1.
National League
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Both leagues currently have 15 teams. The two league champions of 1903 arranged to compete against each other in the inaugural World Series, after the 1904 champions failed to reach a similar agreement, the two leagues formalized the World Series as an arrangement between the leagues. National League teams have won 48 of the 112 World Series contested from 1903 to 2016, the 2016 National League champions are the Chicago Cubs. By 1875, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was dangerously weak, additionally, Hulbert had a problem—five of his star players were threatened with expulsion from the NAPBBP because Hulbert had signed them to his club using what were considered questionable means. Hulbert had a vested interest in creating his own league. After recruiting St. Louis privately, four western clubs met in Louisville, Kentucky, Boston Red Stockings, the dominant team in the N. A. Hartford Dark Blues from the N. A. Mutual of New York from the N. A. St. Louis Brown Stockings from the N. A, the only strong club from 1875 excluded in 1876 was a second one in Philadelphia, often called the White Stockings or Phillies. The first game in National League history was played on April 22,1876, at Philadelphias Jefferson Street Grounds, 25th & Jefferson, the new leagues authority was tested after the first season. The National League operated with six clubs during 1877 and 1878, over the next several years, various teams joined and left the struggling league. By 1880, six of the eight members had folded. The two remaining original NL franchises, Boston and Chicago, remain in operation today as the Atlanta Braves, in 1883 the New York Gothams and Philadelphia Phillies began National League play. Both teams remain in the NL today, the Phillies in their original city, the NL encountered its first strong rival organization when the American Association began play in 1882. The A. A. played in cities where the NL did not have teams, offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where permitted, the National League and the American Association participated in a version of the World Series seven times during their ten-year coexistence. These contests were less organized than the modern Series, lasting as few as three games and as many as fifteen, with two Series ending in disputed ties, the NL won four times and the A. A. only once, in 1886. Starting with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1887, the National League began to raid the American Association for franchises to replace NL teams that folded and this undercut the stability of the A. A. Other new leagues that rose to compete with the National League were the Union Association, the Union Association was established in 1884 and folded after playing only one season, its league champion St. Louis Maroons joining the NL. The NL suffered many defections of star players to the Players League, the Brooklyn, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York franchises of the NL absorbed their Players League counterparts. The labor strife of 1890 hastened the downfall of the American Association, after the 1891 season, the A. A. disbanded and merged with the NL, which became known legally for the next decade as the National League and American Association
2.
Polo Grounds
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The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963. The third Polo Grounds, built in 1890 and renovated after a fire in 1911, is the one generally indicated when the Polo Grounds is referenced. It was located in Coogans Hollow and was noted for its distinctive shape, very short distances to the left and right field walls. As the name suggests, the original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876, in baseball, the original Polo Grounds was home to the New York Metropolitans from 1880 until 1885, and the New York Giants from 1883 until 1888. The Giants played in the second Polo Grounds for part of the 1889 season and all of the 1890 season, and at the third and fourth Polo Grounds from 1891 through 1957. The Polo Grounds was also the field of the New York Yankees from 1913 until 1922. It hosted the 1934 and 1942 Major League Baseball All-Star Games, in football, the third Polo Grounds was home to the New York Brickley Giants for one game in 1921 and the New York Giants from 1925 to 1955. The New York Jets of the American Football League played at the stadium from the inaugural season of 1960 through 1963. Other sporting events held at the Polo Grounds included soccer, boxing, the last sporting event at the Polo Grounds was a football game between the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills on December 14,1963. Shea Stadium opened in 1964 and replaced the Polo Grounds as the home of the Mets and Jets, the Polo Grounds was demolished over a period of four months that year and a public housing complex, known as the Polo Grounds Towers, was built on the site. The original Polo Grounds stood at 110th Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, directly across 110th Street from the northeast corner of Central Park. The venues original purpose was for the sport of polo, and its name was merely descriptive, not a formal name. For this purpose the ownership built a second diamond and grandstand at the park, dividing it into eastern and western fields for use by the Giants and Metropolitans respectively. Polo Grounds I thus hosted its first Major League Baseball games in 1883 as the stadium of two teams, the American Association Metropolitans and the National League Gothams. George Cricket Grounds on Staten Island in 1886, the original Polo Grounds was used not only for Polo and professional baseball, but often for college baseball and football as well—even by teams outside New York. The earliest known surviving image of the field is an engraving of a game between Yale University and Princeton University on Decoration Day, May 30,1882. Yale and Harvard also played their traditional Thanksgiving Day game there on November 29,1883, New York City was in the process of extending its street grid into uptown Manhattan in 1889. Plans for an extended West 111th Street ran through the Polo Grounds, City workers are said to have shown up suddenly one day and begun cutting through the fence to lay out the new street
3.
