only guy who played in the major leagues because I couldn't play in the minors." Early MLB career Mize was known as both "Big Jawn" and "The Big Cat" for his smooth fielding at first base. In 1937 he batted .364, but Cardinals teammate Joe Medwick took the title with a .374 average. He led the league in triples and OPS in 1938. In 1939, Mize finished second in the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting after leading the league with a .349 average and 28 home runs. Mize's 43 home runs in 1940 set a Cardinals team record that stood for more than 60 years. At the end of the 1941 season, however, Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey, who believed in trading players before their skills began to decline, traded Mize to the New York Giants. In exchange for Mize, the Cardinals received Bill Lohrman, Johnny McCarthy, Ken O'Dea, and $50,000. Mize was involved in a 1941 lawsuit against Gum Products Inc. The company manufactured a set of baseball cards called Double Play. Mize sued because he argued that the company did not have his consent to use his image in the card set. Gum Products Inc. won the lawsuit, but the company stopped producing its Double Play series because of the expenses it incurred during the legal proceedings with Mize. The Giants pursued Mize after learning that their first baseman, Babe Young, was going to be forced into military service. In 1942, Mize hit for his lowest batting average to that point in his career (.305), but he hit 26 home runs and led the NL with 110 RBI. Military service and later career Mize spent 1943 through 1945 in military service during World War II. During his service he played for the Great Lakes Naval Station baseball team for service members and new personnel in training. Mize hit 17 home runs in 51 games and batted over .475 while manning first base for the Bluejackets. Other team members included: Phil Rizzuto who belonged to the Yankees; outfielders Sam Chapman, Dom DiMaggio and Barney McCosky; Frankie Pytlak; and Brooklyn shortstop Pee Wee Reese, and Johnny Lipon. The team was considered one of the best WWII era teams assembled. Returning to the Giants in 1946, a broken toe caused him to fall one short of the home run title, won by Ralph Kiner of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1947