Martin Joseph McManus (March 14, 1900 – February 18, 1966) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player and manager. A native of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, McManus spent two years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

before beginning his professional baseball career in 1920. He played professional baseball for 22 years from 1920 to 1941, including 15 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, principally as a second baseman (927 games) and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

(725 games) for the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

(1920-1926), Detroit Tigers (1927-1931),

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

(1931-1933), and Boston Braves (1934). He had four seasons in which he compiled a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

above .300, including a .333 average in 1923 and a .320 average in 1930. He led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

with 23 stolen bases in 1930 and with 44

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

s in 1925. In 15 major league seasons, he compiled a .289 batting average (1,926-for-6,660) with 1,008 runs scored, 401 doubles and 88 triples. McManus also served as a manager or player-manager with several baseball teams, beginning with the

in 1932 and 1933. He was also a player-manager of the St. Paul Saints in 1935, the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

in 1936, the

Williamsport Grays The Williamsport Grays were a minor league baseball team in Williamsport, Pennsylvania between 1923 and 1962. The club began play in 1923 in the New York–Pennsylvania League and were a charter member of the Eastern League in 1938. The team was ...

in 1938 and 1939, the San Antonio Missions in 1940 and 1941, and the

Denver Bears Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

in 1947. He also served as a manager in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League for the

Kenosha Comets Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but l ...

in 1944 and the South Bend Blue Sox in 1945 and 1948. In 1951, he led an effort to unionize professional baseball, football, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

players under the umbrella of the American Federation of Labor.

Early years

McManus was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1900. He was the son of Irish immigrants, Martin J. and Kate McManus. As a young man, he worked at a Chicago department store. He served in the

in 1918 and 1919 and was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone.

Professional baseball

Minor leagues

McManus began his professional baseball career in 1920 with the

of the Western League. He compiled a .283 batting average and totaled 31 doubles, 11 triples and 10 home runs in 143 games with the Oilers in 1920.

St. Louis Browns

On August 12, 1920, McManus was sold by the Tulsa club to the

. He appeared in only one game during the 1920 season, compiling one triple and one run batted in during three at bats on September 25, 1920. McManus became a regular player for the Browns from 1921 to 1926. In 1921, he appeared in 121 games, 96 at second base, 13 at third base, nine at first base, and two at shortstop, and compiled a .260 batting average, eight triples and 64 runs batted in. In 1922, McManus had perhaps his best major league season. He appeared in 154 games for the Browns, 153 of them as the Browns' starting second baseman. He compiled a .312 batting average and ranked among the American League leaders with 109 runs batted in (third), 189 hits (eighth), 278 total bases (eighth), 34 doubles (eighth), and 11 triples (10th). He also ranked as one of the league's top defensive second baseman with a 1.2 defensive

WAR War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

rating (third), 398 putouts at second base (third), 467 assists at second base (fourth), 102 double plays turned at second place (second), 32 errors at second base (first), and a 5.65 range factor rating at second base (second). The 1922 Browns team finished one game behind the pennant-winning Yankees, the closest McManus would ever come to the postseason. In 1923, McManus again appeared in 154 games for the Browns, 133 at second base and 20 at first base. He compiled a .309 batting average and .367 on-base percentage and finished 15th in the voting for the American League Most Valuable Player award. He ranked among the league's leaders with 60 extra base hits (fifth), 15 home runs (seventh), 94 runs batted in (seventh), a .481 slugging percentage (seventh), and 280 total bases (seventh). He also ranked among the leading defensive second basemen in the league with 386 putouts (third), 373 assists (fourth), 86 double plays turned (second), 32 errors (second), a .960 fielding percentage (fourth) and a 5.71 range factor per game (fourth). McManus held out at the start of the 1924 season, finally signing with the Browns in mid-April. He appeared in 123 games (119 at second base) for the 1924 Browns, compiled the best batting average of his career at .333 in 517 at bats, and led the American League with 44 doubles. After the 1924 season, McManus asked to be traded, but he remained with the Browns. McManus held out again in 1925, finally signing with the Browns in early April. He appeared in 154 games for the 1925 Browns, all at second base, and compiled a .288 batting average and .371 on-base percentage. He led the American League with 44 doubles and 69 strikeouts and finished 21st in the voting for the league's MVP award. He also ranked among the league's leaders with 65 extra base hits (fourth), 108 runs scored (seventh), 13 home runs (ninth), and 268 total bases (ninth). McManus spent his sixth full season with the Browns in 1926. He appeared in 149 games for the Browns, 84 at third base and 61 at second base. He compiled a .284 batting average and .350 on-base percentage and ranked 18th in the balloting for the American League Most Valuable Player award. He led the league with a 3.76 range factor rating per game at third base and ranked among the league's leaders with 102 runs scored (sixth), nine home runs (ninth), 62 strikeouts (fourth), and 18 double plays turned at third base (third). McManus also pulled off the

hidden ball trick A hidden ball trick is a play in which a player deceives the opposing team about the location of the ball. Hidden ball tricks are most commonly observed in baseball, where the defence deceives the runner about the location of the ball, to tag out t ...

in his last season with the Browns. On June 30, 1926, with

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the ...

coaching third base, McManus caught Hall of Famer

Harry Heilmann Harry Edwin Heilmann (August 3, 1894 – July 9, 1951), nicknamed "Slug", was an American baseball player and radio announcer. He played professional baseball for 19 years between 1913 and 1932, including 17 seasons in Major League Baseball with ...

with a hidden ball trick.

