Robert Phillip Maier (September 5, 1915 – August 4, 1993) was a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player from 1937 to 1945. He played one season in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

during their 1945 World Series championship season. Maier was born in

Dunellen, New Jersey Dunellen () is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located within the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,637, reflecting an increase of 410 (+5.4%) from the 7, ...

, in 1915. He played minor league baseball from 1937 to 1944, including four years with the Salisbury Cardinals in the

Eastern Shore League The Eastern Shore Baseball League was a class D minor league baseball league that operated on the Delmarva Peninsula for parts of three different decades. The league's first season was in 1922 and the last was in 1949, although the years were no ...

(1938–1941), two years with the

Hagerstown Owls The Hagerstown Owls were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland, United States. The team played in the Inter-State League (1941–1952) and the Piedmont League (1953–1955). Their home games were played in Municipal Sta ...

in the

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

(1942–1943), and one year with the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. In 1943, he set an Interstate League single season record with 52 doubles. The 52 doubles were also a high for all of professional baseball in 1943. Maier played only one season in the big leagues, but he spent that season on a championship team. Maier played in 132 games for the 1945 Detroit Tigers, batting .263 in 486 at bats with 58 runs, 34 RBIs, 25 doubles, 7 triples, and 7 stolen bases. He was one of three Tigers with ten at bats in a 24-inning, 1–1 tie with the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

that season. The game remains as the longest in Detroit Tigers history. Though he was the starting

during the regular season, the starting job went to

Jimmy Outlaw James Paulus Outlaw (January 20, 1913 – April 9, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. He played all or part of 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and third baseman for the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Bees, and ...

in the

1945 World Series The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. T ...

, as Outlaw moved from the outfield to third base to make room for

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...

who had returned from military service late in the season. Maier appeared in Game 6 of the World Series as a pinch hitter for catcher Paul Richards. His one at bat in the World Series proved to be his last in professional baseball, and he hit a single off

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

pitcher

Claude Passeau Claude William Passeau (April 9, 1909 – August 30, 2003) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1935 through 1947, Passeau played with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1935), Philadelphia Phillies (1936–39) and Chicago Cu ...

for a lifetime batting average of 1.000 in the postseason. Maier was replaced as the Tigers starting third baseman in

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

by future Hall of Famer

George Kell George Clyde Kell (August 23, 1922 – March 24, 2009) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman who played 15 seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics (1943–1946), Detroit Tigers (1947–1952), Boston Red Sox (1952–1954), Chicago W ...

. Maier died in 1993 in

South Plainfield, New Jersey South Plainfield is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located in the heart of the Raritan River, Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the bo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maier, Bob 1915 births 1993 deaths Hagerstown Owls players Minor league baseball managers Detroit Tigers players Major League Baseball third basemen Baseball players from New Jersey People from Dunellen, New Jersey

Further reading

References