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Bill Terry
William Harold Terry (October 30, 1898 – January 9, 1989) was an American professional baseball first baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants from 1923 to 1936 and managed the Giants from 1932 to 1941. Terry was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954. In 1999, he ranked number 59 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. The Giants retired Terry's uniform number 3 in 1984; it is posted on the facade of the upper deck in the left field corner of Oracle Park. Nicknamed "Memphis Bill", he is most remembered for being the last National League player to hit .400, a feat he accomplished by batting .401 in 1930.
Born in Atlanta, Terry made his professional baseball debut in 1915 at the age of 16. He began his career as a pitcher, playing for two separate minor league teams, the Newnan Cowetas of the Georgia–Alabama League and the Dothan, Alabama based Dothan club of the FLAG League. With Newnan, he had a win–loss record of 7–1, with an 0.60 earned run average in eight games.
After starting 1916 with Newnan, by the end of the year he had moved up to the class-B Shreveport Gassers of the Texas League. He again compiled impressive statistics for his new team, putting up a record of 6–2 with a 1.07 earned run average in 11 games with Shreveport. Terry spent all of 1917 with Shreveport, with a record of 14–11 and an earned run average of 3.00. By this time, he was also beginning to play more in the field, pitching in 40 games and appearing in 55 other games.
After spending several years playing semi-professionally, Terry was picked up by the Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association in 1922. He was now playing in double-A, the highest minor league level at that time. While he was still pitching, putting up a 9–9 record in 26 games, his hitting was also starting to pick up. In 88 games with Toledo, Terry batted .336 with 14 home runs.
In 1923, Terry had been converted into a full-time first baseman. In 109 games with Toledo that year, Terry batted .377 with 15 home runs. This gained the notice of the major league New York Giants, and on September 18 they purchased his contract from the Mud Hens. In an interesting coincidence, Freddie Lindstrom, another future Hall of Fame player, was also purchased by the Giants from the Mud Hens on the same day.
Terry made his major league debut with the Giants on September 24, 1923 in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. In that game, he pinch-hit for Giants pitcher Rosy Ryan, going 0-for-1. Terry did not play again until September 30, when he made his first appearance in the starting lineup against the Boston Braves. Terry got his first major league hit in that game, going 1-for-3 and scoring his first major league run. Terry finished the season with one hit in seven at bats in three games.
Terry played all of 1924 with the Giants, backing up fellow future Hall of Famer George Kelly at first base for the pennant-winning team. Terry played in 77 games, 35 at first base and the rest as a pinch-hitter. He batted .239 with 5 home runs and 24 runs batted in. In the World Series against the Washington Senators, he batted .429, including a Game 1 home run off Walter Johnson.
In 1925, Giants starting third baseman Heinie Groh suffered an injury early in the season, forcing the team to juggle its lineup a bit. Starting second baseman Frankie Frisch was tried at third but wound up spending most of the season shifting around the infield when Lindstrom was made the starter. Kelly was moved from first base to second, and Terry was installed as the starting first baseman. He hit .319 in 133 games, with 11 homers and 70 runs batted in.
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Bill Terry
William Harold Terry (October 30, 1898 – January 9, 1989) was an American professional baseball first baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants from 1923 to 1936 and managed the Giants from 1932 to 1941. Terry was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954. In 1999, he ranked number 59 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. The Giants retired Terry's uniform number 3 in 1984; it is posted on the facade of the upper deck in the left field corner of Oracle Park. Nicknamed "Memphis Bill", he is most remembered for being the last National League player to hit .400, a feat he accomplished by batting .401 in 1930.
Born in Atlanta, Terry made his professional baseball debut in 1915 at the age of 16. He began his career as a pitcher, playing for two separate minor league teams, the Newnan Cowetas of the Georgia–Alabama League and the Dothan, Alabama based Dothan club of the FLAG League. With Newnan, he had a win–loss record of 7–1, with an 0.60 earned run average in eight games.
After starting 1916 with Newnan, by the end of the year he had moved up to the class-B Shreveport Gassers of the Texas League. He again compiled impressive statistics for his new team, putting up a record of 6–2 with a 1.07 earned run average in 11 games with Shreveport. Terry spent all of 1917 with Shreveport, with a record of 14–11 and an earned run average of 3.00. By this time, he was also beginning to play more in the field, pitching in 40 games and appearing in 55 other games.
After spending several years playing semi-professionally, Terry was picked up by the Toledo Mud Hens of the American Association in 1922. He was now playing in double-A, the highest minor league level at that time. While he was still pitching, putting up a 9–9 record in 26 games, his hitting was also starting to pick up. In 88 games with Toledo, Terry batted .336 with 14 home runs.
In 1923, Terry had been converted into a full-time first baseman. In 109 games with Toledo that year, Terry batted .377 with 15 home runs. This gained the notice of the major league New York Giants, and on September 18 they purchased his contract from the Mud Hens. In an interesting coincidence, Freddie Lindstrom, another future Hall of Fame player, was also purchased by the Giants from the Mud Hens on the same day.
Terry made his major league debut with the Giants on September 24, 1923 in a game against the Cincinnati Reds. In that game, he pinch-hit for Giants pitcher Rosy Ryan, going 0-for-1. Terry did not play again until September 30, when he made his first appearance in the starting lineup against the Boston Braves. Terry got his first major league hit in that game, going 1-for-3 and scoring his first major league run. Terry finished the season with one hit in seven at bats in three games.
Terry played all of 1924 with the Giants, backing up fellow future Hall of Famer George Kelly at first base for the pennant-winning team. Terry played in 77 games, 35 at first base and the rest as a pinch-hitter. He batted .239 with 5 home runs and 24 runs batted in. In the World Series against the Washington Senators, he batted .429, including a Game 1 home run off Walter Johnson.
In 1925, Giants starting third baseman Heinie Groh suffered an injury early in the season, forcing the team to juggle its lineup a bit. Starting second baseman Frankie Frisch was tried at third but wound up spending most of the season shifting around the infield when Lindstrom was made the starter. Kelly was moved from first base to second, and Terry was installed as the starting first baseman. He hit .319 in 133 games, with 11 homers and 70 runs batted in.
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