View source for Francis Xavier McQuade

{{short description|American judge}}
{{Infobox person | name =Francis Xavier McQuade | image =File:Francis Xavier McQuade in 1917.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1878|08|11}} | birth_place =[[Staten Island, New York]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1955|4|6|1878|8|11}} | death_place =[[Manhattan, New York City]] | death_cause = | other_names =Francis X. McQuade <br>F. X. McQuade| known_for = [[Sunday baseball games]]| education = | occupation = | spouse =Lucille M. Khrone | partner = | children = | parents =Arthur J. McQuade<br>Ellen E. Tuite | relatives = }}
'''Francis Xavier McQuade''' (August 11, 1878 – April 6, 1955) was a New York City judge.  In 1917 he advocated for allowing [[Sunday baseball games]] in New York in defiance of existing New York state [[blue laws]]. In 1919 he became one of the owners of the [[San Francisco Giants|New York Giants]] with [[Charles Abraham Stoneham]].<ref name=obit/><!--Lucille M. Khrone-->
==Biography==
He was born on [[Staten Island, New York]], on August 11, 1878, to Arthur J. McQuade and Ellen E. Tuite.<ref name=obit/>
In 1917 the [[San Francisco Giants|New York Giants]] and [[Cincinnati Reds]] played their first Sunday game at the [[Polo Grounds]] in [[Manhattan]]. After the game both managers, [[John McGraw]] and [[Christy Mathewson]], were arrested for violating New York state [[blue laws]]. McQuade presided over the case and found them [[Not guilty (plea)|not guilty]] and wrote: "In my opinion there was no infraction of any statute."<ref>{{cite news |title=Baseball Men Exonerated. Magistrate McQuade Commends Managers for Sunday Game  |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/08/22/102641572.pdf |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=August 22, 1917 |access-date=2015-09-02 }}</ref> In 1919 he became part-owner of the [[San Francisco Giants|New York Giants]] when [[Charles Stoneham]] bought the team.<ref name=obit/> As part of the deal, Stoneham took on McQuade and longtime manager [[John McGraw]] as partners, with McQuade becoming treasurer. According to some sources, McQuade was responsible for introducing McGraw to Stoneham after McGraw got wind that the heirs of late owner [[John T. Brush]] wanted out of baseball.<ref name=SABR>{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/node/41118|title=Frank McQuade|author1=Bill Lamb|publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]]|date=2017}}</ref>
McQuade was abruptly fired in 1928, ostensibly to resolve strife between the business and baseball sides of the Giants franchise. In 1930, McQuade sued Stoneham, seeking reinstatement to his post and damages for an ouster he claimed was unlawful. A court awarded McQuade $43,000 in damages. While the court refused to reinstate him as club treasurer, it cleared the way for McQuade to take the Giants back to court if he wasn't reinstated voluntarily. However, the [[New York Court of Appeals]] overturned the judgment, pointing out that McQuade could not legally serve as treasurer due to a state law forbidding municipal judges from holding ''any'' other paying job.<ref name=SABR/>
He died on April 6, 1955, in [[Manhattan, New York City]], at the age of 78.<ref name=obit>{{cite news |title=McQuade, Ex-Magistrate. Sponsor of Legal Baseball on Sunday Dies at 78. Once Part Owner of Giants |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1955/04/07/archives/mmsmqume-anexmagistrate-sponsor-of-legal-baseball-on-sunday-dies-at.html |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=April 7, 1955 |access-date=2015-09-02 }}</ref>
==References==
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[[Category:1878 births]]
[[Category:1955 deaths]]
[[Category:Municipal judges in the United States]]
[[Category:New York Giants (baseball) owners]]
[[Category:People from Staten Island]]
[[Category:20th-century American judges]]