HALL FAME 1933 WORLD SERIES GIANTS BASEBALL PLAYER TERRY DOCUMENT SIGNED CHECK !

Description

BILL TERRY
"Memphis Bill"
Baseball Sports History Legend
(1898 – 1989)
HALL OF FAME MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER,
1
st
BASEMAN FOR THE NEW YORK GIANTS 1923-1936 - AN ADEPT HITTER WITH A
.
341
LIFETIME BATTING AVERAGE.
&
1933 WORLD SERIES MANAGER OF THE NEW YORK GIANTS and WINNING PENNANTS IN 1933, ’36 and ’37.
Terry was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954, and 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.
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HERE IS THE LAST NATIONAL LEAGUER TO TOP .400 SIGNING A DOCUMENT
– A bank check signed: "
Wm. H. Terry
,
" Jacksonville, Florida, June 16,
1959
in blue ball-point ink. The check is drawn off the “Jacksonville Baseball Company” account at the Barnett National Bank for .87 payable to
McKesson & Robbins, Inc.
of Jacksonville
(a health care company that was involved in a major US financial scandal and SEC investigation in 1938 that led to major corporate governance and auditing reforms.)
Countersigned on the front of the check by another Jacksonville BB club official, “Daniel P. O’Brien.”
The document measures 8½x3½, and is in VF+ condition.
A FINE PIECE OF VINTAGE AMERICAN BASEBALL HISTORY and MEMORABILIA.
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BIOGRAPHY OF
WILLIAM H. “
BILL
” TERRY
Born: October 30, 1898 in Atlanta, Georgia
Died: January 9, 1989 in Jacksonville, Florida
Biography | Full name William Harold Terry Born October 30, 1898, Atlanta, Georgia Died January 9, 1989, Jacksonville, Florida Buried at Evergreen Cemetery, Jacksonville, Florida (Garden Cloister Mausoleum, Project F, Unit 3, Section C) First Game: September 24, 1923; Final Game: September 22, 1936 Managed First Game: June 4, 1932; Managed Final Game: September 28, 1941 Bat: Left Throw: Left Height: 6' 1"
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William Harold Terry
(October 30, 1898 – January 9, 1989) was a
Major League Baseball
first baseman
and
manager
. He stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 200 pounds (91 kg). 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.
Playing career
Early years
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
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.
Starting out in the majors
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
.
Into and out of the starting lineup
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.
In 1926, with Lindstrom established as the starter at third, Frisch was reinstated at second and Kelly moved back to first, sending Terry back into a reserve role. In addition to backing up Kelly, Terry played in 14 games in the outfield. This was the only season in which he played more than one game at a position other than first base. Overall, Terry played 98 games, batting .289 with 5 home runs and 43 runs batted in.
1927: Breakout year
During the following offseason, the Giants made some major changes to their starting lineup. On December 20, 1926, they traded Frisch and pitcher
Jimmy Ring
to the
St. Louis Cardinals
for
Rogers Hornsby
. Then, on February 9, they traded Kelly to the Reds for
outfielder
Edd Roush
, opening a spot once more for Terry in the starting lineup. Terry batted .326 in 1927, with 20 home runs and 121 runs batted in. He finished 13th in the voting for the
Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award
, and his days of being a backup were behind him for good.
History in the making
Over the next two seasons, Terry continued to produce for the Giants, batting .326 again in 1928 with 101 runs batted in, and then .372 in 1929 with 117 runs batted in. In both years, he finished in the top ten in the National League in a number of statistical categories and in 1929 he finished third in the Most Valuable Player Award voting. This led to what is generally considered Terry's best season ever, 1930.
In 1930, Terry had an historic season. He finished first in the National League with a .401 batting average, the first player to hit over .400 since Rogers Hornsby in 1925. It is also the last time to date that anyone in the National League has hit .400. Only
Ted Williams
of the
American League
's
Boston Red Sox
in 1941 has hit .400 since. Terry also led the league with 254 hits, which is tied for the most in NL history with the
Phillies
'
Lefty O'Doul
's 254 in 1929. He also finished 5th in the league in
on-base percentage
(.452), 7th in
slugging percentage
(.619), 6th in
runs scored
with 139 runs, and led the league in
putouts
and
assists
by a first baseman. While there was no official league most valuable player award in 1930, Terry won
The Sporting News
Most Valuable Player Award
.
