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

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

From the desk: WHEN THE POLO GROUNDS WAS THE WORLD

100 Years Ago Today at the Polo Grounds: 

New York Giants & New York Yankees 

1921 Seasons Revisited

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

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

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

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

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

Gotham's citizenry never before descended from Coogan's Bluff in such quantity and spectacle as in 1920 as the Giants would set a franchise record with 929,609 reported attendance.  However, the New York Nationals faced an economic dilemma of Ruthian proportions.  McGraw's disdain for his tenants was further heightened when the Yankees outdrew the host Giants in their own home for the first time in each franchise's history.  Headlined by Babe Ruth, the Yankees seized the city's attention, evidenced by an all-time major league record of 1,289,422 in attendance.

In 1921, over two million fans would again pack the Polo Grounds.  Babe Ruth would continue accomplishing the unimaginable, and if that wasn't surreal enough, he proceeds to top it.  All the while, with each passing day, John McGraw grows more incensed.  Lest we forget, New York City is still Little Napoleon's empire.  

Sharing a ballpark for both teams is becoming an insufferable condition—the Giants attempt to evict the Yankees before the start of 1921 to no avail.  But a solution lies not too far away ...  

Until then, two major league titans charge headlong into a season-ending October clash at the Polo Grounds.  It is New York City's first-ever World's Championship Subway Series.  All games are played at the Polo Grounds, making Coogan's Bluff the center of the baseball universe. 

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

• Stats: BASEBALL REFERENCE

Enjoy the games ... PLAY BALL!

⚾          ⚾          ⚾

GAME #55

BOXSCORE: Wednesday, June 15, 1921 - BR

Chicago White Sox @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

White Sox Take Series Opener

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

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

⚾          ⚾          ⚾

GAME #54

BOXSCORE: Wednesday, June 15, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ CHICAGO CUBS

Cubs Park

Giants Win Chicago Opener in Twelve Innings

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

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

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 6/7/1921: Yanks Take Series Opener From Defending Champs; Giants Blanked By Reds

From the desk: WHEN THE POLO GROUNDS WAS THE WORLD

100 Years Ago Today at the Polo Grounds: 

New York Giants & New York Yankees 

1921 Seasons Revisited

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

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

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

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

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

Gotham's citizenry never before descended from Coogan's Bluff in such quantity and spectacle as in 1920 as the Giants would set a franchise record with 929,609 reported attendance.  However, the New York Nationals faced an economic dilemma of Ruthian proportions.  McGraw's disdain for his tenants was further heightened when the Yankees outdrew the host Giants in their own home for the first time in each franchise's history.  Headlined by Babe Ruth, the Yankees seized the city's attention, evidenced by an all-time major league record of 1,289,422 in attendance.

In 1921, over two million fans would again pack the Polo Grounds.  Babe Ruth would continue accomplishing the unimaginable, and if that wasn't surreal enough, he proceeds to top it.  All the while, with each passing day, John McGraw grows more incensed.  Lest we forget, New York City is still Little Napoleon's empire.  

Sharing a ballpark for both teams is becoming an insufferable condition—the Giants attempt to evict the Yankees before the start of 1921 to no avail.  But a solution lies not too far away ...  

Until then, two major league titans charge headlong into a season-ending October clash at the Polo Grounds.  It is New York City's first-ever World's Championship Subway Series.  All games are played at the Polo Grounds, making Coogan's Bluff the center of the baseball universe. 

This is my replay of that season.  I'll be exercising my creative license whenever and wherever ever possible.  More than anything, this is about having fun and celebrating New York City's baseball history.  

• Stats: BASEBALL REFERENCE

Enjoy the games ... PLAY BALL!

