100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 8/24/1921: Revived Giants Sweep Twin Bill From Pirates; Yankees Take Over First Place From Cleveland

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!

The Pittsburgh (PA) Press, 

Thursday, August 25, 1921

GAME #121

BOXSCORE GAME ONE: Wednesday, August 24, 1921 - BR

Pittsburgh Pirates @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Make-Up: 5/25/1921

Art Nehf and High Pockets Kelly Lead McGrawmen in Rout of Pirates

The great National League showdown begins.  Facing southpaw Art Nehf, shortstop Rabbit Maranville leads off the game with a double.  He advances to third on Carson Bigbee's grounder to second, then scores on Max Carey's sacrifice fly to left field.  Far from a portent of things to come,  starting for Pittsburgh, two-time 20-game winner Babe Adams surrenders a home run to Irish Meusel with High Pockets Kelly on base.  In the fourth, Earl Smith then singles home Irish Meusel, giving the Giants a 3-1 lead.  Babe Adams must aid his own cause doubling home Charlie Grimm in the sixth because that would be all for Pirate batters.  Art Nehf surrenders just one hit the rest of the way.  Not yet done, the Giants continue making their opening statement with an eight-run margin of victory.  High Pockets Kelly punctuates the game with his 22nd home run this season with one out in the sixth, and Earl Smith once again drives home Irish Meusel for a 5-2 lead.  High Pockets Kelly then delivers home Ross Youngs in the seventh.  Facing Whitey Glazner pitching in relief of Adams, the Giants post four more runs en route to a 10-2 victory.  Irish Meusel steals home, Frankie Frisch singles home two, and Ross Youngs drives in Dave Bancroft with the Giants' tenth and final run.

• FINAL: PITT 2; NYG 10

⚾

GAME #122

BOXSCORE GAME TWO: Wednesday, August 24, 1921 - BR

Pittsburgh Pirates @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Phil Douglas Outperforms 20-Game Winner Wilbur Cooper; Giants Sweep Twin Bill

John McGraw, throughout the season, has always believed his pitching staff is the National League's best.  Following Art Nehf's performance, Phil Douglas in game two further reinforces that notion with a pure gem.  Outdueling Pittsburgh's 20-game winner Wilbur Cooper, Douglas allows just five hits and no walks with four strikeouts in a complete-game shutout victory.  After four scoreless frames, George Burns drive home a run in the fifth.  The Giants then knock Wilbur Cooper out of the box with five more runs in the sixth.  Johnny Rawlings kicks off the rally with a run batted in, Phil Douglas pushes across another, and George Burns highlights the inning with a three-run inside-the-park home run.  Facing reliever Lyle Bigbee in the seventh, Irish Meusel triples home High Pockets Kelly for a 7-0 final margin of victory.  The Giants complete the twin bill sweep of the Pirates and gain two full games in the standings.

• FINAL: PITT 0; NYG 7
• RECORD: 72-50 (.590); seond place, 5.5 GB of Pittsburgh

⚾

GAME #115

BOXSCORE: Wednesday, August 24, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ CLEVELAND INDIANS

Dunn Field

Cleveland Surrenders First Place to Yankees; Two Infield Errors Are Indians Undoing

Let Miller Huggins revel at this moment.  This season's head-to-head series against Cleveland has levied a great tax upon the Yankee skipper.  In May, the Yankees took 3 of 4 from the Indians and departed Cleveland tied for first place.  Since then, the Indians have resided in first-place every day except for three.  The defending champions simply refused to yield ground.  When you consider that players, during this time, openly said they do not appreciate Miller Huggins' managerial style and that Col. Jacob Ruppert came very close to trading for Chicago's Eddie Collins as his replacement, well, then let him have his day.  The Brooklynite Waite Hoyt and 20-game winner Stan Coveleski duel to a two-all tie through eight.  In the first inning, Bob Meusel singles home Babe Ruth.  In the second, Mike McNally then plates Wally Pipp.  Shortstop Joe Sewell and first baseman Doc Johnston each drive in a run during the fourth.  After which, the score remains unchanged.  That is until the visitor's ninth.  Elmer Miller reaches safely on Joe Sewell's misplay at short.  Roger Peckinpaugh bunts Miller over, who advances to third base on second baseman Bill Wambsganss' errant throw to first.  Miller then tags up on Wally Pipp's flyball to left field, giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead and the final margin of victory.  Since May 16, the Yankees own sole possession of first place in the American League for only the third time. 

