1921
After several turbulent years, which included the dismissal of two players for throwing games and the death of Eddie Grant (the first Major Leaguer killed in World War I), the Giants capture the pennant and break their World Series losing streak in the first Subway Series.
The Giants snapped a four-World Series losing streak when they outdueled the rival Yankees in a thrilling eight-game series. With both clubs playing their home contests at the Polo Grounds, it was the first Fall Classic to be played in its entirety at one stadium.
Trades for Irish Meusel and Johnny Rawlings proved to be the key for the Giants, who overcame a 7 1/2-game deficit in 19 days. Following a blistering speech from manager John McGraw, the Giants swept a five-game series against the front-running Pirates and took over first place two weeks later.
The National League champions were headlined by third baseman Frankie Frisch, right fielder Ross Youngs, first baseman George Kelly and left fielder Irish Meusel, while Babe Ruth and his 59 home runs was the sparkplug for the Yankees.
In the World Series, the American Leaguers jumped out to a two-games-to-none lead after posting consecutive 3-0 victories. The Giants battled back from a 2-0 second-inning deficit in Game 3 to post a 13-5 victory. John McGraw's club knotted the Fall Classic at two games apiece when it logged a 4-2 triumph in the fourth game, despite Ruth's first World Series home run.
Ruth, hobbled by knee and arm ailments, spirited the Yankees to a 3-1 victory in Game 5 when he started the go-ahead rally with a bunt base hit.
However, the Bambino couldn't continue and the Giants took advantage of the situation to run off three straight victories to give the franchise its first world championship since 1905. Art Nehf got the National Leaguers over the top with his four-hit, 1-0 victory in Game 8.
Following the Series, McGraw had the Yankees evicted from the Polo Grounds, leading to the construction of Yankee Stadium, which opened two years later.
1922
The Giants stay hot, again winning both the National League title and the World Series, their second straight postseason triumph over the crosstown Yankees. Seven of the eight Giants starters bat better than .320 during the regular season.
The Giants, playing the second of four consecutive World Series, earned their berth by taking the National League pennant with a seven-game cushion. The season included the Giants' 10th no-hitter in the club's history (thrown by Jesse Barnes, who gave up only a single walk to break up the bid for a perfect game), as well as a single game where Ross Youngs hit for the cycle and George Kelly hit two inside-the-park home runs.
John McGraw's club brought home its second straight title after defeating its fellow Polo Grounds tenants, the Yankees, in a four-victory sweep that actually took five games to complete due to a tie.
Third baseman Heine Groh, who was acquired from Cincinnati the previous winter, led the Giants to a 3-2 triumph in the opener after logging a 3-for-3 showing. The National League entrant had been shut out by Joe Bush through seven innings before it stormed back from a two-run deficit on Irish Meusel's two-run single and Ross Youngs' sacrifice fly.
Meusel got back in the act quickly in Game 2, drilling a three-run home run off Bob Shawkey in the first inning. However, the Yankees battled back to tie the contest at 3 and it was inexplicably called because of "darkness" after the 10th inning by umpire George Hildebrand, despite at least a half-hour of daylight remaining.
Jack Scott, who went 8-2 in just 17 games for the Giants, tossed a four-hitter at the Yankees in Game 3 and led the National Leaguers to a 3-0 victory.
The Giants managed to post 4-3 and 5-3 victories in the fourth and fifth games, respectively, to advance to their second straight title. It also helped that the Giants' pitchers shut down Babe Ruth over the final three outings, holding him 0-for-9.
The 1922 world championship would prove to be the third and final one in the illustrious career of the Giants' winningest skipper, John McGraw.
1923
Following the enclosure of the Polo Grounds, the Giants' dynasty rolls on with their third consecutive trip to the World Series. This time, the Yankees overcome their National League rivals to win their first world championship.
Casey Stengel, who would later manage the Yankees to 10 World Series, starred for the Giants in the 1923 Fall Classic.
It was an all-New York World Series for the third straight year, but there were a few changes. First, the Yankees moved into their own ballpark, Yankee Stadium. Second and most importantly, the American League entrant ended the Giants' two-year reign as world champions.
The high-flying Giants were a juggernaut capable of incredible offensive outbursts, becoming the first team in the 20th century to score in every inning of a game. George Kelly, who hit three consecutive home runs in a game, was one of three players with 100-plus RBIs, while Travis Jackson recorded eight RBIs in a single contest. Irish Meusel and Ross Youngs led the league with 125 RBIs and 121 runs scored respectively, while Frankie Frisch batted a team-best .348.
In the Fall Classic, the man who proved to be a thorn in the side of the Yankees was a Giants outfielder who would later become synonymous with the club from the Bronx -- Casey Stengel.
The 34-year-old outfielder christened World Series play in Yankee Stadium when he lined a ninth-inning Joe Bush offering into left-center field that got between the outfielders for an inside-the-park home run that broke a 4-4 draw and gave the Giants a 5-4 triumph.
The Yankees, who had not defeated the Giants in their last nine World Series meetings (eight defeats, one tie), finally broke through in Game 2 when Babe Ruth clubbed two home runs in the 4-2 victory.
When the Series returned to Yankee Stadium for Game 3, Stengel shared the stage with pitcher Art Nehf. The outfielder broke open a scoreless duel with a home run into the right-field stands. Nehf finished off the American Leaguers after allowing five singles and a double in the 1-0 win.
That was all she wrote for the Giants as the Yankees rattled off three consecutive victories to win their first world championship. The American Leaguers coasted to 8-4 and 8-1 victories in Games 4 and 5, respectively.
In the sixth and final contest, Ruth got the Yanks off to a great start with his first-inning, upper-deck blast. But the AL entrant would need a five-run eighth inning to post the 6-4 decider.
1924
For the Giants, the year is like the past three, culminating in a trip to the World Series. While the opponent is different (with Washington supplanting the Yankees), the result from the previous season is the same: a loss to the AL champs.
The Giants made their fourth straight appearance in the Fall Classic, but they faced someone other than the Yankees for the first time during that span when they squared off with the Washington Senators.
New York was the National League representative in the World Series for the eighth time in 14 years, but it had to scramble to win the flag by 1 1/2 games over Brooklyn. George Kelly again hit three home runs in one game and led the league with 136 RBIs. Frankie Frisch tied for the league lead with 121 runs scored and also contributed 22 stolen bases.
With the World Series tied at three games apiece, horrored leagacies of Merkle, Snodgrass and Zimmerman returned to longtime Giants fans. Despite making three errors in the final contest, New York was done in twice by the infield at Washington's Griffith Stadium.
New York took a 3-1 advantage into the eighth inning of that final contest. With two out and the bases loaded, Senators second baseman/manager Bucky Harris hit a grounder that skipped over the head of 18-year-old third baseman Freddie Lindstrom. Two runs scored on the bad-hop single to tie the game.
The contest remained deadlocked until the bottom of the 12th inning, when Giants catcher Hank Gowdy tripped over his mask and dropped a Muddy Ruel pop. The Washington catcher responded with a double down the third-base line. One batter later, with runners on first and second, center fielder Earl McNeely grounded to third. But once again, the ball skipped over Lindstrom's head and Ruel came around to score the winning tally.
This would prove to be the final World Series appearance for Giants manager John McGraw. Although he owned a 3-6 lifetime mark in the Fall Classic, only one other manager appeared in more series -- Casey Stengel with 10 trips.
