100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 9/13/1921: Yankees Bow to White Sox; Giants Win in Twelfth Inning at Redland 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 Season Revisited

In their last season at Hilltop Park, the now formerly known New York Highlanders lose 102 games.  Rebranded in 1913 as the Yankees, they move 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 proceed to lose another 94 games.  

Known to hold a grudge, McGraw two full decades later still harbors much animosity 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.  

As long as the Yankees paid their rent, the tenant/landlord relationship with the Giants remains 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 at the turnstile in a decade.

Then, in 1920, baseball's tectonic plates shifted along the New York/New England fault.  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 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 - if the preceding season 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 is becoming an insufferable condition—the Giants attempt to evict the Yankees before the 1921 season 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 #136

BOXSCORE: Tuesday, September 13, 1921 - BR

Chicago White Sox @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Dickey Kerr Wins Eighteenth; Yanks Lead Cut to Half-Game

With the Yankees coming off their fourth doubleheader in eleven days, southpaw Harry Harper is again thrust into action.  Making his third start this month and fourth overall, he yields five runs on eight hits and three walks while surrendering two home runs off the bat of right fielder Harry Hooper for the loss.  Tom Rogers allows a run on two hits and two walks over the final two innings, making just his third appearance.  A 21-game winner last season, Chicago southpaw Dickey Kerr holds the Yankees to a pair of runs on five hits and four walks with seven strikeouts for the win.  Bob Meusel drives home a run in the first, and the Yankees are gifted one in the fourth with Ernie Johnson's misplay at short.  With Cleveland's victory at Philadelphia, the Indians gain a full game in the standings.  The Yankees lead is a mere half-game.

• FINAL: CHI 6; NYY 2
• RECORD: 85-51 (.625); First Place, 0.5 GA of Cleveland

⚾

GAME #140

BOXSCORE: Tuesday, September 13, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ CINCINNATI REDS

Redland Field

Ninth Inning Comeback Results in Twelve Inning Triumph at Redland Field

Art Nehf walks second baseman Sam Bohne leading off the home first.  Next up, shortstop Larry Kopf doubles into the left/center gap scoring Bohne.  Third baseman Heinie Groh then singles, putting runners on the corners.  A wild pitch advances Groh.  Still, with no outs, Rube Bressler grounds to Dave Bancroft at short, who throws out Kopf at home.  The Giants then turn an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Jake Daubert.  Irish Meusel strikes out with one out and the bases loaded in the fourth, and Johnny Rawlings bounces to third.  First baseman Jake Daubert accounts for himself in the home fifth with a two-run single, giving the Reds a 3-0 lead.  John McGraw removes Art Nehf after the sixth.  With Slim Salle now opposing Reds starter Dolf Luque, the score remains unchanged through the eighth.  With High Pockets Kelly on first and one out in the visitor's ninth, Irish Meusel's grounder to second is booted by Sam Bohne.  Johnny Rawlings then singles to load the bases.  Base hits by Earl Smith and pinch-hitter Frank Snyder result in three runs.  Pitching in relief of Slim Salle, Red Shea retires the Reds to force extra innings.  Red Shea continues the dual against Dolf Luque, and the score remains unchanged through the eleventh inning.  With two outs in the visitor's twelfth, Irish Meusel triples home Frankie Frisch with the go-ahead run.  Shea then sets down the Reds in order to close out the victory.  Art Nehf is taken off the hook, and Red Shea earns his fourth win against one loss with a 3.29 ERA.  Salle and Shea together account for six scoreless innings in relief of Nehf.  The Giants are now winners of six straight and own a 16-4 record over their last twenty games. Pittsburgh defeats Boston at Forbes Field.

• FINAL: NYG 4; CIN 3  12-innings
• RECORD: 86-54 (.614); First Place, 1.5 GA of Pittsburgh

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 8/19/1921: Beleaguered Giants Take Rubber Game From Reds; Yanks Lose Series Finale at Comiskey 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 Season Revisited

In their last season at Hilltop Park, the now formerly known New York Highlanders lose 102 games.  Rebranded in 1913 as the Yankees, they move 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 proceed to lose another 94 games.  

Known to hold a grudge, McGraw two full decades later still harbors much animosity 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.  

As long as the Yankees paid their rent, the tenant/landlord relationship with the Giants remains 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 at the turnstile in a decade.

