Sport: McGraw's 25th

Twenty-five years ago—on July 19, 1902, to be exact—nine men representing New York City and being called the "Giants" were playing baseball against Philadelphia. Most of them had sonorous Irish names—Brodie, Bresnahan, McGinnity, McGann, McGraw. They lost the game, 5 to 3. But the crowd of some 10,000 was not entirely displeased. The new manager and shortstop* of the Giants, John Joseph McGraw, seemed to be a fighter and a leader who knew the difference between first base and home plate. New Yorkers predicted that he would get the Giants out of...