George J. Popplein was a Baltimore area baseball pioneer whose brother, Joe, appeared in a single game for the Baltimore Marylands back in 1873.

George was involved in baseball going back before the Civil War, in part, because his father was among the earliest supporters of Baltimore area baseball. When the Civil War started, the two clubs of the city, the Excelsiors and the Waverlys, merged because a bunch of players were headed south to fight in the Great War for Slavery. George was listed as an officer for the newly formed Maryland Base Ball Club in 1861. His younger brother, Joseph, was also a fine amateur ballplayer (see below). There were eight Popplein kids; George was #3, born August 13, 1840.

According to a note in the Baltimore Sun, George was a chemist, (but also a business man and involved in real estate, like his father) who passed to the next league on March 31, 1901 from kidney disease. He left behind a wife, the former Oregon Atkinson, and a son named George. He’s buried near family in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.

George died in the morning and his mother, the former Susannah Thomsen, must have known that this was going to happen. So, she started selling off some family assets. Her husband, Nicholas Popplein, was a very successful paint manufacturer and, among other properties, they owned a mansion (above) near Eutaw Place and Wilson Street in Baltimore. In fact, Nicholas died in that mansion shortly after it was completed in 1885. Anyway, over time their mansion and another property nearby were merged into what is now the Marlborough Hotel.

Joe Popplein

Mentioned earlier, Joe Popplein appeared with the Marylands on July 11, 1873 in a game against the Baltimore Canaries. Joe played three innings at third base getting an assist and making an error. Then he played four innings in centerfield where he caught one flyball. He went hitless in four, so he didn’t help the Marylands that day. That said, the Marylands played just six games that year and lost them all. The loss to the Canaries was the last game of their season – they folded soon after. One day, I’ll give Joe the same treatment as George.

Notes:

1850, 1870, 1880, 1900 US Census Records
Baseball-Reference.com
FindAGrave.com

“Base Ball Matters,” Baltimore Sun, September 23, 1861: 4.
“Base Ball,” Brooklyn Eagle, July 30, 1870: 2.
“Old-Time Base-Ball,” Baltimore Sun, October 4, 1894: 8.
“George J. Popplein,” Baltimore Sun, April 2, 1901: 7.
“Auction Sales,” Baltimore Sun, July 31, 1901: 5.
“Will Be a Hotel,” Baltimore Sun, November 17, 1901: 10.
Image of the Popplein Mansion, Baltimore Sun, November 29, 1905: 7.