John Tortes "Chief" Meyers: A Baseball Biography

by William A. Young

One of major league baseball's first Native American stars, John Tortes "Chief" Meyers (1880-1971) was the hard-hitting, award-winning catcher for John McGraw's New York Giants from 1908 to 1915 and later for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He appeared in four World Series and remains heralded for his role as the trusted battery mate of legendary pitcher Christy Mathewson. Unlike other Native American players who eschewed their tribal identities to escape prejudice, Meyers--a member of the Santa Rosa Band of the Cahuilla Tribe of California--remained proud of his heritage and became a tribal leader after his major league career. This first full biography explores John Tortes Meyers's Cahuilla roots and early life, his year at Dartmouth College, his outstanding baseball career, his life after baseball, and his remarkable legacy.

257 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Dani Shuping · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many baseball (and non baseball fans) are aware of the difficulty that black ball players had breaking into the big leagues. But how many are familiar with the story of Native American ballplayers? I would guess rather few...I didn't become aware of their story into college when a librarian, who was researching the history of a local team, began telling me stories about these early ballplayers. And this book reminds me of some of those stories.

William Young provides the reader with a wealth of information, not just on John Meyers career in baseball, but helping us set his story into the historical perspective. He provides information on Meyer's tribe, the Cahuilla, and historical accounts on the prejudices and troubles that tribes had during that time period to give the reader a greater perspective on the accomplishment of Meyers. Young brings Meyers to life, helping us to understand his wit and character, and the stories that Meyers told through his life. Meyers is a player that caught for two of the greatest pitchers ever in Christy Mathewson's and Walter "Big Train" Johnson, played for the legendary John McGraw.

Overall this is a fantastic look at a catcher and ball player who has gotten lost amongst today's stars. young does an excellent job of bringing Meyers character and sense of humor to life.

ARC provided by LibraryThing

[Exapno Mapcase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the primary focus is on Meyer’s baseball career, it is a wonderful biography of a wonderful ballplayer, who never let the inherent racism of the day get to him. Meyers was an all-star catcher who appeared in four World Series, three for the Giants and one for the Robins (Dodgers.) There is a nice chronicle of his later activism with Native American affairs, and his lasting legacy in baseball.

Free review copy.

[Robert Morrow · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a sociological treatise than a baseball book. Lacks a strong narrative and the author repeats his main points about the difficulty of assimilation ad infinitum. The main character is often a bystander in the story, which is primarily used to prove a hypothesis.