John T. Brush
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John Tomlinson Brush was an American sports executive who is primarily remembered as the owner of the New York Giants Major League Baseball franchise from 1890 until his death. He also owned the Indianapolis Hoosiers in the late 1880s, under his leadership, the Giants were revived as a franchise after a decline during the 1890s. Brush was also a leader in the formation of the rules that govern the modern World Series and he was one of 11 executives honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame on a Roll of Honor in 1946. Born in Clintonville, New York, Brush was orphaned at age 4 and was raised by his grandfather until he left to business college at age 17. During the Civil War he enlisted in the First New York Artillery in 1863 and he moved to Indianapolis in 1875, eventually opening a department store, and became involved in local baseball as a means of promoting his store. When the National League put the St. Louis Maroons franchise up for sale after the 1886 season, Brush bought it and relocated the team to Indianapolis. He renovated his ballpark, adding a special celebrity box which attracted such figures as President Benjamin Harrison, poet James Whitcomb Riley, in 1888 he offered a tryout to Bud Fowler, but ultimately decided not to challenge the sports color line. Brush also devised a salary scale system which was designed to curtail player salaries, instead of relocating, he kept the team in Cincinnati, and survived a challenge from a short-lived American Association competitor, the Cincinnati Kellys Killers. Freedman left baseball shortly thereafter, with Brush taking over as majority owner and team president, brushs health deteriorated quickly after becoming majority owner in 1902, as he suffered from locomotor ataxia, a nervous system affliction, as well as rheumatism. The Giants won another pennant in 1911, the year in which he oversaw the reconstruction of the Polo Grounds. His funeral was held at St. Pauls Episcopal Church, with accompanying Masonic rites and he was succeeded as Giants president by his son-in-law, Harry Hempstead. In 1913, the Giants organization constructed a stairway from the ticket booths on Coogans Bluff to the Polo Grounds below, Brush Stairway still stands, and was restored by the city in 2013. Reach Official American League Base Ball Guide, baseballLibrary SABR biography New York Times obituary John T. Brush Collection, 1912–1975, Indiana Historical Society John T, Brush – A Power in Baseball
4.
John McGraw
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John Joseph McGraw, nicknamed Little Napoleon and Mugsy, was a Major League Baseball player and long-time manager of the New York Giants. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937, while primarily a third baseman throughout his career, he also played shortstop and the outfield in the major leagues. Much lauded as a player, McGraw was one of the standard-bearers of dead-ball era baseball, even with his success and notoriety as a player, he is best known for his managing, especially since it was with a team so popular as the New York Giants. His total of 2,763 victories in that capacity ranks second overall behind only Connie Mack, McGraw is widely held to be the best player to become a great manager in the history of baseball. McGraw also held the MLB record for most ejections by a manager until Bobby Cox broke the record in 2007, McGraws father, whose name was also John, and his older brother Michael immigrated from Ireland in 1856. Their last name is spelled McGrath but pronounced McGraw and he and his brother had arrived in time for the Civil War, and were drawn into the conflict as part of the Union army. Shortly after the war, he married and McGraws older half-sister was born, John McGraw, Sr. s first wife died, and he began moving around looking for work—a search that ultimately led him to Truxton, New York, in 1871. It was there that the elder John McGraw married young Ellen Comerfort and they had the younger John McGraw on April 7,1873. The younger John McGraw was named John after his father, even as a baby, young Johnny had raven hair, and eyes so dark that many people thought they were black. The boys birth was the first of many to the family, the sheer number of children, combined with the paucity of well-compensated work led to hard times for the large family. It was often a struggle simply to have food for everyone. Tragedy struck the family in the summer of 1883, when a debilitating fever swept through the family, johnnys half-sister Annie,13, was the first to succumb, and his mother died shortly thereafter. By the time September 1883 had passed, three more McGraw children had died, the devastated family moved from their house in the country into a hotel in town. Johnnys father, understandably bitter, heaped even more responsibility on the boys shoulders. He became abusive toward the boy, and later on in 1885, from that day onward, he was raised by a kindly neighbor, Mary Goddard, under whose care he did quite well. He quickly became the best player on his school team, shortly after his 16th birthday, he began playing for his towns team, the Truxton Grays, making a favorable impression on their manager, Albert Bert Kenney. While he could play any position, his ability to throw a big curveball made him the star pitcher, McGraws relationship with Kenney precipitated his professional playing career. In 1890, Kenney bought a portion of the new professional franchise in Olean
5.
