Wife of John Joseph McGraw
MRS. JOHN J. MCGRAW, 81, DIES; WIDOW OF THE GIANTS' MANAGER
Familiar Polo Grounds Figure Was Devoted Fan of Team for More Than 50 Years
Mrs. John J. McGraw, the leading fan of the New York Giants for more than half a century, died last night in St. Vincent's Hospital. She was 81 years old. Mrs. McGraw, who lived at 30 Fifth Avenue, had been ill since last fall, when she suffered a stroke. But true to her devotion, she was at the Polo Grounds last April for the opening game of its new National League tenant, the Mets.
She had not missed a Giants' opener there from 1903, her bridegroom's first full season as manager, to 1957, when the Giants moved to San Francisco, except for one year when she was ill. She also had attended every World Series game there - once with her arm in a sling after a fall.
When Mary Blanche Sidnall of Baltimore met John McGraw of the Orioles in 1900, she knew so little about baseball that she asked him: "What position do you play? I'll bet you are one of the batters." They were married in 1902. That July, McGraw began his stormy career as the "Little Napoleon" of the Giants, which ended with his retirement because of ill health in 1932. He died early in 1934. McGraw, who built the Giants into one of the most powerful teams in baseball, had a reputation as a fighter, on the field and in the dressing room. Blanche McGraw insisted, however, that "he was as gentle as a lamb at home." She described him with reverence and candor as well in a 1953 biography, "The Real McGraw," written with the help of Arthur Mann.
When the Giants played at home, both during and after the McGraw era, Mrs. McGraw was a familiar figure in Seat 1-B, Box 19, just to the left of the home dugout. Frequently, old fans would approach to shake her hand. In later years she would get three to five letters a week asking for her husband's autograph. She was able to meet these requests, because she had saved all his canceled checks. She cut out the signatures and sent them along. Childless, she was especially delighted to meet young fans. When the directors of the Giants met in 1957 to consider transferring the team to San Francisco, Mrs. McGraw prayed from a miracle.
"If the Giants leave," she said, "it will be one of the most tragic things that ever happened to me. I can't conceive that I'll never again watch the Giants play at the Polo Grounds. I don't know what I'll do with myself. The Giants have been my life." Later, she heard the bad news. She was silent for a while. Then she said, "I guess all I have left now are my memories." But Mrs. McGraw could not hold a grudge. The next spring the Giants invited her to attend the opening game in San Francisco, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and she accepted. Mayor George Christopher of San Francisco sent along what she called "a beautiful letter" assuring her that her team would find a happy home there. Mrs. McGraw responded with one of her favorite expressions: "Isn't that nice?"
New York Times
November 5, 1962; pg. 31
Contributor: Talbot Fisher (46876960)
MRS. JOHN J. MCGRAW, 81, DIES; WIDOW OF THE GIANTS' MANAGER
Familiar Polo Grounds Figure Was Devoted Fan of Team for More Than 50 Years
Mrs. John J. McGraw, the leading fan of the New York Giants for more than half a century, died last night in St. Vincent's Hospital. She was 81 years old. Mrs. McGraw, who lived at 30 Fifth Avenue, had been ill since last fall, when she suffered a stroke. But true to her devotion, she was at the Polo Grounds last April for the opening game of its new National League tenant, the Mets.
She had not missed a Giants' opener there from 1903, her bridegroom's first full season as manager, to 1957, when the Giants moved to San Francisco, except for one year when she was ill. She also had attended every World Series game there - once with her arm in a sling after a fall.
When Mary Blanche Sidnall of Baltimore met John McGraw of the Orioles in 1900, she knew so little about baseball that she asked him: "What position do you play? I'll bet you are one of the batters." They were married in 1902. That July, McGraw began his stormy career as the "Little Napoleon" of the Giants, which ended with his retirement because of ill health in 1932. He died early in 1934. McGraw, who built the Giants into one of the most powerful teams in baseball, had a reputation as a fighter, on the field and in the dressing room. Blanche McGraw insisted, however, that "he was as gentle as a lamb at home." She described him with reverence and candor as well in a 1953 biography, "The Real McGraw," written with the help of Arthur Mann.
When the Giants played at home, both during and after the McGraw era, Mrs. McGraw was a familiar figure in Seat 1-B, Box 19, just to the left of the home dugout. Frequently, old fans would approach to shake her hand. In later years she would get three to five letters a week asking for her husband's autograph. She was able to meet these requests, because she had saved all his canceled checks. She cut out the signatures and sent them along. Childless, she was especially delighted to meet young fans. When the directors of the Giants met in 1957 to consider transferring the team to San Francisco, Mrs. McGraw prayed from a miracle.
"If the Giants leave," she said, "it will be one of the most tragic things that ever happened to me. I can't conceive that I'll never again watch the Giants play at the Polo Grounds. I don't know what I'll do with myself. The Giants have been my life." Later, she heard the bad news. She was silent for a while. Then she said, "I guess all I have left now are my memories." But Mrs. McGraw could not hold a grudge. The next spring the Giants invited her to attend the opening game in San Francisco, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and she accepted. Mayor George Christopher of San Francisco sent along what she called "a beautiful letter" assuring her that her team would find a happy home there. Mrs. McGraw responded with one of her favorite expressions: "Isn't that nice?"
