100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 9/27/1921: Urban Shocker Wins Number 27; Cleveland Gains Ground on Yanks

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 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 previous 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 #149

BOXSCORE: Tuesday, September 27, 1921 - BR

St. Louis Browns @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Urban Shocker Wins Number 27; Idle Cleveland Indians Gain Half Game on Yankees 

With a deflating and costly loss against the St. Louis Browns, the hungover Yankees deliver chance and opportunity at Cleveland's doorstep.  Starter Harry Harper puts forth a representative effort.  He surrenders a first-inning triple to second baseman Frank Ellerbe, followed by George Sisler's home run over the right/center field wall, but nothing more.  However, the former Yankee Urban Shocker makes it stand.  The two starters enter into a scoreless duel over the final eight and a half innings.  Beginning in the third and through the eighth, Shocker faces a minimum of eighteen batters assisted by two double plays in the field.  With two runners aboard and two outs in the ninth, Shocker intentionally walks Babe Ruth to load the bases.  He then induces Bob Meusel into a harmless fly to center field, ending the game.  All told, Urban Shocker holds the Yankees to just five hits and one walk with three strikeouts in a complete-game shutout effort.  He wins his career-high 27th decision and his second this month against the Yankees against twelve losses with a 3.58 ERA.  Only Wally Schang had Shocker figured out with two hits in three trips.  Roger Peckinpaugh, Aaron Ward, and Harry Harper account for New York's three other hits.  The Babe goes 0 for 3 with a strikeout.  Home Run Baker, along with Chick Fewster, lost his starting role, appeared as a pinch-hitter in his first game in eleven days.  The idle Cleveland Indians gain a half-game in the standings.  New York's lead is less than two.

• FINAL: STL 2; NYY 0
• RECORD: 94-55 (.631); First Place, 1.5 GA of Cleveland

⚾

NOT SCHEDULED
Next Game: Saturday, October 1, 1921; doubleheader

New York Giants @ PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Baker Bowl

At Forbes Field, Pirate hurlers Whitey Glazner and Hal Carlson join together in defeating the Philadelphia Phillies, outlasting Jesse Winters in a 9-6 final.  Former Giant Dave Robertson leads Pittsburgh, going 3 for 5 with a double, home run, and four runs batted in.  Shortstop Rabbit Maranville drives home two.  BOXSCORE  The Pirates reduce their deficit to 3.5 games behind the idle Giants.

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 8/10/1921: Yanks Take Series From White Sox; Giants Arrive Home Tomorrow Versus Brooklyn

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 #102

BOXSCORE: Wednesday, August 10, 1921 - BR

Chicago White Sox @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Babe Ruth Hits Number 41; Yankees Take Series From White Sox

The Yankees crush three home runs en route to a resounding 14-8 triumph in Wednesday's finale and win their series with Chicago three games against two.  New York leads 9-0 after four innings highlighted by home runs from Home Run Baker and Babe Ruth and three runs batted in by Frank Snyder.  The White Sox plate five runs in the fifth, including Yankee killer Johnny Mostil's two-run home run, but two runs are unearned due to Roger Peckinpaugh's error at short.  Despite three more late runs by the White Sox, the Yankees ensure victory with a three-run sixth and two more runs in the seventh for a six-run margin of victory.  Right fielder Amos Strunk drives home three runs for Chicago, and Ernie Johnson leads the team with three hits.  The Yankees let no White Sox hurler go unscathed while mounting 15 total hits.  Home Run Baker goes 3 for 3 with five runs batted in.  Babe Ruth hits home run number 41, and with three runs batted in, now has a major league-high 111 to date.  Starting for the Highlander, Rip Collins is good enough, allowing seven earned runs on ten hits and three walks for the win.  The Yankees close out their homestand with a 7-6 record.  They now embark on a 19-game road trip, including a three-game set at Cleveland.  In the meantime, coupled with Cleveland's loss at Philadelphia, the Yanks gain a full game on the Indians.

