1897 Baltimore Orioles -- June 21, 2017

1897 Spalding Baseball Guide

The 1897 Baltimore Orioles finished second to the Boston Beaneaters.  The Old Orioles, no relation to the present-day American League team, had won the National League pennant the previous three seasons.  The team, know for dirty but intelligent play, featured many stars.  John McGraw managed the New York Giants for many years.  Wee Willie Keeler was a great batter.  Hughie Jennings managed the Detroit Tigers to the World Series.  Wilbert Robinson managed the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Pitcher Joe Corbett was the brother of heavyweight champion James J Corbett.

After the 1899 season, the 12-team National League eliminated four teams, including the last place Baltimore Orioles.  

Baseball Hall of Fame 75 Years -- June 12, 2014

75 years ago today, the National Baseball Hall of Fame was dedicated in Cooperstown, New York.  This famous photo shows most of the 1939 modern-day inductees.  Seated in front are Eddie Collins, Babe Ruth, Connie Mack and Cy Young.  Standing in back are Honus Wagner, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Tris Speaker, Nap Lajoie, George Sisler and Walter Johnson.  Ty Cobb was late and missed the photo.   Christy Mathewson and John McGraw had passed away. 

Frankie Frisch -- February 20, 2014

Frankie Frisch, the Fordham Flash, played for the New York Giants and the Saint Louis Cardinals.  He was a flashy (hence the nickname) second baseman.  John McGraw made him captain of the Giants.  He later managed the Cardinals and other teams. 

Shanty Hogan -- December 12, 2013

Inspired by the book Few and Chosen: Defining Giants Greatness Across the Eras by Giants great Bobby Thomson and Phil Pepe, I thought I would devote my nickname meme to Giants players for the next several months. 

Catcher Frank (James Francis) Hogan was a big man who kept getting bigger because of his eating habits.  He was called Shanty because he was built like a house of some sort.  He played for the New York Giants during the last part of John McGraw's tenure as Giants manager, and they had many conflicts over Hogan's weight.  Hogan played for other teams in both leagues. 

Bobby Thomson listed him as one of the Giants great catchers, along with Roger Bresnahan, Chief Meyers and Wes Westrum.  The book was written before Buster Posey came up. 

Thorpe is Poor Ballplayer -- August 10, 2012

This article, from the 01-February-1913 Washington Herald, casts doubts on Jim Thorpe's abilities as a ballplayer. 

This image is from the 29-May-1912 Tacoma Times.

THORPE IS POOR BALLPLAYER

Noted Indian Not Likely to Make Good in Major League Ranks.

Jim Thorpe, the Carlisle Indian, who has just been declared a professional by the Amateur Athletic Union is a joke ball player, and if the New York Giants have signed him at a fancy salary somebody has been badly stung.

During the season of 1909 five Washington boys played in the Eastern Carolina League and batted against Thorpe. They all state that the Indian was only a fair minor league pitcher, a poor hitter, worse fielder, and that his only asset was speed on the bases, which availed little as he seldom got on the bags.

This was four years ago, and possibly the Indian has improved a whole lot since, but the Washington plavers who saw him yn action all tell the same story.  They do not think he will ever be able to hold a job in the big show. 

The records of Thorpe s work down in the Carolina circuit are not startling, and would seem to bear out the opinions our young men in Washington have of the Indian's ability.

In 1909 whlle with Fayetteville, Thorpe took part in sixteen games and batted .250.  The same season, with Rocky Mount he played in twenty-nine games and hit .236.  The following season with Rocky Mount the Indian batted .253 for forty-four games. His pitching record that season was nine games won and ten
lost.  In the other contests he played first base. 

The Washington plavers who were in the Eastern Carolina League during the 1909 season are Jack Spalding, Heinie Gastmejer, Cy Macdonald, Curly Brown, and Al Handiboe. They will bear out the truth of the foregoing statement. 

The writer knew of Thorpe's playing professional baseball three vears ago and could have made the whole matter public had he so desired.  So could have countless other baseball scribes, but what was the use.  The records of the great Indian were published in Spalding's record books of 1909 and 1910, and it was up to the A.A.U. to do the probing.  Thorpe played under his own name and never made any attempt to conceal the fact that he plaved baseball in professional ranks.

