Jaybird's Jottings

Alex Pompez Among Negro League Selectees

Congratulations to the 17 Negro League selectees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday. Among these are Effa Manley, the first woman elected and Alex Pompez, who scouted and signed Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Willie McCovey and Felipe Alou.

I'm a little surprised the Giants official site did not parcel Pompez’ selection at their front page news and pictures rotation. His contributions to the franchise were significant.

Turned Away

Never before has the capacity of Coogan’s Bluff been strained beyond the limit as it was yesterday... By 2 o'clock Coogan’s was loaded to the gunnels... For nearly a mile there was a mass of people lining stairs, viaducts, streets, Speedway, bluffs, crags, rocks, peaks, grass, plots, trees and any other available space not previously occupied... If 35,000 were inside the fence, 35,000,000 were outside. Never in the history of the game have there been so many to see a game who didn't see it. - W.J. Lampton, New York Times, October 9, 1908

When baseball fans attend a game, they have certain expectations about the experience. Large numbers of fans waiting for a game day ticket won’t disrupt passageway into the park. If the fan arrives late, they still have ownership of their seat.

It has not always been this way. Scattered throughout the Giants' history are games that drew so many fans that even ticket holders were turned away at the gates. In some cases, with all standing room taken in and around the park, fans either retreated to the limited viewing on Coogan’s Bluff or gave up and went home.

I was able to search for these type games using ProQuest. I found what seems like a very good number but they certainly do not make a complete list. What follows is a brief write-up of some of these games.

Notes:

Attendance

Take some of the attendance numbers with a grain of salt. In some cases, they are estimates. The ball clubs provide the numbers and inflation, especially early on, was a problem. As far as the turned away numbers, the source for those estimates varied. Sometimes it was the club official and sometimes the police.

Newspaper coverage

During the Dead Ball Era and into the early 20s, The New York Times gave some excellent coverage of these type games. In the 30s, even when there were large numbers of turn aways, the reporters did not write much about it. For one thing, the crowd control was much better.

Friday, April 14, 1905 (Opening Day)
Boston at Giants
Attendance: 40,000
Turned Away: Thousands
NY 10 BOS 1

In their first two decades, the Giants had some large capacity crowds at the Polo Grounds. 1885, 1888 and 1894 stand out in particular. As far as I could find, however, there were no games during this time where a significant number of fans were turned away.

Things changed in 1905. A decade and a half of waiting for a third pennant and their great season of 1904 ushered in an era of occasional massive attendance at the Polo Grounds. On Opening Day that banner season, everybody and their brother wanted to see the Giants at 155th and Eighth Avenue. The crowd was estimated at 40,000. The New York Times noted that the actual capacity was not known. Fans stood in aisles and passageways. Thousands were turned away.

Before the game, both ball clubs paraded through parts of the city. As game time approached, the crowd waited. Finally, a few minutes past 3, a roar went up as the two teams entered the park. McGraw led the way in and then helped raise the 1904 pennant.

Thursday, May 30, 1907
Philadelphia at Giants
Attendance: 25,000
Turned away: Thousands
PHI 5 NYG 2
NYG 6 PHI 1

The Giants shot out of the gate in 1907, winning 24 of their first 27. Included was a 17 game winning streak from April 25 to May 18. By the end of the month, the Cubs and Giants were tied for first with 27 and 8 records. An added bonus for this game was Christy Mathewson who had established himself as a star pitcher.

The biggest crowd of the year showed up. Attendance was given at 25,000 and many more were turned away. The New York Times (baseball writers, with some exceptions, were not given by-lines until later in the 1910s and early 20s) also said it was the largest crowd ever inside the PG with one exception.

As more and more fans arrived to stand in the outfield, the more the mass crept towards the infield. The Pinkertons used the threat of force to slowly push the eight deep crowd back. The fans even filled in the area in between the player’s benches and the field. The teams had to sit near the field.

Friday, Sep 18, 1908
Pirates at Giants
Attendance: 35,000
Turned Away: Thousands
NY 7 PIT 0
NY 12 PIT 7

Baseball fever ran high in 1908. Both leagues had three team battles to the last day in what was arguably the greatest regular season in the history of the game.

When the calendars turned to September, the Giants were in first place at 69 and 45. The Cubs were a half game back and the Pirates one game behind. New York proceeded to win 16 of their next 17 games. But the Cubs and the Pirates also remained red hot and were only three back at the end of play on September 17.

Coming up for the Giants was a four game set against the Pirates and four against the Cubs, both at the Polo Grounds. The first two games against Pittsburgh was a doubleheader. On the mound for the Giants was Mathewson in the first game and Hook Wilste in the second.

