This 6’5″ 225-lb catcher was reportedly a man of gentle disposition – when sober. He left behind a trail of barroom brawls, the last of which ended when he was shot to death at age 39 by an alarmed Boston saloonkeeper.
McLean played eight seasons with Cincinnati and went 6-for-12 for the Giants in the 1913 World Series. He left the majors in the wake of a drunken encounter with New York manager John McGraw. McGraw and his coaches were sitting outside a St. Louis hotel when McLean staggered up and challenged them to a fight. Scout Dick Kinsella broke a chair over McLean’s head, and McGraw cut the catcher from the team.
