Originally named the Gothams, the team was established after John B. Day, manufacturer and owner of the New York Metropolitans of the American Association, purchased the expelled Troy club of the National League. Their games were played on the northern grounds of Central Park; an area originally set up for polo. In their inaugural season, the Gothams finished sixth in the National League.
1884
The Gothams finished in fifth place of the National League.
1885
With the hopes of higher profits from the National League, Day moved some of his Mets' players to the Gothams, including manager Jim Mutrie. As a result, the Gothams finished second behind Chicago in the pennant race winning 85 out of 112 games (.759 winning percentage). Tim Keefe, one of the Gothams' ace pitchers, dubbed the team "my Giants" that season and the rest is history.
1888
The Giants won their first National League pennant in franchise history. They followed their triumph by defeating the St. Louis Browns in the World Series.
1889
The Giants won their second consecutive National League pennant defeating the Boston Beaneaters by one game. The team defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers four games to three to win the World Series again.
1890
The Giants finished the season in sixth place after losing a number of players to the rival Players' League.
1891
Following the collapse of the Players' League, many players returned to the team. This also led the Giants to move into the Players' League Ballpark, renamed the Polo Grounds after their former home in Central Park. Unfortunately, after a third place finish, Day could no longer afford the team. Edward Talcott, a New York financier purchased the team from Day.
1894
Talcott hired former star, J.M. Ward, to manage the club. As a result, the team finished in second place behind Baltimore. During the postseason, then known as the Temple Cup, the Giants swept Baltimore for their third World Championship. Talcott sold control of the team, and shortly after the Giants ownership position became a revolving door with a number of short-term owners.
1902
The Giants finished the season with their lowest winning percentage in franchise history (.353), leaving them 53 ½ games out of first place.
1903
The Giants new owner, John T. Brush, acquired new talent during the offseason due to his other ownership positions. Brush also happened to own the Cincinnati Reds and the AL's Baltimore Orioles. Because of this, Brush was able to release his top players from the Oriole's organization and sign them to his new team. Among the group of new talent was pitcher Christy Mathewson, who was only in the early stages of his career. That season, Mathewson won thirty games, second to ace pitcher Joe McGinnity, who won thirty-one. The team won thirty-six more games than during the previous year, finishing second in the standings.
1904
Manager John McGraw led the Giants to 106 victories and a thirteen game cushion over the second place finisher. The club led the league in batting, pitching, fielding, and stolen bases. McGinnity led all pitchers with a career best 35-8 record and a 1.61 ERA. Mathewson led the league in strikeouts and finished right behind the team's ace winning 33 games. McGraw refused to play Boston in the World Series that year, illustrating the lack of recognition towards opposing leagues during that time.
1905
The Giants finished the season with 105 wins behind Mathewson's 31-win season and an ERA of 1.27. Mathewson proved to be equally dominant in the post season as he hurled three shutouts and led the Giants to their fourth World Championship.
1906
Despite the team's 96 victories, the Giants finished far behind the Chicago Cubs, who won a record 116 games.
1908
The Giants finished the season in a second place tie with Pittsburgh. They missed the pennant by one game to the Chicago Cubs, who defeated the Giants in a make-up game at the end of the season.
1911
In the same season where the Polo Grounds were rebuilt due to a fire, the Giants won the pennant comfortably over the Cubs. The club was defeated by the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series.
1912
The club won their second consecutive pennant in a dominating fashion-by pulling away from the pack in the month of May. In the final game of the World Series, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Giants in the tenth inning.
1913
The Giants continued their regular season success by winning the pennant and finishing 12 ½ games ahead of the Phillies. Over the past three years, Mathewson led the team in victories with 74, while the team itself led the league in pitching and batting. Unfortunately, the club could not capitalize on its success, as they were defeated again by the Philadelphia Athletics in the World Series.
1915
The Giants finished the season in last place of the National League.
1916
The team finished the year in fourth place despite a 26-game winning streak in September.
1917
The Giants, behind the pitching heroics of Ferdie Schupp (21-7, 1.95 ERA), brought home the pennant once again. However, they were unable to defeat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series.
1919
The club was sold to financier and racehorse lover, Charles A. Stoneham, while McGraw became a minority stockholder of the Giants.
1921
Behind the brilliant play of seven .300 hitters in the regular lineup, the Giants overtook the Pittsburgh Pirates to take the pennant. They followed up their pennant by defeating the Yankees in the World Series to win their fifth title.