1911 New York Giants season
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The 1911 New York Giants season was the franchises 29th season. It involved the Giants winning their first of three consecutive National League pennants and they were beaten by the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series. Led by manager John McGraw, the Giants won the NL by 7½ games, on the offensive side, they finished second in total runs scored. On the defensive side, they allowed the fewest, hall of Famer Christy Mathewson led the league in ERA, and Rube Marquard had the most strikeouts. Taken together with the 1912 and 1913 pennant winners, this team is considered one of the greatest of all-time, one of the Giants drawing cards came in the form of unknown pitcher Charlie Faust, whose story was retold by Fred Snodgrass in The Glory of Their Times. Faust was considered something of a charm by manager McGraw. In 1911, Faust appeared in just two games for the team, which was the entirety of his major league playing career, as a pitcher, he pitched two innings, giving up one run. As a batter, he tallied one hit by pitch, two bases, and one run scored, in zero at bats. Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg
6.
1913 New York Giants season
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The 1913 New York Giants season was the franchises 31st season. It involved the Giants winning the National League pennant for the third consecutive year, led by manager John McGraw, the Giants dominated the NL and finished 12½ games in front of the second place Philadelphia Phillies. They were beaten by the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1913 World Series, ace pitcher Christy Mathewson went 25–11 and led the NL with a 2.06 ERA. Rube Marquard and Jeff Tesreau also won over 20 games, taken together with the 1911 and 1912 pennant winners, this team is considered one of the greatest of all-time. The roster was basically unchanged from 1912, september 15,1913, Rule 5 draft Ben Dyer was drafted by the Giants from the Decatur Commodores. Hank Ritter was drafted by the Giants from the Wilmington Chicks, Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg
7.
History of the New York Giants (baseball)
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The San Francisco Giants existed in the New York metropolitan area from 1883–1957. Prior to the start of the 1958 season, the moved to San Francisco, California. During the clubs tenure in New York, it won five of the franchises eight World Series wins and 17 of its 24 National League pennants, for most of that time, the Giants played home games in the Polo Grounds in the Upper Manhattan region of New York City. The Giants had intense rivalries with their rivals, the New York Yankees. The New York-Brooklyn rivalry soon evolved into the Los Angeles-San Francisco rivalry, numerous inductees of the Baseball Hall of Fame played for the New York Giants, including John McGraw, Mel Ott, Bill Terry, Willie Mays, Monte Irvin, and Travis Jackson. The Giants began as the baseball club founded by millionaire tobacconist John B. Day and veteran amateur baseball player Jim Mutrie, the Gothams, as the Giants were originally known, entered the National League in 1883, while their other club, the Metropolitans played in the American Association. Nearly half of the original Gotham players were members of the disbanded Troy Trojans, louis Browns in an early incarnation of the World Series. They repeated as champions the year with a pennant and World Series victory over the Brooklyn Bridegrooms. It is said that one particularly satisfying victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, Mutrie stormed into the dressing room and exclaimed. From then on, the club was known as the Giants, the Giants original home stadium, the Polo Grounds, also dates from this early era. It was originally located north of Central Park adjacent to Fifth and Sixth Avenues and 110th and 112th Streets, the Giants were a powerhouse in the late 1880s, winning their first two National League Pennants and World Championships in 1888 &1889. But nearly all of the Giants stars jumped to the upstart Players League, whose New York franchise was named the Giants. The new team built a stadium next door to the Polo Grounds. With a decimated roster, the NL Giants finished a distant sixth, attendance took a nosedive, and the financial strain affected Days tobacco business as well. The Players League dissolved after the season, and Day sold a minority interest in his NL Giants to the defunct PL Giants principal backer, as a condition of the sale, Day had to fire Mutrie as manager. Although the Giants rebounded to third in 1891, Day was forced to sell a controlling interest to Talcott at the end of the season. Four years later, Talcott sold the Giants to Andrew Freedman, when Freedman offered Rusie only $2,500 for 1896, the disgruntled hurler sat out the entire season
8.