The New York Times gave the attendance as 35,000 and said there was no way of knowing how many were turned away.

The doubleheader sweep gave the Giants their 18th win in 19 games. The Cubs fell four and a half back and the Pirates five. Three weeks still remained but when the masses walked out of the Polo Grounds that afternoon, they must have felt pretty good.

If they only knew…

Thursday, Oct 8, 1908
Cubs at Giants
(Merkle Game Replay)
Attendance: 40,000
Turned Away: Thousands
CHI 4 NYG 1

In a couple of years from now, you’re going to hear a fascinating discussion rekindled. Did Fred Merkle make a bonehead play on September 23, 1908? Or was he just doing what players did back then to try and avoid the crowd? Should National League President Frank Pulliam have said, “Giants win this one but from here on out, the rule will be enforced?” (You can tell I'm not exactly objective...)

After the Merkle game, the Giants still had 17 games left. McGraw’s men won 11 of their last 16, including three in a row at the end. It wasn’t enough however. The Merkle game replay was technically not a playoff but for all intents and purposes, it was. In fact, a couple of articles referred to it as such.

One can only imagine the anticipation, excitement and nervousness that warm and sunny day at the Polo Grounds. Stew Thornley notes that fans started showing up in the middle of the night. Tim Murnane of the Boston Globe adds:

“The thoroughfares that in the early hours had been babbling brooks of humanity were soon raging torrents. By 9 o’clock the people were no longer walking. They were trotting. At 10 o’clock they were running. By 11 o’clock there were 10,000 crowding and snarling at the gates like a pack of wolves.”

At 1 pm, the gates were closed. Fans who had tickets for reserved seats were not allowed in as well as thousands who wanted to get in. The angry crowd "knocked down the right field fence and threatened to overrun the ball park." Others "went stark raving mad" and tried to burn down the fence. Some "produced some sort of battering ram and knocked several boards loose in the centerfield fence." Police had to use sticks and firemen used hoses to repel the fans.

Some went home and some retreated to Coogan's Bluff, an elevated area behind the park where fans could see the outfield. Some stood at subway platforms and climbed up trees. One fan fell to his death.

Attendance was given as 40,000. The Times also made the point that there were “thousands who rode to the grounds and turned around and rode right back without trying to reach the gates.”

Friday, July 9, 1909
Pittsburgh at Giants
Attendance: 36,000
Turned Away: 10,000
PIT 9 NY 5
PIT 4 NY 2

The Times coverage of this game was remarkable in that it gave an actual breakdown of attendance. They documented the numbers as follows.

Spectators seated 30,000
Spectators standing 6,000
Spectators outside grounds 10,000
Would be spectators who gave up 10,000

Thursday, August 15, 1912
Giants at Cubs
Attendance: 30,000
Turned Away: 4,000
CHI 5 NYG 1

After winning the World Series in 1907 and 1908, the Cubs won the pennant in 1910 by a whopping 13 games over the Giants. New York got revenge and proudly flew the flag in 1911. The record shows the Giants took it by 10 games in 1912, but in mid-August, Chicago still had a chance. Losers of five of seven, the Giants pulled into town for a three game set. The Cubs had had won 12 of 15. The Giants' lead, once ten games, was suddenly down to five.

The Chicago Daily Tribune said this was "thought to be the biggest weekday crowd that ever saw a ball game at the West Side Grounds." The attendance estimate was 30,000. As was common during the dead ball era, the crowd formed a circle around the outfield. About 4,000 gave up trying to get in.

Friday, Oct 12, 1923
Giants at Yankees
Attendance: 62,430
Turned Away: 25,000 - 100,000
NYG 1 NYY 0

Sunday, Oct 14, 1923
Giants at Yankees
Attendance: 62,817
Turned Away: 50,000
NYY 8 NYG 1

They didn't call it ”The Big Apple” for nothing.

After McGraw and the Giants became champs in ‘21 and ‘22 by beating Ruth and the Yankees both times, the two were at it again in 1923. Attendance numbers never before seen in the Fall Classic were splashed across the headlines. The Giants, who had hosted all the Series games in ‘21 and ‘22, had increased the Polo Grounds capacity from about 38,000 to about 54,000.

Not to be outdone, the Yankees showcased their brand new “The House that Ruth Built.” Within the distance of about a mile, approximately 114,000 seats were available for watching the two great teams.

After the two split the first two games, Game Three was played on a Friday night at Yankee Stadium. Attendance was given as 62,430. The Times said police later estimated that as many as 100,000 were turned away.

