100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 7/23/1921: Giants Sweep Twin Bill With Reds; Yankees Fall Again To Defending Champs

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 heightened more so 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. Of course, I'll be exercising my creative license whenever and wherever ever possible. But, more than anything, this is about having fun and celebrating New York City's baseball history.  

• Stats: BASEBALL REFERENCE

Enjoy the games ... PLAY BALL!

GAME #86

BOXSCORE: Saturday, July 23, 1921 - BR

Cincinnati Reds @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Make-Up: Friday, July 22, 1921

Curt Walker Wields Decisive Hit In Eighth Inning

After three straight losses, the McGrawmen finally get back on terra firma.  The Giants welcome to the Polo Grounds former mate Rube Marquard who exits on the losing side of a 4-1 game after six.  After the Reds and Giants trade two runs each in the seventh, Art Nehf comes completely undone in the eighth.  Jake Daubert triples leading off the frame and scores, and with two outs, Larry Kopf connects on a game-tying two-run home run knocking Nehf out of the box.  But the Giants answer.  With the bases loaded and one out, Curt Walker doubles to left field driving home two runs.  John McGraw summons Fred Toney to pitch the ninth.  He walks two batters, yields a run, and leaves the tying run stranded at second base.  Slim Salle earns the win as reward for closing out the eighth in relief of Nehf.  High Pockets Kelly hit his 15th home run this season against Rube Marquard in the sixth.  Dave Bancroft goes 3 for 4 with a triple and two runs batted in.  Frankie Frisch and Ross Youngs also drive home a run apiece.

• FINAL: CIN 7; NYG 8

⚾

GAME #87

BOXSCORE: Saturday, July 23, 1921 - BR

Cincinnati Reds @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Jesse Barnes Bids Cincinnati Reds Adieu; Giants Complete Twin Bill Sweep

Jesse Barnes allows no runs and just five hits over five innings pitched in an abbreviated shutout victory.  The game is called after the fifth to allow the Reds to catch their train back to Cincinnati to host the Cubs.  With Ross Youngs and High Pockets Kelly on base in the second, Bill Cunningham homers to right field.  Earl Smith drives home two in the fourth, and Jesse Barnes helps himself with a run batted in.  The Giants complete the twin bill sweep and gain a full game on Pittsburgh, who split their twin bill with the Braves at Boston.

• FINAL: CIN 0; NYG 6
• RECORD: 54-33 (.621); second place, 3.5 GB of Pittsburgh  

⚾

GAME #88

BOXSCORE: Saturday, July 23, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ CLEVELAND INDIANS

Dunn Field

Defending Champions Shutout Yankees

The defending World Champions strike again.  Second baseman Bill Wambsganss, Tris Speaker, and Larry Gardner drive in runs for Cleveland in the third.  All told, Cleveland wields 13 hits against Yankee starter Waite Hoyt.  Cleveland hurler Allan Sothoron takes care of the rest, allowing the New Yorkers a mere three hits and just one walk with four strikeouts over nine scoreless innings pitched.  Babe Ruth, Home Run Baker, and Waite Hoyt account for the Yankees' only hits.  Cleveland now leads the series two against one and reestablish a two-game lead in the standings.

• FINAL: NYY 0; CLE 3
• RECORD: 55-33 (.625); second place, 2.0 GB of Cleveland

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 7/8/1921: Art Nehf Out-Duels Grover Cleveland Alexander; Yankees Humbled In Chicago Opener

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 heightened more so 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. Of course, I'll be exercising my creative license whenever and wherever ever possible. But, more than anything, this is about having fun and celebrating New York City's baseball history.  

• Stats: BASEBALL REFERENCE

Enjoy the games ... PLAY BALL!

