Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-09-28
M'GRAW'S TEAM
WINS ANOTHER
"NapoIeon of Baseball" Has
Honor Again of Plotting
Winning Team

NEW YORK, Sept. 2S.-By adding
another pennant to the string that
has fiuttered from the flag poe at
the Polo Grounds, John Joseph Nc
Graw becomes more securely scene
ed in his title of Napoleon on Base
ball"
Short, stocky, dapper, rudy faced
and gray headed, McGraw looks
more like a successful broker than
a professional athlete. He appears
as what the clothing adds classify
as smart" and if ever some twists
shears HIM of success and reason
he can get a job posing for an oil
pointing of a cigarette moker or
the latest in collars.
His career is remarkable but not
surprising. 1t Vas a sane, steady
march to the heights of his profess
sion, intercepted now and then by
some flight of temperament or of
temper, but it has all been in one
direction. He is in the logical place
for such a logical man to occupy.
McGraw was born in 1873 and so
is just about turning the so mark.
He began playing baseball as most
American boys do as soon as he
could toddle after one. His profess
sional debut was made when ne
discarded short trousers, but whetn-
er he did M of those two things
to effect the other is a question
which his b~iographers must debate.
The present manager of the
Champion Giants has been in the
game professionally for 80 years,
starting with the Olean team of the
New York State League in 1890.
when his reputation as a consistent
hitter and reliable fielder spread
from his native heath of Truxton,
N. Y. Throughout his playing days
he was one of the marvels of the
diamond but his gray matter has
made him a fixture.
Only one year did McGraw remain
in Olean signing a sheet for $50 a
month. Next he went to Cedar
Rapids where his stipend was more
remunerative and his work more
brilliant. His sh%ortstopping was SO
remarkable that a big league scout
came to look him over, saw him and
was captivated.
The youthful "Mugsy" wen to
Baltimore, then the tail-enders in a
12-club circuit. 1t was in August,
1891, that McGraw broke into fast
company, little more than a year
after his entry in the professional
ranks. His first season he warmed
the bench, but in 1892 Ned Hanlon,
the Orioles new manager, tried out
John Joseph at second base and then
| shifted him to third, where he gain
| ed a reputation. Third base was his
position.
McGraw has always been recog-
niZed as the peer of any who pre-
ceded or followed him at the hot
, corner" his particular forte being
the fielding of bunts. He was a
observation-disclosures $50 hitter and
| fast on the paths. His individual
| playing was one of the factors in the
success of the old Orioles.
With Wilbert Robinson, formerly
of the Giants and now manager of
the Brooklyn team, McGraw was
sold to the st. Louis Club in 1900
for $4,000. Both players were ILL
pleased and when the American
League reared it's head in 1900 the
Giants present mentor aligned him
self with Ban B. johnson.
He went back to Baltimore and
! organized a team that was one of
the most popular in the history OF
the game. But in 1902 McGraw and
Johnson came to the parting of the
| ways and in mid-season the Balti-
more team was so disorganiZed that
"Mugsy' took off his spiked shoes
and announced that they were on the
shelf for ever.
At that time the late Andrew
Freedman was sorrowed by the spec
| tacle of the ~slow-going Giants, the
| team he owned. McGraw was rec
| commended to him and vas hired,
| taking the helm in July and re-
naming in charge since.
The game has grown big-has had
| virtually all of it's growth and grow
ing pains-in McGraw's professional
time. When he came to New York
the old Polo Grounds seated 10000
now it is $4,000 and a third tier
to the grandstand is to be added next
year. McGraw's life is insured by
| the club for 100000 and he owns
a fair share of operating company's
stock.
The standing of his club under his
msnagership is shown by this table:
Year Place Year Place
| 1nno 1910 I