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Born to Italian immigrants in Niagara Falls, New York in 1917, Salvatore Anthony Maglie became a baseball legend.

Maglie made the big leagues as a 28-year old with the New York Giants in 1945. He threw 7 complete games in his 10 starts with a robust 166 ERA+. Before the 1946 campaign, Maglie jumped to the Mexican Leagues with Giants teammate Danny Gardella. The pair, along with others, was suspended for five years by Commissioner Happy Chandler.

Maglie won 20 games in each of his two seasons south of the border. He then returned to the US, barnstorming and playing in an independent league before his suspension was lifted.

When Maglie returned to the majors in 1950, he was 33 years old. The hurler continued as a force to be reckoned with. That season he stood atop the the league leaderboard in winning percentage, shutouts, ERA, and ERA+. Maglie also hit ten batters, a figure topped only by Ewell Blackwell among Senior Circuit twirlers.

During his 1950 spree of plunking hitters, Maglie was given the nickname, “The Barber”. There are three stories regarding the origin of the moniker.

The pitcher himself claimed that New York Daily News reporter Jim McCulley came up with it. The reason being Maglie’s penchant for shaving the batters’ chins with his hard offerings up and in.

Another version credits Giants pitching coach Frank Schellenback with coming up with “The Barber” because of the way Maglie shaved the corners of the plate. The third tale is that skipper Leo Durocher saw a close resemblance between the pitcher and the barber at the hotel where the players stayed.

Whatever the case, the nickname stuck with Maglie for the rest of his career.

Maglie had his finest season in 1951, going 23-6 with a 2.93 ERA. An All Star for the first time, he again paced the NL in ERA+ while giving up a league-low 7.7 hits per nine innings. Maglie finished 4th in MVP voting for the pennant-winning Giants. In his 2001 Historical Baseball Abstract, sabrmetric star Bill James opined that had the Cy Young Award existed then, Maglie would’ve received it.

Maglie was good in high-leverage situations. Over and over during the final month of the season Maglie delivered when the Giants counted on him most. In September of 1950 he went 5-1 with two shutouts as New York finished five games out of first. In ’51 The Barber was 6-1 down the stretch, including a shutout of the Dodgers that put the team’s in a tie for first place. The following season the Giants finished second despite Maglie’s four September wins.

In 1954 Maglie got the pennant-clinching complete-game victory on September 20th. The Game 1 starter in the World Series, Maglie allowed two runs in seven innings of work. He received a no-decision in the Giants extra-inning win. Three nights later New York swept Cleveland to give Maglie his only ring.

After a somewhat subpar 1955 campaign, Maglie rebounded with the Brooklyn Dodgers in ’56. Once more he led NL hurlers in ERA+ and hits per nine, going 13-5 and finishing second in both Cy Young and MVP balloting. Strong again in September, Maglie recorded six victories. Two of his win came via shutouts including a no-hitter against the Phillies.

The Barber pitched for the New York Yankees in parts of ’57 and ’58, before throwing his last big league pitch August 31, 1958 for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Sal Maglie retired with a .657 winning percentage, a mark nearly 100 point higher than his teams’ .561 mark. His ERA+ of 127 ties him with no-doubt Cooperstown selections Tom Seaver and Bob Gibson and puts him above many other Hall of Fame hurlers.

In the collection is this government postcard signed in 1952 by Sal “The Barber” Maglie.

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Sal Maglie was a New Yorker through-and-through. Born and buried in state’s tourist haven Niagara Falls, he pitched for all three New York big big league teams.

The Barber went 95-42 with a 128 ERA+ in seven years with the Giants. His two seasons in Brooklyn included a 19-11 mark and a 140 ERA+. With the Yankees late in his career Maglie went 3-1 with a 3.10 ERA.

He was the last of six pitchers to play for all New York three teams, joining Johnny Allen, Burleigh Grimes, Waite Hoyt, Rosy Ryan, and Bobo Newsom.

Shown here is the back of the government postcard signed by Maglie. Notice the Phoenix Arizona postmark of March 3, 1952. Vintage Maglie autographs from his playing career remain attractive to collectors.

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Bobby Thomson’s Shot Heard ‘Round the World in 1951. Willie Mays’ catch of Vic Wertz’ long drive in the ’54 World Series. Don Larsen’s perfect game in the ’56 Fall Classic.

Sal Maglie not only witnessed these events, he was also the starting pitching in each contest.

