New York Baseball Giants

The San Francisco Giants would not be possible without the New York Baseball Giants.

 

Thanks to a millionaire and tobacco worker, John Day, the New York Giants would become part of the National League in 1883.  Some 142 years later, Giants Baseball is alive and well.

 

The first two years, they were known as New York (though the word Gothams was their name).  From 1885 to the present day, the team is known as the Giants.  Here are the records for the team while in New York.

 

W-L  108-100   .518 as New York (1883-1884)

W-L  5959-4798   .554 as the Giants (1885-1957).

Prior to the 1901 season, the Giants would win two World Series against American Association teams, the Saint Louis Browns and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms.

From 1901 to 1957, the New York Giants would win 17 National League pennants and five World Series titles (1905, 1921, 1922, 1933 and 1954).

John McGraw would be the winningest manager in Giants' history with a record of 2583-1790, a .591 winning percentage.

 

Names such as Christy Mathewson, Mel Ott, Carl Hubbell, Amos Rusie, Bill Terry, Roger Connor, Mickey Welch, George Davis, Travis Jackson, Larry Doyle, George Burns and Willie Mays.

 

The Giants played in numerous parks.  They played in four different Polo Grounds, the final one from 1912 to 1957.  The other parks were Oakland Park, Hilltop Park and the St. George Cricket Grounds.

 

The Giants biggest moment, undoubtedly happened in 1954 when they won their fifth and last World Series in New York.  The team was a decided underdog against the heavily favored Cleveland Indians.

 

New York would shock the baseball world by sweeping the Indians in four games.  The name Dusty Rhodes would be a thorn in the Indians throughout the series.

 

The 1951 National League season would be a close second.  The Giants were 13 1/2 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers in August.  They would catch the Dodgers on the final weekend of the regular season to force a best of three playoff.

 

Thanks to a three run home run by Bobby Thomson in the bottom of the ninth inning at the Polo Fields on October 3rd, the Giants would come from behind to beat the Dodgers, 5-4 and advance to the 1951 World Series against the Yankees.

 

Unfortunately, six years later, the Giants would play their last season at the Polo Grounds.  Declining attendance, a stadium that needed repairing would have the team moving to the West Coast for the 1958 season.

 

In a future post, will share more about New York Giants history.  There is a lot to share.