On Saturday, the action went back to the Polo Grounds. 46,302 watched the Giants lose 8-4. With the series squared at 2, the two teams returned to Yankee Stadium on Sunday. 62,817 got in while an estimated 50,000 did not. At 12:30, tickets for bleacher seats ended. Thousands unable to get a ticket ran over to the window for unreserved grandstand seats and tried to push their way through those waiting there. Mounted police had to restore order.

The subway were so crowded that some of the cars did not stop at the closest stop. They had to walk six blocks back to the park.

Saturday, August 22, 1925
Pirates at Giants
Attendance: 55,000
Turned Away; 30,000
PIT 8 NYG 1
PIT 2 NYG 1

Lost in the fanfare of their success in the early part of the decade is the Giants pennant runs in the latter part of the 20s. In 1927 and 1928, the McGrawmen finished just two back both times.

The margin was eight and a half in 1925 but the Giants stayed within sight of the Pirates that summer. In mid August, New York won seven out of ten to get within three games. Pittsburgh came to town for a five game series that included two weekend doubleheaders.

Owner Charles Stoneham undoubtedly had crowd control on his checklist. But maybe he wasn’t too worried. After the healthy attendance numbers in 21-24, things seemed to be settling down.

But the hunger returned for this series. It was a half holiday and the Times said the games took on a World Series atmosphere. An estimated 30,000 were turned away. This game drew in a reported 55,000. The New York Times noted that, “Police Prevent Rioting as 30,000 More Turned Away from the Polo Grounds.”

The game on Sunday also sold out but the police had a greater presence and perhaps many fans did not try and go knowing what had happened the day before.

Friday, September 2, 1933
Giants at Boston
Attendance: 59,000
Turned Away: Thousands
NYG 2 BOS 0
NYG 5 BOS 3

Pennant-less for eight seasons, the Giants got going again in 1933. At the end of August, the Terrymen traveled to Boston for a five game set with the Braves. By winning the first game, Boston pulled to within five of the first place Giants.

59,000 filled Braves Field and thousands were turned away. John Drebinger reported it as the largest crowd ever to see a sporting event in Boston. Carl Hubbell shutout the Braves in the first game and the Freddie Fitzsimmons won the second. The Giants went on to sweep the series (one tie) and never looked back.

Wednesday, May 30, 1934
Giants at Dodgers
Attendance: 42,000
Turned Away: Thousands
NYG 5 BRO 2
NYG 8 BRO 6

It was one of the all-time great goading questions.

Roscoe Magowen, covering the Dodgers for the Times asked Giants skipper Bill Terry about the Dodgers chances for the upcoming season.

"What about Brooklyn Bill?"

"Brooklyn. Are they still in the league?"

Oh how the Dodgers wanted to beat the Giants after that. But Magowen knew Brooklyn was still in a down cycle and so did everybody else. When the Giants hosted them in late April, they swept them.

But then came a three game set at Ebbets Field on Memorial Day.

Magowen reported it as an all time record crowd for Ebbets Field. 34,500 was the capacity. Fans sat in the aisles and stood in the runways. Total attendance was 42,000. Several thousands were turned away and a large number of grandstand ticket holders decided to not go in.

Thursday, May 30, 1935
Dodgers at Giants
Attendance: 63,943
Turned Away: 15,000
NYG 8 BRO 3
NYG 6 BRO 0

Another great start for the Giants. Coming into this game they were 22 and 9 in first by four and a half games ahead of the Cubs and Dodgers. The Times reported this one as the largest crowd in National League history. At game time, the police prevented anyone without a ticket from getting off the subway stop at the Polo Grounds.

Sunday, Sep 13, 1936
Cards at Giants
Attendance: 64,417
Turned Away: 40,000
NYG 8 STL 4
STL 4 NYG 3

On July 15, the Giants had lost 9 out of 10 to fall 11 games behind the first place Cubs. Led by Hubbell and Ott, New York got going, winning 15 in a row in August. On September 12, New York was 83 and 55 and three and a half ahead of the Cardinals.

The gates were closed at 11 am. 64,417 filled the place up, a record crowd for the Polo Grounds and the National League according to the Times. The turned away number was given as 40,000. Mounted police ensure crowd control.

Sunday, May 31, 1937
Dodgers at Giants
Attendance: 61,756
Turned Away: 25,000
BRO 10 NYG 3
NYG 5 BRO 4

Patrons of this double dip were buzzing. The Terrymen had won eight of their last nine to cut the Pirates’s lead from six to one and a half. King Carl Hubbell sought a 25th straight win. The visitors were none other than the Dodgers.

25,000 fans were turned away. Hubbell took the loss.