⚾         ⚾

GAME #47

BOXSCORE: Tuesday, June 7, 1921 - BR

Cleveland Indians @ NEW YORK YANKEES

POLO GROUNDS

Yankees Trounce Defending Champs in Series Opener

Their last game against the Indians at Cleveland never sat well with Miller Huggins.  He's been counting down the days until today's opening game against the circuit leaders at the Polo Grounds ever since.  The Huggmen did not disappoint.  In front of 14,000 fans, the Yankees take an immediate 3-0 lead against the defending World Series champions.  All three runs were unearned thanks in part to a fielding error by the third baseman Larry Gardner.  Still facing Indians starter Stan Covaleski, the Yankees strike for five more runs in the fourth, highlighted by Aaron Ward's home run.  Aaron Ward drives home another run in the fifth.  Home Run Baker drives home two runs.  Yankees starter Bob Shawkey puts the finishing touches on a winning effort but not before shortstop Joe Sewell homers to deep left.  Otherwise, Shawkey surrenders two runs on just five hits and three walks through nine innings for his third victory this season.

• FINAL: CLE 2; NYY 9
• RECORD: 28-19 (.596); second place, 1.5 GB of Cleveland

⚾         ⚾

GAME #48

BOXSCORE: Tuesday, May 7, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ CINCINNATI REDS

Redland Field

Old Friend Rube Marquard Whitewashes Former Mates

Former New York Giants star Rube Marquard treats his old mates unkindly upon their arrival in Cincinnati.  The now 34-year old veteran limits the Giants to just five hits and no walks with five strikeouts in a nine-inning complete-game shutout effort.  Frankie Frisch accounts for two of New York's hits.  Reds right fielder Rube Bressier and center fielder Edd Roush each account for three hits and drive in a run apiece.  Rube Benton takes the loss.  The Braves defeated the Pirates at Forbes Field; thus, the Giants lose no ground.

• FINAL: NYG 0; CIN 6
• RECORD: 32-16 (.667); second place, 0.5 GB of Pittsburgh

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 6/1/1921: Giants Sweep Twin Bill from Phillies; Miller Huggins Questioned For Loss Against Senators

From the desk: WHEN THE POLO GROUNDS WAS THE WORLD

100 Years Ago Today at the Polo Grounds: 

New York Giants & New York Yankees 

1921 Seasons Revisited

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

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

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

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

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

Gotham's citizenry never before descended from Coogan's Bluff in such quantity and spectacle as in 1920 as the Giants would set a franchise record with 929,609 reported attendance.  However, the New York Nationals faced an economic dilemma of Ruthian proportions.  McGraw's disdain for his tenants was further heightened when the Yankees outdrew the host Giants in their own home for the first time in each franchise's history.  Headlined by Babe Ruth, the Yankees seized the city's attention, evidenced by an all-time major league record of 1,289,422 in attendance.

In 1921, over two million fans would again pack the Polo Grounds.  Babe Ruth would continue accomplishing the unimaginable, and if that wasn't surreal enough, he proceeds to top it.  All the while, with each passing day, John McGraw grows more incensed.  Lest we forget, New York City is still Little Napoleon's empire.  

Sharing a ballpark for both teams is becoming an insufferable condition—the Giants attempt to evict the Yankees before the start of 1921 to no avail.  But a solution lies not too far away ...  

Until then, two major league titans charge headlong into a season-ending October clash at the Polo Grounds.  It is New York City's first-ever World's Championship Subway Series.  All games are played at the Polo Grounds, making Coogan's Bluff the center of the baseball universe. 

This is my replay of that season.  I'll be exercising my creative license whenever and wherever ever possible.  More than anything, this is about having fun and celebrating New York City's baseball history.  

• Stats: BASEBALL REFERENCE

Enjoy the games ... PLAY BALL!