Then, in 1920, baseball's tectonic plates shift along the New York/New England fault.  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 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 - if the preceding season 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 is becoming an insufferable condition—the Giants attempt to evict the Yankees before the 1921 season 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 #116

BOXSCORE: Friday, August 19, 1921 - BR

Cincinnati Reds @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Giants Take Rubber Game Against Cincinnati Reds; First Place Pirates Split Twin Bill at Philadelphia

John McGraw has a problem.  The Giants have seen their deficit in the standings grow like an untamed garden weed under the hot August sun.  And therein lies the rub: if weeds were hard to grow, everyone would want them.  In the business of baseball, turnstiles tell the true story.  Consider if you will a team formerly tied for first place but now in a steady decline with only 3,000 fans bearing the witness on a Friday afternoon in New York City.  Meanwhile, the Highlanders, unwelcome tenants of the Polo Grounds, during their most recent homestand averaged just over 19,000 fans per game - a big problem, indeed.  It's pennants the people want.  To that effect, the Giants, in a decisive fashion, take Friday's rubber game against the Reds for the moment curtailing their freefall at six games back.  McGraw's men press starter Eppa Rixey for three runs in the first, then lower the hammer with four runs in the second, highlighted by two runs batted in each by Dave Bancroft and High Pockets Kelly.  Staked to a 7-2 lead after two, Jesse Barnes yields one last run in the fifth.  Irish Meusel drives home High Pockets Kelly in the home half of the fifth for an 8-3 lead and the final margin of victory.  Jesse Barnes surrenders three earned runs on twelve hits and one walk with four strikeouts for the win.  He improves his record to 11-7 with a 2.83 ERA.  Veteran Eppa Rixey takes the loss.  High Pockets Kelly drives home three runs giving him 110 for the season.  Down in Philadelphia, the Pirates and Phillies split games of a doubleheader.  And don't look now, but third-place Boston trails the Giants by a mere 2.5 games.

• FINAL: CIN 3; NYG 8
• RECORD: 69-47 (.595); second place, 6.0 GB of Pittsburgh

⚾

GAME #109

BOXSCORE: Friday, August 19, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Comiskey Park

Yanks Bow in Rubber Game; Chicago Stars Shine Just a Little Brighter

Chicago offers New York pitchers no quarter.  Much maligned Miller Huggins dispatches four different moundsmen, none exit unscathed.  Starter Rip Collins surrenders two in just two innings, and Jack Quinn is treated likewise.  Losing pitcher Bill Piercy sustains the most damage, yielding six runs on five hits and two walks in just 1.1 innings pitched.  The last Highlander to climb the hill performs best, with Alex Ferguson surrendering one run on six hits over the final 2.2 innings.  Center fielder Amos Strunk leads Chicago with four hits and four runs batted in.  Second baseman Eddie Collins and catcher Ray Schalk each drive in three runs.  Right fielder Harry Hooper is 3 for 6 with two runs scored and one batted in.  White Sox starter Shovel Hodge goes the distance, allowing nine earned runs on 15 hits and six walks in an agreeably bloated nine-inning winning effort.  Babe Ruth and Home Run Baker drive home two runs each, and Bob Meusel drives home run number ninety.  Despite batting 10 for 17 with runners in scoring position, the Yankees nevertheless fall to the White Sox, winners of the series two games against one.

• FINAL: NYY 9; CHI 13
• RECORD: 67-42 (.615); second base, 1.0 GB of Cleveland

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 6/15/1921: White Sox Halt Yankees Win Streak; Giants Take Opener At Chicago

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 #55

BOXSCORE: Wednesday, June 15, 1921 - BR

Chicago White Sox @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

White Sox Take Series Opener

The Yankees' good fortune comes to an abrupt end against the White Sox.  Fred Hofmann's home run ties the game at one in the fifth.  But right fielder Harry Hooper drives home the go-ahead run in the sixth.  Chicago puts the game out of reach with three runs in the eighth, and two more runs batted in by second baseman Eddie Collins and Harry Hooper in the ninth.  Bob Meusel drives home a run in the bottom of the frame to no avail.  Jack Quinn takes the loss after surrendering five runs on eleven hits and two walks through eight innings pitched.  Dickey Kerr takes the series opener for Chicago.  With two more hits, Babe Ruth lifts his average to a .377 mark.  Meanwhile, Cleveland defeats the Athletics at Philadelphia.