• FINAL: NYY 3; CLE 2
• RECORD: 71-44 (.617); first place, 0.5 GA of Cleveland

The Winnipeg Tribune (Canada), Thursday, August 25, 1921

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 7/28/1921: Waite Hoyt Hurls Gem Over Browns; Giants Take Series From First-Place Pirates

From the desk: WHEN THE POLO GROUNDS WAS THE WORLD

100 Years Ago Today at the Polo Grounds: 

New York Giants & New York Yankees 

1921 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 #91

BOXSCORE: Thursday, July 28, 1921 - BR

St. Louis Browns @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Waite Hoyt Hurls Gem Against St. Louis Browns

Leave it up to the kid from Brooklyn to show 'em how it's done.  The Yankees rebound from yesterday's defeat to tie their series with St. Louis at one.  Browns' starter Dixie Davis comes apart like wet paper in the third inning, yielding four runs on four hits, two walks, and a wild pitch.  In his first season with the Yankees, Erasmus High School graduate Waite Hoyt, undeniably having his finest campaign to date, makes it stand, limiting the Browns to just four scattered hits and four walks with five strikeouts over nine scoreless innings for his twelfth win against eight losses with a 3.25 ERA.  In fact, Hoyt drives in the first and decisive run for the Yankees.  Babe Ruth delivers home two runs giving him a major league-leading 97 RBI, and Bob Meusel goes 3 for 4 with two runs batted in.  St. Louis Browns' first baseman  George Sisler sat out his fourth straight game with an injury.

• FINAL: STL 0; NYY 6
• RECORD: 57-34 (.626); second place, 1.5 GB of Cleveland 

⚾

GAME #92

BOXSCORE: Thursday, July 28, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Forbes Field

Giants Take Three of Four Against the First-Place Pirates

The Giants have their say in Pittsburgh and punctuate their departure with a four-run rally in the ninth.  New York opens the scoring in the second; High Pockets Kelly scores on a Johnny Rawlings sacrifice fly, and Rabbit Maranville's misplay at short leads to a second run.  However, the Pirates struck for three runs on five hits in the third, inspiring John McGraw to remove starter Jesse Barnes in favor of Phil Douglas, who ends the threat.  That is until Max Carey gives Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead in the fourth.  The score remains unchanged through the eighth.  Pirates' rookie Whitey Glazner returns to the hill for the top of the ninth and promptly issues a walk to Earl Smith.  Consecutive hits by Eddie Brown and George Burns load the bases.  Pinch-runner Bill Cunningham scores on Dave Bancroft's fly to left field.  Frankie Frisch then cleared the bases with a double to center field and scored on second baseman George Cutshaw's errant throw.  Rosy Ryan is called upon to close out the ninth and retires the Bucs in order.  Max Carey ends the game on a pop-up to Dave Bancroft.  This gives the Giants three straight wins against the Pirates and a 3-1 series victory.  McGraw's Men are now just two games out of first place.

• FINAL: NYG 6; PIT 4
• RECORD: 58-34 (.626); second place, 1.5 GB of Cleveland

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 7/26/1921: Giants Late Surge Overruns Pirates; Yankees Return Tomorrow To Polo Grounds

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 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 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 #90

BOXSCORE: Tuesday, July 26, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Forbes Field

Giants Score Tenth Inning Knock Out Over First Place Pirates

Like a heavyweight prizefight, the home team takes the early rounds.  The visitors regroup and forge ahead in the later rounds.  However, in the bottom of the ninth, the home team refuses to lose.  Afterwhich, a victor emerges in the tenth.  

By the fourth inning, Pittsburgh builds a four-run lead; Max Carey drives home a run in the third, and Charlie Grimm's inside the park home run in the fourth is worth three.  The score remains unchanged through the sixth.  Pirate starter Earl Hamilton through the first six innings, limits New York to no runs on just two hits and two walks with a strikeout.  Starting with the fourth inning, he retires nine batters in a row.  In the Giants' seventh, Hamilton retires Frankie Frisch and Ross Youngs to make it eleven in a row.  With two outs, High Pockets Kelly connects on his 17th home run this season.  But second baseman George Cutshaw cancels that out with a run batted in during the bottom half of the frame.  

With two runs on four straight hits in the top of the eighth, including doubles by Frank Snyder and George Burns, New York finally knocks Hamilton out of the box.  With one out and the bases loaded, Ross Youngs greets relief pitcher Hal Carlson with a bases-clearing triple to left field.   A double by George Burns and a triple by Dave Bancroft in the top of the ninth gives the Giants an 8-5 lead.