Player-manager
While Terry never again reached the lofty heights of 1930, he had another excellent season in 1931. He led the league in runs scored with 121 and in
triples
with 20 while batting .349 with 112 runs batted in, and he finished third in the new Baseball Writers' Association of America National League Most Valuable Player Award voting. He became the only Giants player (as of 2014) to hit two doubles and two triples in a game when he did so against the Cincinnati Reds on September 13, 1931. In 1932, Terry set his career high in home runs with 28, batting .350 with 117 runs batted in. He was also named the team's manager in early June, replacing the legendary
John McGraw
. The team finished in sixth place, going 55–59.
1933: World Series championship
In 1933, Terry's first full season as manager, the team won the National League pennant and the World Series. Although, as a player, Terry missed a month early in the season with an injury, he still hit .322. It was also the first season of the
All-Star Game
, for which Terry was chosen as a starter and in which he got two hits. The Giants once again faced the
Senators
in the
1933 World Series
, which they won four games to one. Terry went 6-for-22, hitting a home run in Game 4 off
Monte Weaver
.
Despite an off-year, Terry still finished fourth in the MVP voting, perhaps gaining votes for managing the team to the championship, the Giants' first since
1922
, the year before Terry's MLB debut.
Career winding down
In 1934 Terry came back to put up big numbers once more, finishing second in the NL in batting at .354 and in hits with 213 while finishing seventh in the Most Valuable Player Award voting. Terry managed the team to a second-place finish, just two games behind the pennant-winning
St. Louis Cardinals
"Gashouse Gang". In 1935, Terry again got over 200 hits with 203, and batted .341 while finishing sixth in the Most Valuable Player Award voting, and managed the team to a third-place finish. In both years he was again selected to start in the All-Star game. As manager, Terry became an advocate of
platooning
, as
Hank Leiber
and
Jimmy Ripple
split playing time in
center field
.
1936 was Terry's last year as a player. Before the season started, the team had purchased
Sam Leslie
from the
Brooklyn Dodgers
, and Terry the manager split time with the newcomer, with Leslie getting the lion's share. It worked out well for the team, as they again won the pennant, beating the Cardinals by five games. In the
World Series
, Terry started all six games, but batted just .240 with no extra base hits. He had five runs batted in, but that was not enough, as the Giants lost to the
New York Yankees
, four games to two.
Remaining managerial career
Terry continued to manage the Giants until
1941
. He also held the title of
general manager
of the Giants from September 7, 1937, through the end of the 1942 season. The Giants won another pennant in 1937, but they lost another
World Series
to the
New York Yankees
, four games to one. The team finished third in 1938, but never again finished in the
first division
under Terry, finishing fifth, sixth, and fifth in his last three years as manager.
Ownership career
After retiring from playing and managing, Terry settled in
Jacksonville, Florida
, where he owned a successful Buick automobile dealership and purchased the
Jacksonville Braves
double-A team in 1958.
Playing career summary
Over his 14-year career, Terry posted seven seasons with 100 or more
runs
, six seasons with 100 or more runs batted in, six seasons with at least 200 hits, and nine consecutive seasons batting .320 or higher, from 1927 through 1935; additionally he posted three seasons with at least 20 home runs, including a career high of 28 in 1932. Terry retired with 1120 runs scored, 154 home runs, 1078 runs batted in and a .341 batting average. He also currently holds the record for the highest career batting average for a left-handed hitter in the National League at .341. Terry was also one of the best fielding first baseman of his era, compiling a career .992 fielding percentage.
Baseball honors
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 no. 3 in 1984; it is posted on the facade of the upper deck in the left field corner of
Oracle Park
.
Bill Terry is mentioned in the 1949 poem "
Line-Up for Yesterday
" by
Ogden Nash
:
Line-Up for Yesterday
T is for Terry
The Giant from
Memphis
Whose .400 average
You can't overemphis.
—
Ogden Nash
,
Sport magazine
(January 1949)
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WORLD SERIES BASEBALL HALL FAME SIGNED