John McGraw... throw him out!
1905 - John McGraw, manager of the National League's New York Giants, wins $400 betting on his team to win the 1905 World Series. McGraw had held his team out of the 1904 Series against Boston because of a grudge against American League president Ban Johnson, who had suspended and publicly ripped McGraw for his boorish on-field behavior during McGraw's tenure as an American League manager, but he agreed to take on Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's following the '05 season. Led by Christy Mathewson's three shutouts (thrown in a span of six days), the Giants beat the A's in five games and McGraw got his money and his revenge on Johnson. The winnings were known to the public, and would have gotten McGraw banned from baseball in a later day.
|