Background
John Joseph McGraw was the eldest of nine children of John and Ellen (Comerfort) McGraw. He was born on April 7, 1873 at Truxton, in central New York.
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John Joseph McGraw was the eldest of nine children of John and Ellen (Comerfort) McGraw. He was born on April 7, 1873 at Truxton, in central New York.
McGraw received only a little common schooling.
McGraw's first job was that of newsboy on local trains running through Truxton. He gained his earliest experience in baseball on the vacant lots of his native village, where he was pitcher for the "Truxton Grays. " The club at East Homer, five miles away, offered him a place as pitcher at two dollars a game, when he had just turned seventeen. After playing a few games there, he joined the Olean club of the Oil and Iron League, where he was to receive sixty dollars a month and board as pitcher. He made such a bad start, however, that the manager "benched" him, whereupon he deserted Olean for the Wellsville club of the Western New York League, where he completed the season, playing on the infield. He never pitched again. That winter he went to Cuba with a "barnstorming" club, and in the early spring of the following year played for a short time at Gainesville, Florida. He had several professional offers that spring, the best one being from the Cedar Rapids club of the Illinois-Iowa League, which paid him $125 monthly. Again he was placed in the infield, playing shortstop. He quickly acquired such a reputation there that in the middle of the season his contract was bought by the Baltimore club of the American Association. Thus within two years he had progressed from village sand lots to a major-league position. The Baltimore manager was disappointed when McGraw appeared, a boy of eighteen, weighing only 125 pounds. But his first game with the team, on August 26, 1891, justified his purchase. He remained with Baltimore for eight years, playing always at third base. While at Baltimore, he attended St. Bonaventure's College at Allegany, New York, for parts of three or four winters. Stocky, yet fast and quick-thinking, he was also aggressive and pugnacious, frequently in trouble with umpires and opposing players. The Baltimore club was a powerful organization during that decade, and three times won the Temple Cup, the equivalent of the modern World's Series. In 1899, McGraw, now famous because of his all-round playing, managed the team for a part of the season, but at its end his contract was sold to St. Louis a transaction which did not please him. He joined the team late, however, and played through the season of 1900. The new American League was just forming, and McGraw and Wilbert Robinson obtained a franchise in it for a Baltimore club. But in the course of two years McGraw quarrelled with Bryon B. Johnson, president of the league, and Andrew Freedman, owner of the New York Giants, in the rival National League, hearing of the difficulty, offered McGraw the post of manager of his club, which had been doing badly.
McGraw accepted, and on July 19, 1902, at the age of twenty-nine, he became manager of the Giants, in which position he remained for the rest of his baseball career. Before he had been in charge a year the team was in second place in the league, and in 1904 it won 106 games, a figure equalled only twice in the league's history. McGraw continued to play for four years more, his last game being on September 12, 1906. Thereafter he managed from the players' bench. He came to be called the "Little Napoleon of Baseball. " He developed some remarkable players, including Christy Mathewson, whom he changed from a first baseman into a pitcher, and who is considered by many to have been the greatest pitcher in the game's history. In 1905 McGraw's club for the first time played a World's Series with the American League winner, Philadelphia, and won in five games, all being shut-outs. In each of the three following seasons the Giants finished second, losing first place in 1908 by only one game through a memorable blunder by a New York player, Merkle. Rigid and often rough in discipline, McGraw's shrewdness was nevertheless respected by the players, and his record seemed to justify his methods. Under his management the Giants won ten National League pennants four in succession, 1921 to 1924 inclusive and three World's Series titles. He took the team on foreign tours in 1914 and 1924, the former journey encircling the globe and introducing the playing of baseball into a number of foreign countries. In 1913, his club insured his life for $100, 000, at a time when such a precaution was not common. He retired as manager in June, 1932. McGraw died in New Rochelle Hospital, New Rochelle, New York, and was buried in Baltimore.
McGraw was a Hall of Fame Major League Baseball Player and Manager. He made his major league debut as a third baseman with the American Association Baltimore Orioles in 1891. As a player, he had a career . 334 batting average, stole 436 bases and scored 1024 runs in 1099 games. As manager of the Giants, he won pennants in 1911 to 1913, in 1917 and 1921 to 1924. His total of 2, 763 victories as a manager ranks second overall behind Connie Mack and he holds the National League record with 2, 669 wins. In 1937, he was a first round inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Although McGraw played before numbers were worn on jerseys, the Giants honor him along with their retired numbers at AT&T Park San Francisco, California. McGraw was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937; his plaque stated that he was considered the greatest assessor of baseball talent. In honor of the days he spent coaching at St. Bonaventure, St. Bonaventure University named its athletic fields after McGraw and his teammate, fellow coach and fellow Hall of Famer Hugh Jennings. In 2011, he was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame. Although McGraw played before numbers were worn on jerseys, the Giants honor him along with their retired numbers at AT&T Park. The John McGraw Monument stands in his hometown of Truxton.
Quotations:
"Sportsmanship and easygoing methods are all right, but it is the prospect of a hot fight that brings out the crowds. "
"My boy, one small breeze doesn't make a wind storm. "
"Learn to know every man under you, get under his skin, know his faults. Then cater to him - with kindness or roughness as his case may demand. "
"There is but one game and that game is baseball. "
"No club that wins a pennant once is an outstanding club. One which bunches two pennants is a good club. But a team which can win three in a row really achieves greatness. "
"The team that gets off to a good start wins pennants. "
"Cobb would have to play center field on my all time team. But where would that put Speaker? In left. If I had them both, I would certainly play them that way. "
McGraw was twice married. He married his first wife Minnie Doyle, the daughter of prominent Baltimore politician Michael Doyle, on February 3, 1897. After her death he married Blanche Sindall; there were no children.
