Chief Meyers
John Tortes "Chief" Meyers (July 29, 1880 – July 25, 1971) was a Major League Baseball catcher for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, and Brooklyn Robins from 1909 to 1917. He played on the early Giants teams under manager John McGraw and was the primary catcher for Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson. Meyers hit over .300 for three straight years as the Giants won three straight National League pennants from 1911 to 1913. Overall, he played in four World Series – the 1911, 1912, and 1913 Series with the Giants, as well as the 1916 Series with the Robins. Meyers was a Native American from the Cahuilla culture of California, and he was educated at Dartmouth College. Early years Meyers was born to John Meyer and Felicite Meyer, a Cahuilla Indian, in Riverside, California. At the age of seven, his father died; John Meyers continued to live in Riverside, and attended Riverside High School. Meyers was playing baseball in a 1905 summer tournament when Ralph Glaze, a former pitcher, noticed his talent and convinced Dartmouth alumni to provide Meyers with cash, railroad tickets, and a doctored high school diploma. Meyers had not graduated, but the fake diploma got him into Dartmouth. While attending classes and playing baseball, Dartmouth discovered that his diploma was forged. Not wanting to complete a special program to be reinstated into Dartmouth, Meyers signed a baseball contract with an independent league. New York Giants After playing a couple years in various leagues, Meyers was a rookie with the New York Giants in 1908, at age 28. Meyers and the Giants lost the pennant that year due to "Merkle's Boner." The following year, the Giants traded away Roger Bresnahan, the best catcher in the league, to the St. Louis Cardinals, which gave the young catcher an opportunity to display his talent, and Meyers didn't disappoint. In 1910, Meyers was hitting .285 making a name for himself throughout the league. Meyers was big and strong, and like the majority of other catchers, wasn't blessed with speed. He hit for power and average. Meyers led the Giants in batting for three consecutive seasons. He was a student of the game, predicting pitchers' pitches and location. Facing elimination against the Athletics in Game 6 of the 1911 World Series, Meyers' Giants trailed 6–1 entering the bottom of the seventh in Philadelphia. After Chief Bender opened the frame with a flyout, two singles and an error by first baseman Fred Merkle fielding a throw on a sacrifice bunt made the score 7–1. Two consecutive singles would score two further runs, then with runners at the corners, Harry Davis hit a 2–1 pitch into right-center to make it 10–1. Continuing the rally, Jack Barry hit a ground rule double into the right field crowd scoring another run and putting runners at second and third, which finally convinced John McGraw to replace his pitcher, Hooks Wiltse, having given up 7 earned runs over innings. Future Hall of Famer Rube Marquard, who had