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 6/4/1921: Giants Take Over First on Douglas One-Hitter; St. Louis Routed By Yankees

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 #44

BOXSCORE: Saturday, June 4, 1921 - BR

St. Louis Browns @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Yankees Score Early and Often in Rout of Browns

The Yankees chose to not let this game remain an open debate.  Facing former Detroit veteran Bernie Boland, Bob Meusel homers in the first inning scoring Roger Peckinpaugh and Wally Pipp.  With two on and no outs in the second, Babe Ruth's single scores Chick Fewster and knocks Boland out of the game.  Reliever Bill Bayne is greeted with a double from Peckinpaugh, a triple off the bat of Home Run Baker, and Wally Schang's run-scoring single, giving the Yankees an 8-0 lead.  Wally Pipp drives home the Yankees' ninth run in the third.  Starter Jack Quinn surrenders four runs, three earned, nine hits, and two walks through 6.2 innings for the win.  Bob Shawkey pitches the final two innings striking out three.  The Yankees take two games to one series lead.  They also gain a full game on Cleveland, who were whitewashed by the Red Sox at Boston.  But just as the Yankees get back Home Run Baker off the injured list, Chick Fewster was forced to leave this day after colliding with Bob Meusel while attempting a catch.

• FINAL: STL 4; NYY 9
• RECORD: 26-18 (.591); second place, 3.0 GB of Cleveland

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

GAME #46

BOXSCORE: Saturday, June 4, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Forbes Field

Phil Douglas One-Hits Pirates; Giants Take Over First Place

In front of 25,000 stunned fans packed into Forbes Field, McGraw's Men stampede into first place with a 12-0 whitewashing of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Saturday's offensive marks their third straight victory over the formerly first-place Buccaneers.  Frankie Frisch and starter Phil Douglas each drive home three runs each.  Goldie Rapp goes 2 for 4 with two runs driven in, and Ross Youngs goes 3 for 4 with a triple and one run batted in.  Meanwhile, Phil Douglas, making his tenth appearance this season, allows just one hit, a single by left fielder Carson Bigbee leading off the bottom half of the first.  Afterwhich, he faces just 28 more batters and yields no hits en route to the victory.  He walks none, but the Giants commit one error (by first baseman High Pockets Kelly with two outs in the ninth).  The Giants are also the first team in baseball to achieve 32 wins this season.

• FINAL: NYG 12; PITT 0
• RECORD: 32-14 (.696); first place, 0.5 GA of Pittsburgh

 

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 6/2/1921: Yankees Glad To be Home; Art Nehf Blanks First-Place Pirates

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 #42

BOXSCORE: Thursday, June 2, 1921 - BR

St. Louis Browns @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Bob Shawkey Takes Care of Browns With Both Bat and Ball

The Yankees celebrate their return home from dreadful Washington with an affirmative effort against the St. Louis Browns.  Bob Shawkey limits St. Louis to single runs in the third and sixth innings.  Otherwise, he gives up seven hits, five walks, five strikeouts through nine for his second win of the season with a 3.58 ERA.  The Yankees' lineup inflicts all their damage against starter Urban Shocker who is knocked out of the box after five.  Wally Pipp leads the charge with a home run and three runs batted in, and Bob Shawkey gets into the act with a home run and two runs batted in.  Bob Meusel and Aaron Ward also drive in runs.  However, the Yankees gain no ground on the leader as the Indians defeat the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

• FINAL: STL 2; NYY 7
• RECORD: 25-17 (.595); second place, 4.0 GB of Cleveland

New York Tribune

GAME #44

BOXSCORE: Thursday, June 2, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Forbes Field

Art Nehf Hurls Gem; Giants Close Within 1.5 Games Of First-Place Pirates

After having their previous series at the Polo Grounds compromised by rain and splitting the balance of two games, the long-awaited showdown for first place begins.  To the great dismay of some 20,000 fans on hand at Forbes Field, the Giants take game one in a no contest.  Art Nehf puts forth New York's third straight impressive start; only this performance is a true gem.  The Giants southpaw limits the first-place Pirates to just four hits and four walks through nine shutout innings pitched.  He improves to 7-2 with a 4.13 earned run average.  The rather inexperienced Jimmy Zinn matches Nehf zero for zero through seven innings.  But the game unravels for Pittsburgh in the eighth.  Five runs facilitated by an error from third baseman Cotton Tierney and four hits highlighted by Goldie Rapps triple, and a run batted in by Ross Youngs in the eighth give the Giants a seven-run margin of victory.  Today, the Giants and Cleveland Indians join Pittsburgh as the only three teams to achieve 30 wins.

• FINAL: NYG 7; PITT 0
• RECORD: 30-14 (.682); second place, 1.5 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