Pennant (sports)
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A pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been used in all types of athletic levels, high school, collegiate. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the colors of a particular team. Often graphics, usually the mascot symbol, as well as the name were displayed on pennants. The images displayed on pennants were either stitched on with contrasting colored felt or had screen-printing, today, vintage pennants with rare images or honoring special victories have become prized collectibles for sporting enthusiasts. While pennants are typically associated with teams, pennants have also been made to honor institutions and vacation spots. In Major League Baseball, a pennant typically refers to such a flag flown specifically by the National League or American League championship team of a given season, the last few weeks of the regular American professional baseball season are known as a pennant race. This is a holdover from the time when the championships were determined by the team with the best record at the end of the regular season. In Australian sports, the flag is used in the same context. The pennant is waved around in the crowd to support to the sport team they are cheering for
9.
1912 Boston Red Sox season
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The 1912 Boston Red Sox season was the twelfth season in the franchises Major League Baseball history. This was the first year that the team played its games at Fenway Park. The Red Sox finished first in the American League with a record of 105 wins and 47 losses. The team set or tied records for most wins, fewest losses. The team then faced the National League champion New York Giants in the 1912 World Series, which the Red Sox won in eight games to capture the franchises second World Series. One of the plays in the World Series was a muffed fly ball by Giants outfielder Fred Snodgrass. Behind center fielder Tris Speaker and pitcher Smoky Joe Wood, the Red Sox led the league in runs scored, Speaker was third in batting and was voted league Most Valuable Player. Wood won 34 games, including a record 16 in a row, although the pitching staff was satisfactory, the only star pitcher was Wood, while the only star in the starting lineup was Speaker. Little-known third baseman Larry Gardner was the next best hitter, while future Hall of Famer Harry Hooper had a poor offensive season, the Red Sox made several transactions during the 1912 offseason. In February 1912, Rip Williams was sold to the New York Highlanders, the Red Sox sold two players to the Chicago White Sox during the offseason, Jack Fournier on February 6 and Eddie Cicotte on July 9. Later in the year, on November 25, Hugh Bradley was sold to the Jersey City Giants minor league team of the International League. The only purchase made by the Red Sox that offseason was their purchase of Neal Ball from the Cleveland Naps on June 25 for $2500, the new Red Sox home stadium, Fenway Park opened on April 20, the same day as Navin Field in Detroit opened. It was supposed to be opened on April 18 but it rained in both cities on that day, on April 26, Hugh Bradley became the first player to hit a home run over the Green Monster at Fenway Park. It was his home run of the 1912 season. On April 11,1912, the Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders 5–3 in an away game, Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, the Red Sox won in 8 games 4–3, tying the Giants 6–6 in Game 2. AL Boston Red Sox vs. NL New York Giants 1912 Boston Red Sox at Baseball Reference 1912 Boston Red Sox season at Baseball Almanac
10.
1912 World Series
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In the 1912 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Giants four games to three. This dramatic series showcased great pitching from Giant Christy Mathewson and from Boston fireballer Smoky Joe Wood, Wood won two of his three starts and pitched in relief in the final game. In the deciding game, Boston rallied for two runs in the tenth inning thanks to two costly Giants fielding misplays, nearly all of the games were close. Four games in this Series were decided by one run, a sixth was decided by two runs. Game 7 was the one with a margin greater than three runs. Two games, including the decisive Game 8, went to extra innings, in Games 1 and 3, the losing team had the tying and winning runs on base when the game ended. This was one of only four World Series to go to eight games, also, it was at Game 4 of this Series that the World Series drew its 1,000, 000th fan. The total attendance record for this Series would stand as a record until 1921, when 269,977 attended the 1921 World Series, the first with Babe Ruth as an everyday player. Like this World Series, the 1921 World Series also went eight games, though unlike this World Series, which was a best-of-seven, the 1921 World Series was a best-of-nine. AL Boston Red Sox vs. NL New York Giants In batting practice before Game 1, Tris Speaker drove a ball not only over the right field grandstand, the Series opened with the Red Sox as 10–8 betting favorites. Giants manager John McGraw surprised everyone by starting rookie Jeff Tesreau rather than the great Christy Mathewson against Boston ace Smoky Joe Wood and he preferred to save Mathewson for Game 2 and the hostile crowd at Fenway Park. Josh Devore walked with one out in the third, and advanced to third base on a single by Larry Doyle lost in the sun by Duffy Lewis, after Fred Snodgrass struck out, Red Murrays single scored Devore and Doyle for a 2–0 Giants lead. Oddly, McGraw let relief pitcher Doc Crandall bat for himself for what turned out to be the last out rather than using backup catcher Art Wilson to pinch-hit, after the game Wood said, I threw so hard I thought my arm would fly right off my body. Christy Mathewson later said of the moment when he took the mound at Fenway Park, I could think of nothing greater than pitching this game for the glory of the New York Giants. An error by Giants shortstop Art Fletcher led to three first-inning unearned Boston runs off Mathewson, single tallies in the second and fourth by the Giants cut the lead to 3–2. Another error by Fletcher, who failed to tag Harry Hooper on a base attempt. In the top of the eighth Boston returned the favor, allowing New York to strike back for three runs, left field at brand-new Fenway Park was unique for a ten-to-fifteen-foot incline in front of the wall. He scored on Fred Murrays double, and two batters later third baseman Buck Herzog hit a double to give New York a 5–4 lead
11.
