The Original San Francisco Giants

Old-timers and avid Giants fans will enjoy these recollections of old Seals Stadium. With over 100 images of the '58 Giants team, Steve Bitker has written a descriptive account of memorable events in Baseball history.

The Big 50: San Francisco Giants is an amazing, full-color look at the 50 men and moments that made the Giants the Giants. Experienced Bay-area sportswriter Daniel Brown recounts the living history of the Giants, counting down from No. 50 to No. 1. The Big 50: San Francisco Giants brilliantly brings to life the Giants remarkable story, from Willie McCovey and Will Clark to the roller-coaster that was Barry Bonds to the team's current dynasty and Madison Bumgarner shutting down the Royals in the 2014 World Series.

The first National League franchise to be featured in the new, exciting, and completely original Sports by the Numbers series! THE TEAM: The Giants franchise is the winningest in professional baseball history, having won more regular season games than the Cubs, Yankees, Dodgers, or Red Sox. The Giants have been to the World Series 18 times and claimed six championships during baseball's modern era-and the success of this franchise has been built on legends, as the club also boasts more Hall of Fame players than any other in the sport. THE FORMAT: The presentation created by the authors distinguishes Sports by the Numbers from everything else available today. San Francisco Giants is composed of ten chapters, each offering one hundred numbered "mini-stories"-facts, anomalies, records, coincidences, and enthralling lore and trivia from Hall of Fame legends such as Willie Mays, Mel Ott, and Bill Terry, to contemporary stars such as Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Buster Posey. Each chapter begins with an introduction that highlights the many exciting stories found in these pages such as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World," Mays' catch in the 1954 World Series, Barry Bonds' pursuit of Hank Aaron, and rivalry games against the hated Dodgers. Sports by the Numbers books are not just for diehard sports fans, but for every fan and sports history reader who loves sports and wants to know more about their heroes and favorite teams.

From the first San Francisco Giants game at Seals Stadium in 1958 through the team's unforgettable 2010 post season thrills, this book tells the greatest stories of the San Francisco Giants through the eyes of the players themselves.

In 1958, San Francisco welcomed its first major league baseball team when the Giants left New York and journeyed across the country to the Bay Area. Steeped in tradition, the orange-and-black team has captivated fans for decades with rosters including Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry, Will Clark, Barry Bonds, and Tim Lincecum. This book provides a look into the team's history, highlighting the players and other notables who were instrumental in shaping the Giants organization.

The San Francisco Giants celebrate more than 50 years in the City by the Bay. Follow the Giants from their early days at Seals Stadium to Candlestick Park to latest decade led by Barry Bonds, from the World Series in 1962 and 1989 (and the earthquake) to the National League Pennant in 2002. Player profiles include 1968 no-hit hurler Gaylord Perry, and high-kicking Juan Marichal; slugger Willie McCovey, National League MVP in 1969, and of course the great Willie Mays, who hit over 600 career homers with the Giants. Other chapters cover stories such as how in 1963 Jesus Alou joined his siblings Felipe and Matty on the roster, giving the team the first all-brother outfield in Major League history. Join some of San Francisco's famous fans, from Peanut's creator Charles Schulz to Danny Glover, Carlos Santana and Robin Williams, in celebration of this golden anniversary. In addition to the often rare and amazing visual history presented in this book, each chapter features reproductions of Giants memorabilia that will provide fans a complete San Francisco Giants scrapbook. And an audio CD of famous play-by-play radio calls, player interviews and more -- collected here for the first time -- makes this book a lasting pleasure.

2022 SABR Seymour Medal Finalist for the 2021 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year When New York Giants owner Charles A. Stoneham came home one night in 1918 and told his teenage son, Horace, "Horrie, I bought you a ballclub," he set in motion a family legacy. Horace Stoneham would become one of baseball's greatest figures, an owner who played an essential role in integrating the game, and who was a major force in making our pastime truly national by bringing Major League Baseball to the West Coast. Horace Stoneham began his tenure with the Giants in 1924, learning all sides of the operation until he moved into the front office. In 1936, when his father died of kidney disease, Horace assumed control of the Giants at age thirty-two, becoming one of the youngest owners in baseball history. Stoneham played a pivotal role in not just his team's history but the game itself. In the mid-1940s when the Pacific Coast League sought to gain Major League status, few but Stoneham and Branch Rickey took it seriously, and twelve years later the Giants and Dodgers were the first two teams to relocate west. Stoneham signed former Negro Leaguers Monte Irvin and Hank Thompson, making the Giants the second National League franchise to racially integrate. In the late 1940s, the Giants hired their first Spanish-speaking scout and soon became the leading team in developing Latin American players. Stoneham was shy and self-effacing and avoided the spotlight. His relationships with players were almost always strong, yet for all his leadership skills and baseball acumen, sustained success eluded most of his teams. In forty seasons his Giants won just five National League pennants and only one World Series. The Stoneham family business struggled, and the team was forced to sell off its beloved stars, first Willie Mays, then Willie McCovey, and finally Juan Marichal. Then Stoneham had no choice but to sell the club in 1975. While his tenure came to an unfortunate end, he is heralded as a pioneer and leader whose story tells much of baseball history from the 1930s through the 1970s.

The “enormously entertaining and wide-ranging” (Seattle Times) authorized, definitive, New York Times bestselling biography of Willie Mays, the most complete baseball player of all time. Willie Mays is arguably the greatest player in baseball history, still revered for the passion he brought to the game. He began as a teenager in the Negro Leagues, became a cult hero in New York, and was the headliner in Major League Baseball’s bold expansion to California. He was a blend of power, speed, and stylistic bravado that enraptured fans for more than two decades. Now James Hirsch reveals the man behind the player. Mays was a transcendent figure who received standing ovations in enemy stadiums and who, during the turbulent civil rights era, urged understanding and reconciliation. More than his records, his legacy is defined by the pure joy that he brought to fans and the loving memories that have been passed to future generations so they might know the magic and beauty of the game. With meticulous research and drawing on interviews with Mays himself as well as with close friends, family, and teammates, Hirsch presents a brilliant portrait of one of America’s most significant cultural icons.