| • Former New York ballparks • Polo Grounds Also known as Brush Stadium (1911 to 1919) New York, New York |
Tenants: New York Giants (NL 1911-57); New York Yankees (AL 1913-22); New York football Giants (NFL 1925-55);
New York Mets (NL 1962-63); New York Titans/Jets (AFL 1960-63); New York Cubans (Negro American/National
Leagues 1940-48)
First National League game: June 28, 1911
First NFL game: October 11, 1925
Last NFL game: December, 1955
Last Giants game: September 29, 1957
First AFL game: September 11, 1960
Last National League game: September 18, 1963
Last AFL game: December, 1963
Demolition begins: April 10, 1964
Architects: Henry B. Herts and Osborn Engineering (1912)
Owner: New York Giants
Seating Capacity: 16,000 (Jun. 1911); 34,000 (Sept. 1911); 54,555 (Final)
AKA: Brush Stadium (1911 to 1919)
Nicknames: Coogan’s Bluff, Coogan’s Hollow, the Harlem Horseshoe.
Dimensions:
LF foul line: 277 ft. (1911), 286 ft. (1921), 279 ft. (1930)
Left center, left of bullpen: 447 ft.
Left center, right of bullpen: 455 ft.
Front of clubhouse steps: 460 ft.
Center field: 433 ft. (1911), 483 ft. (1923), 475 ft. (1962)
Right center, left of bullpen: 449 ft.
Right center, right of bullpen: 440 ft.
RF foul line: 256 ft. (1921), 258 ft. (1923)
Height of Fences (1923-63)
Left field: 17 ft.
Left-center: 18 ft.
Left-center grandstand corner at bleachers: 12 ft.
Center-field bleachers: 8.5 ft. (4.25 ft. wire on top of 4.25 ft. concrete)
Center-field clubhouse: 60 ft.
Center field, top of Longines Clock: 80 ft.
Center field clubhouse overhang: 8 ft.
Center field, top of Eddie Grant Memorial: 5 ft.
Right-center: 12 ft.
RF foul line: 11 ft.
Hosted All-Star Game: 1934, 1942
Hosted World Series: 1905*, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954
*Played at original Coogan's Hollow Polo Grounds
New York Mets (NL 1962-63); New York Titans/Jets (AFL 1960-63); New York Cubans (Negro American/National
Leagues 1940-48)
First National League game: June 28, 1911
First NFL game: October 11, 1925
Last NFL game: December, 1955
Last Giants game: September 29, 1957
First AFL game: September 11, 1960
Last National League game: September 18, 1963
Last AFL game: December, 1963
Demolition begins: April 10, 1964
Architects: Henry B. Herts and Osborn Engineering (1912)
Owner: New York Giants
Seating Capacity: 16,000 (Jun. 1911); 34,000 (Sept. 1911); 54,555 (Final)
AKA: Brush Stadium (1911 to 1919)
Nicknames: Coogan’s Bluff, Coogan’s Hollow, the Harlem Horseshoe.
Dimensions:
LF foul line: 277 ft. (1911), 286 ft. (1921), 279 ft. (1930)
Left center, left of bullpen: 447 ft.
Left center, right of bullpen: 455 ft.
Front of clubhouse steps: 460 ft.
Center field: 433 ft. (1911), 483 ft. (1923), 475 ft. (1962)
Right center, left of bullpen: 449 ft.
Right center, right of bullpen: 440 ft.
RF foul line: 256 ft. (1921), 258 ft. (1923)
Height of Fences (1923-63)
Left field: 17 ft.
Left-center: 18 ft.
Left-center grandstand corner at bleachers: 12 ft.
Center-field bleachers: 8.5 ft. (4.25 ft. wire on top of 4.25 ft. concrete)
Center-field clubhouse: 60 ft.
Center field, top of Longines Clock: 80 ft.
Center field clubhouse overhang: 8 ft.
Center field, top of Eddie Grant Memorial: 5 ft.
Right-center: 12 ft.