Fred Snodgrass
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Frederick Carlisle Snow Snodgrass was an American center fielder in Major League baseball from 1908 to 1916 for the New York Giants and the Boston Braves. He played under manager John McGraw and with some of the early greats. He is best known for dropping a key fly ball in the 1912 World Series, Snodgrass was immortalized in the Lawrence Ritter book The Glory of Their Times. Snodgrass hit a career high.321 in 1910, his first full season with the Giants, from 1911 to 1913, he played in three consecutive World Series, but the Giants lost all three. In the second, the 1912 Series, Snodgrass committed one of the most famous errors in baseball history. In the 10th inning of the game, Snodgrass, who was among the National Leagues best outfielders. He proceeded to make a spectacular game-saving catch on the next play, Giants manager John McGraw was not among those who blamed Snodgrass for the loss. Just the same, the became known as Snodgrasss Muff and also. Part way through the 1915 season, with his batting average below.200 and he subsequently signed with the Boston Braves. The next year,1916, was his last, despite hitting.249 for the Braves that season, he retired from the game. In the early 1960s, a half-century after his infamous dropped ball, the interview was included in Ritters renowned baseball book The Glory of Their Times, which featured oral accounts by 26 of the games oldest surviving players. Snodgrass was born in Ventura, California, the son of Andrew Jackson Snodgrass, while playing for the Giants, he lived with his wife Josephine in New York City. In 1912, Nelllie Frakes sued him for $75,000 for breach of promise, after Snodgrass petitioned for a change of venue to Ventura, the Los Angeles Times reported that Nellie Frakes impressed the audience with her comeliness but lost the case to Snodgrass. After leaving the Braves, Snodgrass returned to California, where the couple had two daughters, Eleanor in 1917 and Elizabeth in 1921, Snodgrass attended St. Vincents College in Los Angeles before joining the Giants. Later, he became a banker and was a popular city councilman and mayor in Oxnard. His error in the 1912 World Series, however, remained with him to the end. When he died on April 5,1974, his obituary in the New York Times was headlined Fred Snodgrass,86, Dead and his wife Josephine died on January 1,1983. List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders Bell, Christopher, Scapegoats, career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference BaseballLibrary. com
12.
Larry Doyle (baseball)
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Lawrence Joseph Doyle, nicknamed Laughing Larry, was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball from 1907 to 1920 who played almost his entire career for the New York Giants. The National Leagues outstanding second baseman during the 1910s, he was awarded the 1912 Chalmers Award as the leagues best player, and won the 1915 batting title with a.320 average. Born in Caseyville, Illinois, Doyle was a third baseman in the minor leagues before his contract was purchased by the Giants for a then-record $4,500. He debuted with the Giants on July 22,1907, arriving late after taking the boat across the Hudson River, he cost his team the game with a ninth-inning error. Doyle moved to Breese, Illinois, where his family owned a motel next to the current city hall.308 average,1910 saw a slight dropoff, though he was still third in the NL in home runs and fourth in runs scored. Doyle also led the league with 25 triples, the most by an NL player since 1899 and he stole 30 bases for the third consecutive year, and finished fourth in the league in home runs and fifth in runs. He again doubled and scored for a 1–0 lead in the first inning of Game 6, but the Giants lost the game 13–2, and with it the Series. Doyle then had a 1912 season which was even better. In the 1912 World Series against the Boston Red Sox he only hit.242, though he scored the first run in a Game 6 victory and was 3 for 4 with a home run in an 11–4 rout in Game 7. But he was 0 for 5 in Game 8 as the Red Sox won 3–2 in ten innings, after New York took a 2–1 lead in the top of the 10th, to capture the title. In 1913 the Giants won their third straight pennant, although he batted only.280 and that year, he became the first player to hit a home run out of the Polo Grounds. He had a more dismal 1913 World Series, hitting only.150 against the Athletics as the Giants lost in five games. In 1914 he slipped to a.260 average, but was fourth in the league in runs, on July 17, he hit a home run in the top of the 21st inning to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3–1. He enjoyed renewed success in 1915, however, winning the crown with a.320 average. He also led the league in hits for the second time, Doyle was also second in the NL in runs and fifth in slugging. He hit.261 in his return to the Giants before having his last outstanding season in 1919, that year he again was league runnerup in slugging with a.433 average, and was fifth in home runs. He batted.285 in his season in 1920, and was granted his release so he could manage the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League. At the time, he was within five games of Johnny Evers league record for games at second base
13.