⚾

GAME #73

BOXSCORE: Friday, July 8, 1921 - BR

Chicago Cubs @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Art Nehf Outduels Grover Cleveland Alexander For Series Opening Victory Over Cubs

In what is undoubtedly the most tightly contested match this season, a rather small gathering in hot and humid conditions witness Art Nehf and The Great Alexander brilliantly negotiate eight scoreless frames during Friday's series opener at the Polo Grounds.  Old Pete, Grover Cleveland Alexander, allows the Giants no runs on six hits and one walk, and Art Nehf limits the Cubs to just two hits and no walks.  Then, into the ninth, they go.  After striking out Pete Alexander leading off the top half of the frame, right fielder Max Flack connects for just the third Chicago hit against Nehf.  With one out in the home half of the ninth, Frankie Frisch draws a base on balls, and Ross Youngs singles back through the middle, putting runners on the corners.  Alexander then issues pinch hitter Casey Stengel an intentional walk loading the bases.  Into the box steps Curt Walker and laces a grounder to second baseman John Kelleher, whose misplay permits Frankie Frisch to score from third with the game-winning run.  Frisch and catcher Earl Smith lead the Giants with two hits apiece.  Recent acquisition Johnny Rawlings continues making Mister McGraw look smart with another hit in three trips to the plate.  All told, the soon-to-be 28-year old Art Nehf faces three batters over the minimum, yielding just three hits and no walks with three strikeouts and flawless fielding behind him.  He improves his record to 10-4 with a descending 4.19 ERA.

• FINAL: CHI 0; NYG 1
• RECORD: 45-28 (.616); second place, 4.5 GB of Pittsburgh 

Meanwhile, after the game, catcher Earl Smith challenges a New York City police detective to a fight, who gladly accepts ...

The Evening Kansan-Republican (Newton, Kansas), 

Saturday, July 9, 1921

GAME #75

BOXSCORE: Friday, July 8, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Comiskey Park

Yankees Subdued By Dickey Kerr In Series Opener at Comiskey Park

The Highlander's road trip does not begin well.  With Jupiter Pluvius postponing a key American League contest at Dunn Field, the visiting New York Yankees bow to the White Sox at Comiskey Park and thus fail to gain ground on the idle Cleveland Indians.  Home Run Baker drives home the game's opening run in the first.  Afterwhich last year's 21-game winner Dickey Kerr shuts out New York over the final eight innings of play, allowing ten total hits and two walks for his ninth victory.  Kerr also helps his own cause at the plate with a hit and run batted in.  Starter Bob Shawkey falls to 6-5 after yielding his standard four runs on nine hits and two walks.  Babe Ruth lifts his average to .382 with two hits in three at-bats and steals his ninth base this season.

• FINAL: NYY 1; CHI 4
• RECORD: 46-29 (.613); second place, 2.0 GB of Cleveland

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 6/29/1921: Roger Peckinpaugh Powers Yanks To Twin Bill Sweep; Giants Fall at Braves Field

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 heightened more so 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. Of course, I'll be exercising my creative license whenever and wherever ever possible. But, more than anything, this is about having fun and celebrating New York City's baseball history.  

• Stats: BASEBALL REFERENCE

Enjoy the games ... PLAY BALL!

⚾

GAME #68

BOXSCORE GAME ONE: Wednesday, June 29, 1921 - BR

Boston Red Sox @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Make-Up: April 18, 1921

Bob Shawkey Struggles, But Highlanders Become Fourth Team to Reach Forty Wins

Bob Shawkey endures another unsettling start but holds on for his fifth victory this season.  He yields two runs on two hits in the first, then balks home a run in the third.  However, in the bottom of the third, his mates stake him to a 6-3 lead.  Boston scores twice more on a pair of infield errors in the ninth, but the Yankees have Shawkey well covered with insurance runs in the fourth and seventh innings.  All told, Shawkey allows five runs, but only two are earned, along with seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  Red Sox right fielder Sammy Vick goes 2 for 4 with a double, triple, and two runs batted in. Meanwhile, Wally Pipp leads the Yankees with three hits, Aaron Ward goes 2 for 4 with a triple and three runs batted in, and Roger Peckinpaugh homers off Boston starter Herb Pennock in the second.