However, Rosy Ryan and Jesse Barnes pitching in relief of starter Fred Toney cannot protect the lead.  Back-to-back triples knock Ryan from the game.  Facing Jesse Barnes, Max Carey's flyball scores Carson Bigbee from third.  Rabbit Maranville lashes the third triple of the inning and goes on to score the tying run.

Into extra innings, they go at Forbes Field, with the game knotted at eight.

Leading off against reliever Whitey Glazner, Ross Youngs singles to left field.  High Pockets Kelly strikes out, but new acquisition Bill Cunningham makes Mister McGraw proud with a run-scoring triple to left field.  Cunningham is then thrown out at home by Carson Bigbee on Johnny Rawling's inning-ending double-play fly ball to left field.

Jesse Barnes faces four batters in the bottom half of the tenth while retiring three to preserve the victory and earn the win.  The Giants even the series at one.

• FINAL: NYG 9; PIT 8 *ten innings
• RECORD: 56-34 (.622); second place, 3.0 GB of Pittsburgh 

⚾

NEXT GAME:

Wednesday, July 27, 1921

St. Louis Browns @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Monday, July 25, 1921

Cincinnati Reds Defeat N.Y. Yankees in an exhibition at Redland Field; 

Babe Ruth Hits Two Home Runs

⚾

Herald and Review (Decatur, Illinois),

Tuesday, July 26, 1921

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 7/25/1921: Yankees Play Exhibition at Cincinnati; Giants Fall To First Place Pirates

From the desk: WHEN THE POLO GROUNDS WAS THE WORLD

100 Years Ago Today at the Polo Grounds: 

New York Giants & New York Yankees 

1921 Seasons Revisited

In their last season at Hilltop Park, the now formerly known New York Highlanders lost 102 games.  Rebranded as the Yankees, in 1913, they moved just a few blocks away into the Polo Grounds as tenants of the Senior Circuit's New York Giants.  To the chagrin of Giants manager John McGraw, the Americans proceeded to lose another 94 games.  

Known to hold a grudge, McGraw still harbored much animosity two full decades later, not only towards Ban Johnson and his rebel circuit (unkept promises included) but more so towards the Yankees.  As they were founded at the expense of his rendered defunct Baltimore Orioles.  

For as long as the Yankees paid their rent, the tenant/landlord relationship with the Giants remained amicably strained.  Mainly because the middling Americans, except for one season in 1916, never elevated themselves above the ranks of Junior Circuit also-rans.  But that changed in 1919 when they briefly vied for the pennant but tuckered out down the stretch to finish third.  A franchise record of 619,164 fans showed up to root for the American League contenders.  However, the Yankees' burgeoning success was not yet a pressing issue, per se, for the Giants, who were coming off a second-place finish and their best season in a decade at the turnstile.

Then, in 1920, baseball's tectonic plates along the New York/New England fault shift.  The Yankees' purchase of George Herman "Babe" Ruth from the Boston Red Sox sends seismic waves reverberating throughout the baseball world but none more intense than in Washington Heights.  

Ruth's earth-shattering record of 54 home runs was something never experienced before in the history of baseball.  However, it was an accomplishment for which John McGraw had little appreciation.  He believes players work too hard and earnestly to have their skills disrespected by some miscreant's lone swing of the bat.

Gotham's citizenry never before descended from Coogan's Bluff in such quantity and spectacle as in 1920 as the Giants would set a franchise record with 929,609 reported attendance.  However, the New York Nationals faced an economic dilemma of Ruthian proportions.  McGraw's disdain for his tenants was 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!

⚾

NEXT GAME:

Wednesday, July 27, 1921

St. Louis Browns @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

New York Tribune, Tuesday, July 26, 1921

Babe Ruth Thrills National League Crowd 

7/25/1921 - Upon completing their 15 game road trip, the Yankees are off the American League docket for the next two days.  However, before heading home, the Huggmen stop in Cincinnati, where they play an exhibition game against the National Leaguers at Redland Field.  The crowd is delighted by a victory over the New Yorkers but also witnessing the Bambino swat two home runs.  Ruth's first home run in the fifth inning is a grand slam to center field that hits the back-barrier on a fly, something no other player has ever done in the history of that playing field.  His second home run in the seventh inning lands in the center field bleachers.  Ruth drives home six runs in all, but it's still not enough to overcome the Reds, who win the day, 9 to 8. 

