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Christy Mathewson, John McGraw, Joe McGinnity, 1905
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1903-05 New York Giants Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to view entire gallery:
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- Joe McGinnity
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- Joe McGinnity
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- Classic Christy Mathewson portrait by Charles Conlon.
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- Christy Mathewson autograph. I wonder how much this is worth!
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- Dummy Taylor had his best year in 1904
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- Christy Mathewson with his wife during WWI
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- Mathewson taking some batting practice
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- Fans at the 1905 World Series
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- Polo Grounds in 1905
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- Polo Grounds in 1905
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- Polo Grounds in 1905
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- The great Christy Mathewson on the mound
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- John McGraw and Honus Wagner later in their careers
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- Classic John McGraw by Charles Conlon
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- McGraw receiving a “White Elephant” from the A’s.
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- John McGraw and Christy Mathewson
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- John McGraw at home plate at the start of the 1905 World Series. Umpire Hank O’Day in center
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- Christy Mathewson, John McGraw, Joe McGinnity, 1905
The Original “M and M Boys”
….And no, I’m not talking about Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris!
Long before the two great Yankees were in the spotlight, another set of New York “M and M Boys” set the baseball world on fire. But it was a long time ago…
I’m talking about the great Hall-of-Famers Christy Mathewson and Joe McGinnity on the old New York Giants of 1903-’05. Fasten your seat belts as you read about some real mind-blowing pitching stats!
After floundering around in the National League second division for 10 years, the 1903 Giants shot up to second, finishing just 6 ½ games behind the Pirates. This was largely due to the remarkable seasons of the original “M and M Boys”: Christy Mathewson and “Iron Joe” McGinnity. Mathewson went 30-13 with a 2.96 ERA in 284 innings. A pretty good year, right? Well, not quite as good as his teammate McGinnity who went 31-20 with a 2.43 ERA in an unbelievable 434 innings, a modern National League record. It’s one of those records that you can safely say will never be broken.
Nothing like having two 30-game winners on your staff. You don’t see that very often!
The next year the Giants were almost unbeatable. Clicking on all cylinders with a balanced offense featuring the newly acquired “Turkey Mike” Donlin, and a defense shored up with the addition of short stop Bill Dalen, the 1904 New Yorkers went 106-47, scoring 744 runs while giving up only 474. They finished 13 games ahead of the Cubs, all without a .300 hitter in the lineup.
The key to their success that year? Again, it was the “M and M Boys.” McGinnity had a year for the record books: After his incredible 434 innings in ’03, he “settled” for only 408 in ’04, posting a 38-8 record, with a league-leading 1.61 ERA, 38 complete games, while also leading the league in shutouts with eight. Mathewson likewise had another great year, going 33-12, with an ERA of 2.03. His 368 innings ranked third in the league. Rounding out the Giant’s pitching staff that year were Dummy Taylor with his best year at 21-15, and rookie Hooks Wiltse coming in at 13-3. There was no World Series in 1904 largely because McGraw and Giants’ owner John Brush refused to dignify Ban Johnson’s upstart American League with a “World’s Championship” series. It would be the last autumn without a Fall Classic until 1994.
The pitching in ’05 may have been slightly less spectacular than ’04, but it was still very good. Mathewson completely dominated the National League the way McGinnity had the year before, going 31-9. His 31 wins were eight more than the second-best finisher. He led the league in shutouts, strikeouts, and ERA with a sensational 1.28. At the time it was the lowest ERA for a full season in the 30-year history of the National League. I guess you could say McGinnity had a down year. He “fell off” to a 21-15 record and 2.87 ERA. The staff was aided by rookie Red Ames who went 22-8. Taylor won 16 and Wiltse 15. Roger Bresnahan began to display the great catching skills that eventually landed him in the Hall-of-Fame. Not surprisingly, the Giants moved into first place on April 23 and stayed there for the rest of the year.
Tempers cooled between the two league and so the Giants met Connie Mack’s Athletics in the 1905 World Series. Mathewson put on a clinic, posting the greatest individual pitching performance the World Series history. He started against the A’s in Games 1, 3, and 5, shutting them out three times, allowing only 14 hits, striking out 18, and giving up only one walk. McGinnity added a five-hit shutout in Game 4 as the Giants won their first world championship.
The same Giants nucleus finished second and fourth the next two years before losing the 1908 pennant by one game to the Cubs, due largely to the disputed base running gaffe by Fred Merkle.
-Gary Livacari
Photo Credits: All from public domain
Information: Excerpts edited from “The Best of Baseball,” by Paul Adomites
Statistics: from Baseball Reference
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