On this day, Aug. 19, in 1917, New York Giants baseball manager John McGraw and Cincinnati Reds manager Christy Mathewson were arrested for violating a New York law prohibiting games on Sunday after they hosted a benefit game for American troops.
The managers moved up the date of their teams’ game to raise money and to entertain the 2,100 troops before they left for France during the leadup to World War I.
McGraw and Mathewson were called to court two days after the game, but the charges against them were quickly dismissed by Magistrate Frank McQuade‚ who instead praised them.
McQuade‚ a rabid Giants fan‚ later became part owner of the Giants. – Scott McCabe
