George Fair
PositionSecond baseman
BatsUnknown
ThrowsUnknown
Birth dateJanuary 13, 1856
Birth placeBoston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death dateFebruary 12, 1939 (aged 83)
Death placeRoslindale, Massachusetts, U.S.
DebutleagueMLB
DebutdateJuly 29
Debutyear1876
DebutteamNew York Mutuals
FinalleagueMLB
FinaldateJuly 29
Finalyear1876
FinalteamNew York Mutuals
StatleagueMLB
Stat1labelGames played
Stat1value1
Stat2labelRuns scored
Stat2value0
Stat3labelHits
Stat3value0
Stat4labelBatting average
Stat4value.000
Teams

George T. Fair (January 13, 1856 – February 12, 1939) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman who played one game for the New York Mutuals in . 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 .[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.

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 to .[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

  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.