1913
Born January 7, 1913
Demorest, GA, USA
Johnny Mize Marquee Hall of Fame 1981
b. January 7, 1913 · St. Louis Cardinals 1936–1941, New York Giants 1942, 1946–1949, New York Yankees 1949–1953
He batted .312 across fifteen seasons with 2,011 hits, 359 home runs and 1,337 runs batted in, and made ten All-Star teams. He led the National League in home runs four times, in runs batted in three times, and in doubles, triples and runs once each. In 1947 he led in home runs, runs batted in and runs together.
His six three-home-run games came in 1938 and 1940, twice each, then in 1947 and 1950. Sammy Sosa and Mookie Betts have matched the six; nobody has beaten it. Navy service took 1943, 1944 and 1945 out of the middle of his career, the seasons right after he turned thirty.
Eleven National League seasons, six in St. Louis and five with the Giants, produced no pennant. New York bought him in 1949 and used him mostly off the bench — 68 of his 81 games in 1953 were pinch-hitting appearances. The Yankees won the World Series in each of his five seasons there. The Hall of Fame elected him in 1981.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 10 | 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1953 |
| Baseball Magazine All-Star | 5 | 1937, 1940, 1942, 1947, 1948 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 3 | 1942, 1947, 1948 |
| Babe Ruth Award | 1 | 1952 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | STL | 126 | 414 | 76 | 136 | 30 | 8 | 19 | 93 | 50 | 32 | 1 | .329 |
| 1937 | STL | 145 | 560 | 103 | 204 | 40 | 7 | 25 | 113 | 56 | 57 | 2 | .364 |
| 1938 | STL | 149 | 531 | 85 | 179 | 34 | 16 | 27 | 102 | 74 | 47 | 0 | .337 |
| 1939 | STL | 153 | 564 | 104 | 197 | 44 | 14 | 28 | 108 | 92 | 49 | 0 | .349 |
| 1940 | STL | 155 | 579 | 111 | 182 | 31 | 13 | 43 | 137 | 82 | 49 | 7 | .314 |
| 1941 | STL | 126 | 473 | 67 | 150 | 39 | 8 | 16 | 100 | 70 | 45 | 4 | .317 |
| 1942 | NYG | 142 | 541 | 97 | 165 | 25 | 7 | 26 | 110 | 60 | 39 | 3 | .305 |
| 1946 | NYG | 101 | 377 | 70 | 127 | 18 | 3 | 22 | 70 | 62 | 26 | 3 | .337 |
| 1947 | NYG | 154 | 586 | 137 | 177 | 26 | 2 | 51 | 138 | 74 | 42 | 2 | .302 |
| 1948 | NYG | 152 | 560 | 110 | 162 | 26 | 4 | 40 | 125 | 94 | 37 | 4 | .289 |
| 1949 | NYG/NYY | 119 | 411 | 63 | 108 | 16 | 0 | 19 | 64 | 54 | 21 | 1 | .263 |
| 1950 | NYY | 90 | 274 | 43 | 76 | 12 | 0 | 25 | 72 | 29 | 24 | 0 | .277 |
| 1951 | NYY | 113 | 332 | 37 | 86 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 49 | 36 | 24 | 1 | .259 |
| 1952 | NYY | 78 | 137 | 9 | 36 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 29 | 11 | 15 | 0 | .263 |
| 1953 | NYY | 81 | 104 | 6 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 27 | 12 | 17 | 0 | .250 |
| Career | — | 1884 | 6443 | 1118 | 2011 | 367 | 83 | 359 | 1337 | 856 | 524 | 28 | .312 |
On this day & linked events
1993
Died June 2, 1993
1936
Major-league debut: Johnny Mize
Johnny Mize made a major-league debut on April 16, 1936.
1938
Johnny Mize's Three-Home-Run Game, 1938
Johnny Mize hit three home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Boston Bees on July 13, 1938.
1938
Johnny Mize's Three-Home-Run Game, 1938
Johnny Mize hit three home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals against the New York Giants on July 20, 1938.
1940
Johnny Mize's Three-Home-Run Game, 1940
Johnny Mize hit three home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Cincinnati Reds on May 13, 1940.
1940
Johnny Mize Hits for the Cycle, 1940
Johnny Mize hit for the cycle for the St. Louis Cardinals against the New York Giants on July 13, 1940.
1940
Johnny Mize's Three-Home-Run Game, 1940
Johnny Mize hit three home runs for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 8, 1940.
1947
Johnny Mize's Three-Home-Run Game, 1947
Johnny Mize hit three home runs for the New York Giants against the Boston Braves on April 24, 1947.
1950
Johnny Mize's Three-Home-Run Game, 1950
Johnny Mize hit three home runs for the New York Yankees against the Detroit Tigers on September 15, 1950.
1953
Final major-league game: Johnny Mize
Johnny Mize played a final major-league game on September 26, 1953.
Image: Public domain