Chief Meyers
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John Tortes Chief Meyers was a Major League Baseball catcher for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, and Brooklyn Robins from 1909 to 1917. He played on the early Giants teams under manager John McGraw and was the catcher for Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson. Meyers hit over.300 for three years as the Giants won three straight National League pennants from 1911 to 1913. Overall, he played in four World Series – the 1911,1912, Meyers was a Native American from the Cahuilla culture of California, and he was educated at Dartmouth College. Meyers had his greatest success in the 1912 season, hitting.358 and his.441 on-base percentage led the league. Meyers was also a key player in that years World Series versus the Boston Red Sox, in 1919, Meyers was hired as manager of the New Haven entry in the Eastern League. Meyers was interviewed by Lawrence Ritter for The Glory of Their Times in March 1964 and this brought him a great deal of fame years after he had left baseball. Jack Meyers was a Native American playing baseball in the dead-ball era, in the early 20th century, Indians were still stereotyped as stupid, but Chief Meyers belied this stereotype. Meyers was a sophisticated and logical man whose biggest regret was not finishing his college education, at the age of seven, Meyers father died, causing his mother to become even more important in his life. Meyers hadnt graduated from school, but the fake diploma got him into Dartmouth. While attending classes and playing baseball, the eventually discovered that his high school diploma was forged. Not wanting to complete a program to get reinstated into Dartmouth. After playing a couple years in various leagues, Chief Meyers,28, was a rookie with the New York Giants in 1908, in 1910, Meyers was hitting.285 making a name for himself throughout the league. Meyers was big and strong, and like the majority of other catchers and he hit for power and average. Meyers most successful season was in 1912, when he batted.358 finishing 3rd in MVP voting and his keen eye lifted his on-base percentage to a league-high.441. Meyers led the Giants in batting for three consecutive seasons and he was a student of the game, predicting pitchers pitches and location. Facing elimination against the Athletics in Game 6 of the 1911 World Series, after Chief Bender opened the frame with a flyout, two singles and an error by first baseman Fred Merkle fielding a throw on a sacrifice bunt made the score 7-1. Two consecutive singles would score two runs, then with runners at the corners, Harry Davis hit a 2-1 pitch into right-center to make it 10-1
14.
Jeff Tesreau
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Charles Monroe Jeff Tesreau was an American Major League Baseball player. Tesreau initially signed with a league team of the St. Louis Browns in 1909. In 1910, his contract was purchased by the New York Giants, after two years in the minors, Tesreau learned how to throw a spitball, which became his signature pitch. He started the game of the 1912 season for the Giants. The New York Times wrote, Tesreau has curves which bend like barrel hoops, hes just the kind of a strong man McGraw has been looking for. In the 1912 World Series, Tesreau went 1–2 against Boston Red Sox ace Smoky Joe Wood, in 1912, Tesreau was 17–7 and had a league leading ERA of 1.96. On September 6 of that season, Tesreau no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0, from 1912 to 1917, Tesreau remained a starting pitcher with the Giants. In 1918, he had an argument with manager John McGraw, in 1919, Tesreau refused to play for the Giants, and McGraw refused to trade or release him. Tesreau took a position as coach for the Dartmouth Big Green baseball team of Dartmouth College. He won 348 games as coach for Dartmouth, often coaching against Joe Wood, standing 6 ft 2 in, Tesreau was given the nickname Jeff because he resembled boxer Jim Jeffries. Tesreau suffered a stroke while on a trip in 1946. He died a few days later, List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
15.
