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Melvin Thomas Ott
New York Giants
Outfield
Bats: Left Throws: Right Height: 5'9" Weight: 170
Born: March 2, 1909, Gretna, LA
Major League Teams: New York Giants 1926-47
World Series Appearances: New York Giants 1933, 1936-37
As a Manager: New York Giants 1942-48
Died: November 21, 1958, New Orleans, LA (49)
Hall of Fame Induction: 1951
Short in stature, Mel Ott was nevertheless one of the premier power hitters of his era, playing in parts of 22 seasons with the Giants and leading the league in home run six times. He never played a minor league game, going directly from high school to the majors, and making his debut just a few months following his 17th birthday. Ott was a force at the plate, capable of the long ball but also hitting for average. He hit over 30 home runs in eight seasons, including a career-high 42 home runs in 1929. He led the league in both home runs (35) and RBIs (135) in 1934, the first of 11 consecutive seasons he'd go to the All-Star Game. A lifelong Giant, Ott helped his team to three National League pennants and a World Series title in 1933. He was also an above average fielder and displayed some speed on the base paths, making him truly an exceptional five-tool player at the peak of his career. He spent the last six seasons of his playing days also serving as the Giants' manager, guiding his team to a 464-530 record.
Ott was the first National League player to collect 500 home runs, and his 511 career blasts are currently 25th all-time. Most of his career marks are still among the best all-time in baseball - 1,859 runs (15th), 2,876 hits (45th), 1,860 RBIs (14th), 1,708 walks (9th), 256 assists as an outfielder (21st). His #4 was retired by the Giants in 1949, and he was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1951.
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| January 11, 2026 - Citizens Bank Park lit up green for the Eagles' playoff game |
January 20, 2026 from Dan Barrett Sportscards - Card #116
My wife and I have reached the point where we mutually agree not to get each other anything crazy for Christmas, as (a) we really don't need anything and (b) if there was something one of us needed, we'd likely want to go and pick it out on our own. She's left it up to me over the past several years to find "one big card" for her and our sons to present to me on Christmas morning, and I feign surprise each year, even though I'm the one who plotted the card's purchase for weeks or months in advance. This past Christmas snuck up on me. I don't know if it was stress at work or the ongoing transition of having our oldest son away at college for his first semester, but I completely whiffed on finding the "one big card" in time for Santa to leave it for me under the tree.
I hadn't planned on buying this Ott card, but I received an offer of a deep discount from eBay seller, Dan Barrett Sportscards, and after a quick confirmation that Santa still owed me "one big card," I clicked buy at some point in early January. It's only the third card I've added to my Diamond Stars set build since the beginning of 2025, and with the addition of this card, I'm down to needing just three, but likely only two more cards for my version of a set.
I say likely only two, as I had every intention of adding both the error and corrected version of the Hank Greenberg (#54) card to my set, but either version of the card is crazy expensive, and I'm slowly talking myself out of needing both. With the addition of a Greenberg card, preferrably the corrected version, and the high series Stanley Hack (#107) card, my set quest will be complete.
Actually . . . one more thing left on my to-do list is to track down reprints of the cards in my set currently slabbed. Right now there are holes in my nine-pocket pages where the graded cards should go, and I've decided to use reprints of those cards as placeholders so there are no gaps whenever I'm flipping pages and admiring the set.
Variations Available
1 - 1935 / green back / 1934 statistics / 1935 copyright
The Card / Giants Team Set
What a fantastic card, and a card I've seen countless times under glass display cases in my 40 years of collecting baseball cards. This is the only card in the set featuring a player without his hat, and I wonder what made Ott decide to pose without his hat on? Having now seen all the cards in the set, I'd say this card and the Jimmie Foxx (#64) card are by far my two favorite cards in the set, in all their 1930s art deco glory.
The back of the card features a baseball tip that still applies to today's hitters. It's not about killing the ball, or swinging the bat as hard as you can. Rather, it's about making contact with the ball at the sweet spot or the "sweet part" of the bat, and spending hours practicing a hitter's craft. Ott was a master at this, resulting in a Hall of Fame career.
1935 Season
In 152 games with the Giants, Ott batted .322 with 31 home runs and 114 RBIs. Once again the MVP of the Giants, he and first baseman Bill Terry (#14) helped lead the club to a third place finish in the National League.
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Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1929 Kashin Publications (R316)
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0): N/A
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2025 Topps Tribute #78
865 - Ott non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 1/24/26.
Sources:
Previous Card: #49 "Buck" Jordan - Boston Braves
Next Card: #51 John Whitehead - Chicago White Sox
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