RF foul line: 11 ft.
Hosted All-Star Game: 1934, 1942
Hosted World Series: 1905*, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954
*Played at original Coogan's Hollow Polo Grounds
Recommended Reading List
Click on titles for more info
Land of the Giants: New York's Polo Grounds
Stew Thornley
Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Guide to Baseball Parks Past & Present
by Josh Leventhal, Jessica M. Macmurray
The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip
by Joshua Pahigian, Kevin O'Connell
Fodor's Baseball Vacations: Great Family Trips to Minor League and Classic Major
League Ballparks Across America
by Bruce Adams
America's Ballparks
by Kenneth Hogan
Ballparks of North America: A Comprehensive Historical Reference to Baseball Grounds,
Yards and Stadiums, 1845 to Present
by Michael Benson
Storied Stadiums: Baseball's History Through Its Ballparks
by Curt Smith
Click on titles for more info
Land of the Giants: New York's Polo Grounds
Stew Thornley
Take Me Out to the Ballpark: An Illustrated Guide to Baseball Parks Past & Present
by Josh Leventhal, Jessica M. Macmurray
The Ultimate Baseball Road-Trip
by Joshua Pahigian, Kevin O'Connell
Fodor's Baseball Vacations: Great Family Trips to Minor League and Classic Major
League Ballparks Across America
by Bruce Adams
America's Ballparks
by Kenneth Hogan
Ballparks of North America: A Comprehensive Historical Reference to Baseball Grounds,
Yards and Stadiums, 1845 to Present
by Michael Benson
Storied Stadiums: Baseball's History Through Its Ballparks
by Curt Smith
| Home Page - Table of Contents - Feedback © mmv ballparktour.com |
| A photo of the original wooden Polo Grounds during the 1905 World Series (Top). A photo of the newly rebuilt Polo Grounds in 1911 (above). In the winter of 1922-23, the ornate, concrete double decks--as seen in this photo, were extended all the way to either side of the new concrete bleachers in center, housing the clubhouse. Unfortunately, the beautiful Roman Coliseum facade frescoes were removed as well. Robbing the Polo Grounds of much of its original beauty. -- ------------------------ -- Notes, Facts & Features Ornate Coats of arms of all National League teams were designed and displayed on the facade of the roof until they were removed under the Stoneham ownership in the 1920's Largest ever crowd: 60,747 - Giants vs. Dodgers, May 31, 1937 Left field in the Polo Grounds was 21 feet longer than right field because the lower deck on that side was significantly shallower than on the right side lower deck, with about ten fewer rows of seats. In contrast, the distances from home plate to the edges of the upper deck in right and left field were virtually identical. In right field the front edge of the upper and lower decks were vertically aligned, but in left field the upper deck hung out about 15 feet in front of the outfield wall, meaning that a high-trajectory pop fly might land in the upper deck for a home run. The second-floor clubhouse hung about ten feet over the center field wall, where there was a monument to Edward Grant, a Giants player who was killed in World War I. Along the sides of that "nook" were stairways leading up to each team's locker rooms. Dedicated on May 30, 1921, to a former Giants player killed in World War I, the Eddie Grant Memorial stood in center at the base of the clubhouse wall. It was 5 feet high. The Memorial reads: In Memory of Capt. Edward Leslie Grant / 307th Infantry-77th Division / A.E.F. / Soldier- Scholar-Athlete / Killed in action / Argonne Forest / October 5, 1918 / Philadelphia Nationals / 1907-1908-1909- 1910 / Cincinnati Reds / 1911-1912-1913 / New York Giants / 1913-1914-1915 / Erected by friends in Baseball, / Journalism, and the Service. Both teams' bullpens were in play in fair territory in the right and left center field corners. The outfield was slightly sunken. A manager, standing in his dugout, could see only the top half of his outfielders. At the wall, the field was 8 feet below the infield The left-field second-deck overhang meant that a homer to left was easier than a homer to right, even though the wall in left was 279 feet and the wall in right was 258. The overhang was 21 feet, but it effectively shortened the distance required for a pop-fly homer to the second deck in left to 250 feet because of the angle involved. The overhangs here and