SF GIANTS

A National League Baseball Franchise

By Ralph Morgan

November 30th, 2015

Originally Established in 1883 as the New York

Gothams
Played at the Polo Grounds in upper
Manhattan until the end of the 1957
season, when they moved to San
Francisco.
It is rumored that after one particularly
satisfying victory in June 1885, the
team's manager, Jim Mutrie, stormed
into the dressing room and exclaimed,
"My big fellows! My giants! From then
on, the club was known as the Giants.
While not exactly true the name was
used heavily throughout the 1885
season by the New York World
Newspaper, it may have been at this
time picked up by other publications
making it official.

San Francisco Giants: The Early Years 18831929

Under his leadership they

won nine National League
Pennants and Three
World Series.

The Giants famously

snubbed their first modern
World Series chance in
1904, refusing to play the
reigning world champion
Boston Americans (now
known as the "Red Sox")
because McGraw
considered the new
American League as little
more than a minor league
and disliked its president,
Ban Johnson.

The Giants won the 1905

World Series, with Christy
Mathewson nearly
winning the series singlehandedly with a stillstanding record three
complete-game shutouts
and 27 consecutive
scoreless innings in that
one World Series, a feat
unlikely ever to be
duplicated.

1905

1921

1922

Won their first two World

Championships in 1888-1889.
However the first World Series is
considered to have occurred in
1903.

Managed by John McGraw

from 1902-1932.

The Last Years in New York: 1930-1957

Player-Manager Bill Terry
took the reins in 1932.

Midway during the 1948

season Leo Durocher left
as Dodgers skipper to
manage the Giants.

Between 1930-1941 they

won three Pennants and
the 1933 World Series.

Durocher managed the

Giants for eight full
seasons.

In the 1934 All-Star Game

Carl Hubbell struck out
five future Hall of Famers
in a row.

This era provided two of

the most memorable
moments for Giants fans.

1933

Two Great Moments In Giants History

Willie Mays The Catch

Bobby Thomsons The Shot Heard

Round The World Oct 3rd, 1951

Sept 29th, 1954

Thomson's dramatic three-run homer came in

the ninth inning of the decisive third game of
a three-game playoff for the pennant in which
the Giants trailed their rival Dodgers, 4 runs
to 2. With men on 2nd and 3rd and one out
Bobby Thomson took his place at bat and into
sports history. The moniker The Shot Heard
Round The World was because it was seen
by millions of viewers across America and
heard on radio by millions more, including
thousands of American servicemen stationed
in Korea, listening on Armed Forces Radio.

The score was tied 22 in the top of the 8th

inning. The Giants starting pitcher walked a
runner and gave up a single, putting
runners on first and second. Giants manager
Leo Durocher summoned left-handed relief
pitcher Don Liddle to pitch to Cleveland's
Wertz, who was having an excellent game at
the plate. Wertz worked the count to two
balls and one strike before hitting Liddle's
fourth pitch approximately 420 feet to deep
center field a home run in many parks.

It was the first ever nationally

televised sporting event.

The Catch occurred during Game 1 of the 1954 World

Series between the Giants and the Cleveland Indians
at the Polo Grounds in New York.

1954

Welcome to San Francisco

Upon first moving to San Francisco the Giants played at Seal

Stadium for 2 years.

In 1960 they moved to Candlestick Park, better known as

The Stick, overlooking San Francisco Bay.

The new stadium quickly became known for its strong,

swirling winds, cold temperatures and thick evening fog that
made for a formidable experience.

San Francisco Giants: The Lean Years 19582009

In 1962 the Giants returned

to the World Series to face
the New York Yankees. The
seventh game went to the
bottom of the ninth inning,
with the Yankees ahead 10.
But a heads up play by
Yankees outfielder Roger
Maris prevented the tying
run from scoring. With two
out and runners at 2nd and
3rd the next batter hit a line
drive right to the Yankees
second baseman to end the
game.

1962

The early 1970s were

abysmal for the Giants as
they never placed above
third in their division.

In 1976 Bob Lurie bought

the team, saving it from
being moved to Toronto.
The Giants continued to
struggle throughout most of
the 1980s.

The 27 year drought came to

an end in 1989 when the
Giants defeated the Cubs
winning the NL pennant to
face their cross bay rivals, The
Oakland Athletics in what is
know as the Bay Bridge series.
It was best known for the
October 17, 1989 Loma Prieta
earthquake which struck at
5:04pm just before the
scheduled Game 3 at
Candlestick Park. The Athletics
would go on to finish their
sweep of the Giants and take
the series.