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
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The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, and operated by private interests. The Halls motto is Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations, the word Cooperstown is often used as shorthand for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The Hall of Fame was established in 1939 by Stephen Carlton Clark, Clark had sought to bring tourists to a city hurt by the Great Depression, which reduced the local tourist trade, and Prohibition, which devastated the local hops industry. A new building was constructed, and the Hall of Fame was dedicated on June 12,1939, the erroneous claim that U. S. Civil War hero Abner Doubleday invented baseball in Cooperstown was instrumental in the early marketing of the Hall. An expanded library and research facility opened in 1994, dale Petroskey became the organizations president in 1999. In 2002, the Hall launched Baseball As America, an exhibit that toured ten American museums over six years. The Hall of Fame has since also sponsored educational programming on the Internet to bring the Hall of Fame to schoolchildren who might not visit, the Hall and Museum completed a series of renovations in spring 2005. The Hall of Fame also presents an annual exhibit at FanFest at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Jeff Idelson replaced Petroskey as president on April 16,2008. In 2012, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed a law ordering the United States Mint to produce and sell commemorative, non-circulating coins to benefit the private, non-profit Hall. The bill, House Bill H. R.2527, was introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Rep. Richard Hanna, a Republican from New York, the coins, which depict baseball gloves and balls, are the first concave designs produced by the Mint. The mintage included 50,000 gold coins,400,000 silver coins, the Mint released them on March 27,2014, and the gold and silver editions quickly sold out. The Hall receives money from surcharges included in the sale price,114 members of the Hall of Fame have been inducted posthumously, including four who died after their selection was announced. Of the 35 Negro league members,29 were inducted posthumously, the Hall of Fame includes one female member, Effa Manley. The newest inductees, enshrined on July 24,2016, are players Mike Piazza, the incoming class of 2017, to be formally enshrined on July 30, consists of executives John Schuerholz and Bud Selig and players Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Iván Rodríguez. In addition to honoring Hall of Fame inductees, the National Baseball Hall of Fame has presented 40 men with the Ford C, while Frick and Spink Award honorees are not members of the Hall of Fame, they are recognized in an exhibit in the Hall of Fames library. ONeil Award honorees are also not Hall of Fame members, but are listed alongside a permanent statue of the namesake and first recipient, Buck ONeil. From a final ballot typically including 25–40 candidates, each writer may vote for up to 10 players, until the late 1950s, any player named on 75% or more of all ballots cast is elected. A player who is named on fewer than 5% of ballots is dropped from future elections, players receiving 5% or more of the votes but fewer than 75% are reconsidered annually until a maximum of ten years of eligibility
16.
Christy Mathewson
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He was among the most dominant pitchers in baseball history, and ranks in the all-time top ten in several key pitching categories, including wins, shutouts, and ERA. In fact, he is the only pitcher in history to rank in the top ten both in career wins and in career ERA, if taking 19th century pitchers statistics into account. Mathewson grew up in Factoryville, Pennsylvania, and began playing baseball when he was 14 years old. He played in the leagues in 1899, recording a record of 21 wins. He pitched for the New York Giants the next season but was sent back to the minors and he would eventually return to the Giants and go on to win 373 games in his career, a National League record. He led the Giants to victory in the 1905 World Series by pitching three shutouts, Mathewson never pitched on Sundays, owing to his Christian beliefs. Mathewson served in the United States Armys Chemical Warfare Service in World War I and his respiratory system was weakened from the exposure, causing him to contract tuberculosis, from which he died in Saranac Lake, New York. Mathewson was born in Factoryville, Pennsylvania and attended school at Keystone Academy. He attended college at Bucknell University, where he served as class president and he was also a member of the fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta. His first experience of baseball came in 1895, when he was just 14 years old. The manager of the Factoryville ball club asked him to pitch in a game with a team in Mill City. Mathewson helped his team to a 19-17 victory, but with his batting rather than his pitching. He continued to play baseball during his years at Bucknell, pitching for minor league teams in Honesdale and Meridian, Mathewson was selected to the Walter Camp All-American football team in 1900. In 1899, Mathewson signed to professional baseball with Taunton of the New England League. The next season, he moved on to play on the Norfolk team of the Virginia-North Carolina League and he finished that season with a 20–2 record. He continued to attend Bucknell during that time period, in July of that year, the New York Giants purchased his contract from Norfolk for $1,500. Between July and September 1900 Mathewson appeared in six games for the Giants and he started one of those games and compiled a 0–3 record. Displeased with his performance, the Giants returned him to Norfolk, later that month, the Cincinnati Reds picked up Mathewson off the Norfolk roster
17.
