My sixth ’35 featured four Giants players. I didn’t realize at first what a good card it was, that it featured four All-Stars and not one but two Hall of Famers. Bill Terry was the obvious one, but it’s easy to forget how good the Giants were then given that Terry and Mel Ott and Carl Hubbell towered over the rest of the team.
Bill Terry, the Giants’ player-manager, was a lifetime .341 hitter in 14 seasons for the New York Giants, was the last National Leaguer to hit .400, hitting .401 in 1930. A hard-hitting first baseman, Terry took over managing from the legendary John McGraw and led the Giants to three pennants and one World Championship. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1954.
Travis Jackson split time between shortstop and third base for the Giants, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982. It was fitting in a way, because his Giants teammates overshadowed him for most of his career. He was a rangy shortstop with a powerful arm that he initially had trouble controlling, and hit well, compiling a .291 career batting average over 15 seasons. His career may have been longer if it hadn’t been for health issues, and his health interrupted his coaching career at times as well. He retired from coaching in 1961, and died in 1987.
Gus Mancuso, the Giants’ catcher, was an All-Star in 1935. He played a total of 17 seasons, including a second All-Star appearance in 1937, and played in five World Series. He was a defensive-oriented catcher, well suited to the Giants’ starting rotation who were as hard to catch as they were to hit. After his retirement he had a long, 40-year career as a coach, scout, and broadcaster. He was a broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1951-53, paired with Harry Caray, before the Cardinals dropped him to make room for Jack Buck.
Hal Schumacher was a pitcher who was in his prime at the time this card was released. He’d won 23 games in 1934, and in 1935 he followed it with 19 wins and his second All-Star appearance. He spent his career in the shadow of Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell, but had a very productive career himself, winning 158 games and losing 121 in 13 seasons. He missed the 1943-45 seasons serving in the Navy and pitched one final season at the age of 35 in 1946, going 4-4. After his baseball career ended he was an executive for Adirondack, the manufacturer of baseball bats.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.