Detroit Tigers

On January 15, 1927, McManus was traded by the Browns to the Detroit Tigers in a multi-player deal. At the time of the trade, McManus expressed thanks for being traded away from the Browns and promised to play "his head off" to repay the Tigers for rendering a service in getting him released. McManus played a total of five years for Detroit, playing at every infield position. In his first year with the Tigers, he appeared in 108 games, 39 at shortstop, 35 at second base, 21 at third base, and six at first base, and compiled a .268 batting average. In 1928, he appeared in 139 games, 92 at third base and 45 at first base, and batted .288. In 1929, he became the Tigers' starting third baseman, started all 154 games for the club, and posted a .280 batting average. In July 1929, he hit two grand slams in three days for the Tigers. McManus had his best season for the Tigers in 1930. He appeared in 132 games, 130 at third base, and compiled a .320 batting average and .396 on-base percentage. He also led the American League with 23 stolen bases at age 30. After the 1930 season, McManus underwent surgery to remove a piece of muscle in his right knee. He was unable to bat during the early portion of spring training in 1931. He appeared in 107 games for the 1931 Tigers, 79 at third base and 21 at second base. However, his batting average dropped nearly 50 points from .320 to .271. McManus also developed into a solid third baseman during his years in Detroit. In 1930, he led American League third basemen in putouts (152), double plays (23), and fielding percentage (.966). He had 206 putouts at third base in 1929 — a total that has not been exceeded since that year by any Detroit third baseman.

Red Sox and Braves

On August 31, 1931, the Tigers traded McManus to the

for

Muddy Ruel Herold Dominic "Muddy" Ruel (February 20, 1896 – November 13, 1963) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and general manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1934. One of the top defensive ca ...

. In 1932, the Red Sox compiled an 11–44 record through mid-June. On June 19, 1932, the team's manager,

Shano Collins John Francis "Shano" Collins (December 4, 1885 – September 10, 1955) was an American right fielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox. Early life Collins was born on December 4, 1885 in Bost ...

, resigned his position, stating that he was so discouraged he could not go on. Team president Bob Quinn asked Collins where he could find a replacement, and Collins suggested McManus. The Red Sox compiled a 32–67 record under McManus during the latter half of the 1932 season. McManus was a player-manager in 1932, appearing in 93 games, including 49 at second base and 30 at third base. In 1933, McManus returned to the Red Sox as player-manager. He appeared in 106 games, 76 at third base and 26 at second base, and compiled a .284 batting average and .369 on-base percentage. The 1933 Boston Red Sox compiled a 63–86 record under McManus, a 20-game improvement over the 1932 Red Sox. On October 2, 1933, the Red Sox gave McManus his unconditional release, and he was replaced as manager by

Bucky Harris Stanley Raymond "Bucky" Harris (November 8, 1896 – November 8, 1977) was an American professional baseball second baseman, manager and executive. While Harris played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators and Detroit Tiger ...

Dodgers and Braves

In January 1934, McManus was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers. He compiled a .340 batting average in exhibition games for the Dodgers, but first year manager

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New Y ...

concluded that McManus was disgruntled at being with the Dodgers. Accordingly, on April 11, 1934, Stengel released McManus. McManus was then acquired on waivers by the Boston Braves. McManus appeared in 114 games for the Braves, 73 at second base and 37 at third base, and compiled a .276 batting average and a .330 on-base percentage. He appeared in his final major league game at age 34 on September 30, 1934.

Minor league manager

On December 7, 1934, McManus was hired as a player-manager for the St. Paul Saints in the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. He compiled a .275 batting average for St. Paul in 1935. On September 12, 1935, McManus announced that he would not return to the Saints in 1936. In 1936, he returned to the

, the team with which he began his professional baseball career, as player-manager. He compiled a .271 batting average for Tulsa in 101 games during the 1936 season. In 1937, McManus played third base for the Albany Senators in the New York–Pennsylvania League. He compiled a .244 batting average in 24 games before being released in early June. In December 1937, McManus was hired as player-manager of the

of the Eastern League. He remained with Williamsport for two years through the 1938 and 1939 seasons. On February 17, 1940, he was hired as the manager of the San Antonio Missions of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. He remained with San Antonio for the 1940 and 1941 seasons. In 1943, McManus was employed as a sheet metal worker doing war work at a Chrysler plant in Chicago. In April 1944, McManus was hired to manage one of the clubs in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. He began his career in the league as the manager of the

. He managed the Kenosha squad to the first half championship and lost to Milwaukee in the playoffs. In January 1945, McManus announced that he would return to Kenosha, having rejected an offer to return to men's baseball. He noted: "It is a lot of fun managing those girls. They know how to play the game, catch signals in a hurry and put everything they have into their play." He ended up as manager of the South Bend Blue Sox of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1945. In 1946, he managed the Chicago Bloomer Girls. In February 1947, McManus was hired as the manager of the

of the Western League. After compiling a 54–75 record with Denver in 1947, McManus resigned to return to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. In 1948, McManus ended his managerial career with the South Bend Blue Sox, the team he had coached in 1945.

Managerial record

Later years

McManus married Norma Ida Wahl on April 13, 1925, in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1951, McManus led an effort to unionize professional baseball, football, and basketball players under the umbrella of the American Federation of Labor. McManus died in 1966, shortly after undergoing cancer surgery, at Cochran Veterans Hospital in St.Louis, Missouri. He was 65 years old. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in St. Louis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McManus, Marty 1900 births 1966 deaths Major League Baseball player-managers Major League Baseball second basemen American League stolen base champions St. Louis Browns players Detroit Tigers players Boston Red Sox players Boston Braves players Boston Red Sox managers Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players St. Paul Saints (AA) players St. Paul Saints (AA) managers San Antonio Missions managers Albany Senators players Williamsport Grays players San Antonio Missions players All-American Girls Professional Baseball League managers Baseball players from Chicago American people of Irish descent United States Army soldiers Baseball players from St. Louis Burials at Calvary Cemetery (St. Louis)