Heinie Manush
| Birthdate | 7/20/1901 |
| Death Date | 5/12/1971 |
| Debut Year | 1923 |
| Year of Induction | 1964 |
| Teams | Browns, Dodgers, Pirates, Red Sox, Senators, Tigers |
| Position | Left Field |
Heinie Manush, Hall of Fame class of 1964, had a 17-year big league career that produced 2,524 hits and a .330 lifetime average.
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Twenty-one year old Heinie Manush broke in with the 1923 Detroit Tigers
Twenty-one year old Heinie Manush broke in with the 1923 Detroit Tigers
Heinie Manush started playing professional as an 18-year minor leaguer in 1920. Three years later he made his big league debut with the Detroit Tigers.
The 1923 season established Manush as a dangerous threat at bat. In 338 plate appearances, Manush hit .334 with a .406 on-base percentage and a 132 OPS+.
The 6’1″, 200-pound left-hander capitalized on the rookie campaign, eventually reaching baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Shown here is a sheet signed in 1923 by Heinie Manush and six of his Tiger teammates.
On top of the sheet is the autograph of Del Pratt. The second baseman’s WAR is higher than Hall of Fame second sackers Red Schoendienst, Bill Mazeroski, and other Cooperstown men.
Directly below Pratt is the autograph of Cooperstown’s Manush.
Under that is the autograph of Bob Fothergill, owner of a .325 career average. His signature is seldom seen by virtue of his early demise at age 40 in 1938.
The autograph of pitcher Ray Francis helps date the page to 1923, his only year with the Tigers. Francis is the rarest signature on the page. A veteran of only three big league seasons, Francis last played in 1925 and died in 1934.
Directly above Francis is the seldom-seen signature of Bobby Veach. Much more about his career and candidacy for Cooperstown can be found by clicking here.
Heinie Manush finished in the top 5 for the batting crown six times from 1926-1934
Heinie Manush finished in the top 5 for the batting crown six times from 1926-1934
Heinie Manush was an outstanding hitter in one of baseball’s best offensive eras. In his 17-year career spanning from 1923 to 1939 he hit .330.
Manush debuted in 1923 for the Detroit Tigers, hitting .334 in 109 games. Three years later he led the AL with a .378 average. From 1926-1934 he finished in the top-4 of the batting race six times.
His finest season came with the St. Louis Browns in 1928 when he was a close second to Philadelphia Athletics catcher Mickey Cochrane in the MVP race. Manush paced the Junior Circuit in hits (241) and doubles (47), eclipsing the century mark in RBI for the first time.
The left fielder received MVP votes in five seasons, finishing in the top-5 four times. By the time he concluded his career, Manush totaled 2,425 hits.
After hanging up his spikes, Manush spent several seasons managing in the minors and scouting for the Pirates, and both the original and expansion Senators.
The Veterans Committee elected Manush to the Hall of Fame in 1964.
In the collection is this government postcard signed by Manush in his penultimate big league season in 1938.
Government postcards like this give context - when and where - to the signature
Government postcards like this give context - when and where - to the signature
Pre-World War II autograph collectors found a variety of ways to obtain signatures of their favorite players. A preferred method was to send a request along with self-addressed stamped postcard. The player signed the other side of the card and dropped it in the mailbox.
Shown here is the address-side of the postcard signed by Heinie Manush. Take note of the postmark of September 24, 1938 in Pittsburgh.
By ’38, Manush was in his penultimate season as a player. He started the season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. After hitting .235 through middle of May, the Dodgers put Manush on waivers. Pittsburgh claimed him.
The day of the postmark Manush and the Pirates faced the Reds at Forbes Field. Pittsburgh turned back Cincinnati 4-1. The tough-luck loss went to Johnny VanderMeer who pitched a complete game and allowed just one earned run.
Manush signed this 35 years before his election to Cooperstown. Autographs from his playing days remain highly desirable.
Cecil Travis writes about teammate Heinie Manush
Cecil Travis writes about teammate Heinie Manush
Heinie Manush was already an established star with the Washington Senators when Cecil Travis broke into the big leagues. Travis debuted in 1933 and hit .302 in 18 games the same season that Manush led the junior circuit in hits and triples while hitting .336.
In this letter Travis writes about his former teammate, “He was a great hitter, one of the best player (sic) I had the privilege to play with while with the Washington Senators.” Travis’s signature is found at the bottom of the letter.