GAME #42

BOXSCORE GAME ONE: Wednesday, June 1, 1921 - BR

Philadelphia Phillies @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Rosy Ryan Twirls a Dandy; High Pockets Hits Number Nine

Frankie Frisch and Rosy Youngs lash back-to-back triples in the first, giving the Giants an instant 3-0 lead and starter Rosy Ryan makes it stand.  Ross Youngs knocks home two more, and Curt Walker drives home another in a three-run third.  With Eddie Brown (double) standing on second in the fifth, High Pockets Kelly hits his ninth home run this season.  Not yet done, Kelly knocks home Frisch in the seventh for the Giants' ninth score of the afternoon.   Ryan comes up roses, allowing two earned runs on eight hits and no walks with two strikeouts through nine innings for the win.  Jimmy Ring takes the loss.

• FINAL: PHI 2; NYG 9

⚾

GAME #43

BOXSCORE GAME TWO: Wednesday, June 1, 1921 - BR

Philadelphia Phillies @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Rube Benton Tosses Three-Hitter, Dave Bancroft Takes Care of the Rest

The Phillies strike first.  Errors by Dave Bancroft and Goldie Rapp open the way for two Philadelphia runs in the second.  Bancroft makes up for his misplay with a triple in the third driving home George Burns.  In the fourth, Earl Smith plates Curt Walker with a sacrifice fly to center field, tying the game at two.  A big five-run fifth knocks Phillies starter George Smith out of the box.  Bancroft hits an inside-the-park home run; Ross Youngs, High Pockets Kelly, and Earl Smith also drive in runs.  Dave Bancroft caps off a big day at the plate with a double in the sixth, scoring Burns.  Starter Rube Benton yields three runs, none earned, on just three hits and two walks for his fourth victory against one loss with a 1.19 ERA.

• FINAL: PHI 3; NYG 8
• RECORD: 29-14 (.674); second place, 2.5 GB of Pittsburgh

⚾         ⚾         ⚾

GAME #41

BOXSCORE: Wednesday, June 1, 1921 - BR

New York Giants @ WASHINGTON SENATORS

Griffith Stadium

Walter Johnson Outlasts Carl Mays; Miller Huggins Under Scrutiny

Behind the great Walter Johnson, Washington wins today's series finale and defeat the Yankees three games to one.  New York appeared headed towards a sure victory.  Chick Fewster's run-scoring double in the top of the ninth gives the Yankees a 7-3 lead.  But with one out and one on in the home ninth, starter Carl Mays yields a triple to pinch-hitter Clyde Milan.  Then with two outs, Bucky Harris reaches safely on an errant throw by shortstop Mike McNally, pinch-runner Bobby LaMotte scores from third.  Miller Huggins makes no move even as he watches Sam Rice triple to left field.  Now down by one, right fielder Frank Brower singles home Rice with the tying run.  Miller Huggins still makes no move.  Left Fielder Bing Miller then doubles to center field, plating Brower with the winning run.  Carl Mays allows eight runs, but only six are earned.  Otherwise, the Senators hammer Mays for twelve hits, four going for extra bases, and three coming in the ninth.  Miller Huggins must answer for this one.

• FINAL: NYY 7; WAS 8
• RECORD: 24-17 (.585), second place, 4.0 GB of Cleveland

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

From the desk: WHEN THE POLO GROUNDS WAS THE WORLD

100 Years Ago Today at the Polo Grounds: 

New York Giants & New York Yankees 

1921 Seasons Revisited

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

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

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

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

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

Gotham's citizenry never before descended from Coogan's Bluff in such quantity and spectacle as in 1920 as the Giants would set a franchise record with 929,609 reported attendance.  However, the New York Nationals faced an economic dilemma of Ruthian proportions.  McGraw's disdain for his tenants was further heightened when the Yankees outdrew the host Giants in their own home for the first time in each franchise's history.  Headlined by Babe Ruth, the Yankees seized the city's attention, evidenced by an all-time major league record of 1,289,422 in attendance.

In 1921, over two million fans would again pack the Polo Grounds.  Babe Ruth would continue accomplishing the unimaginable, and if that wasn't surreal enough, he proceeds to top it.  All the while, with each passing day, John McGraw grows more incensed.  Lest we forget, New York City is still Little Napoleon's empire.  

