George Meister

George F. Meister

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown

• Debut August 15, 1884
• Final Game October 15, 1884
• Born January 29, 1853 in Baltimore, MD USA
• Died December 27, 1928 in Pittsburgh, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

The 1884 Toledo Blue Stockings used Ed Brown at third base for the first part of the season, and George Meister at third base during the last part of the season. In between they used a couple of other guys as well in a few games, and none of the four hit over .201.

Meister was unmarried at the time he was a player and worked as a public school director while not playing ball. He lived in Allegheny, PA. His personal information which is listed in the Baseball Encyclopedia, which has him born in Germany in 1864 and emigrating to the United States in 1883, is obviously wrong. The real George Meister continued to live around Pittsburgh, PA, where he became a cigar maker. The 1900 census lists both of his parents as being born in Germany, and himself as born in Maryland in 1854 . He last appears in the Pittsburgh city directory in 1923, so it was likely that he died around there shortly after that date. When the Pennsylvania death index was finally made public in late 2011, it was possible to confirm that he had indeed passed away in Pittsburgh in 1928; his death certificate, which was located based on this information, provided his correct birth details.

Further Reading

• "Mister Meister is our Mystery", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, July/August, 2010, p. 5.