1934-1936 Diamond Stars: #30 "Heinie" Manush

Sunday, January 30, 2022

#30 "Heinie" Manush - Washington Senators

Henry Emmett Manush

Washington Senators

Outfield

Bats: Left Throws: Left Height: 6'1" Weight: 200

Born: July 20, 1901, Tuscumbia, AL

Major League Teams: Detroit Tigers 1923-1927; St. Louis Browns 1928-1930; Washington Senators 1930-1935; Boston Red Sox 1936; Brooklyn Dodgers 1937-1938; Pittsburgh Pirates 1938-1939

World Series Appearances: Washington Senators 1933

Died: May 12, 1971, Sarasota, FL (69)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1964

Heinie Manush was one of the best contact hitters of his era, winning a batting title in 1926 with a .378 average and finishing in the top three in league MVP voting in three different seasons. Manush was consistently among the league leaders for batting average, missing a second title in 1928 by one point to Goose Goslin (#112). He led the league in hits in 1928 (241) and 1933 (221) and compiled 200-hit seasons four times. Goslin led the league in doubles twice (1928 and 1929) and triples once (1933). He helped lead the Senators to the World Series in 1933, along with shortstop Joe Cronin (#123), but the Giants defeated his team in five games. Manush was the starting left-fielder for the American League in the 1934 All-Star Game. Also a fine fielder, he often was among the league leaders for outfielders in defensive categories, finishing in the top ten for fielding percentage nine times.

1926 Sporting News (M101-7)

Manush currently ranks 97th all-time for hits (2,524), 72nd all-time for doubles (491), 40th all-time for triples (160) and his career .330 batting average is 37th all-time. Following his playing days, he managed in the minor leagues, scouted for the Boston Braves and coached with the Senators in 1953 and 1954. Manush would also scout for the expansion Senators in 1961 and 1962. In 1964, the Veterans Committee of the Baseball Hall of Fame granted him induction for his career accomplishments.

Building the Set

January 21, 2022 from Key West, FL (Quality Baseball Cards) - Card #40

Mid-January is never a fun time for me, and needing a break during a long work day I found myself on eBay looking for the remaining Dick Bartell (#15 and #101) variations I needed. I had recently added his most commonly found card from the set, noting his team as the Giants on the back, but I wanted to try to find his other two cards from the set as well. In my travels, I found what I considered to be extremely unusual for this pandemic-induced collecting age - a large group of auctions from seller quality*cards from the Diamond Stars set with no bids, including the elusive Bartell card from the set's third series. I set my opening bids, and waited a few days for the auctions to close. Again, much to my surprise, there was little to no action on the auctions until their closing minutes. I lost a few auctions as the seconds ticked away, but I came away with six new cards overall, including this Manush card for less than $40. I'll write about the other five cards in upcoming posts.

Variations Available

1 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright / W on his sleeve ✅

2 - 1936 / blue back / 1935 statistics / 1935 copyright / No W on his sleeve

The Card / Senators Team Set

When National Chicle re-released this card in 1936, it used blue ink, the back reflected Manush's 1935 statistics, and most notably they removed the W from his sleeve to reflect his move to the Red Sox. The tip on the back of the card discusses the importance of communication among fielders whenever there's a fly ball - be it in the infield, outfield or in foul territory. The last line indicates Manush uses "his megaphone voice to direct his teammates" while on the field.

1935 Season

Now in his 13th season, and already established as one of the game's top hitters, Manush began to slip with his production. He was again the Senators' opening day left fielder, but he'd miss stretches at a time with either Cecil Travis or John Stone filling in for him in left. Manush appeared in 119 games, batting just .273 with 131 hits, four home runs and 56 RBIs. Following the season, on December 17th, he was dealt to the Red Sox for Roy Johnson and Carl Reynolds.