Robert William Meusel was born on July 19, 1896, in San Jose, California. He was the son of Charles F. Meusel, a teamster, and Mary Smith. The youngest of six children, Robert was raised in Los Angeles and followed his three older brothers into athletics. His brother Emil ("Irish") Meusel starred for the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Giants.
In 1916, Meusel graduated from Los Angeles High School.
From 1916, Robert started his baseball career on a semiprofessional team in Arizona. The following year he played on a minor-league ball team in Vernon, a Los Angeles suburb, in the Pacific Coast League. After batting . 311 as a part-timer in 1917, Meusel served in the United States Navy, where he sharpened his baseball skills by playing for navy squads against major league teams. He returned to Vernon for the 1919 season and his . 337 batting average earned him a contract with the New York Yankees in 1920. Tall and rangy at six feet, three inches and 190 pounds (hence his nickname "Long Bob"), Meusel played briefly at third base before shifting to the outfield midway through his rookie season. With eleven home runs, his slugging prowess and powerful throwing arm garnered praise, yet his performance was overshadowed by Babe Ruth's initial season in Yankee pinstripes. Ruth's fifty-four home runs surpassed the output by each of the major league's other fifteen franchises except for the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1921, Meusel emerged as a star, batting . 318, tying for second in the American League in home runs (24), and finishing third in runs batted in (135). He also placed third in total bases (334) and first in outfield assists (28) as the Yankees won their first pennant in team history. That October, he played against his brother Emil, then a star outfielder for the New York Giants, in the 1921 World Series. Following the Yankees' defeat, Meusel joined his friend Babe Ruth on an unsanctioned barnstorming tour. As a result, Baseball Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended both men for the first thirty-eight days of the 1922 season. Despite a lifetime batting average of . 309 that included five years with more than 100 RBIs, Meusel's languid style left fans questioning his desire and hustle.
During a game against Detroit in 1924, Meusel precipitated one of the worst brawls in the annals of the game. In the top of the ninth inning, the Yanks were comfortably ahead of the Tigers 10-6 when the Detroit hurler Bert Cole threw several pitches that nearly beaned batter Babe Ruth. When Meusel, following Ruth in the lineup, was struck in the back by a Cole fastball he charged the pitcher and swung wildly at him. The confrontation escalated when Tigers manager Ty Cobb ran in from his center-field position and Babe Ruth ran toward him. Soon, players from both teams and most of the 18, 000 fans in attendance had rushed the field and were embroiled in fights. Policemen came onto the field, but they proved no match for the fighters. The umpires could only declare the game forfeited to the Yankees. Meusel and Cole were suspended for ten days and fined for their roles in the riot; Ruth was also fined $50. Ironically, Meusel enjoyed his greatest individual success on the 1925 Yankees squad that finished an ignominious seventh out of eight teams in the American League. Babe Ruth missed much of the season as a result of his infamous "bellyache, " and Meusel led all American League batters with 33 home runs and 138 RBIs. Following a mediocre . 261 average in the 1929 season, the Yankees sold Meusel's contract to the Cincinnati Reds in the National League, where he closed out his major league career in 1930. He played the following two years in the minor leagues at Minneapolis and Hollywood. After retiring from the game, Meusel worked for fifteen years as a security guard at the United States Navy base at Terminal Island, Calif. , and lived in nearby Redondo Beach. He died in Downey, Calif. , where he lived with his wife and daughter.
A key member of the Yankees' "Murderers' Row" that terrorized pitchers throughout the 1920's, Meusel hit for the cycle three times in his career (an American League record), belted more than 40 doubles in five different seasons, and knocked in 1, 005 runs during his ten-year Yankee career. His . 311 overall batting average with New York ranked sixth in team history and he stood in the top ten in team doubles, triples, and RBIs. A smart base runner, Meusel led the Yanks in stolen bases five times and finished second in the American League with 26 stolen bases in 1924 and 24 in 1927. He stole home twice during World Series games, once in 1921 and again in 1928. Yet Meusel did not excel in World Series play for the Yankees, who were pennant winners six times between 1921 and 1928. Although he led Yankee batters with a . 300 average in the 1922 World Series, he batted only . 225 with one home run over his thirty-four World Series games. His muff of a fly ball in the decisive seventh game of the 1926 World Series propelled the St. Louis Cardinals to a 3-2 triumph and the championship. Meusel was considered for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame by its Veterans Committee in 1982, but the committee instead selected former commissioner Happy Chandler and former Giants shortstop Travis Jackson in its balloting.
Meusel undermined his tremendous physical skills with a surly attitude that exasperated fans, Yankees management, and the press. Longtime Yankees manager Miller Huggins criticized Meusel's attitude as "one of just plain indifference. " Although few players of his generation matched his batting power, strong throwing arm, and running speed, Meusel never satisfied those who felt his talents should have produced greater results.
Meusel's throwing arm has been regarded as the strongest in major league history by national magazines and baseball experts like Casey Stengel. Indeed, after Meusel led the American League in outfield assists in his first two complete seasons in the outfield, opposing runners rarely tested his arm. Yet his throwing talents did not appease critics who felt he did not hustle after balls hit to his post in left field. A quiet man both on and off the diamond, Meusel did not enjoy a good working relationship with the New York press until late in his career.
He was quiet and reserved, rarely giving newspaper interviews until his career was winding down. He was also known for his lazy attitude, such as refusing to run out ground balls, which many said kept him from achieving greatness.
Quotes from others about the person
Famed sportswriter Frank Graham described Meusel's character when he said, "He's learning to say hello when it's time to say goodbye. "
Harvey Frommer described Meusel: "Meusel was a heavy drinker and womanizer who did not get along with his teammates. His manager Miller Huggins called him "indifferent".
On December 14, 1921, Meusel married Edith Cowan; they had two children.