1989

Rebuilding A Franchise: 1993-1999

Dusty Baker took the

managerial helm for the
Giants in 1993.
However, during this time the
Giants either had a losing record,
or failed to make it past the first
round of the play-offs. Despite
winning 103 games in 1993.

After the final game of

the 1999 season, a loss
to the Dodgers, home
plate was
ceremoniously removed
and taken by helicopter
to the new downtown
stadium, called Pacific
Bell Park.

A New Home On The Bay: AT&T Park

After 40 years at Candlestick Park, the
Giants moved into a downtown stadium. It
was built on the part of the bay shoreline
known to Giants fans as McCovey Cove. The
official address of 24 Willie Mays Plaza was
in honor of the longtime Giants superstar,
ushering in a new era for the Giants and
their fans.
Originally named Pacific Bell Park, then SBC
Park in 2003 after SBC Communications
acquired Pacific Bell, the stadium was
ultimately christened AT&T Park in 2006
following SBC's merger with AT&T.
Their new home is regarded as one of the
most beautiful venues in all of professional
sports. The Giants routinely sell out their
new nearly 43,000-seat state-of-the-art
stadium.

Pacific Bell Park SBC Park AT&T Park

Heartbreak and Frustration: 2000-2007

Despite winning 97 games, and
having the best record in
baseball in 2000, the Giants lost
the division series to the New
York Mets in four games.

In 2001 the Giants were

eliminated from Play-Off
contention on the second to
last day of the season.
It was a crushing blow for
the fans whom had yet to
see the Giants win a World
Series since moving west.
With that disappointing loss Dusty
Baker was replaced with manager
Felipe Alou who had played for the
Giants from 1958-1963. He would
only manage for three years .

In 2003 the Giants won

100 games and again
made the playoffs but lost
the NLDS to the Florida
Marlins.

2002

In 2002, the Giants

returned to the World
Series to face the
Anaheim Angels. Leading
the series 3-2. In game 6
they lead 5-0 with one out
in the bottom of the 7th
inning when manager
Dusty Baker pulled starter
Russ Ortiz. Reliever Felix
Rodriguez would give up a
3-run home run and the
Angels with one swing of
the bat stole the
momentum of game 6
ultimately winning the
World
To start
the Series.
2007 season
the Giants sign Bruce
Bochy as manager to
replace Felipe Alou.

A Dynasty is Born: 2008-2014

The 2008 season marked the
Golden Anniversary of the
Giants move to San
Francisco.

The Giants continue to

rebuild getting younger
players with a focus on
pitching and strong defense.

Bolstered by rookie catcher

Buster Posey, starting pitcher
Tim Lincecum and closer Brian
The Beard Wilson the Giants
won the World Series only
losing four games during the
play-offs. The season was

In 2012 a sweep of their rivals,

The Dodgers, in late August would
allow the Giants to return to the
play-offs. The Giants fell into deep
holes in the NLDS and NLCS
needing to win three straight to
advance in both cases. On
October 11th they became the only
National League team to do so in
a Division Series. After so much
urgency they came into the World
Series with hot bats and easily
defeated the Detroit Tigers in four
games.

described with the slogan

"Giants Baseball: Torture" by
broadcaster Duane Kuiper,
due to the unusual number
of one run games and nail
biters.

2010

2012

Finally in 2010 the Giants return

to the play-offs stealing the NL
West Division from their rival
San Diego Padres with three
weeks left in the season.
The road to the 2014 World Series
was a bumpy one wrought with
controversy. At the beginning of
the season the number of Wild
Card spots were extended from
one to two. The two Wild Card
teams would have a one game
play-off. If not for this extension
the Giants would have missed the
play-offs altogether. They did not
waste the opportunity. Making it
to the World Series and defeating
the Kansas City Royals in 7
games.

2014

The Giants: A Noble Franchise

Top 5 Worlds Series Win-Loss records
Appearances

Through the 2014 season, the Giants franchise

has won 10,780 games in 132 seasons.
Making them 40
the team with the most wins alltime.
The Giants' rivalry with the Dodgers is one of
the longest-standing and biggest rivalries in
American sports. The teams began their
27
rivalry as the New
York Giants and Brooklyn
Dodgers, respectively, before both franchises
moved west for the 1958 season.

