AUGUST 19, 1957
Citing poor attendance as the reason, Giants’ president Horace Stoneham, ignoring baseball’s edict of banning announcements about relocation of franchises until after the World Series, informs the press the club has signed a lease to play its home games in San Francisco next season. The club’s Board of Directors voted 8-1 approving the shift to the West Coast, with the only dissenting vote cast by M. Donald Grant, who will become the chairman of the Mets, an expansion team located in New York to fill the National League void created by the departure of the Giants and Dodgers to California. (Nationalpastime.com)

AUGUST 16, 1950
At the Polo Grounds, Hank Thompson hits two inside-the-park home runs as the Giants drubbed the Dodgers, 16-7. (Nationalpastime.com)

AUGUST 15, 1951
With one out in the top of the eighth inning and a runner on third base in a 1-1 tied game‚ Willie Mays, running a full speed, makes an incredible catch of Carl Furillo’s drive to deep centerfield. After grabbing the ball, the rookie outfielder turns counterclockwise and throws a perfect strike to home to nail a surprised Billy Cox at home to complete the double play, and some believe, the catch, in the eventual Giants’ 3-1 Polo Grounds victory over the Dodgers, is the impetus for the beginning of the team’s incredible comeback from an 11.5 game deficit to win the National League pennant. (Nationalpastime.com)

AUGUST 11, 1951
Brooklyn manager Chuck Dressen famously declared, “The Giants is dead!” with the Dodgers holding a 13 1⁄2-game lead over the Giants as late as August 11.

AUGUST 10, 1889
At the Seventh Street Park in Indianapolis, future 300 game winner Mickey Welch becomes the first pinch hitter in major league history. Although the Giants right-handed pitcher strikes out in his historic plate appearance, New York prevails beating the Hoosiers, 9-6.(Nationalpastime.com)

AUGUST 1, 1933
Giants’ hurler Carl Hubbell sets a National League record for consecutive scoreless innings with 45 1/3 breaking the 1908 mark of Ed Ruelbach.(Nationalpastime.com)

AUGUST 1, 1945
At the Polo Grounds, Mel Ott hits his historic 500th career home run off Braves’ hurler Johnny Hutchings in the Giants’ 9-2 victory over Boston. Joining Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx, ‘Master Melvin’ becomes the third major leaguer to accomplish this career milestone. (Nationalpastime.com)

July 29, 1911
With nine stolen bases at Robison Field in St. Louis, the Giants establish a franchise record. During the 8-0 rout of the Redbirds, eight different New York players contribute to the record and seven of the nine steals are off Cardinals backstop Jack Bliss. (Nationalpastime.com)

July 28, 1890
Beating Pittsburgh, 4-2, Giants hurler Mickey Welch joins Pud Galvin and Cy Young becoming baseball’s third hurler to record his 300th victory. The 31-year old Brooklyn native will win only seven more games before ending his 13-year career next season. (Nationalpastime.com)

July 24, 1951
At cavernous Forbes Field, Giants’ outfielder Willie Mays, unable to reach across his body to make a catch with his glove of Rocky Nelson’s sinking 457-foot blast to deep center, sticks out his bare right hand and grabs the ball on a full gallop to make the incredible final out of the inning. Venerable Branch Rickey, Pittsburgh’s general manager, sends a note to the New York dugout during the game to tell the 20-year rookie, “That was the finest catch I have ever seen, and the finest I ever expect to see”. (Nationalpastime.com)

July 21, 1947
Frankie Frisch (.316) becomes the first switch-hitter inducted into the Hall of Fame. The ‘Fordham Flash’ is joined by Carl Hubbell, Mickey Cochrane, and Lefty Grove as the newest members to be enshrined at Cooperstown. (Nationalpastime.com)