John McGraw

"John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934), nicknamed 'Little Napoleon' and 'Muggsy,' was a Major League Baseball player and long-time manager of the New York Giants. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937. Much-lauded as a player, McGraw was one of the standard-bearers of dead-ball era major league baseball. Known for having fists as quick as his temper, McGraw used every advantage he could get as both a player and manager. He took full advantage of baseball's initial structure that only provided for one umpire, becoming notorious for tripping, blocking and impeding a baserunner in any way he could while the umpire was distracted by the flight of the ball. His profligacy in employing such tactics may have led to additional umpires being assigned to monitor the basepaths."
Wikipedia

"John McGraw was perhaps the National League's most influential figure in the Deadball Era. From 1902 to 1932 he led the New York Giants to 10 NL pennants, three World Series championships, and 21 first- or second-place finishes in 29 full seasons at their helm. His 2,784 managerial victories are second only to Connie Mack's 3,731, but in 1927 Mack himself proclaimed, 'There has been only one manager--and his name is McGraw.' The pugnacious McGraw's impact on the game, moreover, was even greater than his record suggests. As a player he helped develop "inside baseball," which put a premium on strategy and guile, and later managed like he'd played, seeking out every advantage for his Giants."
SABR

When The Yankees Beat The Giants In The 1923 Series, A New Era Began
"In 1912 the New York baseball club in the American League was a sorry operation indeed. Known as the Highlanders, they played in rickety, wooden Hilltop Park at Broadway and 165th Street and finished last in the league that year. A few blocks away, John J. McGraw's New York Giants were the most famous team in baseball—the most feared, the most loved, the most envied, the most imitated. They were also the incarnation of McGraw's vision of the game: 'Inside baseball,' he called it, 'scientific baseball,' a shrewd amalgam of bunts, steals, sacrifices, platoons and strategies. Play for a run or two, then make them stand up. This was the august old game—refined and purified, to be sure—played the way it had been since Grandpa's time. But McGraw had elevated it to an art form, and the Giants became the team to contend with."
SI

John McGraw's Trouble at The Lambs: Part I
"... Despite this, he was well liked and held in high esteem, particularly throughout his career in New York. While aggression and grit were considered positive attributes in baseball, particularly in the early days of the game, McGraw often took things too far. One such event happened in 1920, and actually had nothing to with baseball. It was the result of an argument over whether Brits or Americans made better stage actors. Despite such an inconsequential topic, it greatly embarrassed McGraw, and endangered his standing in New York and baseball. Around 7:45 a.m. on Sunday, August 8th, McGraw arrived at his 109th West Street apartment in a cab, having come from The Lambs, a private club known for its patronage of the theatre and high class clientele."
The Baseball Historian - Part I, Part II

YouTube: John McGraw and Christy Mathewson