The Giants were originally from New York City. There they were called the New York Giants. They played their games in several stadiums called the Polo Grounds. They were a very good team in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Under John McGraw, the Giants won the 1905, 1921 and 1922 World Series. At that time, some of their players were Christy Mathewson and Bill Terry. Olympic gold medalist Jim Thorpe also briefly played for the team. By the 1950s, the Polo Grounds were old, and the Giants wanted a new stadium. Since they could not get one in New York, they moved to San Francisco.