  

New York Tribune, Tuesday, July 26, 1921

⚾

GAME #89

BOXSCORE: Monday, July 25, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Forbes Field

Bucs Toss Phil Douglas Overboard

The battle for first place resumes today at Forbes Field.  Former 20-game winner Babe Adams limits the Giants to three runs on nine hits and no walks over nine innings for the win.  Ross Youngs, Johnny Rawlings, and Frank Snyder each drive home a run.  Meanwhile, Giant starter Phil Douglas gets knocked around, surrendering four runs on ten hits through six innings pitched for the loss.  Slim Salle yields another two runs in two innings pitched.  Pirates shortstop Rabbit Maranville leads the Bucs with three runs batted in.  The Pirates become baseball's first team to achieve 60 victories, four full games ahead of the Giants.

• FINAL: NYG 3; PIT 6
• RECORD: 55-34 (.618); second place, 4.0 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 5/24/1921: Giants Even Series With Pirates; New York Native Defeats Yankees 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 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 #33

BOXSCORE: Tuesday, May 24, 1921 - BR

Pittsburgh Pirates @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Giants Even Series With First Place Pirates

Led by the battery of Art Nehf and Earl Smith, the Giants defeat the Pirates and knot the series at one.  Goldie Rapp and Earl Smith each drive in a run apiece in the second.  But the Pirates answered with a run in the third and two in the fourth.  With Max Carey batting in the third, Pittsburgh executes a double-steal; Bill Skiff steals home.  Shortstop Rabbit Maranville homers leading off the fourth, and third baseman Cotton Tierney drives home a run giving Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead.  Earl Smith drives home his second run in the bottom of the frame, and after advancing on a passed ball, scores on Art Nehf's base hit into center field.  Frankie Frisch closes out the scoring when he delivers George Burns for a 5-3 Giants lead and the final margin of victory.  Nehf closes out the game with five scoreless innings.  All told, Art Nehf yields three runs, two earned, on five hits and three walks over nine full innings.  He improves to 5-2 despite a lofty 4.28 ERA.

• FINAL: PITT 3; NYG 5
• RECORD: 22-11 (.667), second place, 3.5 GB of Pittsburgh

⚾

GAME #32

BOXSCORE: Tuesday, May 24, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ ST. LOUIS BROWNS

Sportsman's Park

Fellow New Yorker Welcomes Yankees to Sportsman's Park

The Yankees jump into the pit dug by their own fielding misplays.  After coming up just short in two previous contests, the Browns finally break out against Carl Mays, who yields seven runs on five hits and one walk in just 1.2 innings.  However, six are unearned as the Yankees total four errors, three by second baseman Johnny Mitchell.  Third baseman Earl Smith homers in the fifth against Bill Piercy, pitching in relief of Mays, giving the Browns an 8-1 lead.  The Yankees rally for three runs in the sixth to no avail.  Meusel, who contributed one of New York's errors drives in his 31st run of the season, and Aaron Ward goes 3 for 4 with a double and a run batted in.  Held hitless again, Babe Ruth is now 2 for 22 in his last six games.  Browns' first baseman George Sisler goes 2 for 3 with a stolen base and two runs batted in.  Making only his fourth appearance for St. Louis since his acquisition from Detroit, Rochester, N.Y. native Bernie Boland earns the win.

• FINAL: NYY 4; STL 8
• RECORD: 19-13 (.594), second place, 1.5 GB of Cleveland

100 Years Ago Today 9/5/1920: First Place Brooklyn Robins Fend Off Braves

 From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #129: Sunday, September 5, 1920 - BR
Boston Braves vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field 

Rube Marquard Out-Duels Boston Braves; Robins Win Fourth Straight

Sunday's game further confirms Rube Marquard can still be great when the Robins need him most.  The soon to be 33-year old southpaw yields just one run in the second inning then whitewashes Boston the rest of the way.  Tommy Griffith's sacrifice fly in the first opens the scoring.  Who else but Rabbit Maranville ties the score in the second.  But the Braves would score no more.  Zack Wheat drives home the go ahead run in the fourth and Marquard takes care of the rest.  Jimmy Johnston continues rewarding Uncle Robbie's decision to start him this season at third base with two hits and .292 batting average.  Marquard improves to 9-7 with a 3.16 ERA, allowing one run on four hits and no walks with five strikeouts.  It's Brooklyn's fourth win in a row.  However, the Reds and Giants cede no ground.  Cincinnati is victorious at St. Louis and the New York Giants trounce the Phillies at the Polo Grounds.  

