Updated 2014

Bottom of the seventh. Two outs. Two strikes. Another strike and Vince Meyer, known as Mr. Meyer to the legion of Bancroft St. John youngsters he coached, would have his coveted state high school summer baseball title. "At that point, I asked God for one more strike," Meyer recalled later. "He said,'Vince, I've been giving you strikes for 46 years.' "History can be cruel, even to legends. It was in Marshalltown, on that August day in 1980, when temperatures reached 100 but the third strike never came. Kee High School of Lansing tied the score in the seventh inning and won the state Class 1-A title, 4-3, in 13 innings. The innocence of youth can heal heartbreak in a hurry. But a dozen years after the loss, it remains a pesky reminder of what could have been. "Other than family members dying, that is probably the hardest thing I've ever gone through," said Mark Wesselman, who was on the field that day.

Why does it still hurt? It goes deeper than missing out on a state title. It hurts because Mark Wesselman and the hundreds of others who donned St. John uniforms thought the world of Vince Meyer. It was that unwavering respect for Mr. Meyer that makes the outcome of that game so hard to accept. "He taught me how to be a man," Wesselman said. "He Meyer Unforgettable taught us how to win gracefully and lose gracefully. I couldn't even imagine playing for someone else."

Today, Meyer becomes the 131st inductee into The Des Moines Sunday Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame. Meyer died of a heart condition on Oct. 22, 1981, less than three months after retiring. He was 69 years old. Meyer was sidelined for six weeks in 1973 because of a heart attack, and he battled poor health for the rest of his life. His great love of teaching youngsters the game of baseball enabled him to live above his handicap. "I tell you, he was sick with that heart condition for years and years," Meyer's wife, Mary, said. "Through all the pain, day or night, when he got out on that field he felt good. He felt his very best when he was out there working with the boys."

Meyer's teams finished as runners-up in the summer tournament four times -- in 1947, 1957, 1976 and 1980. The Johnnies appeared in 32 state tournaments under Meyer, winning six fall titles. His teams won 1,105 baseball games from the time he took the job, in 1935, until he retired. That number would have been greater had he not served a stint in the Army from 1942 to 1946. "Everyone gets so tied up in records," Meyer once said. "I'm more interested in today's game than any game we've played. And tomorrow, I'll be more interested in tomorrow's game." Tomorrow, always tomorrow. That's what kept Meyer in coaching when his heart was telling him to step aside.

"For the last few years, I've been saying this will be my final year," Meyer said in 1978. "But then I see the kids we have coming up and I look at them and say, 'Oh, maybe, just one more year.' " Finally, in April 1981, Meyer announced that he would retire at the end of the summer season. "I don't want to quit," Meyer said then. "I'd stay until I was 100 years old if I had a good heart. Do you know where I can get a good transplant?"

Meyer also served as athletic director and boys' basketball coach until 1970, but baseball was his passion. He once told a reporter that his teams played basketball "to stay in condition for baseball."

Meyer's success never escaped his peers. In 1987 he was the first baseball coach inducted into the National Federation of State High School Associations Hall of Fame. He was also enshrined into the Iowa Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1969 and was presented the prestigious Lyle T. Quinn award by the Iowa High School Athletic Association in 1976. Still, Meyer was a humble man when discussing his success.

"My biography isn't very interesting," Meyer said four months before he passed away. "He was born. He was married. He had children. He had baseball. And he died." Meyer was born in Elkader, one of eight children. The family moved to South Dakota, but returned to Elkader when Meyer was 7 years old. After graduating from St. Joseph High School in Elkader and then Loras College, in 1933, Meyer studied for the priesthood. But 18 months later, he decided to become a coach.

Meyer taught English, another love, and government at St. John. He also worked as a scout for Philadelphia and the New York Yankees. He took over the town theater when it was about to close its doors, and kept it alive on weekends for 11 years. He also managed the town swimming pool and the St. John Parish Bazaar. After every game, he wrote a story for the Bancroft Register newspaper. Meyer also ran a youth baseball league that served as a feeder system for his high school program. "He started those kids in the summer program when they could carry a baseball glove and stay out of the line of fire," Mary Meyer said. That feeder system produced a cast of well-drilled youngsters, numerous all-staters, even a major-league infielder named Denis Menke. Now a coach with Houston, Menke played 13 seasons with Milwaukee, Atlanta, Houston and Cincinnati. He twice made the All-Star team. Meyer succeeded with a double-edged approach -- tough enough to make a point, but fair enough to earn respect. "As long as you play as well as you're capable of, no one can ever ask for more than that," Meyer professed. "Of course, I'd rather win. I don't want to get anyone confused about that. It's important to win, but it's no disgrace to lose if it's the best you can do."

Things have changed since Meyer passed away. Bancroft St. John High School closed in 1989. Students now have the option of attending high school at Algona, Algona Garrigan or North Kossuth. The high school building is now Bancroft's grade school. But the youth baseball program still lives at the Bancroft Memorial Park, Meyer's home away from home all those years. One addition is the V.J. Meyer Memorial scoreboard that watches over the action. The North Kossuth High School team and the Bancroft town team also play there. In the grade school cafeteria is a trophy case that was dedicated to Meyer after he passed away. In that trophy case are a collection of pictures of Meyer, some of his awards and other baseball memorabilia. The Johnnies' baseball trophies are also in the building, a lasting testament to an unforgettable coach.

"I never considered myself a great baseball coach," Meyer said. "I worked at it. People always said Meyer was a great coach, but I never said that. My wife has said that, but she's prejudiced." Mary Meyer is proud of what her husband accomplished. "He inspired the kids, and he encouraged them," she said. "At the same time, he let them know if they did something wrong. He loved to teach." Vince Meyer never dwelled on the past, no matter how sweet the victory or how sour the loss. "After the game, he went on thinking about the next game," Mary Meyer said.

But the day finally came when there was not another game to look forward to. And baseball was poorer because of it. "I've always thought that if I could die at the ballpark hitting infield at the age of 104, that would be a pretty good way to go," Meyer said upon retirement.

from http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/19920712/SPORTS11/50702012/