The New York Giants Begin a 26-Game Winning Streak

On September 7, 1916, the New York Giants defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers 4-1 at the Polo Grounds. It was the first win in what became a 26-game winning streak, the longest in major league history. The Giants would not lose again until September 30, when the Boston Braves finally beat them.

John McGraw's team entered the streak two games under .500 and buried in the second division of the National League standings. The Giants were not contenders. Brooklyn and Philadelphia were fighting for the pennant, and New York was playing out the string. The streak changed nothing about the standings. The Giants made up nine games in the standings but still finished fourth, seven games behind the pennant-winning Dodgers.

The pitching staff carried the run. Ferdie Schupp, Pol Perritt, Rube Benton, and Jeff Tesreau rotated through the starting assignments and held opponents to small totals. The Giants scored consistently but not explosively, winning close games with reliable pitching and tight defense.

One peculiarity clouds the record. On September 18, the Giants and the Pittsburgh Pirates played to a 1-1 tie in a game called after eight innings due to darkness. Under modern rules, a tie would break a winning streak. At the time, ties were simply replayed and did not count in the standings. Major League Baseball has recognized the 26-game streak as the all-time record, with the tie noted but not treated as an interruption.

No team has matched the streak in more than a century of play. The 2002 Oakland Athletics won 20 consecutive games. The 2017 Cleveland Indians won 22 in a row. Both runs were celebrated as historic, and both fell short of what McGraw's Giants accomplished across 23 September days in 1916.