Friday, July 31, 1959
Pirates at Giants
Attendance:
Turned Away: 4,000
SF 4 PIT 3

Willie McCovey was batting .377 with 29 home runs at Phoenix when he got the call to the big club. On a Thursday night, a crowd of 10,114 at Seals Stadium watched the lanky slugger belt out four hits in four at bats as the Giants snapped a four game losing streak.

The next night the Giants had to turn away approximately 4,000 fans who hoped to see both the first place Giants and the sensational rookie.

Saturday, April 30, 1960
Giants at Dodgers (Memorial Coliseum)
Attendance: 85,065
Turned Away: 10,000
SF 6 LA 3

It wasn’t Dead Ball Nostalgia Night at Memorial Coliseum. It did, however, kind of look like it.

It took the crazy baseball configuration at the Memorial Coliseum to produce what looked like one of those on the field crowds from the early days. A Ladies Night promotion and Giants on the bill brought in a mass of fans. Some stood close behind the right fielder at the end of the grounds.

Giants-Dodgers games had averaged about 40,000 in their 25 prior meetings at the Coliseum. This game produced a paid attendance of 64,944. An additional 20,122 ladies attendees put the total at 85,065.

When capacity was reached, the Dodgers contacted the radio stations who made announcements for non ticket holders not to come to the park. An estimated 10,000 were turned away.

Tuesday, May 30, 1961
Reds at Giants
Attendance: 41,693
Turned Away: 14,000
CIN 7 SF 6
CIN 6 SF 4

As Charlie Bevis notes in his research on Holiday Games, attendance for these games began to decline by the 1950s. The Chicago Tribune noted that attendance for the 1961 Memorial Day games was down from the previous year.

San Francisco was quite the exception. With the first place Giants surging out of the gate with a 25 and 13 record, the Bay Area had baseball fever.

On Memorial Day, the bill at Candlestick featured an oldie/youngie theme. On the mound for the Giants was veteran Sam Jones and rookie sensation Juan Marichal to face the third place Reds who were just two games out.

6,000 bleachers seats went on sale at 8:30 am. With the gates to the parking lot locked, 20,000 or so fans arriving to purchase the tickets had to park on one-way streets and no parking zones around the one-year old stadium. At the ticket booths, the crush of the anxious crowd shattered three windows. The departing turn-aways then ran into the arriving ticket holders, creating a traffic jam two miles long.

A police officer who helped handle the mess, had a message for the Giants.

“The next time you have a holiday doubleheader, sell the tickets the day before the game or somewhere besides the park.”

Don Knotts: 1924-2006

If I had a dollar for every time I watched The Andy Griffith Show, I’d be rich. Actually, all of us who did, are rich in laughter. Don Knotts, who turned in his final resignation yesterday, gave us so much pleasure over the last 40 some years.

He played in many movies and had other TV roles but his star rose the highest in the small town of Mayberry. The Andy Griffith Show is my favorite. I can’t remember us watching it as a family when it was airing in the 60s but I’m sure we did. In the late 70s, I would visit my Mom in Greensboro, North Carolina. We would watch it on WFMY Channel Two. In the 80s, cable was the big thing. WTBS showed it on reruns. You’d come home from work, turn on the tube and let the worries melt away.

At some point, WTBS stopped showing the reruns but TVLAND picked it up. You’d seen the episode so many times you knew every word. I watched it the other night. Great way to get ready for bed.

I have many favorites from this wonderful show. Too many to list but they all have Barney in them. I think my top ones were the ones he tried to sing.

Sing he couldn't, but make us laugh he did. So long Don. Thanks for all the good times. You were something really special.

Note: Mayberry.com has a Don Knotts Memorial Page.

Shades of Glory Book Tour

I attended one of the stops for the Shades of Glory book tour last night. It was held at the National Geographic Society’s Gilbert H. Grosvenor Auditorium in downtown D.C. The panel included Lawrence D. Hogan, chief author and editor; Stanley Glenn, President of the Negro League Baseball Players Association and a catcher in the Negro Leagues and Monte Irvin, Hall of Famer who played on the great Newark Eagles team and for the Giants from 1949 to 1955.

The hour and a half event was led off by Dale Petroskey, president, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. He talked briefly about the upcoming selection of Negro League candidates. A committee of historians is looking at 39 players and executives and will announce their vote on Feb 27.

Hogan took the stage and began by thanking those who came before him. This included two giants in the field, Robert Peterson, who recently passed away and oral historian John Holway who attended the event.

Hogan spoke extemporaneously about some of the lesser known greats of black baseball. His slide and video presentation included photos from as far back as 1883 and clips of players speaking about the game from the 20s and 30s.