• FINAL: CHI 7; NYY 2
• RECORD: 33-22 (.600); second place, 1.5 GB of Cleveland

⚾          ⚾          ⚾

GAME #54

BOXSCORE: Wednesday, June 15, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ CHICAGO CUBS

Cubs Park

Giants Win Chicago Opener in Twelve Innings

The Giants open their first visit to Chicago this season with a victory over the Cubs.  Leading off the bottom of the first, right fielder Max Flack greets Giants starter Rube Benton with a home run to deep right field.  Benton yields three more hits as the Cubs take a 2-0 lead.  The home team comes within two outs of victory.  That is until shortstop Charlie Hollacher's error at short.  Earl Smith follows with a hit and a run batted in.  With runners on the corners, Smith then takes off for second base, Cubs catcher Billy Lillefer throws errantly, and pinch-runner Art Nehf darts home from third tying the game at two.  In the top of the 12th inning, the Giants erupted for five hits, two for extra bases by Frankie Frisch and High Pockets Kelly en route to four runs and a 6-2 lead.  Slim Salle closes out his fourth scoreless inning in relief of Benton and Jesse Barnes for the victory.

• FINAL: NYG 6; CHI 2  12-innings
• RECORD: 34-20 (.630); second place, 3.0 GB of Pittsburgh

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 5/21/1921: New York and Chicago Clubs Fit To Be Tied

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 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 than 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 #31

BOXSCORE: Saturday, May 21, 1921 - BR

Chicago Cubs @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Chicago Cubs Salvage Series Split

The Cubs jump out to a 3-0 lead with a run in the first and two in the second.  Starter Lefty Tyler makes it stand, allowing two runs on ten hits and two walks through nine innings pitched.  Meanwhile, the Cubs knock starter Rosy Ryan out of the box with haste.  With one out in the second, Mister McGraw summons Phil Douglas from the pen.  He and Pol Perritt pitch the final 7.2 innings, allowing two runs (by Douglas) on nine hits and no walks.  George Burns drives home the Giants' first run in the seventh, and Lefty Tyler unleashes a wild pitch in the eighth, allowing Dave Bancroft to score from third.  In the ninth, Frank Snyder bounces into a game-ending 5-4-3 double-play.  Chicago salvages a split of the four-game series.  Making his third appearance, veteran Lefty Tyler improves to 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA.

• FINAL: CHI 5; NYG 2
• RECORD: 21-10 (.677); second place, 3.5 GB of Pittsburgh

⚾

GAME #29

BOXSCORE: Saturday, May 21, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Comisky Park

Yankees Earn Series Split With White Sox

The Yankees get their scoring done early.  Roger Peckinpaugh homers in the first, and Bob Meusel drives home, Babe Ruth.  New York scores four more times in the third.  White Sox starter Doug McWeeny is partly to blame for his fielding error resulting in three unearned runs.  Manager Kid Gleason relieves McWeeny with Roy Wilkinson, who yields one run on eight hits over the final 6.1 innings.  Aaron Ward singled home Wally Pipp in the eighth.  Right fielder Harry Hooper triples home Eddie Collins and scores on left fielder Bibb Falk's two-out double.  Bibb Falk drives home two more runs in the ninth to no avail.  Starter Alex Ferguson surrenders four runs on seven hits and one walk to earn his second victory against one loss with a still troublesome 4.57 ERA.   The New Yorkers nevertheless gain a series split.  Onward to St. Louis.

• FINAL: NYY 7; CHI 4
• RECORD: 17-12 (.586); second place, 1.0 GB of Cleveland

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 5/20/1921: Giants Execute Late Inning Comeback; Yankees Do Not

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 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 only 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 than 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 #30

BOXSCORE: Friday, May 20, 1921 - BR

Chicago Cubs @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Late Surge Turns Back Cubs; Giants Lead Series 2-1

Despite taking an early 3-0 lead, the Giants find themselves trailing by three after five innings.  Making his ninth and worst appearance to date, Fred Toney surrenders six runs all in the fifth inning, highlighted by home runs from second baseman Zeb Terry and left fielder John Sullivan.  Mister McGraw removes Toney before the inning is through.  Facing Hippo Vaughn pitching in relief of Percy Jones, the Giants strike back with five runs in the sixth; George Burns and Ross Youngs drive in two apiece, and Dave Bancroft delivers another for an 8-6 lead.  New York scores twice more in the eighth for a 10-6 final.  They are now winners of nine of their last ten and lead the Cubs two games to one.

