McGraw, John J.
Baseball
b. April 7, 1873, Truxton, NY
d. Feb. 25, 1934
As a boy, McGraw spent as much time reading about baseball as he did playing it. When he joined the local town team at the age of sixteen, he knew how to throw a curve, an uncommon skill at the time, and he knew more about the rules of baseball than any of the older players.
In 1890, McGraw began his professional career as a minor-league shortstop and sometime pitcher. He joined the Baltimore Orioles in the American Association, then a major league, in August of 1891. The Orioles entered the National League after the American Association disbanded in 1892.
After playing 79 games that season, mostly in the outfield, McGraw became Baltimore's starting third baseman in 1893 and batted .321. It was the first of nine consecutive seasons in which he hit better than .300. The 5-foot-7, 155-pound McGraw, a left-handed hitter, led the league in runs scored with 143 in 1898 and 140 in 1899.
McGraw also became known as a belligerent player who would take on teammates as well as opponents, especially if he was called "Mugsy," a nickname he hated.
In 1899, McGraw was Baltimore's playing manager. He went to the St. Louis National League team as a player only the following season, then returned to Baltimore in 1901 to serve as playing manager of a team in the new American League. Although he continued to play occasionally through the 1906 season, McGraw was primarily a manager from this time on.
Ban Johnson, the American League founder and president, was a strong backer of the league's umpires and their authority. McGraw, an umpire baiter, had several clashes with Johnson and in July of 1902 he left Baltimore to become manager of the National League's New York Giants, taking several players with him.
The first World Series was played in 1903, after the rival leagues reached a truce. The Giants won the 1904 pennant, but McGraw refused to play a post-season series against the Boston Red Sox because he still nursed a grudge against the other league. However, he changed his mind in 1905, when the Giants won another pennant and beat the Philadelphia Athletics in the second World Series.
Nicknamed "Little Napoleon," McGraw was an autocrat who sometimes went too far with verbal abuse of his players. Yet he could also be very patient while working with younger players and he often gave money to former Giants who had fallen on hard times.
Under McGraw, the Giants won pennants from 1911 through 1913, in 1917, and from 1921 through 1924. They had only three losing seasons from 1903 through 1931, his last full season as manager. On June 3, 1932, he abruptly resigned, hiring first baseman Bill Terry as his replacement.
Although he still owned part of the team, McGraw never again visited the clubhouse or involved himself in management. When the first All-Star Game was played in 1933, he came out of retirement to manage the National League team. It was his last public appearance.
As a player, McGraw had a career batting average of .334. He stole 436 bases and scored 1,024 runs in 1,099 games. As a manager, he won 2,784 games and lost 1,959, a .587 winning percentage.