• FINAL: BOS 5; NYY 8

⚾

GAME #69

BOXSCORE GAME TWO: Wednesday, June 29, 1921 - BR

Boston Red Sox @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Yankees Sweep; Bambino Hits Number 28, But Roger Peckinpaugh Tenth Inning Home Run Ends Game

The Yankees send home 25,000 fans happy as a clam at high tide but first are made to wait.  Carl Mays takes on Bullet Joe Bush.  The teams traded runs in the first as Babe Ruth hits his 28th home run.  He is now just seven home runs away from tying Roger Connor's all-time mark.  Boston scores in the second, and left fielder Mike Menosky homers off Mays to deep right field in the third for a 3-1 Red Sox lead.  Aaron Ward drives home a run in the fourth, and Wally Schang doubles home Wally Pipp in the sixth to tie the game at three.  Afterwhich the score remains unchanged through the ninth and into extra innings, they go.  Boston first baseman Shano Collins doubles off Mays leading off the tenth inning, and is then bunted over to third base.  Catcher Roxy Walters follows with a grounder to first, and Collins is thrown out at home.  Chick Fewster singles off Bullet Joe Bush, leading off the bottom of the tenth.  Roger Peckinpaugh steps in and homers deep into the right field stands to end the game.  The Yankees complete the sweep and gain one-half game on the idle Indians.

• FINAL: BOS 3; NYY 5
• RECORD: 41-28 (.594); second place, 3.5 GB of Cleveland

GAME #66

BOXSCORE: Wednesday, June 29, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ BOSTON BRAVES

Braves Field

Former Giants Hurler Bill Oeschger Outlasts Fred Toney at Braves Field

One would think Bill Oeschger still holds a grudge against John McGraw for including him in a trade to acquire Art Nehf from the Braves.  Be that as it may, Oeschger outlasts Fred Toney for a series-opening victory.  He allows the Giants just two runs on four hits and five walks for his ninth victory this season.  Ross Youngs and Curt Walker drive home the only runs for New York.  Meanwhile, Youngs accounts for two of the Giants' four hits, while Frankie Frisch and High Pockets Kelly account for the others.  Fred Toney is the hard-luck loser, allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks through eight innings pitched.

• FINAL: NYG 2; BOS 3
• RECORD: 40-26 (.606); second place, 4.5 GB of Pittsburgh

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 6/23/1921: Frankie Frisch Lifts Giants Over Braves; Babe Ruth Within Ten Home Runs Of Roger Connor

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 heightened more so 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. Of course, I'll be exercising my creative license whenever and wherever ever possible. But, more than anything, this is about having fun and celebrating New York City's baseball history.  

• Stats: BASEBALL REFERENCE

Enjoy the games ... PLAY BALL!

⚾

GAME #61

BOXSCORE: Thursday, June 23, 1921 - BR

Boston Braves @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Frisch Homers and Toney Wins Ninth as Giants Salvage Series Finale

The Giants salvage game three of their series against the Braves and avoid being swept.  Making his 13th start this season, Fred Toney holds Boston to four runs on nine hits and one walk with five strikeouts for his ninth victory against just three losses with a 3.18 ERA.  Braves starter Jack Scott allows four runs while getting knocked out of the box with one out in the third.  Ross Youngs drives home two in the first, and High Pockets Kelly and Curt Walker drive home runs in the third.  Fred Toney helps his cause with a run batted in during the fourth.  Frankie Frisch goes 3 for 4 with a home run in the fifth and four runs batted in.

• FINAL: BOS 4; NYG 10
• RECORD: 37-24 (.607); second place, 4.0 GB of Pittsburgh

The Boston Globe, Thursday, June 24, 1921

GAME #64

BOXSCORE: Thursday, June 23, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ BOSTON RED SOX

Fenway Park

Babe Ruth Hits Number 25 as Yankees Gain Series Split at Boston

The Yankees successfully split their six-game series with the Red Sox and have the Texas cowboy Rip Collins largely to thank.  He yields just one unearned run on five hits, although he walks six and fans four in a winning effort.  New York roughs up former teammate now Red Sox hurler Hank Thormahlen for twelve hits en route to a 6-1 victory.  Catcher Roxy Walters drives home Boston's lone run.  Home Run Baker and Bob Meusel each single and drive home a run in the opening frame.  With a runner on in the fifth, Babe Ruth clubs his 25th home run this season.  He is now just ten home runs away from tying Roger Connor for the most home runs all-time.  He also remains slightly ahead of last year's single-season home run pace, in which he astonishingly turned a record 54 baseballs into souvenirs.