• FINAL: CHI 8; NYY 14
• RECORD: 63-39 (.618); second place, 0.5 GB of Cleveland

The Ogden Standard (Ogden, UT),

Wednesday, August 10, 1921

⚾

TRAVEL DAY

NEXT: Thursday, August 11, 1921

Brooklyn Robins @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

The Ogden Standard (Ogden, UT),

Wednesday, August 10, 1921

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 8/8/1921: Ruth Hits Two, Yanks Split Twin Bill With White Sox; Giants Stage Late Comeback at Cubs 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 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 #99

BOXSCORE GAME ONE: Monday, August 8, 1921 - BR

Chicago White Sox @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Make-Up: 6/17/1921

Bob Shawkey Hurls Four-Hit Shutout

In a redemptive effort, Bob Shawkey turns in what is easily his finest performance this season.  He allows just four hits but walks six with three strikeouts over nine shutout innings for the win.  Home Run Baker drives home the first Yankee run with a single in the first, and in the third, Babe Ruth and Baker hit consecutive home runs giving the Yankees a 4-0 lead.  Not yet done, Home Run Baker in the fourth drives in his third run of the game.  Wally Pipp knocks home a run in the seventh, and Roger Peckinpaugh closes out the scoring with a base hit in the eighth, plating Bob Shawkey.  For Babe Ruth, it was home run number forty.

• FINAL: CHI 0; NYY 7

⚾

GAME #100

BOXSCORE GAME TWO: Monday, Aug 8, 1921 - BR

Chicago White Sox @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Babe Ruth Hits Number 41 to No Avail; White Sox Salvage Twin Bill Split

The White Sox outpace the Yankees to gain a twin bill split.  With Waite Hoyt making his 27th appearance this season, errors in the first inning by Roger Peckinpaugh at short and Babe Ruth in left field clear the way for three Chicago runs.  The Yankees are hard-pressed to recover.  Facing Dickey Kerr, a 21-game winner last season, Babe Ruth launches a solo home run in the bottom half of the frame.  After Chicago adds a run in the third, Roger Peckinpaugh drives Hoyt home with New York's second run.  Wally Schang, with a hit in the fourth, brings the Yankees within one.  But Chicago catcher George Lees officially puts the game out of reach in the top half of the eighth as the Yankees are handed a run in the bottom half of the frame on a wild pitch and fielding error by Ernie Johnson at short.  With the loss, Waite Hoyt falls to 13-9 with a 3.31 ERA. 

• FINAL: CHI 5; NYY 4
• RECORD: 62-38 (.620); second place, 1.5 GB of Cleveland

⚾

GAME #105

BOXSCORE: Monday, August 8, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ CHICAGO CUBS

Cubs Park

Giants Late Surge Helps Art Nehf Earn Win Number Fourteen 

Trailing 3-0 after six, the Giants finally snap out of their doldrums in the seventh with a four-run outburst, then with two insurance runs in the ninth secure victory.  Art Nehf bends but doesn't break.  He yields single runs in the first, third, and fourth innings, but the Cubs would score no more.  Nehf allows ten hits and no walks for the win.  He improves to 14-6 with a 3.64 ERA.  Speed Martin of the Cubs takes the loss.  Johnny Rawlings continues expressing his gratitude and appreciation for Mister McGraw with two hits and two runs batted in.  George Burns goes 2 for 5 with a double and two runs driven home.  Frank Snyder also wields two hits and drives home one.  Coupled with Brooklyn's victory over the Pirates at Forbes Field, the Giants gain one full game in the standings.

• FINAL: NYG 6; CHI 3
• RECORD: 64-41 (.610); second place, 2.0 GB of Pittsburgh

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 8/6/1921: Miller Huggins Must Answer For Latest Loss Against Tigers; Giants Lose Series Opener at Cubs 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 #97

BOXSCORE: Saturday, Aug 6, 1921 - BR

Detroit Tigers @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Game Ends on a Very Bad Decision; Yanks Drop Back to Second Place