Sharing a ballpark for both teams is becoming an insufferable condition—the Giants attempt to evict the Yankees before the start of 1921 to no avail.  But a solution lies not too far away ...  

Until then, two major league titans charge headlong into a season-ending October clash at the Polo Grounds.  It is New York City's first-ever World's Championship Subway Series.  All games are played at the Polo Grounds, making Coogan's Bluff the center of the baseball universe. 

This is my replay of that season.  I'll be exercising my creative license whenever and wherever ever possible.  More than anything, this is about having fun and celebrating New York City's baseball history.  

• Stats: BASEBALL REFERENCE

Enjoy the games ... PLAY BALL!

The Long Beach Telegram and 

The Long Beach Daily News (Long Beach, California)

Getaway Day

NEXT GAME: Friday, May 27, 1921

New York Yankees @ WASHINGTON SENATORS

Griffith Stadium

⚾

GAME #34

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

New York Giants @ BOSTON BRAVES

Braves Field

*Make-up: April 18, 1921

George Burns Ices Game One for Rube Benton

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

• FINAL: NYG 5; BOS 3

GAME #35

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

New York Giants @ BOSTON BRAVES 

Braves Field

Braves Pull Out Victory in Ninth

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

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

100 YEARS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 5/14/1921: Giants Turn Back Reds; Babe Ruth Powers Yankees Over 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 Seasons Revisited

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

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

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

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

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

Gotham's citizenry never before descended from Coogan's Bluff in such quantity and spectacle than in 1920 as the Giants would set a franchise record with 929,609 reported attendance.  However, the New York Nationals faced an economic dilemma of Ruthian proportions.  McGraw's disdain for his tenants was further heightened when the Yankees outdrew the host Giants in their own home for the first time in each franchise's history.  Headlined by Babe Ruth, the Yankees seized the city's attention, evidenced by an all-time major league record of 1,289,422 in attendance.

In 1921, over two million fans would again pack the Polo Grounds.  Babe Ruth would continue accomplishing the unimaginable, and if that wasn't surreal enough, he proceeds to top it.  All the while, with each passing day, John McGraw grows more incensed.  Lest we forget, New York City is still Little Napoleon's empire.  

Sharing a ballpark for both teams is becoming an insufferable condition—the Giants attempt to evict the Yankees before the start of 1921 to no avail.  But a solution lies not too far away ...  

Until then, two major league titans charge headlong into a season-ending October clash at the Polo Grounds.  It is New York City's first-ever World's Championship Subway Series.  All games are played at the Polo Grounds, making Coogan's Bluff the center of the baseball universe. 

This is my replay of that season.  I'll be exercising my creative license whenever and wherever ever possible.  More than anything, this is about having fun and celebrating New York City's baseball history.  

• Stats: BASEBALL REFERENCE

Enjoy the games ... PLAY BALL!

⚾

GAME #24

BOXSCORE: Saturday, May 14, 1921 - BR

Cincinnati Reds @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Rube Benton Shuts Out Former Team; Giants Move Into Second Place

Making only his second start of the season, veteran Rube Benton twirls a gem against his former team as 22,000 fans at the Polo Grounds luxuriate in delight.  Acquired by Mister McGraw back during the 1915 season, Benton yields no runs, eight hits, and two walks in a complete-game shutout effort.  The Giants scored three times in the first inning and never look back.  Frankie Frisch triples home George Burns and Dave Bancroft, then scores on Ross Youngs' hit up the middle.  Benton provides himself some insurance with a run-scoring sacrifice fly in the fifth.  Ross Youngs then caps off the scoring with a sacrifice fly scoring Frisch in the eighth.  Cincinnati's Dolf Luque takes the loss.  Frankie Frisch leads the charge with three hits in four at-bats with two RBI and two runs scored.  The Giants are now winners of four in a row and ten of their last twelve games.  With Brooklyn's loss against St. Louis, the Giants overtake second place.

