Johnny Mize | slugger for the St. Louis Cardinals in the late 1930s and 1940s

Known as both "Big Jawn" and "The Big Cat" he was a smooth fielding first baseman, and a solid hitter. In his early career for the St. Louis Cardinals he hit for high averages, hitting .364 in 1937, .337 in 1938 and won the National League batting title in 1939 with an average of .349. He then changed his strategy and hit for power leading the National League in HR in 1939 and in 1940 and also leading the league in RBIs in 1940 and 1942. In 1941, Mize was involved in a lawsuit against Gum Products Inc. The company manufactured a set of baseball cards called Double Play, and he sued because he argued that the company did not have his consent to use his image in the card set. After he missed three seasons serving in the military from 1943 to 1945, he was traded to the New York Giants, and in 1947 hit 51 Home Runs with 138 RBIs. Mize spent the last five years of his career with the Yankees, mostly as a part-time player from 1949 – 1953. He was considered a valuable contributor to their winning an unprecedented five consecutive American League Pennants and World Series titles.