Marty McManus

Martin Joseph McManus (March 14, 1900 – February 18, 1966) was an American baseball player and manager.

McManus was born in Chicago, Illinois 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 United States Army in 1918 and 1919 and was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone.

A native of Chicago, Illinois, McManus spent two years in the United States Army 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, principally as a second baseman (927 games) and third baseman (725 games) for the St. Louis Browns (1920-1926), Detroit Tigers (1927-1931), Boston Red Sox (1931-1933), and Boston Braves (1934).

McManus began his professional baseball career in 1920 with the Tulsa Oilers 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.

On August 12, 1920, McManus was sold by the Tulsa club to the St. Louis Browns.

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.

The 1922 Browns team finished one game behind the pennant-winning Yankees, the closest McManus would ever come to the postseason.

He had four seasons in which he compiled a batting average above .300, including a .333 average in 1923 and a .320 average in 1930.

In 1923, McManus again appeared in 154 games for the Browns, 133 at second base and 20 at first base.

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.

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).

He led the American League with 23 stolen bases in 1930 and with 44 doubles 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.

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).

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 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).

McManus also served as a manager or player-manager with several baseball teams, beginning with the Boston Red Sox in 1932 and 1933.

He was also a player-manager of the St. Paul Saints in 1935, the Tulsa Oilers in 1936, the Williamsport Grays in 1938 and 1939, the San Antonio Missions in 1940 and 1941, and the Denver Bears in 1947.

He also served as a manager in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League for the Kenosha Comets in 1944 and the South Bend Blue Sox in 1945 and 1948.

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).

In 1951, he led an effort to unionize professional baseball, football, and basketball players under the umbrella of the American Federation of Labor.