The 1920s: When the Philadelphia Phillies Were a Farm Team for the New York Giants

Irish Meusel

This article originally appeared in Here's the Pitch, the newsletter of the Internet Baseball Writers of America Association (IBWAA).

It could easily be argued that the 2021 Atlanta Braves would have struggled to make the playoffs, let alone win three playoff series on the way to a World Series title, without a major assist from three other teams, The Indians, the Marlins, and the Royals, were willing to part with, respectively, Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, and Jorge Soler, for next to nothing in return. The Braves were reeling from the losses of Marcel Ozuna and Ronald Acuna, Jr. With the Phillies and Mets vying with them for the top spot in the National League East, they needed to act quickly. These three mid-season deals saved their bacon. After helping the Braves to the Division title, Rosario, Duvall, and Soler then powered them through the playoffs to the title.

A similar scenario played out for the World Champion New York Giants exactly 100 years ago in 1921. John McGraw’s 1921 Giants team would never have won the National League pennant, let alone defeat the Babe Ruth led Yankees in the World Series, without a major assist from just one team: that infamous doormat of the league, the Philadelphia Phillies. On the field, the Phillies contributed by losing 15 of the 21 games they played against the Giants. It is off the field, however, in a series of one-sided trades, that the Phillies and their parsimonious owner, William F. Baker, made their greatest contribution. Three key members of the champion Giants, shortstop Dave Bancroft, second baseman Johnny Rawlings, and outfielder Irish Meusel, came via trades with the Phillies.

Bancroft was the first of the trio to be traded. The future Hall of Fame shortstop went to the Giants on June 7, 1920, in a straight up deal for Art Fletcher and that most valued of commodities for Phils’ owner Baker, cash. Bancroft was 29 years old and at the peak of his career. As a rookie he had been a key member of the Phillies’ 1915 pennant winners. Fletcher was a good player, but at 35 he was very near the end of his career. He did not play at all for the Phillies in 1921 and returned for his final season in 1922. By contrast, in 1921, Bancroft was arguably the most valuable player on the Giants, putting up a team leading 7.4 WAR.

During the 1921 season, Baker showed even more generosity to manager John McGraw and his Giants. McGraw was looking for an infielder because rookie Goldie Rapp wasn’t cutting it at third base, hitting just .215 through the end of June. At that point, the Giants were 4.5 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates. On July 1, Baker obliged McGraw by sending him second baseman Johnny Rawlings and disgruntled outfielder, Casey Stengel, in return for Rapp, reserve outfielder Lee King, and minor leaguer Lance Richbourg.

Stengel was injured and played in only 18 games for the Giants, but the acquisition of Rawlings allowed McGraw to move star infielder and future Hall of Famer, Frankie Frisch, to third base and install Rawlings at second where he formed a fine double play partnership with Bancroft. In Philadelphia, Rapp never did hit and was gone from the major leagues after 1923. King had minimal impact and was eventually sent back to the Giants, Richbourg played in only 10 games for the Phillies. He surfaced several years later as a productive player for the Boston Braves.

Two weeks later and in search of pitching strength, McGraw pried pitcher Red Causey loose from Baker and the Phillies for a minor league pitcher, Jesse Winters, and rookie infielder John Monroe. Causey took a place in the Giants’ bullpen but was hit hard in early outings and appeared in only nine games.

On July 25, with his team still four games behind the Pirates, McGraw went to the Philadelphia well once more to get the slugging outfielder that would put his team over the top in the National League. He obtained the Phillies best hitter, Irish Meusel, from Baker for Curt Walker, minor league catcher, Butch Henline, and yes, $30,000 in cash. At the time of the trade, Meusel was hitting .358 with 12 home runs. Both Walker (who fell ill and missed the rest of the season shortly after the trade) and Henline turned into good players, but Meusel was one of the leagues’ premiere sluggers.

A story widely reported in the papers was that Baker had soured on Meusel. In fact, two days before the trade Baker suspended Meusel for indifferent play. Apparently as Meusel was walking off the field between innings a gentleman in the stands razzed him for lack of hustle on a fly ball. Meusel reportedly replied, “Why should I go hard after that ball?” The heckling fan was apparently a stockholder in the Phillies, and he reported the exchange to Baker, who suspended Meusel and then traded him to the Giants.

From the time of the Meusel deal onward, the Giants steadily ate into the Pirates lead, until they finally overtook the Bucs with a 6-2 victory over the Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) on September 9. In that game Meusel was 3 for 4 with a double. The Giants eventually won the pennant by four games. Meusel hit .329 after coming over from the Phillies, Rawlings .269 while solidifying the infield, and Bancroft hit .318 for the year.

In the best of nine World Series the Giants fell behind the Yankees two games to zero, after being shut out in the first two games by Carl Mays and Waite Hoyt. The Giants’ bats got going in the third game and the Giants won 13-5 behind the hitting of Meusel, Rawlings, and Ross Youngs. Meusel and Rawlings joined with outfielder George Burns to power the Giants to a Game 4 win 4-2, behind the pitching of veteran Phil Douglas.

The Yankees took Game 5, 3-1, with Hoyt again the pitching star. The Giants then won the series by winning the next three games in a row. In Game 6, Meusel, Bancroft, and High Pockets Kelly were the hitting stars. In Game 7, Douglas again pitched very well, as Meusel and catcher Frank Snyder (also having a great series) drove in the only Giant runs in a 2-1 victory. The Giants faced nemesis Waite Hoyt in Game 8. Bancroft scored an unearned run in the first inning after he walked and scored when shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh bobbled High Pockets Kelly’s ground ball. Giants’ hurler, Art Nehf, then shut out the Yankees on four-hits to bring the Giants the championship.

In the series, Rawlings, Bancroft, and Meusel played every inning. Meusel led his team with seven RBIs, while hitting .345. Rawlings hit .333 with three doubles and four RBIs. Bancroft hit poorly in the series, just .145, but did have three crucial RBIs and played his usual solid defense.

Like the 2021 Atlanta Braves, the 1921 New York Giants were a team with a chance to win that needed to fill some weaknesses. The Braves found three teams willing to help them. The Giants only really needed one, the perpetually cash strapped Philadelphia Phillies, who over the course of little more than one year, sent their three best players north to help the Giants become World Series Champs.

Hot Stove League rumors in the fall of 1921 had the Phillies sending their best pitcher. Lee Meadows, to the Giants. Fortunately for Phillies’ fans, that deal never came off.