rookie catcher and future star, Walker Cooper but, when Cooper was injured, Mancuso caught the majority of the Cardinals' games in 1941. He was credited with helping the Cardinals to a second-place finish due to his work with rookie pitchers Ernie White (17-7) and Howie Krist (10-0), but only managed to post a .229 batting average. Mancuso returned to the Giants in 1942 as a backup catcher and pitching coach. When Harry Danning was drafted into the United States Army, Mancuso became the club's starting catcher at age 37, sharing the job with 35-year-old future Hall of Fame member, Ernie Lombardi for the 1943 and 1944 seasons. At the end of the 1944 season, one month before his 39th birthday, he was released by the Giants. Former teammate Freddie Fitzsimmons was managing the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945 and, convinced Mancuso to play one more season as a catcher and full-time pitching coach. He caught 70 games while sharing catching duties with Andy Seminick but, when Fitzsimmons was fired, Mancuso left the club before the end of the season, playing his final game on September 11 at the age of 40. Career statistics In a seventeen-year major league career, Mancuso played in 1,460 games, accumulating 1,194 hits in 4,505 at bats for a .265 career batting average along with 53 home runs, 543 runs batted in, and an on-base percentage of .328. He retired with a .977 fielding percentage. A two-time All-Star, he led National League catchers three times in putouts, and twice in baserunners caught stealing and in range factor. His 50.69% career caught stealing percentage ranks 10th all-time among major league catchers. Mancuso was a member of five pennant-winning teams. He caught for five pitchers who were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (Carl Hubbell, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Dizzy Dean, Burleigh Grimes and Jesse Haines). In his book, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, baseball historian Bill James ranked Mancuso 74th all-time among major league catchers. Coaching and broadcasting career In 1946, Mancuso became the player-manager of the minor league Tulsa Oilers and in 1948 he took over as manager of the San Antonio Missions. In 1950, he was hired as the pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds. Mancuso began a career as a broadcaster in 1951 with his hometown Houston team in the Texas League. He later moved to St. Louis where he worked with play-by-play announcer