...................... one of the sadder stories .....................
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McGraw and McLean got on handsomely until June 1915, when McLean was again suspended for drinking. The Giants were at the Buckingham Hotel in St. Louis, where McLean confronted McGraw. Words were exchanged, McLean lunged at McGraw, and a melee ensued. A half-dozen ballplayers jumped in, furniture was smashed, and McLean fled into the night. His major-league career was over. Larry played some semipro ball but soon drifted out of the game.
Not much is known of McLean’s life after baseball, but it’s a safe bet that much of it was spent in saloons. On March 24, 1921, he got into an argument in a Boston speakeasy. When he attempted to climb over the bar, the bartender drew a pistol and shot him. McLean staggered outside and died on the street. He was 39 years old. After his death, the Reach Guide reflected that he was “a man of great size, a convivial disposition and a bad temper when under the influence of liquor, which led him into many more or less serious rows during his baseball career.” -- Mike Lackey (SABR)