TEAM HISTORY
The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New York Gothams, and renamed three years later the New York Giants, the team eventually moved to San Francisco in 1958.
The franchise is one of the oldest and most successful in professional baseball, with more wins than any team in the history of major American sports. The team was the first major-league organization based in New York City, most memorably playing home games at several iterations of the Polo Grounds. The Giants have played in the World Series 20 times, an NL record. In 2014, the Giants won their then-record twenty-third National League pennant; this mark has since been equaled and then eclipsed by the rival Dodgers, who as of 2020 lay claim to 24 NL crowns. The Giants' eight World Series championships are second-most in the NL and fifth-most of any franchise.
The franchise won 14 pennants and five World Series championships while in New York, led by managers John McGraw, Bill Terry, and Leo Durocher. New York-era star players including Christy Mathewson, Carl Hubbell, Mel Ott, and Willie Mays join 63 other Giants in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the most of any franchise. The Giants' rivalry with the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the longest-standing and most famed rivalries in American sports, began in New York and continued when both teams relocated to the West Coast in 1958.
Despite the efforts of Mays and Barry Bonds, regarded as two of baseball's all-time best players, the Giants endured a 56-year championships drought following the move west, a stretch that included three World Series losses. The streak ended in 2010, which was followed by additional championships in 2012 and 2014, making the Giants the second team in NL history to win three championships in five years.