In 1951 Sal Maglie topped the National League in wins and ERA+ to propel the Giants to their first World Series appearance since the 1930s. To get there they had to beat the Dodgers in a three-game playoff to determine the National League pennant. With their season on the line, the Giants handed the ball to Maglie.

The New York pitcher kept his team close through 8 innings. In the bottom of the ninth with his team trailing 4-2, Bobby Thomson hit a three-run, walk-off, pennant-winning homer. His Shot Heard ‘Round the World remains one of baseball’s most memorable blasts.

Three years later Maglie won 14 of 20 decisions and posted a 125 ERA+ to make the Giants NL champs again. Hoping to win their first World Series since the days of Mel Ott and Carl Hubbell, the Game 1 start went to Maglie. He was again respectable, allowing just two runs in seven innings.

In the 8th, Vic Wertz came up with two runners on with the score tied 2-2. He crushed the ball, clubbing a 450-foot line shot to dead centerfield. Giants flycatcher Willie Mays turned his back to the plate and sprinted toward the Polo Grounds wall.

Mays caught the ball in one of the most remarkable defensive plays in World Series history. The Giants went on to beat the Indians, eventually winning sweeping the Tribe to win the title.

In 1956 Maglie was with the crosstown Brooklyn Dodgers. His 4.9 WAR, .722 winning percentage, and NL-best 139 ERA+ helped push the Bums to a Fall Classic rematch with the New York Yankees.

After winning Game 1, Maglie got the start in Game 5 with the Series tied at two games apiece. Though he allowed just two runs in 8 innings, Maglie was no match for Don Larsen who tossed the only perfect game in World Series history.

Those three events involved all three teams from New York and remain among baseball’s most memorable post season performances.

In the collection is this Heilbronner Baseball Bureau information card filled out and signed by an 18-year-old Bobby Thomson in 1942. He would play in Class D for just 34 games in ’42 season before enlisting in the US Army Air Corps for whom he serve until the end of World War II. This card was signed a full four years before Thomson’s MLB debut.

Maglie and Thomson were teammates with the Giants for four seasons starting in 1950.

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Sal Maglie’s career ERA+ of 127 puts him in elite company. First-ballot Cooperstown selections Tom Seaver and Bob Gibson have the same mark. Many Hall of Fame hurlers are found below Maglie on the all-time list.

The reason Maglie is not in the Cooperstown conversation is because of the relative brevity of his career. The hurler waited until he was 28 to make his big league debut. His rookie campaign of 1945 was solid. In 13 games including 10 starts Maglie had seven complete games and a 2.35 ERA.

Then everything changed.

In 1946, Sal Maglie, Danny Gardella, Alex Carrasquel, Max Lanier, and Mickey Owen accepted $10,000 each to play in the Mexican League. In response Commissioner Happy Chandler banned them for five years on grounds that they violated baseball’s reserve clause.

Maglie won 20 games in each of his two seasons south of the border before returning to the US. Still under suspension, Maglie barnstormed and played in an independent league the next two years.

Meanwhile, Gardella sued Major League Baseball and the New York Giants charging that the reserve clause was invalid. By 1949 the case was still mired in the courts when Chandler offered amnesty to Gardella as well as a rumored settlement of $60,000. Late in the year, Gardella dropped his lawsuit. All suspensions were lifted.

Despite missing four full MLB seasons, Maglie won a combined 59 game in the three years immediately following his return. The hurler continued to have many outstanding seasons into his late 30s, and pitched until the ripe old age of 41.

Maglie led the league in ERA+ three times, shutouts, wins, and win/loss percentage once each. An All Star in 1951 and ’52, Maglie received consideration in MVP voting four times. Twice he finished among the top-5 vote-getters.

In ten seasons Maglie was an ace for three pennant-winning teams. For the ’51 NL champ Giants he posted league-leading numbers in wins (23) and ERA+ (134). The ’54 World Series champions benefited from Maglie’s 14 victories and 125 ERA+. Two years later he threw a no-hitter while recording a career-high 4.9 WAR for the pennant-winning Dodgers.

Many believe the only thing missing from Maglie’s Hall of Fame resumé is increased innings at his same rate of excellence. The hurler’s late start and missed time because of the Mexican League scandal make Maglie another one of baseball’s “what if” stories.

In the letter of November 7, 1949, Chandler writes to Dodger owner Walter O’Malley about the Mexican League fiasco that cost Maglie four big league seasons.

Chandler writes, “I want to thank you…for the very important part you played in helping to bring about the satisfactory settlement in the Gardella case.”