Bill Terry (1954)


Date of Birth: 10/30/1898
Date of Death: 1/9/1989
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia

Bill Terry started his professional baseball career as a pitcher in 1915 in the minor leagues. He played in the minors for two years and then played semi-pro baseball from 1918 to 1922. He went back to professional baseball when he signed with a team in the American Association in 1922. He played in 88 games with them before signing with the New York Giants in May, 1922.

New York Giants

In 1923, Terry made his first start in the major leagues, playing in three games with the Giants. He played in 77 games in 1924 and had a batting average of .239. The following season, his first full season in the major leagues, he batted .319 with 156 hits, 31 doubles, and 70 RBIs in 133 games.

Terry batted .326 in 150 games in 1927. He had 189 hits, 32 doubles, 13 triples, 20 home runs, and 121 RBIs. A good defensive player, he led all NL first basemen in assists with 105.

Terry batted .326 again in 1928. He finished the season with 185 hits, 36 doubles, 17 home runs, and 101 RBIs in 149 games. He walked a career high 64 times and struck out 36 times. Defensively, he led the NL in putouts with 1,584, and he led all NL first basemen in double plays with 148.

Terry had a very strong season in 1929, batting .372 in 150 games. He had 226 hits, 39 doubles, 14 home runs, and 117 RBIs in 150 games. He again led the NL in putouts with 1,575, and he led all NL first basemen in double plays with 146.

Terry led the NL in batting average in 1930. His .401 average that year marked the last time a NL hitter batted over .400. He also holds the NL record for the highest lifetime batting average for a left-handed hitter with .341. In addition to a career high .401 batting average in 1930, Terry had a career high 254 hits, 39 doubles, 23 home runs, and a career high 129 RBIs. That year, he also led the league in hits and in singles. Defensively, he led the league once more in putouts with 1,538, and he led first basemen in assists with 128. He was named the Sporting News MVP in 1930.

In 1931, Terry had career highs in doubles with 43 and in triples with 20. He batted .349 with 213 hits and 112 RBIs in 153 games. Once again he led all NL first basemen in assists with 105.

Terry had a career high 28 home runs in 1932. He led the NL in games played with 154. He had 225 hits, 42 doubles, 117 RBIs, and a .350 batting average. He again led the NL in putouts with 1,493, and he led NL first basemen in assists with 137. He was named player-manager starting in 1932.

In 1934, Terry batted .354 with 213 hits, 30 doubles, and 83 RBIs in 153 games. He led the NL in putouts for a final time with 1,592, and he led NL first basemen in double plays with 131. The next year, he batted .341 with 203 hits and 32 doubles in 145 games. He led NL first basemen in assists in 1935 with 99.

Terry played in 79 games with a .310 batting average in 1936, his last season as a major league player. As the Giants' player-manager from 1932 through 1936, he led the team to one World Series title (1933) and one NL Pennant (1936).

Awards and MLB Records

  • Sporting News MVP
  • Led the NL in putouts (5 times)

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Terry in 14 seasons (1923-1936) in the major leagues include:

  • 10 seasons with over 100 hits, with a high of 254 in 1930
  • 9 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 43 in 1931
  • 5 seasons with over 10 triples, with a high of 20 in 1927
  • 3 seasons with 20 or more home runs, with a high of 28 in 1932
  • 6 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 129 in 1930
  • 11 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .401 in 1930

Career batting statistics for Terry include:

  • 1,721 games played
  • 2,193 hits
  • 373 doubles
  • 112 triples
  • 154 home runs
  • 1,078 RBIs
  • 449 strikeouts to 537 walks
  • .341 batting average
  • .393 on-base percentage
  • .899 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Terry at first base include:

  • 1,579 games played
  • 138 errors
  • 1,108 assists
  • 1,334 double plays
  • 15,972 putouts
  • .992 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Terry include:

  • 3 postseasons
  • 16 games played
  • 61 at-bats
  • 18 hits
  • 1 double
  • 1 triple
  • 2 home runs
  • 7 RBIs
  • 5 strikeouts to 4 walks
  • .295 batting average

Post Playing Career

Terry continued to successfully manage the New York Giants through 1941. During his 10 years as manager of the Giants, Terry had an 823-661 record and he led the Giants to three pennants (1933, 1936, 1937) and a World Series win in 1933.

Terry was hired as the Giants' general manager in September, 1937, and he stayed in that position through the 1942 season.

Terry owned a minor league team, the Jacksonville Braves of the American Association, in 1958.

Terry was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1954 on the fourteenth ballot with 77.4% of the vote.



Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Bill Terry
ESPN - Bill Terry
Baseball Reference - Bill Terry

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