• FINAL: CIN 0; NYG 5
• RECORD: 16-8 (.667); second place, 3.0 GB of Pittsburgh

⚾

GAME #22

BOXSCORE: Saturday, May 14, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ CLEVELAND INDIANS

Dunn Field

Babe Ruth's Eleventh Home Run Lifts Yankees To Series Opening Victory Over Defending Champions 

The Yankees seize the opener of a four-game set against the first place and defending World Series champion Indians.  Trailing 4-2 after seven, the Yankees turn the tables on Cleveland in the eighth when Indians starter Jim Bigby hits lead-off batter Braggo Roth with a pitch and Roger Peckinpaugh's single puts runners on the corners.  Up comes Babe Ruth who then wallops a home run into the furthest seating rows in straightaway center field.  All center fielder Tris Speaker can do is look skyward in admiration and wave goodbye to the ball (that would surely have reached the bleachers at the Polo Grounds).  With the Yankees now staked to a 5-4 lead, Wally Pipp makes it back-to-back home runs and a 6-4 final margin of victory for the visiting Yankees.  Making his sixth appearance of the season, Jack Quinn yields four runs on eleven hits and two walks over nine complete innings pitched for his second victory this season.  For Ruth, his major league-leading eleventh home run of the season.  The Sultan of Swat is a full two weeks ahead of last season's home run pace.  Ruth last season didn't hit his eleventh home run until May 29 against Boston.  The Yankees move into second place ahead of Washington.

• FINAL: NYY 6; CLE 4
• RECORD: 13-9 (.591); second place, 1.0 GB of Cleveland 

The Standard Union, Brooklyn, 

May 15, 1921

 

100 YEAS AGO AT THE POLO GROUNDS 5/3/1921: Giants Complete Sweep of Braves; Yankees Whitewash Red Sox at Fenway

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, two full decades later, still harbored much animosity not only towards Ban Johnson and his rebel circuit (unkept promises included) but more so towards the Yankees themselves who 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 but an accomplishment for which John McGraw has little appreciation as one who believes players work too hard and earnestly only to have their skills disrespected by some miscreant's lone swing of the bat.

Gotham's citizenry never before descended from Coogan's Bluff in such quantity and spectacle than in 1920 as the Giants would set a franchise record with 929,609 reported attendance.  However, the New York Nationals faced an economic dilemma of Ruthian proportions.  McGraw's disdain for his tenants was further heightened when the Yankees outdrew the host Giants in their own home for the first time in each franchise's history.  Headlined by Babe Ruth, the Yankees seized the city's attention, evidenced by an all-time major league record of 1,289,422 in attendance.

In 1921, over two million fans would again pack the Polo Grounds.  Babe Ruth would continue accomplishing the unimaginable, and if that wasn't surreal enough, he proceeds to top it.  All the while, with each passing day, John McGraw grows more incensed.  Lest we forget, New York City is still Little Napoleon's empire.  

Sharing a ballpark for both teams is becoming an insufferable condition—the Giants attempt to evict the Yankees in 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 #16