Thorpe mav turn out to be a great ball plaver but if he does, there will be five Washingtonians greatly surprised. 

Perhaps McGraw will keep him on the bench as a pinch base runner, for it is claimed that the Indian is a marvel on the paths.  He is sure to be a great drawing card, anyway , and for that reason, alone will doubtless be worth the salary the Giants will pay him

Jim Thorpe as a Giant -- August 8, 2012

This cartoon by Robert W Edgren, from the 11-February-1913 San Francisco Call talks about Jim Thorpe's career with the New York Giants. Manager John McGraw predicts that he will be a regular this season. Christy Mathewson was a great Giants pitcher.  Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.  Please excuse the 1913 racism. 

THORPE SHOULD BE GOOD TOSSER

Indian Figures Out Every Move in Advance

NEW YORK, Feb. 10. —Jim Thorpe, the great Indian athlete who has become a Giant, has one characteristic that will be a strong point in his favor even before his physical dexterity or knowledge of the game begins to develop.

"Did you notice," said McGraw enthusiastically, "that trick or habit he has of looking out the corner of his eye and taking in the surroundings before he expresses himself on a subject?"

After talking with this wonderful athlete a few minutes one couldn't help noticing it.

"That is a sure sign of a calculating athlete." added McGraw. "I guess you have observed Mathewson doing it
when apparently he was paying no attention."

According to McGraw, the ball player who studies out details is nearly always successful.

That Thorpe is an observant fellow was shown when I asked him why he preferred to join the Giants. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at a large framed picture of the New York team which included all the substitutes last spring.

"I could have gone to St. Louis and, according to what the scout told me, could have been a regular." he said.  "But it occurred to me that I had never seen any startling newspaper stories about what the St. Louis team had done. That is what decided me in favor of the Giants. If the St. Louis club was willing to put an untried man like me on the regular team they would likely put other untried men on it and it wouldn't be much of a team. I think I would rather sit on the bench with a good team than to be on the field with a bad one. After seeing what good players do I might be able to do it myself.

"I have never heard of a ball player who sat on the bench with the Giants turning out badly," he added. "A lot of good coaching, I figure, is worth more to a young player than a little bad playing."

Thorpe explained that he had a small income from his property in Oklahoma, but that it was not sufficient for a good living. In other words, he is going into baseball purely for the money there is in it.

Contrary to the general impression, Thorpe is not a full blooded Sac and Fox Indian. His parents are both half breeds. His father is a well to do farmer in what was formerly Indian Territory. Jim was born near a little place called Prague. He is a ward of the United States government and owns a tract of land which is a part of the grant to the Indians.

Though there is a general impressionthat McGraw signed Thorpe purely for the sake of having a worldwide famous attraction for the Giants, the New York manager is really enthusiastic over his chances as a player.

"Thorpe is the ideal build for a ball player," says McGraw. "He is broad shouldered, clean limbed and. weighs 176 pounds. His mind is quick and his record is ample evidence of his gameness.  I like the way he has of studying things out. Of course. I realize that he will be a big novelty for the public, but I also expect to turn him into a good player."

Giants Bad Day -- October 2, 2010

We went to see the Giants play the Padres today. The Giants' magic number has been 1 since Thursday night. Yesterday the Padres won. Today Barry Zito started and didn't have it.

We parked at Fifth and Mission and walked down Third to the park. We watched the Padres take batting practice. It was warm and sunny. Zito gave up three runs in the first.

After the game, we took Muni Metro to Powell Street. We wandered around a bit, then went to Saint Patricks for 5:15 mass. We had dinner at Guerrero's in Pacifica.

Today I took a photograph of the retired numbers of pitcher Christy Mathewson, manager John McGraw, and first baseman Bill Terry. Mathewson and McGraw played before players wore numbers.

Update 03-Octoboer-2010: I forgot to mention that we had club-level seats. I enjoyed looking at the little museum behind the home plate area. It was nice to have a little more room in the seats.