• FINAL: NYY 6; BOS 1
• RECORD: 37-27 (.578); second place, 3.0 GB of Cleveland

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 6/21/1921: Giants Overrun By Braves; Yankees Swept In Twin Bill At Fenway Park

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. Of course, I'll be exercising my creative license whenever and wherever ever possible. But, more than anything, this is about having fun and celebrating New York City's baseball history.  

• Stats: BASEBALL REFERENCE

Enjoy the games ... PLAY BALL!

⚾          ⚾          ⚾

GAME #59

BOXSCORE: Tuesday, June 21, 1921 - BR

Boston Braves @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Giants Trounced By Braves In Return Home

A healthy Tuesday crowd of 12,000 is happy to see their returning McGrawmen again but ultimately go home distraught over what unfolds before their eyes.  Facing starter Rube Benton, Boston opens with two runs in the first.  The Giants answered with four runs in the bottom half of the frame; in consecutive at-bats, Ross Youngs triples home Frankie Frisch, High Pockets Kelly doubles home Youngs, and Curt Walker triples home Kelly.  After Braves starter Hugh McQuillan walks John Monroe, Earl Smith singles home Walker for a 4-2 lead.  Braves shortstop Walter Barbare triples home a run in the second.  Boston then pushes the tying run across in the fifth.  Afterwhich, things go awry for the Giants.  Pitching in relief of Benton, Jesse Barnes yields seven runs on four hits and three errors in the field.  If that wasn't enough, the Braves hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh off Art Nehf, a three-run shot to deep right field by Fred Nicholson, and one of the inside-the-park variety by Tony Boeckel.  Not yet done, catcher Hank Gowdy homers in the eighth.  Frank Snyder drives in a run in the ninth, giving this game its 16-5 final score.  Jesse Barnes earns the loss, McQuillan the win.

• FINAL: BOS 16; NYG 6
• RECORD: 36-23 (.610); second place, 4.5 GB of Pittsburgh

⚾          ⚾          ⚾

GAME #60 

BOXSCORE GAME ONE: Tuesday, June 21, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ BOSTON RED SOX

Fenway Park

The makeup of April 29, 1921

Herb Pennock Leads Red Sox Victory With Arm and Bat

After dropping yesterday's series opener, the Squire, Navy veteran Herb Pennock turns the tables on the Yankees, limiting the New Yorkers to three runs.  Boston promptly scores two runs in the first, but the Yankees tie in the second with runs batted in from Fred Hofmann and Roger Peckinpaugh.  The Red Sox then take starter Bob Shawkey to task with four runs in the bottom of the frame for a 6-2 lead highlighted by Pennock's inside-the-park home run to deepest center field.  Boston scores twice more with runs in the fifth and seventh innings.  The Yankees muster just one more run in the eighth; Aaron Ward with the run batted in.  Bob Shawkey loses his third, and Herb Pennock wins his sixth.

• FINAL: NYY 3; BOS 8

⚾

GAME #61

BOXSCORE GAME TWO: Tuesday, June 21, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ BOSTON RED SOX

Fenway Park

Red Sox Complete Twin Bill Sweep

Leading off the game, left fielder Chicken Hawks lines an inside-the-park home run to deep center field.  Red Sox starter Bullet Joe Bush allows the Yankees just four hits the rest of the game.  Facing his former team, Babe Ruth is a quiet 1 for 3 with a walk and a strikeout.  Boston left fielder Mike Menosky puts the finishing touches on a 6-1 victory with a two-run single in the sixth.  Losing pitcher Waite Hoyt allows six runs, five earned, on ten hits, and four walks.  

• FINAL: NYY 1; BOS 6
• RECORD: 35-26 (.574); second place, 3.5 GB of Cleveland 

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 6/6/1921: Yankees Get Two-Hit By Dixie Davis; Giants Slide Back Into Second Place

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!