Back into second place, they go.  After yielding a first-inning run, Waite Hoyt is knocked out of the box in the fourth.  Trailing 5-0, the Yankees pull within one of the Tigers in the sixth inning; Chick Fewster drives home Wally Schang, and Babe Ruth follows with a three-run home run, his 39th clout this season.  Facing Jack Quinn, the Tigers scored twice in the seventh, and Tiger starter Red Oldham homers in the eighth for an 8-4 Detroit lead.  The Yankees again erupt for four runs in the bottom half of the eighth and finally knock Red Oldham out of the box; Home Run Baker triples home two,, then scores on a second consecutive triple by Bob Meusel,, who likewise crosses the plate on Wally Pipp's base hit through the right side.  With Bob Shawkey pitching in relief of Jack Quinn, Detroit loads the bases on two hits and an intentional walk.  Bob Jones then scores on pinch-hitter Chick Shorten's fielder's choice to short.  With runners on the corners and two outs in the home ninth, and Bob Meusel at the plate, pinch-runner Mike McNally is thrown out attempting to steal second base to end the game.  The question begging to be asked is, why?  Bob Shawkey takes the loss, Waite Hoyt walks off to a no-decision, and Jim Middleton wins in relief.

• FINAL: DET 9; NYY 8
• RECORD: 60-37 (.619); second place, 0.5 GB of Cleveland

⚾

GAME #103

BOXSCORE: Saturday, August 6, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ CHICAGO CUBS

Cubs Park

Rosy Ryan and Phil Douglas Get Clawed Up By Cubs

The Giants open the last leg of their road trip with yet another loss, this time against Chicago at Cubs Park.  After three scoreless frames, New York jumps out to a 3-0 lead.  All runs are unearned as a result of two Chicago errors.  However, starter Rosy Ryan cannot hold.  In the bottom half of the fourth, Ray Grimes drives in a run, and with the bases loaded, catcher Bob O'Farrell connects off Ryan for a grand slam home run.  The Giants never fully recover, mustering only a run on Frank Snyder's sacrifice fly in the seventh.  Chicago scores twice more in the bottom half of the frame against Phil Douglas in relief of Ryan, who loses after yielding five runs on five hits through four innings pitched.  Rookie right-hander Virgil Cheeves earns the win.  McGraw's regulars come up empty.  However, his reinforcements, Irish Meusel and Johnny Rawlings, each drive in a run apiece.  With the loss, the Giants fall below par on the road trip with a 7-8 record with three games left to play.  Be sure Mister McGraw will have something to say in all regards.

• FINAL: NYG 4; CHI 7
• RECORD: 62-41 (.602); second place, 3.5 GB of Pittsburgh

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 8/4/1921: Ty Cobb Schools Yankees; Giants Bow Again at Sportsman's 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 #95

BOXSCORE: Thursday, August 4, 1921 - BR

Detroit Tigers @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Ty Cobb Leads Tigers Hitting Attack Versus Yankees

After yesterday's series-opening postponement, the Tigers pounce all over Bob Shawkey and the Yanks.  Shawkey yields a leadoff double to first baseman Lu Blue then loses his touch.  Perhaps the home plate umpire didn't rub enough baseball's new white powder on the ball because Shawkey walks Ty Cobb to load the bases, then walks Bobby Veach to force home the Tigers' first run.  Right fielder Harry Heilmann's fly center scores Donnie Bush, and Bob Jones' fly to right scores Cobb for a 3-0 first-inning lead.  Ty Cobb in the fifth gives Babe Ruth a glimpse of his own home run capabilities, with his tenth clout this season giving Detroit a 4-0 lead.  The Yankees finally score off Dutch Leonard in the fourth when Wally Pipp's sacrifice fly to center field scores Ruth from third.  The score remains unchanged through the seventh.  Manager Ty Cobb again leads by example in the eighth tripling home Donnie Bush and scoring on Bobby Veach's fly ball to right.  Home Run Baker drives home Roger Peckinpaugh and Ruth in the visiting eighth, but third baseman Bobby Jones takes exception with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the frame, after which Dutch Leonard helps himself with a hit and run batted in.  Dutch Leonard limits the Yankees to three runs on seven hits and four walks for the win.  Bob Shawkey allows all eight runs on eight hits, including two home runs and three walks for the loss.  However, there's good news out of the nation's capital, where the Senators swept both games of a twin bill against the Cleveland Indians.  Thus, despite today's loss against Detroit, the Yankees actually gain a half-game on the Indians.

