Jack Meyer

John Robert Meyer (March 23, 1932 – March 6, 1967) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher, who appeared in all or parts of seven Major League (MLB) seasons (1955–1961) with the Philadelphia Phillies.^[1]

Born in Philadelphia, Meyer came from a '"well-to-do New Jersey family,"^[2] was educated at the exclusive William Penn Charter School, and attended the University of Delaware and Wake Forest University. During his playing days, he was listed at 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall, weighing 175 pounds (79 kg).

Meyer signed with the Phillies in 1951^[1] and steadily rose through their farm system, winning 15 games for the 1954 Syracuse Chiefs of the Triple-A International League (IL).^[3] His most successful MLB season was his 1955 rookie campaign, when he led the National League (NL) in both saves (16) and games finished (36),^[4] while fanning 97 batters in 1101⁄3 innings pitched.^[1] Meyer also made five starts, and wound up finishing second to Bill Virdon in NL Rookie-of-the-Year Award balloting.^[1] However, Meyer’s effectiveness then began to fade and he spent part of 1957 back in Triple-A.^[3]

Meyer rebounded to post respectable seasons in both 1958 and 1959, largely in middle relief, but his career was negatively affected by his growing reputation as a drinker and late-night carouser. Nicknamed "The Bird," he was a member — along with fellow pitchers Turk Farrell and Jim Owens — of the so-called "Dalton Gang", who received notoriety around baseball for multiple, and well-publicized, off-field incidents.^[2]

Meyer went on the disabled list with a herniated disk and was fined $1,200 (nine percent of his salary)^[2] after a bout of post-game drinking in Pittsburgh in May 1960. The evening ended with Meyer confronting two sportswriters and Phillies' broadcaster Byrum Saam, then fighting with Farrell and several teammates.^[2] Meyer's resulting back injury caused him to miss the remainder of the 1960 season.^[5] He only pitched in one more game, in 1961: a relief appearance in which he surrendered two earned runs in two innings pitched against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 30,^[6] before leaving baseball.^[1]

For his MLB career, Meyer compiled a 24–34 record, with 21 saves and four complete games, in 202 appearances, 178 of them as a relief pitcher, with a 3.92 earned run average (ERA), and 375 strikeouts. In 455 career innings pitched, he allowed 385 hits and 244 bases on balls.^[1]

Meyer suffered a heart attack while watching a basketball game on television and died on March 6, 1967, at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Only 34 years old, he had a history of heart problems. Meyer left a wife and three children.

His nephew, Brian Meyer, pitched briefly in MLB, for the Houston Astros, from 1988 to 1990.^[7]

• List of Major League Baseball annual saves leaders

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
• Jack Meyer at Find a Grave