From the desk: WHEN THE POLO GROUNDS WAS THE WORLD
100 Years Ago Today at the Polo Grounds:
New York Giants & New York Yankees
1921 Seasons Revisited
In their last season at Hilltop Park, the now formerly known New York Highlanders lost 102 games. Rebranded as the Yankees, in 1913, they moved just a few blocks away into the Polo Grounds as tenants of the Senior Circuit's New York Giants. To the chagrin of Giants manager John McGraw, the Americans proceeded to lose another 94 games.
Known to hold a grudge, McGraw still harbored much animosity two full decades later, not only towards Ban Johnson and his rebel circuit (unkept promises included) but more so towards the Yankees. As they were founded at the expense of his rendered defunct Baltimore Orioles.
For as long as the Yankees paid their rent, the tenant/landlord relationship with the Giants remained amicably strained. Mainly because the middling Americans, except for one season in 1916, never elevated themselves above the ranks of Junior Circuit also-rans. But that changed in 1919 when they briefly vied for the pennant but tuckered out down the stretch to finish third. A franchise record of 619,164 fans showed up to root for the American League contenders. However, the Yankees' burgeoning success was not yet a pressing issue, per se, for the Giants, who were coming off a second-place finish and their best season in a decade at the turnstile.
Then, in 1920, baseball's tectonic plates along the New York/New England fault shift. The Yankees' purchase of George Herman "Babe" Ruth from the Boston Red Sox sends seismic waves reverberating throughout the baseball world but none more intense than in Washington Heights.
Ruth's earth-shattering record of 54 home runs was something never experienced before in the history of baseball. However, it was an accomplishment for which John McGraw had little appreciation. He believes players work too hard and earnestly to have their skills disrespected by some miscreant's lone swing of the bat.
Gotham's citizenry never before descended from Coogan's Bluff in such quantity and spectacle as in 1920 as the Giants would set a franchise record with 929,609 reported attendance. However, the New York Nationals faced an economic dilemma of Ruthian proportions. McGraw's disdain for his tenants was further heightened when the Yankees outdrew the host Giants in their own home for the first time in each franchise's history. Headlined by Babe Ruth, the Yankees seized the city's attention, evidenced by an all-time major league record of 1,289,422 in attendance.
In 1921, over two million fans would again pack the Polo Grounds. Babe Ruth would continue accomplishing the unimaginable, and if that wasn't surreal enough, he proceeds to top it. All the while, with each passing day, John McGraw grows more incensed. Lest we forget, New York City is still Little Napoleon's empire.
Sharing a ballpark for both teams is becoming an insufferable condition—the Giants attempt to evict the Yankees before the start of 1921 to no avail. But a solution lies not too far away ...
Until then, two major league titans charge headlong into a season-ending October clash at the Polo Grounds. It is New York City's first-ever World's Championship Subway Series. All games are played at the Polo Grounds, making Coogan's Bluff the center of the baseball universe.
This is my replay of that season. I'll be exercising my creative license whenever and wherever ever possible. More than anything, this is about having fun and celebrating New York City's baseball history.
- Stats: BASEBALL REFERENCE
Enjoy the games ... PLAY BALL!
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GAME #43
POLO GROUNDS
Babe Ruth Hits Number Sixteen, But St. Louis Outlasts Yankees
The Browns erupt for seven runs in the fourth inning. Afterwhich, it's a just matter of outlasting the Yankees. However, St. Louis first helps the visitors open the scoring in the third when second baseman Dud Lee's errant throw allows Aaron Ward to score. Roger Peckinpaugh's error in the top of the fourth helps clear the way for the Browns. Starter Waite Hoyt is knocked out of the box after yielding four runs on four hits. Miller Huggins replaces Hoyt with Rip Collins, who soon yields a three-run home run to right fielder Dutch Wetzel. The Browns plate what would turn out to be vital insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Babe Ruth triples and scores in the fourth, then launched home run number 16 this season in the sixth. Trailing 9-6 after eight, Peckinpaugh and Ruth open the home ninth with consecutive singles. Pinch-runner Johnny Mitchell scores on a fielder's choice, and Home Run Baker drives home Ruth. But the Yankees rally ends there. St. Louis starter Dixie Davis earns the win. St. Louis takes a 2-1 series lead. For Babe Ruth, his 119th career home run, tying him with Gavvy Cravath who hit the final home run of his post-1900 career just last season.
- FINAL: STL 9; NYY 8
- RECORD: 25-18 (.581); second place, 4.0 GB of Cleveland
"He wasn't much of a fan of Babe Ruth, he didn't like Babe's style. He thought he was a hot dog." - Granddaughter of Gavvy Cravath, Ginger McMillian
GAME #45
Forbes Field
Giants Take Second Straight From Pirates; Move Within Half-Game Of First Place
Two savvy vets go head to head at Forbes Field. Starting for the Giants, Fred Toney is opposed by Pittsburgh's Earl Hamilton, who nurses a 1-0 lead through the fifth. Fred Toney singles and scores in the sixth on Dave Bancroft's flyball to right field, tying the game at one. Hamilton and Toney continue their duel through the eighth. With one out in the top of the ninth, Williams yields two hits, then walks Ross Youngs to load the bases. Manager George Gibson makes no move. High Pockets Kelly's fly to left field scores Dave Bancroft from third. Lee King follows with a triple to right, scoring Frankie Frisch and Ross Youngs for a 4-2 lead. Fred Toney retires the Pirates in order in the home half of the ninth. Toney improves to 7-2 with a 2.88 earned run average.
- FINAL: NYG 4; PITT 2
- RECORD: 31-14 (.689); second place, 0.5 GB of Pittsburgh
great content
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