J. McGraw w/Cap

This card files under the variation tag "J. McGraw w/Cap," the T206 White Border pose of New York Giants manager John Joseph McGraw shown wearing his cap, distinguished from the alternate bareheaded "portrait, no cap" pose that runs alongside it in the set. The subject is McGraw (1873–1934), the former Baltimore Orioles third baseman who had taken over the Giants in 1902 and was on his way to a 31-year managing tenure that produced ten National League pennants and three World Series titles. He batted left and threw right as a player, stood 5'7", and ran his clubs from the bench with the same bare-knuckle aggression that had marked his playing days with the rough 1890s Orioles. By 1909 he was no longer in uniform as an active player but remained one of the most photographed figures in the game. McGraw died February 25, 1934 in New Rochelle, New York, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1937 in the second class, one year after the inaugural five.