• RECORD: 73-55 (.570)
• 1st Place; 0.5 GA 
  

100 Years Ago Today 9/4/1920: Brooklyn Robins Beat Boston; Reclaim First Place

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #128: Saturday, September 4, 1920 - BR
Boston Braves vs. Brooklyn Robins

Ebbets Field

Leon Cardore Whitewashes Boston; Robins Back in First

Rest indeed does a body good!  Brooklyn romps to a third consecutive victory and reclaims first place.  The Robins score early, often and late en route to a 10-0 whitewashing of the Braves.  Leon Cadore yields twelve hits but no runs and no walks through nine innings full.  He improves to an even 12-12 with a 2.57 ERA.  Rabbit Maranville accounts for three Boston hits.  Hi Myers, arguably in the midst of his best season, leads the charge with a single, double and triple with three runs scored and five runs batted in.  Last year's RBI champ again leads the team with 67 runs batted in.  Jimmy Johnston and Tommy Griffith each slash three hits apiece.  Ed Konetchy and Otto Miller drive in two runs each.  The Reds fall to the Cardinals and into second place, while the Giants edge out the Phillies at the Polo Grounds by a score of one to zero.

• RECORD: 72-55 (.567)
• 1st Place; 0.5 GA

100 Years Ago Today 6/29/1920: Brooklyn Robins Skid Hits Season High Six Games

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #62: Tuesday, June 29, 1920 - BR
Brooklyn Robins vs. Boston Braves
Braves Field

Robins in Free Fall Heading Into Showdown With Giants at Polo Grounds

Brooklyn's June swoon continues as the Robins lose a season high sixth game in a row, five of which have come against the Boston Braves.  Tuesday's game is ponderously similar to so many others played this month where the competition's poorest arms keep getting rich at the expense of Brooklyn's lineup.  For Uncle Robbie, Zack Wheat's first inning run batted in is not a hopeful harbinger of things to come.  Instead Boston starter Jack Scott puts forth an effort Wilbert Robinson would soon rather forget.  Brooklyn musters twelve hits but go 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position.  Otherwise Scott surrenders just one earned run and one walk through nine complete innings pitched.  Batting leadoff this day Jimmy Johnston goes 3 for 5 with a run scored; Zack Wheat with two hits drives in his 20th run for the season.  Starter Leon Cadore's season record is now even at 5-5 with a 1.99 ERA.  He yields five earned runs on twelve hits and two walks in six innings.  George Mohart follows in relief and surrenders another three runs on five hits in two innings pitched.  Braves shortstop Rabbit Maranville is 3 for 4 with a triple and a run batted in.  Second baseman Charlie Pick and first baseman Walter Holke likewise register three hit apiece.  Jack Scott helps himself with two hits and two runs batted in.  Brooklyn this month has lost at least four games in a row on three separate occasions.  They are now just one game over .500 and 10-16 in June which tomorrow draws to a close.  Out of first place by 3.5 games marks Brooklyn's largest deficit of the season to date.

• RECORD: 31-30 (.508)
• 4th place; 3.5 GB

100 Years Ago Today 6/26/1920: Brooklyn Robins Drop Twin Bill at Braves Field

From the desk of: FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #58: Saturday, June 26, 1920, GAME ONE - BR
Brooklyn Robins vs. Boston Braves
Braves Field

Sherry Smith Loses Pitching Duel to Boston's Joe Oeschger: Bill McCabe Error Proves Costly

One can only fathom Uncle Robbie's sentiments between games of Saturday's double-header after Brooklyn is limited to just three hits by a pedestrian Joe Oeschger whom walks three and strikeouts two through nine scoreless innings pitched.  No doubt having his best season to date Oeschger improves to 5-4 with a 2.48 ERA.  Bill McCabe making his third straight start at shortstop in place of Ivy Olson in the third inning misplays a Joe Sullivan ground ground ball.  Instead of ending the inning the bases are loaded for right fielder Walton Cruise whom singles through the left side plating the game's only run.  To Uncle Robbie's dismay starter Sherry Smith's fine effort is wasted.  He yields no earned runs on nine hits and just one walk through seven innings pitched.  Jimmy Johnston, Tommy Griffith, and catcher Ernie Krueger record Brooklyn's only hits.


