Heine Meine

Henry William "Heine" Meine (May 1, 1896 – March 18, 1968), sometimes "Heinie" Meine, was a professional baseball player. Meine was a right-handed pitcher who played for the St. Louis Browns in 1922 and for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1929 to 1934. He was given the nickname "The Count of Luxemburg" on account of his operating a speakeasy/tavern in the Luxemburg section of St. Louis. He led the National League in wins and innings pitched in 1931 and compiled a 66–50 record in seven seasons of Major League Baseball.

Born to parents of German descent and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Meine served in the United States Army during World War I. After a tip that Meine, who was playing semipro ball in 1920, threw "a good spitball", he was signed to play professional baseball for Beaumont in the Texas League. Meine made his professional baseball debut in 1921 at age 25. He entered professional baseball the same year that the spitball, Meine's mainstay, was outlawed. Interviewed in 1963, Meine recalled:

After the Carl Mays–Ray Chapman accident in 1920, baseball outlawed all freak pitches and trick deliveries. I had one break. Either the news was slow in reaching Texas or they didn't care what the rest of the world did. The spitball was still a legal pitch in the Texas League in 1921. I could use it, but I knew if I wanted to go to the majors I'd have to change over completely.

In the years that followed, Meine was forced to develop new pitches. He became a control pitcher who did not pitch with great velocity, but could hit his spots. Some referred to him as a "junk man" or a "junkballer."

In 1922, Meine was sold to the St. Louis Browns but he appeared in only one game for the club, pitching four innings in relief. After the 1922 season, Meine spent three years in the minor leagues, pitching for the Syracuse Stars and Kansas City Blues. In 1926, he compiled a 17–14 record with a 3.27 ERA. Despite the 17-win season, Meine quit baseball after the 1926 season. He recalled, "It didn't look like I was going up, and I just retired. I had other income and didn't have to play baseball."

Meine owned a speakeasy in the St. Louis area. Sportswriter Red Smith recalled spending a few hours there as a young reporter and later wrote: "Heinie's store was genteel in a knock-down-drag-out way, and the specialty of the house in those prohibition days was a brand of Moose Milk that would peel the paint off a battleship." He was known through his career "The Count of Luxemburg," because he lived and operated his tavern in the unincorporated area south of St. Louis that was known as Luxemburg. When Pittsburgh outfielder Paul Waner showed up smelling of liquor and with eyes squinting for a 1932 game at Sportsman's Park in St Louis, the Cardinals' manager asked if Waner had a rough night. Waner replied, "Rough night? What a host that Meine is." In 1930, with Prohibition still in effect, one newspaper account reported that Meine owned "a soft drink parlor" in St. Louis. St. Louis sportswriter Bob Broeg noted that Meine's tavern was known for its "gemütlichkeit."

Meine later recalled that the patrons at his drinking establishment motivated him to return to baseball: "In 1928, some of the boys in the tavern kept riding me, saying that I could win in semipro ball and in the minors, but never in the majors. So I rejoined Kansas City for part of the season and was up with Pittsburgh in '29." Meine compiled a 7–4 record for the Kansas City Blues in 1928. In 1929, he signed with the Pirates at age 33. He appeared in 22 games, 13 as a starter, for the 1929 Pirates, compiling a 7–6 record.

A throat condition limited Meine's playing time during the 1930 season. He had been scheduled to pitch the season opener, but was unable to play due to an attack of tonsillitis. He did not appear in a game for the Pirates until May 5, when he gave up three runs in relief against the New York Giants. He left the team in mid-August due to illness, and was "placed on the voluntary retired list." In December 1930, it was determined that his tonsils had caused his illness, and he had them removed. Having been placed on the retired list, Meine was required to apply to Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis seeking reinstatement. A total of 12 Pirates players, including future Hall of Famers Pie Traynor, Paul Waner, and Lloyd Waner, also had their tonsils removed. An Associated Press story in January 1931 noted: "The Pittsburgh Pirates think the reason they didn't finish higher in the National League race last season was because their tonsils were not so good. And if they're right, the boys point out, they should be one of the healthiest teams in the land this year."