The San Francisco Giants just won their first World Series since 1954.
Their previous championship seasons had left various memories, such as John McGraw refusing to play the Boston Americans in 1904 and presiding over their next three championships until handing over the reins to Bill Terry in the 1933 championship expedition.
And of course, who could forget the underdog Giants in the 1954 World Series and Willie Mays’ dramatic over-the-shoulder catch leading to a sweep of the Indians?
This World Series, however, will have a different legacy.
No, it’s not that it is the first title to come to San Fransisco since the team arrived in 1952. It’s not even that it’s two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum’s first ring.
No, this one will have a much more profound meaning in history.
The legacy of this series will be, of course, Brian Wilson’s beard.
This is a great moment in baseball facial hair history, of which there have been many in its storied past.
The annals of Cooperstown are littered with Grizzly Adams-style full beards, Fu Manchus, handlebars, mutton chops, chinstraps, soul patches, goatees, pencil-thins, Marios and an endless array of five o’clock shadows.
Here are the top 10 facial-hair-having champions in baseball’s storied past.