With 1958 being the Giants' first season on the west coast we are obviously looking at the '57 NEW YORK Giants, the final Polo Grounds version. The '58 club was much improved over the previous year when the Giants finished sixth in the NL. The addition of Rookie of the Year Orlando Cepeda was a huge boost to the line-up.
Bill Rigney was in his third season as manager and '58 was his first over .500 as the Giants went 80-74. Johnny Antonelli anchored the starting staff and was joined by a young Mike McCormick. Marv Grissom, at 40 the oldest pitcher on the roster, was the closer and had 11 saves.
The Giants spent much of the first half of the season in first place. They slipped back in mid-June, fought the Braves toe-to-toe through much of July and then, as August rolled around they folded their tent and dropped out of serious contention.
I'm not very fussy about checklists being marked. I figure most kids were like me back then. A checklist was for checking. This one had its marks erased at some point.
Willie Mays is the third from the left in the second row, right behind Monte Irvin. Those old team photos were fun. I like that they included the clubhouse custodian, the traveling secretary, and the trainer.
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