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- #1. The Last Best Of Nine Series
- #2. The First Subway Series
- #3. First Time A World Series Was Broadcast On The Radio
- #4. This Would Be The Last Appearance In A World Series By Christy Mathewson
- #5. Babe Ruth Was Hurt In Game 5
- #6. The Giants Made A Big Comeback In Game 6 and Never Looked Back
- #7 Baseball Attendance Rebounded
#1. The Last Best Of Nine Series
The 1921 World Series would be the last of the experimental best of nine World Series. They started the format in the 1919 World Series and continued it in the 1920 World Series.
The format was also done in the very first World Series in 1903.
The World Series would shift back to the best-of-seven format the following year and remains that way.
#2. The First Subway Series
This would be the first Subway Series in New York history as the New York Giants played the New York Yankees. The Subway series has occurred 14 times in the history of the World Series.
This would be the first of many appearances for the Yankees but was the fifth appearance for John McGraw and the New York Giants.
Every game would be played at the same stadium, The Polo Grounds, as the Yankees leased the stadium from the Giants. This would be the first time in history and would happen again in 1944 and 2020.
#3. First Time A World Series Was Broadcast On The Radio
It was also the first World Series to be broadcast on radio, with Grantland Rice covering the games live through Pittsburgh's KDKA.
It was a rebroadcast on WBZ in Massachusetts. Announcer Tommy Cowan also recreated the games over Westinghouse-owned WJZ in Newark as he listened to phoned-in reports from the stadium
#4. This Would Be The Last Appearance In A World Series By Christy Mathewson
Christy Mathewson was a New York legend. He had one of the greatest pitching performances in the 1905 World Series as a young man, and his last appearance in the World Series as a player was the 1913 World Series.
He was then traded to the Cincinnati Reds in the 1916 season and would retire by 1917. He would eventually become a manager for the Giants and participate in that capacity during the 1921 World Series.
At this time, Mathewson had been gassed while training for World War 1. He developed tuberculosis and would not live much longer after this World Series.
#5. Babe Ruth Was Hurt In Game 5
Because of an infected arm and a bad knee (which he wrenched in Game 5), Babe Ruth did not start the final three games.
The New York Giants would go on to take the last three games and win the series.
Babe would come into game 8 as a pinch hitter but was not effective.
It was an unfortunate World Series for Babe Ruth. He had changed the game in 1921 when he crushed 59 home runs, which were more home runs hit than most teams hit for the season, but had to sit half the World Series out.
#6. The Giants Made A Big Comeback In Game 6 and Never Looked Back
The Yankees had taken a 3 - 2 series lead in Game 5, and in Game 6, they came out and took a 3 - 0 lead and then a 5 - 3 lead that would quickly evaporate.
The Giants rallied in the 4th inning and scored four runs and then followed it up with an insurance run in the 6th while holding the Yankees scoreless the rest of the game.
This would be the best opportunity the Yankees had to win another game, which would have put them up 4 - 2 in the series and possibly would've given Ruth a chance to make more of an impact in Game 9.
That would not be the case as the Giants won Game 6 and proceeded to take the next two.
#7 Baseball Attendance Rebounded
After the 1919 Black Sox scandal, baseball saw some hard times; attendance dropped, and the game's reputation was in the gutter.
However, the 1921 World Series saw a strong showing and averaged 2nd most attendance per game (1916 remained number 1 for average attendance) and, due to the nine-game format, would have the highest total attendance of any World Series.
This can be credited to Babe Ruth's rise in popularity and that the two teams were from the same city and played in the same ballpark.