George Pierce

Note: This page is for 1884 infielder George Pierce; for the 1910s pitcher more commonly known as George Pearce, click here.

George F. Pierce

• Bats Unknown, Throws Unknown

• Debut April 23, 1884
• Final Game April 24, 1884
• Born July 1858 in Baltimore, MD USA
• Died February 5, 1926 in Galveston, TX USA

BR page

Biographical Information

George Pierce played two games as a third baseman for the Washington Nationals of the Union Association in 1884. It was a team that had a particularly fluid roster, with loads of players appearing for only one or two games, making it a challenge for later-day researchers to identify who exactly took the field for them.

In the case of Pierce, he was long identified as Preston Maurice Pierce, who was a local amateur ballplayer in Washington, DC at the time. However, it was clearly someone else, as contemporary coverage of the team in newspapers say that he was from Baltimore, MD and had been brought over for a trial alongside James Lehan, who did not last much longer, in late April. SABR researchers thought that he might be one George Pierce, who joined a team in York, PA immediately after his games with Washington. That player was known to have been from Baltimore and a positive identification was made when researcher Justin McKinney found a later article mentioning his full name.

Further Reading

• "Pierce", in Bill Carle, ed.: "Biographical Research Committee Report", SABR, May/June 2017, pp. 4-5.
• "Could It Be George?", in Bill Carle, ed.: "Biographical Research Committee Report", SABR, January/February 2023, p. 2.
• "George Pierce, in Bill Carle, ed.: "Biographical Research Committee Report", SABR, May/June 2023, p. 1.