You could tell that Hogan has strong feelings about the upcoming vote. There’s been some discussion at SABR-L on who deserves it and who doesn't. I applaud any effort to try and achieve objectivity but I can’t help but feel that on this one, a little leniency, if that is the right word, should be given. When Glenn was asked about the discrimination and prejudice he and his fellow players faced, you could just see his mind at work telling him, let it go.

That is what strikes me about these gentleman. In the video clip, one of the older greats was telling some of the younger players the same sort of thing. Don’t worry about the past, your time will come.

I, for one, certainly hope so. Jackie, Monte, Willie and the others, thank goodness, were given a chance to play in the big leagues. Many others were not.

Barry Ridiculous

Looks like reporters need spring training also. Did you see this??

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Barry Bonds was the big topic of conversation Wednesday when pitchers and catchers reported to the San Francisco Giants’ camp for the start of spring training — even though he was nowhere to be found.

Look it, I got no problem with hyperbole and someone trying to make a buck. But this story by the Associated Press (no by-line) is rather ridiculous.

I’m reminded of an episode of Andy Griffith. Barney was trying to show Goober the finer points of romancing. They spied on Andy and Helen sitting on her couch. When Goober observed that Andy wasn’t giving her much room, Barney said emphatically,

“He’s not supposed to!!”

Speaking of spring training coverage, check out this blog coverage of the Giants.

Nice job Hank. Enjoy the boys of spring.

Pitchers and Catchers

The snow is melting. Temps warming to the 60s. Pitchers and catchers reporting.

Oh yea, baby!

Francisco Casa Grande

Spring Training On-Line has a short article on Francisco Casa Grande, a spring training facility the Giants built in the early 60s.

The resort’s website has a history link with some pictures of the Giants back then.

They Caught Juan

Lyle Spatz and the gang at the SABR Records Committee have published their February 2006 newsletter. It’s the usual enlightening stuff, demonstrating once again that baseball history, especially the 19th Century, is a work in progress.

One of the microfilm turners is Walt Wilson. He is compiling lists of Hall of Fame pitchers and their catchers. One of his latest is Juan Marichal.

Thanks Lyle for all the great work you guys do.

Catcher Starts Shutouts

Tom Haller 125 17
Dick Dietz 94 14
Ed Bailey 62 8
Dave Rader 45 2
Jack Hiatt 29 2
Bob Barton 22 3
Del Crandall 12 0
John Orsino 12 3
Russ Gibson 11 0
Bob Schmidt 7 0
Dick Bertell 6 1
Fran Healy 5 0
Hobie Landrith 5 1
Mike Sadek 5 0
Tim Blackwell 3 0
Bob Montgomery 3 0
Joe Ferguson 2 0
Carlton Fisk 2 0
Johnny Stephenson 2 0
Ozzie Virgil 2 0
Chris Arnold 1 0
Randy Hundley 1 1
Tim McCarver 1 0

Anyone want to guess when Wonderful Juan pitched his last shutout?

Hints: It was a summer Sunday in 1973 at Candlestick. McCovey hit homers 400 and 401.

Shades of Glory

In baseball talk, there is a tendency to assume that the baseball being talked about is the major leagues.

For example, if someone said New York did not win the National League pennant in 1947, they would be overlooking the New York Cubans who won the Negro National League that season.

After being overlooked in its day and for years afterward, some great research has been done on black baseball. Authors such as Robert Peterson, John Holway, James Riley, Larry Lester, Dick Clark and Jules Tygiel and researchers from SABR’s Negro Leagues Committee have contributed immensely.

Now comes Shades of Glory, The Negro Leagues and the Story of African-American Baseball. Principal author Lawrence Hogan and a panel of experts, commissioned by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and funded by a $250,000 grant from Major League Baseball, conducted the massive research. They went through over 120 newspapers to come up with “the most thorough and accurate statistics on Negro league players and games ever published.”

I started out by reading about the Cuban Giants. They were “the first black team to gain national renown” and the first black team to “be paid regularly rather than receiving a share of fluctuating gate receipts as they barnstormed around.”

It is interesting, to say the least, that this team had the Giants nickname. The New York Giants picked up their nickname in the summer of 1885. Did the Cuban Giants get their nickname before that? One of their pitchers, according to the New York Times, was six feet four inches tall.

There will be a book tour for Shades of Glory. Opening night is here in D.C. on February 21st. Hogan and Monte Irvin are among the featured guests, as well as Stanley Glenn, a catcher in the Negro Leagues and president of the Negro League Baseball Players Association. The other cities are Atlanta, Birmingham, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Kansas City.