The Great 1912 New York Giants

1912 New York Giants Photo Gallery
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The Great 1912 New York Giants

My recent post on John McGraw got me thinking about the outstanding Giant teams of the early 1910s, which produced National League pennant winners in 1911, ‘12, and ‘13. A few years later, they won another in 1917. Unfortunately for the Giants, all four of these teams lost in the World Series, with the 1911 and ‘13 team losing to Connie Mack’s Athletics, the 1912 team losing to the Red Sox, and the 1917 team losing to the White Sox.  McGraw’s fortunes turned around, as his Giants later won four consecutive pennants (1921, 1922, 1923, and 1924), with World Series victories in ’21 and ’22.

The 1912 team might be the best Giant team of the era. Together with the 1911 and 1913 teams, they made up one of one of the game’s earliest dynasties, going 303-153 (.664) from 1911-’13.

In the beautiful featured photo above, we see the 1912 National League pennant-winning New York Giants. See how many names you can pick out before looking at the complete identifications below.

The Giants dominated the National League in 1912, the franchise’s 30^th season. They opened the season at 54-11 and built a 16.5 lead by July 3^rd. They finished 103-48 (.682), 10 games ahead of the Pirates. Offensively, they were a powerhouse. Although their team .286 batting average was only fourth best, they lead the league in runs, home runs, RBIs, stolen bases, OBP and OPS. Larry Doyle was the National League MVP, and Chief Meyers had one of the greatest offensive seasons ever for a catcher, finishing second in batting average (.358), first in on-base percentage (.441), and fourth in slugging (.477).

And what a pitching staff, easily the best in the league, with four great starters: Jeff Tesreau (17-7, 1.96), Christy Mathewson (23-12, 2.12) Rube Marquard (26-11, 2.57), and Red Ames (11-5, 2.46). Tesreau’s 1.96 ERA led the league, while Mathewson’s 2.12 was second. Mathewson was also second in complete games (27), and fourth in wins (23). Rube Marquard‘s 18-game winning streak was the top story in baseball that year, his 26 wins led the league, and he finished third in strikeouts (175). Red Ames’ 2.46 ERA was fifth in the league. Reliever Doc Crandall also had a fine season, going 13-7 with a 3.61 ERA.

The Giants lost the 1912 World Series in heart-breaking fashion, with Fred Snodgrass taking most of the blame with his infamous  “$30,000 Muff” although there was plenty of blame to go round. The series featured classic pitching matchups between Mathewson and the Red Sox’ Smoky Joe Wood. Interviews with Marquard, Meyers, and Snodgrass made up a good portion of the classic baseball book by Lawrence Ritter, “The Glory of Their Times.”

 Player Identifications:

Top Row, L-R: Lore Bader, Heine Groh, Dave Robertson, Ted Goulait, George Burns, Fred Merkle, Grover Hartley, Doc Crandall, Hooks Wiltse, Al Demaree, Wilbert Robinson, Art Wilson, Red Ames, Moose McCormack, Larue Kirby, Tillie Shafer.

 Front Row, L-R: Art Fletcher, “Laughing Larry” Doyle, Chief Meyers, Fred Snodgrass, Buck Herzog, Red Murray, Mascot Hennessey, John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, Rube Marquard, Jeff Tesreau, Josh Devore, Beals Becker.

Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Information: Excerpts edited from the 1912 New York Giants Wikipedia page.

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