George Fair

Summary

George T. Fair (January 13, 1856 – February 12, 1939) was a Major League Baseball second baseman who played one game for the New York Mutuals in 1876. The twenty-year-old Fair failed to get a hit in four at-bats in his lone big-league contest on July 29,[1] then was dropped by the club. Subsequently, he played for the Rhode Islands of the New England League, making his last professional baseball appearance in 1877.[2] Born in Boston, Fair died in Roslindale, Massachusetts in 1939 at the age of 83.[3][4] At the time of his death, Fair was the last living member of the Mutuals National League franchise, which was expelled from the NL after the 1876 season.

George Fair
Second Baseman
Born: (1856-01-13)January 13, 1856
Boston, Massachusetts
Died: February 12, 1939(1939-02-12) (aged 83)
Roslindale, Massachusetts
Batted: Unknown
Threw: Unknown
MLB debut
July 29, 1876, for the New York Mutuals
Last MLB appearance
July 29, 1876, for the New York Mutuals
MLB statistics
Games played1
Runs scored0
Hits0
Batting average.000
Teams

The first baseball encyclopedia, Hy Turkin and S. C. Thompson's Complete Encyclopedia of Baseball (first published in 1951), did not list Fair. Instead, his brief accomplishments were credited to Edward L. Thayer; [5] coincidentally, a player named Edward Thayer played in the minor leagues from 1885 to 1892.[6] Later references rectified this error, and Fair was given his rightful place in baseball history. (Whoever came up with Fair's pseudonym may have been thinking of the real Edward Thayer, or perhaps Ernest Thayer, author of the famous baseball poem Casey at the Bat.)

References edit

  1. ^ According to a story in the Chicago Tribune, "Thayer" (described as being "of the Live Oaks club", presumably the team that played in Lynn, Massachusetts) batted sixth and recorded two putouts, four assists and an error in the field.
  2. ^ "George Fair Career Stats, Leagues, Statistics, & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  3. ^ "George Fair Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  4. ^ "George Fair". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  5. ^ Turkin, Hy; Thompson, S. C. (1956). The Official Encyclopedia of Baseball. New York City: A. S. Barnes & Company. LCCN 56-5560.
  6. ^ "Edward Thayer Independent & Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 27 June 2021.

External links edit

  • Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet