New York Giants (baseball)

Professional baseball team in Manhattan, New York, 1883–1957

This article is about the baseball team in New York until 1957. For the history of the team from 1958 onward, see History of the San Francisco Giants. For information on the franchise in general, see San Francisco Giants. For the Players' League team, see New York Giants (Players' League). For the New York Giants football team, see New York Giants.

"New York Gothams" redirects here. For the basketball team, see New York Gothams (basketball).

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New York Giants

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Team logo | Cap insignia
Information
League| National League (1883–1957)
Ballpark| Polo Grounds III (1891–1957)
Established| 1883
Relocated| 1958 (to San Francisco; became the San Francisco Giants)
Nickname(s)|

* The Jints[1][2]
* The Orange and Black
* The Baseball Giants (1925-57)

World Series championships| 5

* 1905
* 1921
* 1922
* 1933
* 1954

Pre-modern World Series championships| 2

* 1888
* 1889

National League pennant| 17

* 1888
* 1889
* 1904
* 1905
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1917
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1933
* 1936
* 1937
* 1951
* 1954

Temple Cup| 1

* 1894

Former name(s)| New York Gothams (1883–1884)
Former ballparks|

* Hilltop Park (1911)
* Polo Grounds II (1889–1890)
* St. George Cricket Grounds (1889)
* Oakland Park (1889)
* Polo Grounds I (1883–1888)

Colors| Black, orange, white[3][4]

Retired numbers|

* NY
* NY
* 3
* 4
* 11
* 20
* 24

Ownership|

List of owners

* John B. Day (1883–1893)
* Cornelius Van Cott (1893–1895)
* Andrew Freedman (1895–1902)
* John T. Brush (1902–1912)
* Harry Hempstead (1912–1919)
* Charles Stoneham (1919–1936)
* Horace Stoneham (1936–1957)

General manager| Chub Feeney (1950–1957)
Manager|

List of managers

* John Clapp (1883)
* Jim Price (1884)
* John Montgomery Ward (1884)
* Jim Mutrie (1885–1891)
* Patrick T. Powers (1892)
* John Montgomery Ward (1893–1894)
* George Davis (1895)
* Jack Doyle (1895)
* Harvey Watkins (1895)
* Arthur Irwin (1896)
* Bill Joyce (1896–1898)
* Cap Anson (1898)
* John B. Day (1899)
* Fred Hoey (1899)
* Buck Ewing (1900)
* George Davis (1900–1901)
* Horace Fogel (1902)
* Heinie Smith (1902)
* John McGraw (1902–1924)
* Hughie Jennings (1924)
* John McGraw (1925)
* Hughie Jennings (1925)
* John McGraw (1926–1927)
* Rogers Hornsby (1927)
* John McGraw (1928–1932)
* Bill Terry (1932–1941)
* Mel Ott (1942–1948)
* Leo Durocher (1948–1955)
* Bill Rigney (1956–1957)

The New York Giants were a Major League Baseball team in the National League that began play in the 1883 season as the New York Gothams[a] and became known as the Giants in 1885. They continued as the New York Giants until the team moved to San Francisco, California after the 1957 season, where the team continues its history as the San Francisco Giants. The team moved west at the same time as its longtime rival, the Brooklyn Dodgers, also in the National League, moved to Los Angeles in southern California as the Los Angeles Dodgers, continuing the National League, same-state rivalry.

During most of their 75 seasons in New York City, the Giants played home games at various incarnations of the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan. Numerous inductees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum played for the New York Giants, including Christy Mathewson (a member of the Hall of Fame's inaugural class), John McGraw, Mel Ott, Bill Terry, Willie Mays, Monte Irvin, Frankie Frisch, Ross Youngs and Travis Jackson. During the club's tenure in New York, it won five of the franchise's eight World Series championships and 17 of its 23 National League pennants. Famous moments in the Giants' New York history include the 1922 World Series, in which the Giants swept the Yankees in four games, Bobby Thomson's 1951 home run known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World", and the defensive feat by Willie Mays during the first game of the 1954 World Series known as "the Catch".

The Giants had intense rivalries with their fellow New York teams the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, facing the Yankees in six World Series and playing the league rival Dodgers multiple times per season. Games between any two of these three teams were known collectively as the Subway Series.

The New York Giants of the National Football League were named after the team; to distinguish the two clubs, the football team was legally incorporated as the New York Football Giants, which remains its corporate name to this day.

The New York Giants had an overall win–loss record of 6,067–4,898–157 (.553) during their 74 years in New York. Nineteen former New York Giants players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

## History

[edit]

### Early days

[edit]

The 1883 New York Gothams

The Giants began as the second baseball club founded by millionaire tobacconist John B. Day and veteran amateur baseball player Jim Mutrie. The Gothams, as the Giants were originally known, entered the National League seven years after its 1876 formation, in 1883, while their other club, the Metropolitans played in the rival American Association (1882–1891). Nearly half of the original Gothams players were members of the disbanded Troy Trojans in upstate New York, whose place in the National League the Gothams inherited. While the Metropolitans were initially the more successful club, after they won the 1884 AA championship, Day and Mutrie began moving star players to the NL Gothams, whose fortunes improved while the Metropolitans' afterwards slumped.

It is said that after one particularly satisfying victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, Mutrie (who was also the team's manager) stormed into the dressing room and exclaimed, "My big fellows! My giants!"[6] From then on (1885), the club was known as the Giants. However, more recent research has suggested that the New York World was already widely using the Giants nickname throughout the 1885 season, before the legendary game was played.[7]

The team won its first National League pennant in 1888, as well as a victory over the St. Louis Browns in an early incarnation of the pre-modern-era World Series. They repeated as champions the next year with a pennant and world championship victory over Brooklyn.

The Giants' original home stadium, the Polo Grounds, also dates from this early era. It had been built in 1876 as a pitch for playing polo, and was located north of Central Park adjacent to Fifth and Sixth Avenues and 110th and 112th Streets, in Harlem in upper Manhattan. After their eviction from that first incarnation of the Polo Grounds after the 1888 season, they moved further uptown to various fields which they also named the "Polo Grounds" located between 155th and 159th Streets in Harlem and Washington Heights, playing at the famous Washington Heights location at the foot of Coogan's Bluff until the end of the 1957 season, when they moved to San Francisco.

The Giants were a powerhouse in the late 1880s, winning their first two National League Pennants and World Championships in 1888 and 1889. But nearly all of the Giants' stars jumped to the upstart newly organized rival loop, the Players' League, whose New York franchise was also named the Giants, in 1890. The new team even built a stadium next door to the NL Polo Grounds. With a decimated roster, the NL Giants finished a distant sixth. Attendance took a nosedive, and the financial strain affected Day's tobacco business as well. The Players' League dissolved after the single season, and Day sold a minority interest in his NL Giants to the defunct PL Giants' principal backer, Edward Talcott. As a condition of the sale, Day had to fire Mutrie as manager. Although the Giants rebounded to third place in 1891, Day was forced to sell a controlling interest to Talcott at the end of the '91 season.

In 1894, the Giants, as runner-up in the National League, took part in the 1894 Temple Cup championship series against the Baltimore Orioles, sweeping in four games and winning the first Temple Cup.

Four years later, Talcott sold the Giants to Andrew Freedman, a real estate developer with ties to the Tammany Hall, the political machine of the Democratic Party that ran New York City. Freedman was one of the most detested owners in baseball history, getting into heated disputes with other owners, writers and his own players, most famously with star pitcher Amos Rusie, author of the first Giants no-hitter. When Freedman offered Rusie only $2,500 for 1896, the disgruntled hurler sat out the entire season. Attendance fell off throughout the league without Rusie, prompting the other owners to chip in $50,000 to get him to return for 1897. Freedman even hired former owner Day as manager for part of the 1899 season.[8][9]

#### The John McGraw era

[edit]

Primary logo, 1904–1907.

In 1902, after a series of disastrous moves that left the Giants 53+1⁄2 games behind the front-runner, Freedman signed John McGraw as player-manager, convincing him to jump in mid-season from the Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902) of the fledgling American League and bring with him several of his teammates. McGraw went on to manage the Giants for three decades until 1932, one of the longest and most successful tenures in professional sports. Hiring "Mr. McGraw", as his players referred to him, was one of Freedman's last significant moves as owner of the Giants, since after that 1902 season he was forced to sell his interest in the club to John T. Brush. McGraw went on to manage the Giants to nine National League pennants (in 1904, 1905, and every year from 1911 to 1913) and three World Series championships (in 1905, 1921, and 1922), with a tenth pennant and fourth world championship as Giants owner in 1933 under his handpicked player-manager successor, Bill Terry.

The Giants already had their share of stars beginning in the 1880s and 1890s, such as "Smiling" Mickey Welch, Roger Connor, Tim Keefe, Jim O'Rourke, and John Montgomery Ward, the player-lawyer who formed the renegade Players' League in 1890 to protest unfair player contracts. McGraw, a veteran of the infamous 1890s Baltimore Orioles, in his three decades managing the Giants, McGraw managed star players including Christy Mathewson, "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity, Jim Thorpe, Red Ames, Casey Stengel, Art Nehf, Edd Roush, Rogers Hornsby, Bill Terry and Mel Ott.

The Giants under McGraw famously snubbed their first modern World Series chance in 1904 by refusing the invitation to play the reigning world champion Boston Americans (Red Sox) because McGraw considered the newly established American League of 1901 as little more than a minor league and disliked its firebrand president Ban Johnson. He also resented his Giants' new intra-city rival New York Highlanders, who almost won the pennant but lost to Boston on the last day, and stuck by his refusal to play whoever won the 1904 AL pennant.

Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson

The ensuing criticism resulted in Brush's taking the lead to formalize the rules and format of the World Series. The Giants won the 1905 World Series over Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics, with Christy Mathewson nearly winning the series single-handedly with a still-standing record three complete-game shutouts and 27 consecutive scoreless innings in that one World Series.

The Giants then had several frustrating years. In 1908, they finished in a tie with the Chicago Cubs due to a late-season home tie game with the Cubs resulting from the Fred Merkle baserunning "boner". They lost the postseason replay of the tie game (ordered by NL president Harry Pulliam) to the Cubs (after disgruntled Giants fans had set fire to the stands the morning of the game), who would go on to win their second (consecutive, and their last for the next 108 years) World Series. That post-season game was further darkened by a story that someone on the Giants had attempted to bribe umpire Bill Klem. This could have been a disastrous scandal for baseball, but because Klem was honest and the Giants lost the duel between Christy Mathewson and Mordecai "Three-Fingered" Brown 4–2, it faded over time.

The Giants at the batting cage in 1923

The Giants experienced a mixture of success and hard luck in the early 1910s, losing three straight World Series in 1911–1913 to the A's, Red Sox and A's again (two seasons later, both the Giants and the A's, decimated by the short-lived rival third loop, the Federal League of 1914–1915, with the "jumping ship" signings of many of their stars, finished in last place). After losing the 1917 Series to the Chicago White Sox (the last World Series win for the White Sox until 2005), the Giants played in four straight World Series in the early 1920s, winning the first two over their Polo Grounds tenants, the Yankees, who had won the first two of their many pennants, led by their new young slugger Babe Ruth, then losing to the Yankees in 1923 after the original Yankee Stadium had opened that May. They also lost in 1924, when the Washington Senators won their only World Series while in D.C. From 1923 to 1927, the team held their spring training at Payne Park in Sarasota, Florida.[10]

Primary logo, 1913–1914, 1916

Cap logo, 1917–1922, 1928–1929

Cap logo, 1923–1927, 1930–1932

Cap logo, 1933–1935, 1947–1948

Cap logo, 1936–1939

Cap logo, 1940–1946

From 1908 through 1948, the Giants used the same interlocking "NY" shape using various colors schemes.

### 1930–1957: Five pennants in 28 seasons

[edit]

McGraw handed over the team to Bill Terry midway through the 1932 season. Terry served as manager for nine-and-a-half years, serving as player-manager until 1936. Under Terry, the Giants won three pennants, defeating the Senators in the 1933 World Series but swept by the Yankees in consecutive fall classics, 1936 and 1937. Aside from Terry himself, the other stars of the era were slugger Mel Ott and southpaw hurler Carl Hubbell. Known as "King Carl" and "The Meal Ticket", Hubbell gained fame in the first two innings of the 1934 All-Star Game (played at the Polo Grounds) by striking out five future AL Hall of Famers in a row: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin.

Ott succeeded Terry as manager in 1942, but the war years proved to be difficult for the Giants. Midway during the 1948 season Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher left as Dodgers skipper to manage the Giants, not without controversy. Not only was such a midseason managerial switch unprecedented, but Durocher had been accused of gambling in 1947 and subsequently suspended for that whole season by Baseball Commissioner Albert "Happy" Chandler. Durocher's ensuing eight full seasons managing the Giants proved some of the most memorable for their fans, particularly because of the arrival of five-tool superstar Willie Mays, their two pennants in 1951 and 1954, their unexpected sweep of the powerful (111–43) Cleveland Indians in the 1954 World Series and arguably the two most famous plays in Giants history.

#### 1951: The "Shot Heard 'Round the World"

[edit]

Main article: Shot Heard 'Round the World (baseball)

The "Shot Heard 'Round the World," or Bobby Thomson's come-from-behind ninth-inning walk-off home run that won the National League pennant for the Giants over their bitter rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, in the deciding game of a three-game playoff series ended one of baseball's most memorable pennant races. The Giants had been 13+1⁄2 games behind the league-leading Dodgers in August, but under Durocher's guidance and with a 16-game winning streak, got hot and caught the Dodgers to tie for the lead on the next-to-last day of the season.

#### Mays's catch and the 1954 Series

[edit]

Willie Mays in 1954

Main article: The Catch (baseball)

In Game 1 of the 1954 World Series at the Polo Grounds against the Cleveland Indians, Willie Mays made "The Catch," a dramatic over-the-shoulder catch of a fly ball by Vic Wertz after sprinting with his back to the plate on a dead run to deepest center field. At the time the game was tied 2–2 in the eighth inning, with men on first and second and nobody out. Mays caught the ball 450 ft (140 m) from the plate, whirled and threw the ball to the infield, keeping the lead runner, Larry Doby, from scoring. Doby advanced to third on the play, and then new pitcher Marv Grissom walked Dale Mitchell to load the bases. Grissom then struck out Dave Pope looking and got Jim Hegan to fly out to left fielder Monte Irvin to end the inning.

Grissom got out of another jam in the ninth when 1953 AL MVP Al Rosen flew out to Irvin with two outs and two on.

In the tenth, Grissom faced more trouble, but got Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Lemon to line out with runners on the corners and 2 outs, preserving the tie game.

In the bottom of the tenth, Willie Mays drew a 1 out walk and stole second base, thus prompting Lemon to intentionally walk Hank Thompson. And with runners on first and second with one out, pinch hitter Dusty Rhodes hit a walk off home run that just squeaked over the right field wall at an estimated 260 feet (79 m).

The underdog Giants went on to sweep the series in four straight, despite the Indians' American League 111–43 regular season. The 1954 World Series title would be their last appearance in the World Series as the New York Giants, with the team moving to San Francisco to start the 1958 season.

#### New York Giants of the 1950s

[edit]

Cap logo featuring a different serif design, 1949–1957.

In addition to Bobby Thomson and Willie Mays, other memorable New York Giants of the 1950s include Hall of Fame manager Leo Durocher, coach Herman Franks, Hall of Fame outfielder Monte Irvin, outfielder and runner-up for the 1954 NL batting championship (won by Willie Mays) Don Mueller, Hall of Fame knuckleball relief pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm, starting pitchers Larry Jansen, Sal Maglie, Jim Hearn, Marv Grissom, Dave Koslo, Don Liddle, Max Lanier, Rubén Gómez, Al Worthington, and Johnny Antonelli, catcher Wes Westrum, catchers Ray Katt and Sal Yvars, shortstop Alvin Dark, third baseman Hank Thompson, first baseman Whitey Lockman, second basemen Davey Williams and Eddie Stanky, outfielder-pitcher Clint Hartung and utility men Johnny Mize, Bill Rigney, Daryl Spencer, Bobby Hofman, Joey Amalfitano, Tookie Gilbert, and 1954 Series hero Dusty Rhodes, among others. In the late 1950s and after the move to San Francisco two Hall of Fame first basemen, Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey, joined the team.

#### 1957: Move to California

[edit]

Main article: History of the San Francisco Giants

The Giants' final three years in New York City were unmemorable. They stumbled to third place the year after their World Series win, and attendance fell off precipitously. Even before then, the Polo Grounds had become an albatross around the team. It had not been well maintained since the 1940s, and any renovations would have been hindered by the fact that the Giants did not own the parcel of land on which it stood. The Polo Grounds had almost no parking, and the neighborhood around it had become less desirable.

While seeking a new stadium to replace the crumbling Polo Grounds, the Giants began to contemplate a move from New York, initially considering Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota, which was home to their top farm team, the Minneapolis Millers. Under the rules of the time, the Giants' ownership of the Millers gave them priority rights to a major league team in the area (the Senators wound up there as the Minnesota Twins in 1961).

At this time, the Giants were approached by San Francisco mayor George Christopher. Despite objections from shareholders such as Joan Whitney Payson, majority owner Horace Stoneham entered into negotiations with San Francisco officials around the same time the Dodgers' owner Walter O'Malley was courting the city of Los Angeles. O'Malley had been told that the Dodgers would not be allowed to move to Los Angeles unless a second team moved to California as well. He pushed Stoneham toward moving, and so in the summer of 1957 both the Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers announced their moves to California, ending the three-team golden age of baseball in New York City.

New York would remain a one-team town with the New York Yankees until 1962, when former Giants minority owner Joan Whitney Payson founded the New York Mets and brought National League baseball back to the city (as part of MLB's first wave of expansion). Mets chairman M. Donald Grant had represented Payson on the Giants board, and as such had been the only board member to vote against the Giants' move to California. The "NY" script on the Giants' caps and the orange trim on their uniforms, along with the blue background used by the Dodgers, would be adopted by the Mets, honoring their New York NL forebears with a blend of Giants orange and Dodgers blue.

## Rivalry with the Dodgers

[edit]

Main article: Dodgers–Giants rivalry

The historic and heated rivalry between the Giants and the Dodgers is more than a century old. It began when the Giants and Brooklyn Bridegrooms (later known as the Dodgers) faced each other in the 1889 World Series, the ancestor of the Subway Series, and both played in separate, neighboring cities (New York and Brooklyn were separate cities until 1898, when they became neighboring boroughs of the newly expanded New York City). When both franchises moved to California after the 1957 season, the rivalry was easily transplanted, as the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles have long been economic, political, and cultural rivals, representative of the broader Northern/Southern California divide.

## Baseball Hall of Famers

[edit]

John Montgomery Ward Carl Hubbell Mel Ott New York Giants Hall of Famers

Affiliation according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
New York Gothams/Giants |

Dave Bancroft
Jake Beckley
Roger Bresnahan *
Dan Brouthers
Jesse Burkett
Roger Connor *
George Davis *
Leo Durocher

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Buck Ewing *
Frankie Frisch
Burleigh Grimes
Gabby Hartnett
Rogers Hornsby
Waite Hoyt
Carl Hubbell *
Monte Irvin
Travis Jackson *

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Tim Keefe *
Willie Keeler
George Kelly *
King Kelly
Tony Lazzeri
Freddie Lindstrom *
Ernie Lombardi
Rube Marquard *
Christy Mathewson *

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Joe McGinnity *
John McGraw *
Joe Medwick
Johnny Mize
Hank O'Day
Jim O'Rourke *
Mel Ott *
Edd Roush
Amos Rusie *

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Ray Schalk
Red Schoendienst
Bill Terry *
John Montgomery Ward *
Mickey Welch *
Hoyt Wilhelm
Hack Wilson
Ross Youngs *

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* Players and managers listed in bold are depicted on their Hall of Fame plaques wearing a Giants or Gothams cap insignia.
* * New York Giants listed as primary team according to the Hall of Fame
*   *   *   *   *

### Other

[edit]

The following inducted members of the Hall of Fame played or managed for the Giants, but either played for the Giants and were inducted as a manager having never managed the Giants, or managed the Giants and were inducted as a player having never played for the Giants:

* Cap Anson – inducted as player, managed Giants in 1898.
* Hughie Jennings – inducted as player, managed Giants from 1924 to 1925.
* Bill McKechnie – inducted as manager, played for Giants in 1916.
* Frank Robinson – inducted as player, managed Giants from 1981 to 1984.
* Casey Stengel – inducted as manager, played for Giants from 1921 to 1923.

### Retired numbers

[edit]

See also: List of Major League Baseball retired numbers

The Giants have retired 11 numbers in the history of the franchise. 7 of these were members of the franchise while in New York, 2 of which had their numbers retired during the Giants' New York tenure.

Christy
Mathewson

Honored
1988

John
McGraw

Mgr
Honored
1988

Bill
Terry

Mgr, GM
Retired
1984

Mel
Ott

Mgr
Retired
1949

Carl
Hubbell

Retired
1944

Monte
Irvin

Retired June 26, 2010

Willie
Mays

Retired May 12, 1972

Of the New York Giants whose numbers have been retired, all have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1944, Carl Hubbell (#11) became the first National Leaguer to have his number retired by his team.[11] Bill Terry (#3), Mel Ott (#4), and Hubbell played or managed their entire careers for the New York Giants. Willie Mays (#24) began his career in New York, moving with the Giants to San Francisco in 1958; he did not play in most of 1952 and all of 1953 due to his service in the Korean War. Mathewson and McGraw are honored by the Giants, but played in an era before uniform numbers became standard in baseball.

### Also honored

[edit]

John McGraw (3B, 1902–06; manager, 1902–32) and Christy Mathewson (P, 1900–16), who were members of the New York Giants before the introduction of uniform numbers, have the letters "NY" displayed in place of a number.

Broadcaster Russ Hodges (1949–57) is represented by an old-style radio microphone displayed in place of a number.

## Team captains

[edit]

The Giants have had ten official recorded captains over the years:[12]

* Jack Doyle, 1902
* Dan McGann, 1903–1907[13][14]
* Larry Doyle, 1908–16
* Gus Mancuso, 1937–38
* Mel Ott, 1939–47
* Alvin Dark, 1950–56

## Season records

[edit]

Further information: List of San Francisco Giants seasons

| Total Games | Wins | Losses | Win %

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New York Gothams/Giants regular season record  | 10,965  | 6,067  | 4,898  | .553
New York Giants postseason record[15][b] | 82  | 39  | 41  | .488
All-time regular and postseason record  | 11,047 | 6,106 | 4,939 | .552
Pre-World Series postseason record  | 23  | 16  | 7  | .696
Overall record  | 11,070 | 6,122 | 4,946 | .552

## Home stadiums

[edit]

* Polo Grounds I (1883–1888)
* Oakland Park (1889)
* St. George Cricket Grounds (1889)
* Polo Grounds II (1889–1890)
* Polo Grounds III (1891–1957)
* Hilltop Park (1911 due to 1911 fire)

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ A study published by the Society for American Baseball Research suggests that the team had no nickname when they entered the league and were not known as the "Gothams" or any other nickname before the "Giants" nickname became popular in 1885.[5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Press, ed. (1916). "The Terrible Three". Literary Digest. p. 1394. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
2. ^ Dickson, Paul, ed. (1999). "The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary - A Cyclopedic Reference to More Than 7,000 Words, Names, Phrases, and Slang Expressions that Define the Game, Its Heritage, Culture, and Variations". p. 280\. ISBN 9780156005807. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
3. ^ "San Francisco Giants Uniforms 1958 – Present". SFGiants.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
4. ^ Clair, Michael (March 30, 2020). "One weird fact you may not know for every team". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved April 4, 2021. "The Giants have been noted for their classic black-and-orange look throughout their history – whether in New York or San Francisco."
5. ^ Coen, Ed. "Setting the Record Straight on Major League Team Nicknames". Baseball Research Journal. Fall 2019. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
6. ^ "Jim Mutrie". nyhistory.org. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
7. ^ "Did baseball's Giants get their name from their manager?". Los Angeles Times. June 14, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
8. ^ "1899 New York Giants Statistics". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
9. ^ "Andrew Freedman". SABR.org. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
10. ^ Lahurd, Jeff (March 15, 2015). "Sarasota's first fling with baseball came in 1924, when a rowdy bunch of Giants arrived to train". Sarasota Herald Tribune. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
11. ^ Ott, Tim (June 18, 2003). "Gehrig's No. 4 was first retired number". MLB. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009.
12. ^ Johnson, Dalton (September 15, 2021). "The history of Giants captains before Belt's jersey joke". NBC Sports Bay Area. NBC. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
13. ^ "Dan McGann A Suicide – Giants' Former Captain Shoots Him- self in a Hotel at Louisville". The New York Times. December 14, 1910. p. 14\. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
14. ^ "Giants New Captain May Be Joe Kelley – Bowerman or Browne to be Traded for Cincinnatian – Champions to be Shaken Up – President Brush In St. Louis Trying, It Is Said, to Secure Grady and Shay". The New York Times. July 10, 1906. p. 4\. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
15. ^ "Giants Postseason Results". Major League Baseball. Retrieved October 17, 2014.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New York Giants (NL).

* New York Giants Preservation Society

Awards and achievements

Preceded by

Pittsburgh Pirates
1901–1903

|  National League champions
New York Giants
1905  | Succeeded by

Chicago Cubs
1906–1908

Preceded by

Boston Americans
1903

|  World Series champions
New York Giants
1905 | Succeeded by

Chicago White Sox
1906

Preceded by

Chicago Cubs
1910

|  National League champions
New York Giants
1911–1913  | Succeeded by

Boston Braves
1914

Preceded by

Brooklyn Robins
1916

|  National League champions
New York Giants
1917  | Succeeded by

Chicago Cubs
1918

Preceded by

Brooklyn Robins
1916

|  National League champions
New York Giants
1917  | Succeeded by

Chicago Cubs
1918

Preceded by

Brooklyn Robins
1920

|  National League champions
New York Giants
1921–1924  | Succeeded by

Pittsburgh Pirates
1925

Preceded by

Cleveland Indians
1920

|  World Series champions
New York Giants
1921–1922 | Succeeded by

New York Yankees
1923

Preceded by

Chicago Cubs
1932

|  National League champions
New York Giants
1933  | Succeeded by

St. Louis Cardinals
1934

Preceded by

New York Yankees
1932

|  World Series champions
New York Giants
1933 | Succeeded by

St. Louis Cardinals
1934

Preceded by

Chicago Cubs
1935

|  National League champions
New York Giants
1936–1937  | Succeeded by

Chicago Cubs
1938

Preceded by

Philadelphia Phillies
1950

|  National League champions
New York Giants
1951  | Succeeded by

Brooklyn Dodgers
1952–1953

Preceded by

Brooklyn Dodgers
1952–1953

|  National League champions
New York Giants
1954  | Succeeded by

Brooklyn Dodgers
1955–1956

Preceded by

New York Yankees
1949–1953

|  World Series champions
New York Giants
1954 | Succeeded by

Brooklyn Dodgers
1955

* v
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Histories of teams in Major League Baseball

American
League|

| East|

Baltimore Orioles • Boston Red Sox • New York Yankees • Tampa Bay Rays • Toronto Blue Jays

|

Central|

Chicago White Sox • Cleveland Guardians • Detroit Tigers • Kansas City Royals • Minnesota Twins

West|

Athletics • Houston Astros • Los Angeles Angels • Seattle Mariners • Texas Rangers

National
League|

| East|

Atlanta Braves • Miami Marlins • New York Mets • Philadelphia Phillies • Washington Nationals

|

Central|

Chicago Cubs • Cincinnati Reds • Milwaukee Brewers • Pittsburgh Pirates • St. Louis Cardinals (1875–1919) • (1920–1952) • (1953–1989) • (1990–present)

West|

Arizona Diamondbacks • Colorado Rockies • Los Angeles Dodgers • San Diego Padres • San Francisco Giants

Relocated
teams|

| American League|

Milwaukee Brewers (1901) • St. Louis Browns (1902–1953) • Philadelphia Athletics (1901–1954) • Washington Senators (1901–1960) • Kansas City Athletics (1955–1967) • Seattle Pilots (1969) • Washington Senators (1961–1971) • Oakland Athletics (1968–2024)

|

National League|

Boston Braves (1871–1952) • New York Giants (1883–1957) • Brooklyn Dodgers (1890–1957) • Milwaukee Braves (1953–1965) • Montreal Expos (1969–2004)

Defunct
teams|

| American Association (1882–1891)|

Columbus Buckeyes (1883–1884) • Indianapolis Hoosiers (1884) • Richmond Virginians (1884) • Toledo Blue Stockings (1884) • Washington Nationals (1884) • Pittsburgh Alleghenys (1882–1886) • New York Metropolitans (1883–1887) • Cleveland Blues (1887–1888) • Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1884–1889) • Cincinnati Red Stockings (1881–1889) • Kansas City Cowboys (1888–1889) • Brooklyn Gladiators (1890) • Philadelphia Athletics (1882–1890) • Rochester Broncos (1890) • Syracuse Stars (1890) • Toledo Maumees (1890) • Boston Reds (1891–1891) • Cincinnati Kelly's Killers (1891) • Columbus Solons (1889–1891) • Milwaukee Brewers (1891) • Philadelphia Athletics (1890–1891) • Baltimore Orioles (1882–1891) • Louisville Colonels (1882–1891) • St. Louis Browns (1882–1891) • Washington Statesman (1891–1891)

|

American League (1901–present)|

Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902)

American Negro League (1929)|

Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (1929–1929) • Baltimore Black Sox (1929–1929) • Cuban Stars (East) (1929–1929) • Hilldale Club (1929–1929) • Homestead Grays (1929–1929) • New York Lincoln Giants (1929–1929)

Eastern Colored League (1923–1928)|

Washington Potomacs (1924) • Wilmington Potomacs (1925) • Newark Stars (1926) • Brooklyn Royal Giants (1923–1927) • Harrisburg Giants (1924–1927) • Hilldale Club (1923–1927) • Atlantic City Bacharach Giants (1923–1928) • Baltimore Black Sox (1923–1928) • Cuban Stars (East) (1923–1928) • New York Lincoln Giants (1923–1928) • Philadelphia Tigers (1928)

East–West League (1932)|

Baltimore Black Sox (1932) • Cleveland Stars (1932) • Detroit Wolves (1932) • Hilldale Club (1932–1932) • Homestead Grays (1932) • Newark Browns (1932) • Pollock's Cuban Stars (1932) • Washington Pilots (1932)

Federal League (1914–1915)|

Indianapolis Hoosiers (1914) • Baltimore Terrapins (1914–1915) • Brooklyn Tip-Tops (1914–1915) • Buffalo Blues (1914–1915) • Chicago Whales (1914–1915) • Kansas City Packers (1914–1915) • Newark Peppers (1915) • Pittsburgh Rebels (1914–1915) • St. Louis Terriers (1914–1915)

National League (1876–present)|

New York Mutuals (1876) • Athletic of Philadelphia (1876) • Hartford Dark Blues (1876–1877) • St. Louis Brown Stockings (1876–1877) • Louisville Grays (1876–1877) • Indianapolis Blues (1878) • Milwaukee Grays (1878) • Syracuse Stars (1878) • Cincinnati Red Stockings (1876–1879) • Cincinnati Stars (1880) • Worcester Worcesters (1880–1882) • Providence Grays (1878–1885) • Buffalo Bisons (1879–1885) • Cleveland Blues (1879–1884) • Troy Trojans (1879–1882) • St. Louis Maroons (1885–1886) • Kansas City Cowboys (1886) • Detroit Wolverines (1881–1888) • Indianapolis Hoosiers (1887–1889) • Washington Nationals (1886–1889) • Cleveland Spiders (1889–1899) • Baltimore Orioles (1892–1899) • Louisville Colonels (1892–1899) • Washington Senators (1892–1899)

Negro American League (1937–1948)|

Cincinnati Tigers (1937) • Detroit Stars (1937) • Indianapolis Athletics (1937) • St. Louis Stars (1937) • Atlanta Black Crackers (1938–1938) • Indianapolis ABCs (1938) • Indianapolis ABCs (1939) • Cleveland Bears (1939–1940) • Toledo–Indianapolis Crawfords (1939–1940) • St. Louis–New Orleans Stars (1939–1941) Jacksonville Red Caps (1938, 1941–1942) • Birmingham Black Barons (1937–1938, 1940–1948) • Chicago American Giants (1937–1948) • Cincinnati–Indianapolis Clowns (1943–1948) • Cleveland Buckeyes (1942–1948) • Kansas City Monarchs (1937–1948) • Memphis Red Sox (1937–1948)

Negro National League I (1920–1931)|

Chicago Giants (1920–1921) • Columbus Buckeyes (1921) • Pittsburgh Keystones (1922) • Cleveland Tate Stars (1922) • Milwaukee Bears (1923) • Toledo Tigers (1923) • Cleveland Browns (1924) • Cleveland Elites (1926) • Dayton Marcos (1920, 1926) • Indianapolis ABCs (1920–1926) • Cleveland Hornets (1927) • Cleveland Tigers (1928) • Cuban Stars (West) (1920–1930) • Birmingham Black Barons (1924–1925, 1927–1930) • Kansas City Monarchs (1920–1930) • Memphis Red Sox (1924–1925, 1927–1930) • Nashville Elite Giants (1930–1930) • Chicago American Giants (1920–1931) • Cleveland Cubs (1931) • Detroit Stars (1920–1931) • Indianapolis ABCs (1931–1931) • Louisville Black Caps (1930–1931) • St. Louis Stars (1920–1931)

Negro National League II (1933–1948)|

Akron Grays (1933) • Cleveland Giants (1933) • Columbus Blue Birds (1933) • Detroit Stars (1933) • Indianapolis ABCs (1933–1933) • Baltimore Black Sox (1933–1934) • Cleveland Red Sox (1934) • Nashville Elite Giants (1933–1934) • Philadelphia Bacharach Giants (1934) • Brooklyn Eagles (1935) • Chicago American Giants (1933–1935) • Columbus Elite Giants (1935) • Newark Dodgers (1934–1935) • Washington Elite Giants (1936–1937) • Pittsburgh Crawfords (1933–1938) • Washington Black Senators (1938) • Toledo Crawfords (1939–1939) • Harrisburg–St. Louis Stars (1943–1943) • Baltimore Elite Giants (1938–1948) • Homestead Grays (1933, 1935–1948) • New York Black Yankees (1936–1948) • New York Cubans (1935–1936, 1939–1948) • Newark Eagles (1936–1948) • Philadelphia Stars (1934–1948)

Negro Southern League (1932)|

Atlanta Black Crackers (1932–1932) • Birmingham Black Barons (1932) • Chicago American Giants (1932) • Columbus Turf Club (1932) • Indianapolis ABCs (1932) • Little Rock Grays (1932) • Louisville Black Caps (1932–1932) • Memphis Red Sox (1932) • Monroe Monarchs (1932) • Montgomery Grey Sox (1932) • Nashville Elite Giants (1932)

Players' League (1890)|

Boston Reds (1890–1890) • Brooklyn Ward's Wonders (1890) • Buffalo Bisons (1890) • Chicago Pirates (1890) • Cleveland Infants (1890) • New York Giants (1890) • Philadelphia Athletics (1890–1890) • Pittsburgh Burghers (1890)

Union Association (1884)|

Altoona Mountain Citys (1884) • Baltimore Monumentals (1884) • Boston Reds (1884) • Chicago Browns (1884) • Cincinnati Outlaw Reds (1884) • Kansas City Cowboys (1884) • Milwaukee Brewers (1884) • Philadelphia Keystones • Pittsburgh Stogies (1884) • St. Louis Maroons (1884–1884) • St. Paul Saints (1884) • Washington Nationals (1884) • Wilmington Quicksteps (1884)

Italics denote team who later changed leagues

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San Francisco Giants

* Established in 1883
* Formerly the New York Gothams and the New York Giants
* Based in San Francisco, California (Bay Area)

Franchise|

* History
* in New York
* Seasons
* Records
* No-hitters
* Players
* Managers
* Owners and executives
* Opening Day starting pitchers
* First-round draft picks
* Broadcasters

Ballparks|

* Polo Grounds
* Oakland Park
* St. George Grounds
* Hilltop Park
* Seals Stadium
* Candlestick Park
* Oracle Park

Spring training:|

* Bolton Street Park
* Payne Park
* Flamingo Field
* LSU Varsity Baseball Field
* Denison Field
* Al Lang Stadium
* Phoenix Municipal Stadium
* Scottsdale Stadium

Culture|

* 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
* Big Leaguer
* Curse of Coogan's Bluff
* "Don't Stop Believin'"
* GiantsVision
* "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" (Tony Bennett song)
* "Lights" (Journey song)
* McCovey Cove
* New York Brickley Giants
* The Fan
* The Franchise (Showtime TV series)
* The Echoing Green
* White Flag Trade
* Willie Mac Award

Lore|

* 1894 Temple Cup
* "Battle of Candlestick"
* Matt Cain's perfect game
* Merkle's Boner
* NL tie-breakers
* 1951 tie-breaker series
* 1962 tie-breaker series
* 1998 Wild Card tie-breaker game
* NL Wild Card Games
* 2014
* 2016
* "Shot Heard 'Round the World"
* The Catch
* Tri-Cornered Baseball Game
* MLB Mexico City Series
* MLB game at Rickwood Field