Game #59: Saturday, June 26, 1920, GAME TWO - BR
Brooklyn Robins vs. Boston Braves
Braves Field

Braves Pitching Gets Better of Brooklyn, Again

The Robins lose their third straight as Boston completes a sweep of Saturday's twin bill and take the four game series three games to one.  Braves starter Dana Fillingim limits the Robins to a pair of runs, one earned, on six hits and three walks with six strikeouts over nine full innings for his seventh win of the season.  Meanwhile an ineffective Burleigh Grimes loses his fifth of the season after surrendering six runs on eight hits and two walks in only five innings of work.  Rabbit Maranville is one of six different Braves hitters to drive in at least one run; catcher Mickey O'Neil is 2 for 4 with two runs batted in.  Brooklyn's Hi Myers drives in his team leading 30th run for the season and Ed Konetchy knocks in his 20th.  A third straight loss gives Brooklyn a 10-13 record to date in June and Uncle Robbie one giant headache.  After playing back to back double-headers, his team must now hop the next train back to New York where tomorrow they'll host the Giants for one game at Ebbets Field then immediately return to Boston for two more games against the Braves only to rush back to New York for a three game set against the Giants at the Polo Grounds.  Although the Robins remain just 1.5 games out of first, your head would be pounding too.

• RECORD: 31-27 (.534)
• 3rd place; 1.5 GB

100 Years Ago Today 5/29/1920: Brooklyn Robins Sweep Saturday Twin Bill Against Braves

From the desk of:  FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS

1920 National League Champions

Game #32: Saturday, May 29, 1920 - BR
Boston Braves vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field:  GAME ONE

Hi Myers Highlights Offensive Outburst; Rube Marquard Sharp in Return to Mound

The Robins jump out to an early lead and never look back.  Brooklyn posts a pair in the first inning on runs batted in from Jimmy Johnston and Hi Myers.  Boston briefly cuts the deficit by one on Rabbit Maranville's second inning sacrifice fly scoring John Sullivan from third.  But the Braves manage just two more hits through the remainder of the game.  Back in action making his first appearance in nine days, and his first start since May 7, veteran Rube Marquard limits Boston to a lone run on just three hits and three walks with three strikeouts through nine innings complete.  He improves to 2-1 and lowers his ERA to a 3.55 mark.  Meanwhile the Robins continue putting Braves starter Bunny Hearn through the ringer with another five runs on seven more hits.  All told Hearn yields seven runs, six earned, on eleven hits through eight innings pitched.  Zack Wheat is 1 for 4, with a run batted in.  Hi Myers enjoys a productive game at the plate going 2 for 4 with a triple and a long home run to right that goes bouncing onto Bedford Avenue.  In the seventh inning Ivy Olson plates two more runs with a triple, then scores the final run of the game on a Bernie Neis hit to left.  Brooklyn takes the first game of Saturday's twin bill by a 7-1 final score.  This game is a make-up from an Apr. 21 postponement.


Game #33: Saturday, May 29, 1920 - BR
Boston Braves vs. Brooklyn Robins
Ebbets Field:  GAME TWO

Hi Myers Picks Up Where He Leaves Off; Robins Complete Twin Bill Sweep

Saturday's second game begins ominously for Brooklyn who in the first inning commit three errors resulting in Boston's first two runs.  Adding insult to injury right fielder Walton Cruise steals home making it a 3-0 Braves lead after one-half inning of play.  Brooklyn evens the score with single runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings.  Boston opens the sixth with three consecutive singles and a run batted in from third baseman Tony Boeckel.  Ivy Olson answers on Brooklyn's behalf in the seventh with a hit to right scoring pinch runner Bill McCabe from second base.  Starting pitchers Leon Cadore and Boston's inexperienced Hugh McQuillan continue dueling through the ninth.  With one out and the bases full in the Brooklyn tenth Hi Myers singles through the left side scoring Ivy Olson from third with the game winning run.  McQuillan's line reads five earned runs on eight hits and five walks with one strikeout over 9.1 innings pitched.  Making his eighth start Leon Cadore improves to 4-2 with a brilliant 1.08 ERA.  He yields four runs but only one is earned.  In fact, Cadore has allowed just two earned runs over his last 27 innings pitched.  Leon also helps himself with the stick, going 1 for 3 with a run batted in.  Ivy Olson is 3 for 5 with two runs batted in, and Hi Myers is 2 for 5 also with two runs batted in.  Clarence Mitchell makes his third consecutive start at first base in place of injured Ed Konetchy.

• RECORD: 18-14
• 3rd place; 1.5 GB