BOXSCORE: Tuesday, May 3, 1921 - BR

Boston Braves @ NEW YORK GIANTS

POLO GROUNDS

Rube Benton's First Start is a Dandy; Giants Complete Sweep of Braves

Upwards of 15,000 cranks arrive for the make-up of Friday's postponement, wherein the Giants defeat the Braves for a fourth straight game and complete the series sweep.  Making his first appearance of the season, the veteran Rube Benton allows two runs, one earned, on just three hits and one walk with two strikeouts over nine complete innings for the win.  Boston's first run is helped along by first baseman High Pocket Kelly's error in the second.  In the ninth, center fielder Roy Howell led off with a triple and scored when Frankie Frisch mishandles the relay from George Burns.  Ross Youngs starts things off for the Giants in the first inning with two runs batted in.  An error by Braves second baseman Hod Ford and a hit from High Pockets Kelly gives the Giants a 4-1 lead after three.  A run-scoring double struck by third baseman Goldie Rapp in the sixth knocks starter Mules Watson out of the box.  Catcher Frank Snyder greets reliever Joe Oeschger with a run-scoring hit through the left side.  Then with the bases loaded, Oeschger hits Dave Bancroft with a pitch plating the Giants' seventh and final run of the game.  Tomorrow, the second-place Brooklyn Robins pay this season's first visit to the Polo Grounds.

• FINAL: BOS 2; NYG 7
• RECORD: 10-6 (.625), third place, 3 GB of Pittsburgh

Home Run Race Through May 3, 1921

BOSTON GLOBE

GAME #14

BOXSCORE: Tuesday, May 3, 1921 - BR

New York Yankees @ BOSTON RED SOX

Fenway Park

Billy Piercy Blanks Red Sox in Fenway Park Finale 

New York salvages a win for a split in what was otherwise a washout at Boston.  Two of the four scheduled games were postponed due to yet more rain.  But after bowing in the ninth inning of yesterday's game, the Yankees respond this day with a cleanly orchestrated performance in an overall well-played and tightly contested affair at Fenway Park.  In the midst of his triumphant return to the big leagues, righty Bill Piercy climbs the hill and is opposed by Boston southpaw and naval veteran Herb Pennock.  Piercy surrenders no runs, ten hits, and two walks with two strikeouts in a complete-game shutout victory, his third of the season against one loss.  Leading off the third, a single from Aaron Ward and a double by catcher Wally Schang put two runners in scoring position.  Bill Piercy's hit to left plated one run, and with one out, Roger Peckinpaugh's sacrifice-fly to center scores Wally Schang for a 2-0 lead and the Giants' final margin of victory.

• FINAL: NYY 2; BOS 0
• RECORD: 7-7 (.500); fourth place, 3.5 GB of Cleveland

100 Years Ago Today 9/1/1920: Brooklyn Robins Rained Out; New York Giants Lose Fourth Straight at Forbes Field

From the desks of: 

FINGERPRINTS OF THE BUMS  &  LITTLE NAPOLEON'S EMPIRE

100th Anniversary

BROOKLYN ROBINS
1920 National League Champions

Game #127:  9/1/1920

GAME CALLED; RAIN

Brooklyn Robins vs. St. Louis Cardinals 

Sportsman's Park

FORBES FIELD

Game #125: Wednesday, Sept. 1, 1920 - BR
New York Giants vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Forbes Field

Another Opportunity Lost; Giants Lose Fourth Straight at Pittsburgh

Coming off three highly imperative victories against the Cincinnati Reds, the New York Giants lose their fourth straight to the Pittsburgh Pirates.  After climbing to within one game of first place, the Giants now find themselves 2.5 games back of the idle Robins and the Reds whom defeat the visiting Boston Braves.  Otherwise, the look on John McGraw's face said it all as he observes veteran Pirates southpaw Wilbur Cooper limit his Giants to three runs on eleven hits and three walks with six strikeouts for his 21st victory against eleven losses with a 2.38 ERA.  Pittsburgh opens the scoring in the first; withstand three Giants runs in the fourth; then close out the scoring with three runs in the fifth.  New York's southpaw Rube Benton yields four runs, only two earned, on six hits and two walks through 4.1 innings pitched.  By the time John McGraw replaces Benton with Fred Toney it's too late, the damage is done.  Shortstop Dave Bancroft's 36th error leads to a pair of unearned runs from which the Giants do not recover.  New York's catcher Frank Snyder is big man on campus going 2 for 3 with a walk, double, triple, two runs batted in and a run scored.

• RECORD: 67-57 (.540)
• 3rd Place; 2.5 GB