Rivalries|

* Athletics
* Los Angeles Dodgers
* New York Yankees
* Subway Series (historically)

Retired numbers|

* NY
* NY
* 3
* 4
* 11
* 20
* 22
* 24
* 25
* 27
* 30
* 36
* 44
* 42

Pre-World Series Champions (2)|

* 1888
* 1889

Temple Cup Champions (1)|

* 1894

World Series Champions (8)|

* 1905
* 1921
* 1922
* 1933
* 1954
* 2010
* 2012
* 2014

National League
Championships (23)|

* 1888
* 1889
* 1904
* 1905
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1917
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1933
* 1936
* 1937
* 1951
* 1954
* 1962
* 1989
* 2002
* 2010
* 2012
* 2014

Division titles (9)|

* 1971
* 1987
* 1989
* 1997
* 2000
* 2003
* 2010
* 2012
* 2021

Wild card (3)|

* 2002
* 2014
* 2016

Minor league affiliates|

Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats
Double-A

Richmond Flying Squirrels
High-A

Eugene Emeralds
Single-A

San Jose Giants
Rookie

ACL Giants
DSL Giants Black
DSL Giants Orange

Seasons (143)

1880s|

* 1880 · 1881 · 1882 ·  1883
* 1884
* 1885
* 1886
* 1887
* 1888
* 1889

1890s|

* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899

1900s|

* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909

1910s|

* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919

1920s|

* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929

1930s|

* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939

1940s|

* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949

1950s|

* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959

1960s|

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969

1970s|

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979

1980s|

* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989

1990s|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999

2000s|

* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009

2010s|

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

2020s|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* v
* t
* e

New York Mets

* Established in 1962
* Based in Queens, New York

Franchise|

* History
* Brooklyn Dodgers
* New York Giants
* New York Metropolitans
* 1962 expansion
* expansion draft
* Seasons
* Records
* No-hitters
* Award winners and League leaders
* Players
* Hall of Fame
* Managers
* Coaches
* Owners and executives
* Broadcasters
* Kiner's Korner
* Radio network
* SportsNet New York
* Opening Day starting pitchers
* First-round draft picks
* Logos and uniforms

Ballparks|

* Polo Grounds
* Shea Stadium
* Citi Field

Spring training
Al Lang Stadium
Clover Park

Culture|

* Continental League
* Mr. Met
* Mrs. Met
* "Ya Gotta Believe!"
* Grant's Tomb
* Home Run Apple
* Generation K
* Sidd Finch
* The 7 Line Army
* Spider-Man's wedding (live performance)
* Rheingold Brewery
* Statue of Tom Seaver

| Books|

* Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?
* Sometimes You See It Coming

|

Movies|

* Game 6
* Frequency
* Mathematically Alive
* The Odd Couple

Music|

* "Let's Go Mets Go"
* "Lazy Mary"
* "Meet the Mets"
* "Narco"
* "New York Groove"
* "Ode to the Mets"
* "OMG"

TV show episodes|

* "The Boyfriend" (Seinfeld episode)
* "A Leela of Her Own" (Futurama episode)

Notable figures|

* Alex Anthony
* Jane Jarvis
* George Kalinsky
* Michael Sergio
* Sign Man
* Cow-Bell Man
* Grimace

Lore|

* 2018 MLB Little League Classic
* Miracle Mets
* Bill Buckner's 1986 World Series error
* Grand Slam Single
* MLB Puerto Rico Series
* Rick Camp Game

Rivalries|

* Atlanta Braves
* New York Yankees
* Subway Series
* 2000 World Series
* Philadelphia Phillies

Key personnel|

* Owner: Steve Cohen
* President of Baseball Operations: David Stearns
* General manager: Vacant
* Manager: Carlos Mendoza

World Series
championships (2)|

* 1969
* 1986

National League
pennants (5)|

* 1969
* 1973
* 1986
* 2000
* 2015

Division titles (6)|

* 1969
* 1973
* 1986
* 1988
* 2006
* 2015

Wild Card (5)|

* 1999 (tie-breaker game)
* 2000
* 2016
* 2022
* 2024

Minor league affiliates|

* Triple-A: Syracuse Mets
* Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies
* High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones
* Single-A: St. Lucie Mets
* Rookie: FCL Mets
* DSL Mets Blue
* DSL Mets Orange
* Player overview

Seasons (65)

1960s|

* 1960 · 1961 ·  1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969

1970s|

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979

1980s|

* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989

1990s|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999

2000s|

* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009

2010s|

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

2020s|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* Category
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Subway Series

Teams|

| American Association|

* Brooklyn Bridegrooms

|

American League|

* New York Yankees

National League|

* Brooklyn Dodgers
* New York Giants
* New York Mets

Stadiums|

| Dodgers|

* Ebbets Field

|

Giants|

* Polo Grounds

Mets|

* Shea Stadium
* Citi Field

Yankees|

* Yankee Stadium (I)
* Yankee Stadium (II)

Rivalries|

* Dodgers–Giants
* Giants–Yankees
* Dodgers–Yankees
* Mets–Yankees

World Series|

| Bridegrooms–Giants|

* 1889

|

Giants–Yankees|

* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1936
* 1937
* 1951

Dodgers–Yankees|

* 1941
* 1947
* 1949
* 1952
* 1953
* 1955
* 1956

Mets–Yankees|

* 2000

Histories|

* Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Dodgers
* New York Giants
* New York Mets
* New York Yankees

Related articles|

* Interleague play
* New York City Subway
* Major League Baseball rivalries

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