• FINAL: DET 8; NYY 3
• RECORD: 59-36 (.621); second place, 0.5 GB of Cleveland

⚾

GAME #101

BOXSCORE: Thursday, August 4, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

Sportsman's Park

Giants Befuddled by Rookie Bill Pertica; Cards Win Third Straight 

In one of the more ponderous losses this season, the Giants bow to the Cardinals for a third consecutive game at Sportsman's Park.  St. Louis right-hander Bill Pertica, who as a rookie pitched just one game in 1918, then completely missed the last two seasons, making his 24th appearance this season, limits New York to just six hits and no walks with a season-high six strikeouts over nine scoreless innings for a complete-game shutout victory.  Ross Youngs accounts for half of Gotham's hits including a triple.  Art Nehf, who pitches very effectively, is the hard-luck loser.  He allows seven hits and one walk but eventually yields.  Second baseman Rogers Hornsby with a hit in the sixth drives him the only run of the game.  Don't look now, but the Boston Braves trail the Giants by three games.

• FINAL: NYG 0; STL 1
• RECORD: 61-40 (.604); second place, 3.5 GB of Pittsburgh

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 8/1/1921: Yanks Take Series From Cleveland; Giants Split Series 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.  

For 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 #94

BOXSCORE: Monday, August 1, 1921 - BR

Cleveland Indians @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Yankees Take Series Finale From Indians; Pull Within One Game of First Place

Waite Hoyt wins his third decision this season against Cleveland, and just as they did a week ago, the Yankees take the series finale and conclude their series one game in the standings behind the Indians.  Chick Fewster drives home a run in the second, and Home Run Bakers clouts a two-run home run in the third.  Waite Hoyt makes it stand.  He allows two runs on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts for the win.  Wally Pipp and Roger Peckinpaugh also drive home runs for the Yankees en route to a 5-2 final score.  Jim Bagby takes the loss.  For the moment, the embattled Miller Huggins' terms of employment remain in place as the Yankees take two of three from the Indians.

• FINAL: CLE 2; NYY 5
• RECORD: 59-35 (.628); second place, 1.0 GB of Cleveland

⚾

GAME #98

BOXSCORE: Monday, August 1, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ Cincinnati Reds

Redland Field

Giants Salvage Series Split at Redland Field

Staked to a 2-0 lead, Cincinnati starter Cliffe Markle opens with five scoreless innings pitched.  High Pockets Kelly drives home New York's first run of the game in the sixth, but the Reds strike back with a run in the bottom half of the frame for a 3-1 lead.  Fred Toney yields all three runs on eight hits and one walk through six innings pitched.  George Burns helps manufacture a run in the seventh, and Frankie Frisch doubles to center field, plating two for a 4-3 Giants lead.  Cliffe Markle surrenders three consecutive hits to load the bases in the top of the ninth, then walks Ross Youngs to force home a run.  Facing Slim Salle in the bottom of the frame, Larry Kopf doubles home Pat Duncan.  John McGraw wastes no time bringing in Jesse Barnes, who records the final out.  Fred Toney earns his first tenth victory this season, but the Giants gain no ground on Pittsburgh.

• FINAL: NYG 5; CIN 4
• RECORD: 61-37 (.622); second place, 1.0 GB of Pittsburgh

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 7/17/1921: Pirates Even Up With Giants; Yanks Pull Within One Game Of First 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 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 #81

BOXSCORE: Sunday, July 17, 1921 - BR

Pittsburgh Pirates @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Pirates Even Series; Giants Walk Plank in Tenth

The first-place Pirates strike back, but it takes extra innings to ultimately gain victory.  A crowd of 36,000 watches on with dismay when George Cutshaw drives home Carson Bigbee and Rabbit Maranville in the top half of the tenth.  With two outs and a pair of runners in scoring position in the bottom half of the frame, Frankie Frisch pops foul to first baseman Charlie Grimm and the crowd exits quietly.  After four scoreless innings, the Giants and Pirates battle to a four-all tie through nine.  Dave Robertson and Charlie Grimm each drive home a run for Pittsburgh; High Pockets Kelly and Bill Cunningham each plate a run for the Giants.  Jesse Barnes is relieved after the eight innings, having allowed eight hits, including a Charlie Grimm home run and one walk, but escapes with a no-decision.  Making his first appearance upon being acquired from the Phillies, Red Causey takes the loss.  Pittsburgh starter Earl Hamilton pitches all ten innings for the win.

