERA. Despite the 17-win season, Meine quit baseball after the 1926 season. He recalled, "It didn't look like I was going up, and I just retired. I had other income and didn't have to play baseball."
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