1922
Led by outfielder Emil "Irish" Meusel and his 132 RBI, the Giants held off surging St. Louis to win another pennant. In the World Series, the Giants triumphed with a four-game sweep of their cross-town rivals.
1923
The club was able to win yet another National League pennant, but were unsuccessful in the World Series as they were defeated by the New York Yankees four games to two.
1924
The Giants were able to hold off both Brooklyn and Pittsburgh for yet another pennant by 1 ½ games, but lost a heartbreaking World Series to Washington in the twelfth inning of the seventh game.
1932
As a result of illness, manager John McGraw decided to step down as the team's manager early into the season. McGraw named first baseman Bill Terry as his successor. The Giants finished the season in sixth place, but built a strong nucleus for the future by bringing both Mel Ott and Carl Hubbell up from the minor leagues.
1933
The team finished the season well ahead of the second place Pittsburgh Pirates for the pennant behind Ott and Hubbell. Hubbell led the league in wins, shutouts, and ERA, while Ott contributed 23 home runs and 103 RBI. Their dominance continued in the World Series when Hubbell threw for two wins and Ott won it for the Giants on a tenth inning home run in Game Five.
1934
The Giants finished the season two games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League pennant.
1935
The club was unable to regain the pennant and finished the regular season in third place.
1936
In January, Charles Stoneham died, and left the team to his 33-year old son, Horace, who had run the team the year before. During the season, the Giants came from behind to win the National League pennant behind Carl Hubbell's second half dominance. During that time, Hubbell won all sixteen of his final decisions to help the team move from fourth to first place. The Yankees, however, defeated both Hubbell and the Giants in the sixth game of the World Series to become champions.
1937
The Giants made another late season push for the National League crown and, along with a Chicago slump, were able to finish ahead of the Cubs by three games for first place. It was another all New York World Series that saw the Yankees defeat the Giants in five games for the championship.
1938
With Hubbell no longer a dominant force in the league, the Giants finished the season five games out and in third place.
1942
Mel Ott became the manager of the Giants, but saw his club finish next to last in the league.
1943
The Giants experienced another disappointing season finishing in last place of the National League.
1948
Halfway into the season, the popular manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Leo Durocher, announced that he would become the new manager for his long time rival, the New York Giants. His first order of business was to release the top three home run hitters on the team from the season before and replace them with speedy infielders, Alvin Dark and Eddie Stanky.
1950
Behind the emergence of Sal Maglie into an ace pitcher and the midseason acquisition of pitcher Jim Hearn, the Giants rose from below .500 to within five games of first place.
1951
After a difficult start to the season, the Giants won 37 of their last 44 games to finish tied with the Brooklyn Dodgers for the National League pennant. The Giants and Dodgers played a three-game playoff to determine which team would represent the National League in the World Series. After bringing the series to a third and final game, the Giants found themselves losing 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth. With one runner on base, Bobby Thomson came to the plate to face Ralph Branca. Thomson hit a home run deep to left field that won the pennant for the Giants and was dubbed "The Shot Heard 'Round the World." Despite the fact that they were unable to defeat the Yankees in the World Series, the season was still regarded as one of the franchise's best.
1952
This season saw a number of injuries and absences take a toll on the ball club. Former Negro League star, Monte Irvin, was out until August with a broken ankle causing the Giants to miss out on having the National League RBI leader's bat for the entire season. At the same time, an exciting rookie from the season before by the name of Willie Mays left for a stint in the Army. However, they were still able to hang close to the Brooklyn Dodgers and finish the season in second place.
1954
Willie Mays returned to the team to have one of his best season's ever. Accompanied by career seasons from pitchers Johnny Antonelli, Ruben Gomez, and Marv Grissom, the Giants were able to pull away from the Dodgers and win the National League pennant by five games. They were considered to be heavy underdogs to the powerful Cleveland Indians, but shocked the baseball world when they went on to sweep the club in four games. This was the franchise's eighth and last World Championship that would be brought home to New York.
1955
The Giants finished the season in third place and saw their manager, Leo Durocher, retire at the end of the year.
1956
Durocher was replaced by first time manager, Bill Rigney, at the start of the season. Rigney's club finished the season in sixth place.
1957
At the end of another disappointing season in sixth place, the Giants' owner, Horace Stoneham, announced that he would be moving the club to San Francisco before the start of next season. Giants' fans were stunned by the sudden departure of their beloved team and the subsequent demolition of the historic Polo Grounds.
