Meet the MLB brothers who did what the Kelces will do in the Super Bowl
By Bill Felber
1921-23: The Meusels
The early 1920s were a heyday of brother-versus-brother warfare. One year after the Johnstons met, brothers Emil and Bob Meusel took the field for the first of three consecutive October meetings.
Emil, known as Irish, was the older brother, a 28-year-old obtained by John McGraw’s Giants from the Phillies in mid-season. A native of Oakland, Emil had batted .329 for McGraw.
Younger brother Bob was an outfielder in his second full season with the Miller Huggins-led Yankees. At 6-foot-3, Bob towered over most players including 5-foot-11 Emil, leading to his nickname, Long Bob. He could have been called that for his pop with the bat, too; in that second season Bob — hitting behind Babe Ruth in the New York order — batted .318 with 24 home runs and 138 RBI.
The 1921 World Series was closely contested, Emil’s Giants defeating Bob’s Yankees five games to three. Emil batted .345 and drove in seven runs; Bob hit just .200.
One year later, their teams qualified for a World Series re-run. But the outcome was the same, Emil’s Giants this time winning 4-0 with one tie. Big brother Emil batted .250 and drove in seven runs, but this time Bob at least had the better of the fraternal fight. He hit .300 although with just two RBIs.
The 1923 World Series marked the fourth straight year that brothers contested the title, and the third straight year that it was the Meusel bothers doing so. This time Bob’s Yankees had the upper hand, winning in six games.
Bob was a clutch force for the Yankees, driving in eight runs In the top of the eighth inning of the final game, his base hit drove home three runs and capped a 5-run rally that gave the Yanks a 6-4 win and the championship.
Emil had to content himself with a sixth inning run-producing base hit that padded the GIants’ ill-fated lead to 4-1.
Bob went on to star for several more seasons in New York, including as a prominent part of the famed 1927 Murderer’s Row. He died in 1977 at age 81. Emil retired in 1927 and died in 1963.