The San Francisco Giants Are Still Competitive After A Century Of Playing Baseball

The San Francisco Giants Are Still Competitive After A Century Of Playing Baseball

The San Francisco Giants have a history that stretches all the way back to the 19th century when they were based in New York and known as the Gothams. Their professional baseball debut in 1883 featured a victory against a team from Boston at what is now known as the Old Polo Grounds. Since then, the ball club has remained a formidable force in the National League despite many changes.

The nickname was changed in 1885 after the club won a game against Philadelphia in extra innings. Manager and co-founder Jim Mutrie was so emotional that he described the players as his giants. The name was changed to the Giants and it has been that way ever since.

The club captured its first National League pennant in 1888 and went on to beat the St. Louis Browns in the world championship series in ten games. The year following their first championship involved a lot of moving around as the team played at three different venues before settling in at the Second Polo Grounds in July 1889. There they stayed until 1957 when they took up residence in northern California.

The team seemed poised to move to Toronto in 1976 when Bob Lurie and a group of investors stepped in and bought the organization. Lurie would make several attempts over the next sixteen years to get a downtown ballpark built. His unsuccessful efforts eventually led to an agreement to sell the franchise to a group based Florida. That was when several local investors led by Peter Magowan purchased the team and they were spared another cross-country relocation.

The team faced the challenges presented by Candlestick Park for four decades. The stadium was erected on a point that overlooks the bay and the cold, windy and foggy playing conditions were legendary. In 2000, the move was made downtown to the China Basin area.

With more than a century in the sport, the club has been involved in a number of league firsts. Manager John McGraw is credited for introducing the concept of using signals to communicate with players on the diamond in 1902. That was the year that the roster included Luther Taylor, the only deaf-mute member of the league. To encourage communication, McGraw required all players to learn sign language.

The Alou brothers, Jesus, Matty and Felipe, made Major League history on Sept. 15, 1963 when they took to the outfield at Forbes Park in Philadelphia for the Giants. It marked the first time an outfield was comprised of three brothers. Five days earlier all three went to bat in the same inning.

The 1984 season was forgettable for the 96 losses suffered by the team but memorable to fans for a completely different reason. Crazy Crab, the anti-mascot, took to the field for the first time. The bizarre creature was created as a way of playfully mocking the more traditional mascots but instead bore the wrath of the frustrated fans and players. As a result, the reign of Crazy Crab lasted just one season.

When it comes to sports rivalries, there is none more fierce than the one between the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The competition between the clubs has roots in the late 1800s when the two clubs played in New York. The two sides became even more determined to outdo each other when they left New York and moved west at the same time.

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