1905
Born December 5, 1905
Galveston, TX, USA
Gus Mancuso Marquee
b. December 5, 1905 · St. Louis Cardinals 1928, 1930–1932, 1941–1942, New York Giants 1933–1938, 1942–1944, Chicago Cubs 1939, Brooklyn Dodgers 1940, Philadelphia Phillies 1945
The Giants traded for him before the 1933 season and he caught 146 games for the club that won the World Series, finishing sixth in the Most Valuable Player voting. He caught for the pennant winners of 1936 and 1937 as well, and was chosen for two All-Star teams.
Seventeen seasons gave him 1,194 hits, 197 doubles, 543 runs batted in and a .265 average across 1,360 games behind the plate. He caught Hubbell's screwball for six years and Dizzy Dean before that, and he was regarded as the best receiver in the National League in the middle 1930s.
His brother Frank caught briefly for the Browns. Gus broadcast Giants games for a season, coached, and managed in the minor leagues. The 1958 ballot gave him one vote of 266. He died in 1984, at seventy-eight.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 2 | 1935, 1937 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 | STL | 11 | 38 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .184 |
| 1930 | STL | 76 | 227 | 39 | 83 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 59 | 18 | 16 | 1 | .366 |
| 1931 | STL | 67 | 187 | 13 | 49 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 18 | 13 | 2 | .262 |
| 1932 | STL | 103 | 310 | 25 | 88 | 23 | 1 | 5 | 43 | 30 | 15 | 0 | .284 |
| 1933 | NYG | 144 | 481 | 39 | 127 | 17 | 2 | 6 | 56 | 48 | 21 | 0 | .264 |
| 1934 | NYG | 122 | 383 | 32 | 94 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 46 | 27 | 19 | 0 | .245 |
| 1935 | NYG | 128 | 447 | 33 | 133 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 56 | 30 | 16 | 1 | .298 |
| 1936 | NYG | 139 | 519 | 55 | 156 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 63 | 39 | 28 | 0 | .301 |
| 1937 | NYG | 86 | 287 | 30 | 80 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 39 | 17 | 20 | 1 | .279 |
| 1938 | NYG | 52 | 158 | 19 | 55 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 13 | 0 | .348 |
| 1939 | CHC | 80 | 251 | 17 | 58 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 24 | 19 | 0 | .231 |
| 1940 | BRO | 60 | 144 | 16 | 33 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 0 | .229 |
| 1941 | STL | 106 | 328 | 25 | 75 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 37 | 19 | 0 | .229 |
| 1942 | NYG/STL | 44 | 122 | 4 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 1 | .180 |
| 1943 | NYG | 94 | 252 | 11 | 50 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 28 | 16 | 0 | .198 |
| 1944 | NYG | 78 | 195 | 15 | 49 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 30 | 20 | 0 | .251 |
| 1945 | PHI | 70 | 176 | 11 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 28 | 10 | 2 | .199 |
| Career | — | 1460 | 4505 | 386 | 1194 | 197 | 16 | 53 | 543 | 418 | 264 | 8 | .265 |
On this day & linked events
1984
Died October 26, 1984
1928
Major-league debut: Gus Mancuso
Gus Mancuso made a major-league debut on April 30, 1928.
1945
Final major-league game: Gus Mancuso
Gus Mancuso played a final major-league game on September 11, 1945.
Image: Goudey, public domain