⚾

GAME #46

BOXSCORE: Monday, June 6, 1921 - BR

St. Louis Browns @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Browns Starter Dixie Davis Two-Hits Yankees

Dixie Davis hurls a gem, and St. Louis salvages the series finale.  The Yankees spoil the shutout in the eighth, partly by Davis' own doing.  After walking the bases loaded, Braggo Roth scores on Ping Bodie's fielder's choice to short.  Otherwise, Dixie Davis allows the one run on just two hits but walks eight batters with five strikeouts for the win.  A double by Babe Ruth and a pinch-hit from Fred Hoffmann are all the Yankees can claim.  Rip Collins allows two runs, one earned, on just three hits and four walks through seven innings for the loss.  Browns' left fielder Ken Williams goes 2 for 4 and drives home three runs for the Browns.  Dixie Davis also drives home a run in the ninth.  Next up, the showdown against the first-place Indians begins tomorrow when Cleveland arrives in New York for four games at the Polo Grounds.

• FINAL: STL 5; NYY 1
• RECORD: 27-19 (.587); second place, 2.5 GB of Cleveland

The Richmond Times (Richmond, Indiana)

GAME #47

BOXSCORE: Monday, June 6, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Forbes Field

Pirates Retake First Place From Giants

Pittsburgh avoids the series sweep in a thrilling back and forth affair, replete with the obligatory heroic ending.  Rabbit Maranville's first-inning single drives home the game's opening run.  Earl Smith triples home Goldie Rapp, and George Burns plates Smith in the second.  A leadoff triple by Curt Walker and a one-out double by Earle Smith give the Giants a 3-1 lead.  But the Pirates cut their deficit by one in the home fourth.  When Dave Bancroft leads off the Giants fifth with a triple into the left/center gap, manager George Gibson removes starter Whitey Glazner in favor of right-hander Babe Adams.  With one out, a sacrifice fly by Ross Youngs drives home, Bancroft.  But the Pirates scored once in the bottom of the frame, making it a 4-3 in favor of the visitors.  The score remains unchanged through the seventh.  With starter Jesse Barnes still in the game, Possum Whitted leads off the eight with a single to left field, then scores the tying run when Charlie Grimm bounces into a 4-6-3 double-play.  With the game knotted at four, Mister McGraw send Jesse Barnes out for the ninth.  With two outs and two runners in scoring position, second baseman George Cutshaw drives home the winning run with a single to right field.  Pittsburgh reclaims first place by a mere half-game ahead of the Giants, who still win the series three games to one.

• FINAL: NYG 3; PITT 5
• RECORD: 32-15 (.681); second place, 0.5 GB of Pittsburgh

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 5/30/1921: Giants Sweep Twin Bill With Phillies; Yankees Shut Out First Time This Season

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!

GAME #39

BOXSCORE GAME ONE: Monday, May 30, 1921 - BR

Philadelphia Phillies @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Fred Toney Turns Back Phillies With Both Arm and Bat

Philadelphia ties the game at one in the top half of the third.  But starter Fred Toney atones for his misstep with a home run hit deep into the right field seats, giving himself and the Giants a lead they would not again relinquish.  Ross Youngs addresses that with a home run leading off the fourth and runs batted in by Goldie Rapp and Earl Smith in the seventh, giving this game its final score of 5-1 in favor of the home team.  Fred Toney improves to 6-2 with a 3.11 ERA.  He allows just one run on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts through nine.

• FINAL: PHI 1; NYG 5

⚾

GAME #40

BOXSCORE GAME TWO: Monday, May 30, 1921 - BR

Philadelphia Phillies @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Giants Outslug Phillies to Secure Twin Bill Sweep

Try as they might, Philadelphia continually comes up short as the Giants lineup continues pressing throughout.  New York tallies four runs in the second on two triples, a single, and Earl Smith's home run.  High Pockets Kelly and Aaron Ward drive in two more runs in the third, and a Frank Snyder homers in the fourth, giving the Giants a 6-1 lead.  But the Phillies close with two with three runs in the fifth and one in the top of the sixth.  That's when the Giants commence the second wave of their twelve hit barrage with three runs in the bottom half of the frame, one in the seventh, and two more in the eighth.  Philadelphia can only muster two in the seventh and ultimately lose by a difference of five.  Speaking of which, five Phillies misplays in the field account for four unearned runs.  The Giants get home runs from Smith and Frank Snyder in the fourth.  Curt Walker leads the charge going 3 for 4 with a double, triple, two runs scored, and three runs batted in.  Starter Phil Douglas despite yielding seven runs on ten hits earns the victory.  Rosy Ryan pitches in with 2.2 scoreless innings.

