1.
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
2.
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
3.
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
4.
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
5.
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
6.
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
7.
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
8.
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
9.
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
10.
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
