The
history of the New York Giants, before the franchise moved to
San Francisco, lasted from 1883 to 1957. It featured five of the franchise's eight World Series wins and 17 of its 24 National League pennants. For most of that time, the Giants played home games in the
Polo Grounds in the
Upper Manhattan region of
New York City. The Giants had intense rivalries with their cross-town rivals, the
New York Yankees and the
Brooklyn Dodgers, known collectively as the
Subway Series. The New York-Brooklyn rivalry soon evolved into the
Los Angeles-San Francisco rivalry. Numerous inductees of the
Baseball Hall of Fame played for the New York Giants, including
John McGraw,
Mel Ott,
Bill Terry,
Willie Mays,
Monte Irvin, and
Travis Jackson. Some of the most memorable moments in the Giants' New York history are Willie Mays' famous catch in game one of the
1954 World Series,
The Shot Heard 'Round the World, and the
1922 World Series, where the Giants defeated the Yankees in four games.