• FINAL: PHI 7; NYG 13
• RECORD: 27-13 (.615); second place, 2.5 GB of Cleveland

 

⚾          ⚾          ⚾

GAME #38

BOXSCORE GAME ONE: Monday, May 30, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ WASHINGTON SENATORS

Griffith Stadium

McNally Swipes Home; Rip Collins Hurls Gem

You know what happens when you walk the leadoff batter, don't you?  Washington starter Jose Acosta issues a base on balls to Roger Peckinpaugh leading off the first.  After a double by Babe Ruth advances him to third, Peckinpaugh scores Wally Pipp's ground ball second to first.  With two outs and runners on the corners in the third and Chicken Hawks at the plate, second baseman Mike McNally steals home for a 2-0 Yankees lead.  Tasked with a spot start in the first game of today's twin bill, Rip Collins puts forth a stellar performance, allowing just one run in the ninth on a sacrifice fly to ruin the shutout.  He otherwise yields just four hits, four walks, with four strikeouts for the win.

• FINAL: NYY 2; WAS 1

⚾

GAME #39

BOXSCORE GAME TWO: Monday, May 30, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ WASHINGTON SENATORS

Griffith Stadium

Washington's George Mogridge Two-Hits Former Team; Senators Gain Split

Pitching clearly rules the day.  In another very tightly contested affair, Washington's tally in the second ends up being the game's decisive run.  Facing Jack Quinn, left fielder Bing Miller triples and scores when third baseman Howie Shanks advances him home.  But that's it.  Quinn allows eight hits and just one walk in a hard-luck loss.  Meanwhile, a former Yankees teammate last season and now hurler for the Senators, George Mogridge, limited the Highlanders to a mere two hits and one walk with three strikeouts in a complete-game shutout effort.  Mike McNally and Babe Ruth muster the Yankees only two hits.  Ping Bodie reaches on a walk, and the fourth and last Yankees base runner reaches safely on shortstop Frank O'Rourke's fielding error.  The crowd of 15,000 express their great appreciation for Mogridge's masterful handling of the Yanks who endure their first whitewashing this season.

• FINAL: NYY 0; WAS 1
• RECORD: 24-15 (.615), second place, 2.5 GB of Cleveland

100 YEARS AGO TODAY AT THE POLO GROUNDS 5/26/1921: Giants Split Twin Bill at Braves Field; Yankees Off To Washington

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!

The Long Beach Telegram and 

The Long Beach Daily News (Long Beach, California)

Getaway Day

NEXT GAME: Friday, May 27, 1921

New York Yankees @ WASHINGTON SENATORS

Griffith Stadium

⚾

GAME #34

BOXSCORE GAME ONE: Thursday, May 26, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ BOSTON BRAVES

Braves Field

*Make-up: April 18, 1921

George Burns Ices Game One for Rube Benton

New York pieces together a methodical victory in the opening game of their weekend series at Boston.  High Pockets Kelly drives home the first run of the game as the Giants take a 2-0 lead in the first.  High Pockets drives home his second run in the fifth.  Curt Walker knocks home dave Bancroft in the seventh, and George Burns hits an inside-the-park home run in the eighth.  Rube Benton yields three runs on eight hits and three walks through 8.2 innings pitched for the win.  Benton gives up a run in the ninth and leaves the bases loaded for Phil Douglas, who secures the final out.  Rube Benton improves to 3-0 with a 1.30 ERA.

• FINAL: NYG 5; BOS 3

GAME #35

BOXSCORE GAME TWO: Thursday, May 26, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ BOSTON BRAVES 

Braves Field

Braves Pull Out Victory in Ninth

New York overcomes a 3-1 deficit with two runs in the fifth.  The score remains unchanged through the eighth.  With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, catcher Hank Gowdy drives home second baseman Hod Ford with the winning run.  Phil Douglas makes his second appearance of the day; three runs on three hits, including a home run by third baseman Tony Boeckel.  He faces three batters in the second before being removed by Mister McGraw.  Slim Salle takes the hard-luck loss after allowing just one run on seven hits over the final 7.2 innings.

• FINAL: NYG 3; BOS 4
• RECORD: 23-12 (.657), second place, 3.0 GB of Pittsburgh