• FINAL: PITT 4; NYG 2 *10 innings
• RECORD: 51-30 (.630); second place, 3.0 GB of Pittsburgh

⚾

GAME #83

BOXSCORE: Sunday, July 17, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ DETROIT TIGERS

Navin Field

Seventh In A Row Pulls Yankees Within One Of Cleveland

With Sunday's defeat of the Tigers, New York extends their win streak to seven consecutive games.  However, it's the Tigers who opened the scoring early and often.  Trailing 5-1 through the fourth, the Yankees erupt for seven runs in the fifth to get starter Rip Collins off the hook.  Collins allows five runs (only one earned) on six hits and five walks in three innings.  Jack Quinn pitches six scoreless innings in relief of Collins for the win.  Home Run Baker and Wally Pipp each drive in two runs apiece.  Aaron Ward leads the team with three hits and drives home one run.  Coupled with Cleveland's loss against the Senators, the Yankees pull within one game of first place.

• FINAL: NYY 8; DET 5
• RECORD: 52-31 (.627); second place, 1.0 GB of Cleveland

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 7/9/1921: Giants Tame Cubs; Yankees Tripped Up In 16 Innings 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 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 #74

BOXSCORE: Saturday, July 9, 1921 - BR

Chicago Cubs @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Frank Snyder's Grand Slam Lifts Giants Over Cubs

Despite Chicago jumping out to an early 2-0 lead, the Giants strike for one run in the third and five more runs in the fourth.  Pounded for 17 hits, the trio of starter Phil Douglas, Rube Benton, and Jesse Barnes still manage to outlast veteran Hippo Vaughn and the Cubs.  When Phil Douglas yields two runs on four consecutive hits in the fifth, John McGraw replaces him with Rube Benton, who ends the threat by inducing center fielder George Maisel into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double-play.  Jesse Barnes closes out the game with two scoreless innings in relief of Benton.  First baseman Ray Grimes highlights the Chicago effort with four hits and two runs batted in.  Frank Snyder's grand slam home run is promptly followed by Phil Douglas' first home run this season in the home fourth.  Douglas, in turn, escapes with his seventh win against three losses and a 4.75 ERA. 

• FINAL: CHI 5; NYG 6
• RECORD: 46-28 (.622); second place, 4.5 GB of Pittsburgh

⚾          ⚾          ⚾

GAME #76

BOXSCORE: Saturday, July 9, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Comiskey Park

Yankees Fall In 16th Inning; All Eyes Back On Miller Huggins

The Yankees again fail to gain ground on the first-place Indians defeated by the Athletics at Cleveland, and Miller Huggins once again finds himself under intense scrutiny for being a potential cause.  With the Yankees leading by a commanding 8-0 margin through six and a half innings.  Consider the Yankees lucky to have scored a run in the eighth as Miller Hugging permits starter Carl Mays to yield three runs in the seventh, two runs in the eighth, and three more in the ninth.  Waite Hoyt is finally brought in to pick up the pieces and surrenders the tying run, and into extra-innings, they go.  Hoyt and Chicago's Shovel Hodge engage in a scoreless duel through the fifteenth inning.  First baseman Earl Sheely drives home the tying run back in the ninth and proceeds to drive home the winning run in the home sixteenth.  Shame on Miller Huggins insofar as Waite Hoyt being charged with the loss.  Each team strikes for 19 hits apiece.  However, five hits by Aaron Ward, four by Wally Schang, and three hits by Home Run Baker all go for naught.

• FINAL: NYY 9; CHI 10 *16 innings
• RECORD: 46-30 (.605); second place, 2.0 GB of Cleveland