They Sure Were Still in the League
On January 24, 1934, Terry was asked his feelings about the upcoming season by the New York Herald Tribune. The outspoken Terry stated he thought that Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Chicago would be the teams the Giants would have to beat. When the reporter asked Terry if he feared Brooklyn, Terry replied "I was just wondering whether they were still in the league."
The response was not met with favor in Brooklyn. It was not wise to start up with Brooklyn. With two games left in the season, New York led St. Louis by one game while Brooklyn had been out of it for most of the season.
September 27 was a day off for the Giants but the Cardinals beat the Reds to pull within ½ game of the Giants. The teams were tied in the loss column but the Giants had played and won one more game. The Giants were again off on September 28 and the Cardinals again beat the Reds to gain a tie for first place.
Brooklyn visited the Polo Grounds on the last two days of the season while the Cardinals continued their series at home against the Reds.
September 30, 1934 was a rainy day in New York. Much doubt existed with respect to whether or not the game would be played. About 3,000 fans, most of them apparently Brooklyn fans seeking revenge, were camped out at the Polo Grounds at 12:30 P.M., hoping to see a game. The gates opened at 2 P.M and about 12,000 of what would eventually become a crowd of 14,000 got into the ball park.
Brooklyn fans were the majority in the Polo Grounds' lower stands, ranging from third base around to the Brooklyn dugout, where one could find Brooklyn manager Charles Dillon Stengel, who would make his mark in another of New York City's boroughs a few years later. Before the game started, Stengel received a telegram containing fifty signatures. The message was simply "You'll win the undying gratitude of Brooklyn fans if you knock Bill Terry and his Giants flat on their backs."
Stengel read the telegram aloud and shouted, "This calls for a special meeting." He asked the reporters to leave the clubhouse, held his meeting, the rain let up, the game was played, and Brooklyn fans had some revenge. In St.Louis, Paul Dean won his nineteenth game as the Cardinals defeated the Reds to gain sole possession
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