Johnny Mize

Business Person

• Born: January 7, 1913
• Birthplace: Demorest, Georgia
• Died: June 2, 1993
• Place of death: Demorest, Georgia

Sport: Baseball

Early Life

John Robert Mize was born on January 7, 1913, in Demorest, Georgia. As a youngster, he had little interest in baseball. His first love was tennis, and in high school varsity sports, he preferred basketball, at which he excelled. In 1929, while John was still in school, the coach of the Piedmont College baseball team asked him to join the team. He had seen John play in some sandlot games and knew that the big, moonfaced child could hit the ball a country mile. Thus, Johnny became one of the youngest college players ever. He later noted that he used up his college eligibility before earning his first college credit.

The Road to Excellence

At Piedmont, Johnny earned the nickname “The Big Cat” because, despite his large frame, he moved gracefully. He soon attracted the attention of major-league scouts, including Frank Rickey, chief recruiter for the St. Louis Cardinals and brother of the “Mahatma,” Branch Rickey, the Cardinals’ general manager. The Cardinals signed Johnny and started him in the minor leagues, although Branch Rickey was dubious about Johnny’s prospects. Rickey thought that Johnny might be injury prone, and Johnny seemed to confirm the fear when he developed a trick knee and began to pull muscles.

Rickey sold Johnny to the Cincinnati Reds. He had a sensational spring training camp, but went lame again, and the Reds canceled the sale. Playing for Rochester, Johnny continued to be plagued by knee and leg injuries. Johnny finally consulted Dr. Robert Hyland, who discovered that a growth on the player’s pelvic bone was causing most of his problems. The operation to correct the condition could have left him lame for life, but Johnny chose to go through with it.

The Emerging Champion

The next spring, in 1936, Johnny reported to the Cardinals’ training camp with little hope of making the team. St. Louis still had one of the famous Gashouse Gang members, Rip Collins, at first base. Manager Frank Frisch was impressed with Johnny’s smooth, effortless swing, and he soon put him in the regular lineup. Johnny quickly justified the move, finishing with a .329 batting average and 19 homers.

The next year, Johnny beat the sophomore jinx with 25 homers and a sizzling .364 batting average, second in the league behind teammate Joe Medwick’s .374. Two years later, in 1939, Johnny won the batting crown with a .349 average but also began his verbal battles with Branch Rickey.

Despite Johnny’s achievements, Rickey seemed bent on justifying his first appraisals of him. Their worst falling out came after the 1940 season. That year, Johnny led the league with 43 homers and 137 RBI, and he had every reason to expect a raise, but Rickey told him his salary was cut because his average had dropped to .314.

In September of 1941, Johnny sustained a serious shoulder injury, and Rickey sold him to the Giants, whose new manager, Mel Ott, was looking to build a team centered on power hitters. When Johnny first reported to the Giants, it appeared that the Mahatma had pulled off a very clever deal; Johnny could not throw a ball 10 feet. Then an osteopath, “Doc” Ferguson, discovered that Johnny had a misplaced ligament and eventually corrected the problem.

In 1942, his first season with the Giants, Johnny hit 26 homers and drove in 110 runs. He might have done even better, but it took time for him to adjust to the Polo Grounds, where balls lined deep to center usually turned into long outs. Johnny, a straightaway hitter, had to learn to pull the ball to take advantage of the short right-field line, and in time he did.

Continuing the Story

At the close of his first year with the Giants, Johnny was inducted into the Navy. By that time, his weight had climbed toward 250 pounds, and it was assumed that his baseball career was over. Johnny fooled the experts, however. He went on a diet and conditioning regimen and, when he returned to the Giants, trimmed down to 205 pounds. He began setting some new career records. He won the league’s home-run crown in 1947, with 51 homers, and 1948, with 40 homers.

In midseason 1948, Leo Durocher replaced Ott as the Giants’ manager, and Johnny had trouble adjusting to the change. The two men never got along. Durocher, always energetic and aggressive, could not understand Johnny’s mildness and deceptive placidity. In August of 1949, Durocher traded Johnny to the Yankees.

At first, it seemed that Durocher had made a timely deal. Johnny reinjured his shoulder in a defensive play and could not take the field again until the World Series, when he promptly proved his worth. He won the third and crucial game as a pinch hitter, a role he filled well during the end of his career. The Yankees manager, Casey Stengel, knew that Johnny was excellent in “clutch” situations and used him brilliantly. Johnny devastated the Dodgers in the 1952 World Series, batting .400 and hitting 3 homers. Clearly, to the end of his playing days, the Big Cat remained a potent weapon with a bat in his hands.

After his retirement in 1953, Johnny spent some time as both scout and coach, then settled in Deland, Florida, where he maintained a citrus grove and managed other business interests.

Summary

The reason selectors failed to elect Johnny Mize to the Baseball Hall of Fame before 1981 remains a mystery. The genial Johnny was one of the league’s great power hitters, but he was also a steady player who, when injury-free, was extremely dependable. His career batting average of .312 and his high slugging average should have guaranteed him early selection, but he was repeatedly overlooked. It is typical of Johnny that he never made any great fuss about the oversight, although he was well aware that he deserved the honor.

Bibliography

Golenbock, Peter. The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns. New York: HarperEntertainment, 2001.

Mize, John, and Murray Kaufman. How to Hit. New York: Holt, 1953.

Snyder, John. Cardinals Journal: Year by Year and Day by Day with the St. Louis Cardinals Since 1882. Cincinnati: Emmis Books, 2006.