John McGraw was a hard-nosed ballplayer in the years before the turn of the century, and although he batted a nice .334 lifetime, it is his second career as the manager of the New York Giants that he will be forever remembered for. Beginning in 1900, McGraw led the Giants from a second-rate ballclub to the most successful sports franchise of the Deadball era. From 1902 to his retirement in 1932, McGraw won ten pennants and three World Championships. At the time this photograph was taken, McGraw was in the midst of a winning three consecutive National League pennants with a ballclub that featured future Hall of Famer pitchers Christy Mathewson and Rube Marquard. This Type 1 photograph depicts McGraw warming up his players before a game at the Polo Grounds. The photo beautifully captures the afternoon crowd and the period advertising along the outfield walls. This Type 1 photo has been printed to its edges. It shows great warm toning from age with some edge wear present along with some surface scuffs. The reverse carries the Paul Thompson credit stamp along with one from The Ring magazine. “McGraw – NY Nat” handwritten in pencil and there is some glue residue from production use present. The photo has been encapsulated and graded a Type 1 by PSA.