New York Times
November 5, 1962; pg. 31
Contributor: Talbot Fisher (46876960)
Wife of John Joseph McGraw
MRS. JOHN J. MCGRAW, 81, DIES; WIDOW OF THE GIANTS' MANAGER
Familiar Polo Grounds Figure Was Devoted Fan of Team for More Than 50 Years
Mrs. John J. McGraw, the leading fan of the New York Giants for more than half a century, died last night in St. Vincent's Hospital. She was 81 years old. Mrs. McGraw, who lived at 30 Fifth Avenue, had been ill since last fall, when she suffered a stroke. But true to her devotion, she was at the Polo Grounds last April for the opening game of its new National League tenant, the Mets.
She had not missed a Giants' opener there from 1903, her bridegroom's first full season as manager, to 1957, when the Giants moved to San Francisco, except for one year when she was ill. She also had attended every World Series game there - once with her arm in a sling after a fall.
When Mary Blanche Sidnall of Baltimore met John McGraw of the Orioles in 1900, she knew so little about baseball that she asked him: "What position do you play? I'll bet you are one of the batters." They were married in 1902. That July, McGraw began his stormy career as the "Little Napoleon" of the Giants, which ended with his retirement because of ill health in 1932. He died early in 1934. McGraw, who built the Giants into one of the most powerful teams in baseball, had a reputation as a fighter, on the field and in the dressing room. Blanche McGraw insisted, however, that "he was as gentle as a lamb at home." She described him with reverence and candor as well in a 1953 biography, "The Real McGraw," written with the help of Arthur Mann.
When the Giants played at home, both during and after the McGraw era, Mrs. McGraw was a familiar figure in Seat 1-B, Box 19, just to the left of the home dugout. Frequently, old fans would approach to shake her hand. In later years she would get three to five letters a week asking for her husband's autograph. She was able to meet these requests, because she had saved all his canceled checks. She cut out the signatures and sent them along. Childless, she was especially delighted to meet young fans. When the directors of the Giants met in 1957 to consider transferring the team to San Francisco, Mrs. McGraw prayed from a miracle.
"If the Giants leave," she said, "it will be one of the most tragic things that ever happened to me. I can't conceive that I'll never again watch the Giants play at the Polo Grounds. I don't know what I'll do with myself. The Giants have been my life." Later, she heard the bad news. She was silent for a while. Then she said, "I guess all I have left now are my memories." But Mrs. McGraw could not hold a grudge. The next spring the Giants invited her to attend the opening game in San Francisco, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and she accepted. Mayor George Christopher of San Francisco sent along what she called "a beautiful letter" assuring her that her team would find a happy home there. Mrs. McGraw responded with one of her favorite expressions: "Isn't that nice?"
New York Times
November 5, 1962; pg. 31
Contributor: Talbot Fisher (46876960)
MRS. JOHN J. MCGRAW, 81, DIES; WIDOW OF THE GIANTS' MANAGER
Familiar Polo Grounds Figure Was Devoted Fan of Team for More Than 50 Years
Mrs. John J. McGraw, the leading fan of the New York Giants for more than half a century, died last night in St. Vincent's Hospital. She was 81 years old. Mrs. McGraw, who lived at 30 Fifth Avenue, had been ill since last fall, when she suffered a stroke. But true to her devotion, she was at the Polo Grounds last April for the opening game of its new National League tenant, the Mets.
She had not missed a Giants' opener there from 1903, her bridegroom's first full season as manager, to 1957, when the Giants moved to San Francisco, except for one year when she was ill. She also had attended every World Series game there - once with her arm in a sling after a fall.
When Mary Blanche Sidnall of Baltimore met John McGraw of the Orioles in 1900, she knew so little about baseball that she asked him: "What position do you play? I'll bet you are one of the batters." They were married in 1902. That July, McGraw began his stormy career as the "Little Napoleon" of the Giants, which ended with his retirement because of ill health in 1932. He died early in 1934. McGraw, who built the Giants into one of the most powerful teams in baseball, had a reputation as a fighter, on the field and in the dressing room. Blanche McGraw insisted, however, that "he was as gentle as a lamb at home." She described him with reverence and candor as well in a 1953 biography, "The Real McGraw," written with the help of Arthur Mann.
When the Giants played at home, both during and after the McGraw era, Mrs. McGraw was a familiar figure in Seat 1-B, Box 19, just to the left of the home dugout. Frequently, old fans would approach to shake her hand. In later years she would get three to five letters a week asking for her husband's autograph. She was able to meet these requests, because she had saved all his canceled checks. She cut out the signatures and sent them along. Childless, she was especially delighted to meet young fans. When the directors of the Giants met in 1957 to consider transferring the team to San Francisco, Mrs. McGraw prayed from a miracle.
"If the Giants leave," she said, "it will be one of the most tragic things that ever happened to me. I can't conceive that I'll never again watch the Giants play at the Polo Grounds. I don't know what I'll do with myself. The Giants have been my life." Later, she heard the bad news. She was silent for a while. Then she said, "I guess all I have left now are my memories." But Mrs. McGraw could not hold a grudge. The next spring the Giants invited her to attend the opening game in San Francisco, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and she accepted. Mayor George Christopher of San Francisco sent along what she called "a beautiful letter" assuring her that her team would find a happy home there. Mrs. McGraw responded with one of her favorite expressions: "Isn't that nice?"
New York Times
November 5, 1962; pg. 31
Contributor: Talbot Fisher (46876960)
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