• FINAL: CHI 6; NYG 10
• RECORD: 21-9 (.700); second place, 2.5 GB of Pittsburgh

New York Herald

GAME #28

BOXSCORE: Friday, May 20, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Comisky Park

Yankees Ninth Inning Rally Falls Short

Chicago catcher Ray Schalk opens the scoring with a run-scoring double in the second.  But Babe Ruth promptly answers in the third with a triple to center field scoring Roger Peckinpaugh, then scores on Wally Pipp's hit.  Undeterred, Harry Hooper and center fielder Amos Strunk help Chicago retake a 4-2 lead.  Wally Schang delivers home New York's third run in the fifth.  Pitching in relief of starter Carl Mays, Tom Sheehan walks the first two batters leading off the seventh.  After advancing into scoring position, Eddie Collins drives both based runners home for a 6-3 White Sox lead.  With Chicago starter Dickey Kerr still in the game, the Yankees rally for two runs but fall short of a third and tying run.  Carl Mays (6-3) takes the loss after surrendering four earned runs on nine hits through six innings pitched.  Chicago now leads the series two games to one.

• FINAL: NYY 5; CHI 6
• RECORD: 16-12 (.571), second place, 2.0 GB of Cleveland

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 5/18/1921: Earl Smith Ninth Inning Homer Thwarts Cubs; White Sox Rout Yankees at Comisky

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 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 only 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 than 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 #28

BOXSCORE: Wednesday, May 18, 1921 - BR

Chicago Cubs @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Earl Smith Hits Ninth Inning Game-Winning Home Run; Giants Extend Win Streak to Eight

With the Cubs clinging to a one-run lead through seven, starter Buck Freeman authors his own demise by plunking pinch-hitter Eddie Brown leading off the eighth, then issuing two walks loading the bases.  Manager Johnny Evers summons Lefty York from the bullpen, who proceeds to walk High Pockets Kelly and Frank Snyder, giving the Giants a 2-1 lead.  For the top half of the ninth, Mister McGraw replaces starter Rube Benton with righty Phil Douglas who walks the first batter he faces, then with one out walks another.  Mister McGraw would have none of it; out goes Douglas, and into the game comes Slim Salle.  With two outs, shortstop Charlie Hollocher's infield hit to first scores the tying run.  Leading off the bottom of the ninth, catcher Earl Smith homers to deep right field off reliever Speed Martin ends the game - just as Curt Walker had done one day ago.  The Giants take the series opener and extend their winning streak to eight games.  They also become the only second team in either league to achieve 20 victories to date.

• FINAL: CHI 2; NYG 3
• RECORD: 20-8 (.714); second place, 1.5 GB of Pittsburgh

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GAME #26

BOXSCORE: Wednesday, May 18, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Comisky Park

White Sox Mount Twelve Hit Attack; Veteran Red Faber Handles the Rest

Outside of a mild retort in the seventh, the Yankees have no answer for two-time 20-game winner Red Faber and the host White Sox.  Making his tenth appearance, the veteran Faber limits New York to a pair of runs on just five hits and four walks with three strikeouts over nine innings complete.  He improves to 7-2 with a 1.22 earned run average.  Aaron Ward is hit with a pitch leading off the seventh, then scored on the double by Chicken Hawks, who would also score when Roger Peckinpaugh bounces into a double-play.  All three Yankees hurlers took their lumps, yielding a total of 12 runs (only one unearned) on twelve hits and seven walks.  Starter Jack Quinn takes the loss.  Chicago's second baseman Eddie Collins leads the assault, going 4 for 5 with two runs batted in; right fielder Harry Hooper was 2 for 5 with two runs scored.  Left fielder Babe Ruth follows yesterday's focus-lacking performance with a muted 0 for 5 effort at the plate and therein lies Muller Huggins' consternation: with today's loss, the Yankees relinquish their half share of first place to fall one full game behind the Indians.  In fairness, Bob Meusel and Home Run Baker were likewise held hitless.  Said another way, today's series opener is an instance where it's perhaps best to just render Red Faber due credit.

• FINAL: NYY 2; CHI 12
• RECORD: 15-11 (.577); second place, 1.0 GB of Cleveland