Johnny Mize

John R. "Johnny" Mize (January 7, 1913 – June 2, 1993) was a baseball player who was a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and New York Yankees. He played in the Major Leagues from 1936 through 1953 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. Mize was born in Demorest, Georgia, where he later played baseball for Piedmont College. Mize was known as both "Big Jawn" and "The Big Cat" for his smooth fielding aroun... more

John R. "Johnny" Mize (January 7, 1913 – June 2, 1993) was a baseball player who was a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and New York Yankees. He played in the Major Leagues from 1936 through 1953 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. Mize was born in Demorest, Georgia, where he later played baseball for Piedmont College. Mize was known as both "Big Jawn" and "The Big Cat" for his smooth fielding around the bag at first base. He had a fine batting eye, and in his early career hit for high averages, leading the National League with a .349 batting average in 1939. In 1938 he batted .363, but Cardinals teammate Joe Medwick took the title with a .374 average. Mize then changed targets and went for power instead of batting average. He led the National League in home runs in 1939 with 28, and in 1940 with 43, also leading the league in runs batted in twice, in 1940 and 1942. At the end of the 1941 season, however, he was traded to the New York... less