Wins

The Giants have had one Perfect Game and 17 No Hitters in

franchise history. Putting them fourth all-time behind the
Dodgers (22), Red Sox (19), and White Sox (18).

The Giants have two players in the top five career HRs hit of
all-time. Barry Bonds (762), and Willie Mays (660).

19

Seven times in the teams history they have

won 100 or more games in a season. 2003
14
13 the Giants. This places
was the last time for
11
them 4th all-time behind Yankees
(19),
9
8
Athletics (10), Braves (8), and Cardinals
(8).

Losses

The Giants have had three pitchers win the pitching Triple
Crown having the lowest ERA, most wins, and most strike
20
outs in a season. All of them are Hall of Fame players Tim
18
Keefe, Amos Rusie, and Christy Mathewson
won it twice.
As of 2012 the Giants have more members of the Hall of
12
12 55 players, and
Fame 12
play with them
than any other team
11 managers. In addition, they have 7 broadcasters in the
8 of Fame.
8
Hall
6

Between New York and San Francisco the

Giants have won 8 World Series, 23 Pennants,
and have appeared in 20 World Series. Their
Yan ke e s
C ard in als
Ath le tic s
World Series wins
ties them
for 3rd place
alltime behind Yankees (27), Cardinals (11), and
Red Sox (8).

G ian ts

Re d S ox

D o d g e rs

The Giants: A Noble Franchise

Some of the most well-known Giants include the following: Mel Ott*, Carl Hubbell*, Monte Irvin*, Bill Terry*, Tim Keefe*, Buck
Ewing*, Bobby Thomson, Felipe Alou, Rod Beck, Vida Blue, Will Clark, Bobby Bonds, John Montefusco, Matt Williams, and
Barry Bonds. Not to mention these Hall of Fame Players.
* Denotes player in Hall o Fame.

Willie Mays
No. 24
The Say Hey Kid
Played 1951-1973
NL rookie of the year
1951
24 time All-Star
12 Gold Glove Winner
660 career HR
Widely regarded as
the best player ever

Willie
McCovey
No. 44

Orlando
Cepeda
No. 30

Played 19591980
NL Rookie of the
Year 1959
6 time All-Star
3 time NL HR
leader
2 time NL RBI

Played 19581974
NL rookie of the
year 1958
11 time All-Star
NL HR leader
2 time NL RBI
leader

Christy
Mathewson
Played 1900-1916
373-188 Win-Loss
Record
2 time Triple Crown
winner
4 time NL Wins
leader
5 time NL ERA
leader
5 time NL Strike Out
leader
Threw 2 No Hitters

Gaylord Perry
No. 36

Juan Marichal
No. 27

Played 1962-1983
314-265 Win-Loss
Record
5 time All-Star
2 time Cy Young
winner
3 time Wins leader
Pitched No Hitter

Played 19601975
10 time All-Star
1965 All-Star
MVP
NL Wins leader
MLB ERA leader
Pitched No Hitter

Works Cited
Grass Background provided by ornament.medhta.org
Baseball.png original image provided by freestockphotos.biz
Jim Mutrie quote courtesy of nyhistory.org & baseballlibrary.com
NY Polo Grounds picture courtesy of ballparksofbaseball.com
Baseball_Bat.png original image provided by freestockphotos.biz
View of Polo Grounds from Coogans Bluff courtesy of CNN.com
The shot heard round the world photo provided by toptenz.net
The shot heard round the world & the catch video provided by mlb.com
The catch provided by nydailynews.com
Opening day at seal stadium 4/15/58 courtesy of sfgate.com
Helicopter courtesy of openclipart.org
Candlestick Park Farewell courtesy of manginphotography.net
AT&T Park courtesy of pinterest.com
Dusty Baker reliefs Russ Ortiz courtesy of sfgate.com
NY Giants logo original image courtesy of F McGady on Wikipedia.en
SF Giants logo original image courtesy of sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com
Chart data provided by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Series_champions
Original picture of willie Mays courtesy of achievement.org
Picture of Willie McCovey courtesy of likesuccess.com
Original picture courtesy of exhibits.baseballhalloffame.org
Original picture of Christy Mathewson courtesy of explorepahistory.org
Picture of Gaylord Perry found on hostmomma.com
Picture of Juan Marichal courtesy of sfgiantsphotos.mlblogs.com
Player information as well as organizational information of the NY and SF Giants were largely provided by Wikipedia.en and sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com