San Francisco Giants: Top 30 players of all-time

NY/SF Giants best players all-time: No. 7-Bill Terry

57 WAR

“Smiling Bill” Terry comes in at the No. 7 spot in our top 30 after a lengthy and immensely successful career with the New York Giants.

From 1923-1936, the eventual Hall of Famer was a three-time All-Star, the 1933 World Series champion, an NL batting champion before getting his number retired after his career had ended.

At one point in his career, Bill Terry finished in the top seven of the MVP voting in five straight seasons from 1931-1935 when he was in his early to mid-30s.

In the 1933 season, he was a player and a manager for the ballclub and on the field he missed a month with an injury but still managed to hit .322 by season’s end. In the Fall Classic, Terry went 6-for-22, including a key home run that he hit off of Monte Weaver in Game 4.

After he was done playing on the field he still continued to manage the NY Giants until 1941. They won a pennant in 1937, which was pretty much the final huge season the Giants had under Bill Terry as the manager.

Terry was rumored to actually try to purchase the Giants, but the owner Horace Stoneham had some differences with him so a transaction never occurred.

Terry was then inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954 and was a nominee of the league’s All-Century team. Terry’s No. 3 was retired in 1984.