to get over playing for a losing team." The Giants finished fifth in 1935. Terry realized he was reaching the end of his career as a player. In 1934 he began to have leg problems, the curse of an aging ball player. That is usually the first physical problem to surface, normally well before eye or batting problems occur. Terry would celebrate his 37th birthday soon after the 1935 season ended. It was time to be thinking about his replacement at first base. Playing every day proved painful for Memphis Bill in 1935, as he anticipated; nevertheless, he was in the lineup for 145 games, ending the season with a batting mark of .341. It was a difficult year, plagued with player injuries and a team which seemed listless in the field. The brightest aspect of the team's performance was the outstanding play of scrappy Dick Bartell. The Giants managed to hold onto first place much of the season, and they were in contention until the last few weeks of the season; however, the Chicago Cubs made an amazing charge in the closing weeks, putting together a string of 23 consecutive wins to forge ahead of both the Giants and Cardinals to win the National League pennant. The Giants faded in the stretch, to finish in third place, 8 and a half games behind the Cubs and 4 games back of the second-place Cardinals. The Giants' owner, Charles A. Stoneham, died on January 7, 1936. He had held controlling interest in the club for 16 years but did not live to see his Giants rebound in 1936 to win the pennant. Stoneham's son Horace assumed his father's role as president of the club. Like his father, Horace was a low-visibility figure, shunning the public eye. Bill Terry continued in his capacity as manager, but 1936 was to be his final year as a player. During the winter of 1935-1936, second baseman Hugh Critz
July 2003
announced that he was retiring from baseball to manage his cotton farm at Starkville, Mississippi. Critz had been a fine New York Giants' infielder, generally regarded as one of the most underrated men on the team. Terry went to the trading block that winter to replace Critz and to find a successor for himself at first base. Memphis Bill acquired Burgess Whitehead from the St. Louis Cardinals to play second base. He was being tutored as a field replacement for Cardinal player-manager, Frank Frisch. The Giants also picked up Sam Leslie from the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was an excellent hitter with the necessary credentials to fill Terry's first base position. With a sound infield in place for the 1936 season, Terry added a promising rookie outfielder to the squad in the person of Jimmy Ripple. Although the pitching staff was beginning to display some signs of aging, Hubbell and company remained more than capable of delivering outstanding service. The season began slowly for the Giants, disrupted by the illness of several players early in the schedule; however, by the first of July, the team was in third place and climbing rapidly. Memphis Bill was tortured by constant leg problems during 1936. Unable to stand the rigors of playing continuously, he alternated at first base with Sam Leslie. The Giants clinched the pennant on September 24, and Terry concluded his playing career by leading the Giants in a subway World Series against the New York Yankees. Memphis Bill had played in 79 games and registered a season batting average of .310. The name of William Harold Terry went into baseball's history book after 14 years with the New York Giants, the only major league team with whom he had ever played. Even though he was still actively
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