JANUARY 28, 1949
Monte Irvin becomes the first African-American player, along with hurler Ford Smith, to sign with the Giants. Although the 29-year old outfielder will play only five full seasons in the major leagues, the former Newark Eagles standout will be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973, primarily for his outstanding play in the Negro Leagues. (Nationalpastime.com)

JANUARY 22, 1913
The Giants agree to share the Polo Grounds with the Highlanders. The American League club, which will become known as the Yankees, had been playing their home games at Hilltop Park, located at 168th Street and Broadway, since 1903, when the franchise shifted from Baltimore to New York. (Nationalpastime.com)

JANUARY 20, 1906
Henry Mathewson signs with the Giants, but the right-hander’s performance will not remind anyone of his more talented brother, Christy. The 19 year-old will appear in just two major league games over the next two seasons compiling a 0-1 record along a 4.91 ERA. (Nationalpastime.com)

JANUARY 17, 1922
Benny Kauff’s appeal to be reinstated as a major league player is denied by an appellate court. The former Giant outfielder believed his banishment from the game by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis is unjust due to his acquittal of the auto theft charges brought against him. (Nationalpastime.com)

JANUARY 15, 1936
Horace Stoneham becomes president of the New York Giants succeeding his dad, Charles, who died nine days ago. The 32-year old will hold the position for the next 40 years before selling the team to Bob Lurie and Bud Herseth in 1976. (Nationalpastime.com)

THE 2ND NYGPS MEETING OF 2020 WITH STEW THORNLEY

The 2nd NYGPS Meeting of 2020 will take place on Thursday, January 23rd, at 5:30PM, at Finnerty’s. Famed Polo Grounds historian and author Stew Thornley will be our guest speaker. Stew will be talking about his lasts book on the PG’s, The Polo Grounds: Essays and Memories of New York City’s Historic Ballpark, 1880-1963. He previously authored Land of the Giants: New York’s Polo Grounds. This looks to be a great event. Here are the synopsis’ on both books.

Please bring copies of the books and Stew will gladly autograph them for you if you wish.

Please RSVP me ASAP if you plan on attending. The meeting is only 2 weeks away! Be well, Gary

In addition, Finnerty’s gives us the use of its backroom for the event. For your enjoyment, libations will be available at the Happy Hour rate until 8PM. Drinks specials are:
$5 draft beers
$6 mixed well cocktails
$7 glasses of wine
Please RSVP ASAP to me. All the best, Gary

JANUARY 8, 1944
Bill Terry announces his retirement from baseball and his plans to start a cotton business. The former Giants star and skipper will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954. (Nationalpastime.com)

JANUARY 5, 1946
The Giants pay the largest amount ever paid for a single player when the team obtains Walker Cooper from the Cardinals for $175,000. The All-Star catcher will hit .276 during his 3+ seasons with New York. (Nationalpastime.com)

THE 1ST NYGPS MEETING OF 2020 WITH LINCOLN MITCHELL

The 1st NYGPS Meeting of 2020 will take place on Tuesday, January 7th, at 6PM, at Finnerty’s. Author Lincoln Mitchell makes a return visit and will be discussing his new book San Francisco Year Zero: Political Upheaval Punk Rock and Third-Place Baseball Team.

https://www.amazon.com/San-Francisco-Year-Zero-Third-Pla…/…/

Here is a synopsis of the book from Amazon.

“San Francisco is a city of contradictions. It is one of the most socially liberal cities in America, but it also has some of the nation’s worst income inequality. It is a playground for tech millionaires, with an outrageously high cost of living, yet it also supports vibrant alternative and avant-garde scenes. So how did the city get this way?

In San Francisco Year Zero, San Francisco native Lincoln Mitchell traces the roots of the current situation back to 1978, when three key events occurred: the assassination of George Moscone and Harvey Milk occurring fewer than two weeks after the massacre of Peoples Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana, the explosion of the city’s punk rock scene, and a breakthrough season for the San Francisco Giants. Through these three strands, Mitchell explores the rifts between the city’s pro-business and progressive-left politicians, the emergence of Dianne Feinstein as a political powerhouse, the increasing prominence of the city’s LGBT community, punk’s reinvigoration of the Bay Area’s radical cultural politics, and the ways that the Giants helped unify one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in the nation.

Written from a unique insider’s perspective, San Francisco Year Zero deftly weaves together the personal and the political, putting a human face on the social upheavals that transformed a city.”

Mitchell will be mainly speaking about the Giants of 1983 during his book chat. Autographed books will be for sale as well. He will be accepting cash, checks, Paypal or Venmo.

In addition, Finnerty’s gives us the use of its backroom for the event. For your enjoyment, libations will be available at the Happy Hour rate until 8PM. Drinks specials are:
$5 draft beers
$6 mixed well cocktails
$7 glasses of wine

Please RSVP ASAP to me. All the best, Gary

DECEMBER 20, 1926
The World Champion Cardinals trade Rogers Hornsby to the Giants for Jimmy Ring and Frankie Frisch, who will play an integral role in the success of the Gas House Gang in the 1930’s after being sent to St. Louis due to a falling out with New York’s manager John McGraw. The trade gets complicated when the ‘Rajah’ refuses to sell his 1,167 shares of the team stock back to the Redbirds at the asking price. (Nationalpastime.com)