San Francisco Giants: Top 30 players of all-time

NY/SF Giants best players all-time: No. 15-George Davis

45.3 WAR

George Davis had a very solid career spanning two decades (with two stints as a New York Giant).

Davis was actually traded from the Cleveland Spiders to the New York Giants for Buck Ewing in 1893, who is also in the top 30 list.

In his first season with the Giants, he took advantage of the pitcher’s mound being moved back to its current length of 60 feet, 6 inches. He hit .355 and also set career highs in home runs with 11 and triples with 27.

Davis was like a folk hero and it was really interesting researching him, especially when I saw what he did on April 26, 1900. The story goes: on his way to practice at the Polo Grounds, Davis and two other teammates found a big fire in a burning building. The three players ran into the building and then rescued a child and two women.

Davis didn’t want to take much of the credit saying, “I didn’t do much. I just went up the ladder the same as the rest of the boys and helped to carry down women and children…I didn’t do half as much as Grady and Gleason [the other two teammates there].”