Red Ames
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Leon Kessling Red Ames was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, and Philadelphia Phillies. Born in Warren, Ohio, Ames was a third or fourth starter for the New York Giants during their period of dominance under John McGraw. A career ERA of 2.63 ties him with Cy Young and he was traded to the Reds in 1913, and never again approached his earlier success with the Giants. Ames greatest distinction was being one of the wildest pitchers in history with a curveball charitably described as dramatic. Other of his accomplishments are leading the National League in saves with 6 in 1914 and 8 in 1916. After leaving the majors, he pitched in the minors for three years and managed briefly in the minors in 1923. His son, Red Ames Jr, played in the leagues for several years. J. Lesch, retrieved November 16,2013 Red Ames at Find a Grave
18.
Rube Marquard
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Richard William Rube Marquard was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball in the 1910s and early 1920s. He achieved his greatest success with the New York Giants and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. Rube Marquard was born in Cleveland, Ohio to German immigrant Fred Marquard, Marquard claimed an 1889 date of birth, but 1900 census data and a birth certificate show an 1886 date of birth. Lena Marquard died of an infection in 1899 and Rubes grandmother took responsibility for raising him. Marquard quit school after the grade, biographer Larry Mansch writes that he simply refused to attend any longer. Newspaper reports first mentioned Marquard in 1905 when he played with a team in Cleveland. Though pitching for a team that had a 1-15 win-loss record at one point. He broke a City League record with 16 strikeouts in a game against a known as Brittons Printing. In September, the City League season finished and he signed with the semipro Telling Strollers and he started his minor league baseball career in 1906. Despite his nickname, he was a city kid, as he told it in The Glory of Their Times, a writer in his minor league days compared him favorably with Rube Waddell, and very soon Marquard was being called Rube also. In 1907, he went 23-13 with a 2.01 earned run average, in 1908, he went 28-19 with a 1.69 ERA and led the American Association in wins. From 1911 to 1913, Marquard won at least 23 games each season, in 1911, he led the league with 237 strikeouts. In 1912, he led the league with 26 wins and he also made baseball history by winning 19 decisions in a row. Marquard allegedly celebrated by buying an opal stickpin to reward himself, upon being told by a friend that opals were a jinx, he threw the pin into a river, but apparently the curse had already done its work, as he lost his next decision. In 1914, Marquard went 12-22, and in 1915, he joined the Brooklyn Robins and he helped the team win pennants in 1916 and 1920. He then played for the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Braves, Marquard finished his major league career in 1925 with a record of 201–177 and a 3.08 ERA. His 1,593 strikeouts, at the time, ranked third in league history among left-handers. He later pitched and managed in the leagues until 1933
19.
The Glory of Their Times
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The Glory of Their Times, The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It is a book, edited by Lawrence Ritter, telling the stories of early 20th century baseball. It is widely acclaimed as one of the books written about baseball. Ritter got the idea for the book in 1961 upon the death of Ty Cobb and he was also influenced by the works of John and Alan Lomax, who traveled the country in the 1930s and 1940s with tape recorders seeking out old and almost forgotten American folksongs. Ritter realized that those who played baseball in the years of the 20th century were now old men. Ritter travelled 75,000 miles to interview his subjects, sitting for hours listening to them tell their tales into his tape recorder, the book retells their stories in the first-person, as they were told to Ritter. The interviews were made between 1962 and 1966, the book was published in September 1966, following four years of research, interviews and preparation. An enlarged edition was issued in 1984, with the additions of George Gibson, Babe Herman, Specs Toporcer, a positive review by Wilfred Sheed in the New York Times Book Section helped propel the book, though it never hit the best seller list. This book has been in print for most of the last 35 years, selling 360,000 copies, Ritter presented royalties to the 22 men in the original book and their estates, and continued to write them checks into the mid-1980s. Ritter himself earned less than $35,000 on this classic, every player in the book, along with his wife, has since died. A vinyl album containing some of the recordings of the interviews was released in the 1970s. More recently, with the popularity of books-on-tape, longer versions of the recordings have been released on audiocassette, crawford, Greenberg, Roush and Waner were already members of the Baseball Hall of Fame at the time of the books publishing. Coveleski, Goslin, Hooper and Marquard were elected after the book was published, Toporcer, who died in 1989, was the last survivor among the interviewees. As part of Ritters research, he interviewed many ballplayers, baseball executives and these individuals included Bill Veeck, Billy Werber, Benny Bengough, Marty McHale, Eliot Asinof, Fred Lieb, and George McBride
