Heinie Scheer

Who was Heinie Scheer?

Henry William "Heinie" Scheer was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1922 to 1923.

Born in The Bronx, New York City, he played baseball for the Tremont Triangles, Highbridge Athletics, Bronx Giants, Brooklyn Bushwicks, and Bay Parkways. He began his professional baseball career in 1921 playing for the Hartford Senators in the Eastern League. In his first year of professional baseball, Scheer impressed observers by playing error free baseball for the first 23 games of the season. He accepted 124 chances without making an error in April and May 1921. In September 1921, Scheer was sold by the Senators to the Philadelphia Athletics for $5,000.

Scheer developed a reputation as an exceptional defensive player, but he was weak as a batter. In March 1922, he was given a shot with the Philadelphia Athletics. The Hartford Courant wrote at the teim: "If 'Heinie' Scheer can come through with the old wallop against big league pitching he will be one of the sensations of baseballdom."

Scheer appeared in 41 games and compiled a .170 batting average for the 1922 Athletics team that finished in seventh place in the American League with a record of 65–89.