at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium and Philadelphia’s Shibe Park have more significance than one might suspect, according to research published by the American Physical Society, the professional society for physicists. The batted ball’s trajectory consists of two component vectors: horizontal and vertical. The vertical deceleration is constant over time because of gravity, but the horizontal deceleration increases over time because of wind resistance and atmospheric drag. Near the end of its flight, the ball comes down sharply rather than arcing down in the way that it arched up, as would occur in a vacuum. Therefore, many outfielders have watched helplessly as a ball they thought they could catch dropped into the second deck. The phrase "Hot Dog" was coined by NY Journal sports cartoonist Tad Dorgan when he couldn't remember how to spell the word "dachshund" in describing the "red hot dachshund sausages" served at a game here in April 1901 Home plate was moved out toward center several feet by the Mets in the winter of 1961-1962 The Polo Grounds Towers (four 30-story apartment buildings) now stand where the field used to be. Willie Mays Field (an asphalt playground with 6 basketball backboards) is where center field used to be; a brass historical marker notes the spot. More Memorable Moments: Fred Merkle's blunder occurred here on September 23, 1908, resulting in the infamous Cubs-Giants October 8, 1908 replay of the game. The Cubs protested on September 23rd that Harry McCormick should not have been allowed to score from third base because Fred Merkle, who was on first, had not touched second base on Al Bridwell's game-winning single to center. Umpire Han O'Day had witnessed infielder Johnny Evers recover the game ball and stand on second base to record a force-out. Late that night, O'Day upheld the Cubs' protest, and NL president Harry Pilliam upheld O'Day's ruling. The game became, in effect, a National League pennant playoff because the teams were tied and the season was over. An estimated 250,000 people showed up, but only about a fifth that many could get in because of the limited number of seats. Pandemonium ensued as a mob of irate fans tried to storm their way into the stadium. Most of the people were dispersed, but about 40,000 remained throughout the game and watched from Coogan's Bluff and from the tops of telephone poles, trees and subway platforms. A fireman by the name of Henry T. McBride fell from a pillar on the elevated train platform and was killed. Sept. 29, 1954 - In Game 1 of the World Series against the Indians, Willie Mays makes an amazing running, back-to- home-plate basket catch of Vic Wertz' drive (below). He then spins and throws the ball into the infield, preserving an eighth-inning tie. Dusty Rhodes hits a three-run homer in the 10th to win the game. The Giants win the series 4-0. Oct. 18, 1924 - In his story on the Notre Dame-Army football game, sportswriter Grantland Rice refers to Notre Dame backs Harry Stuhldreher, Elmer Layden, Jim Crowley and Don Miller as the "Four Horsemen." The nickname becomes one of the best known in sports history. May 6, 1915 - In the third inning of a game with the Yankees, 20-year-old Ace Red Sox pitcher, Babe Ruth, hits the first pitch from right-hander Jack Warhop for his first major league home run. Aug. 16, 1920 - Indians shortstop Ray Chapman becomes the only modern major leaguer to die after being hit by a pitch. Yankees pitcher Carl Mays hit Chapman in the temple with a screaming fastball. He died in a hostpital 12 hours later. -- ------------------------------------------------ -- |
The bathtub-shaped stadium in upper Manhattan looked like it was designed for football, or maybe polo. Actually,
it was designed exclusively for baseball right from the begining. This was actually the fifth incarnation of a field
named "Polo Grounds" in upper Manhattan. The first Polo Grounds was indeed a polo field at the northern edge of
Central Park owned by New York Herald publisher, James Gorden Bennett. In 1890 after the city decided to run a
street through the polo field property, Giants owner John Day moved his club to Manhattan Field at the corner of
8th Ave. and 155th Street. The following year saw yet another venue change as the Giants moved into the larger
ballpark that was left vacant after the Players League went out of business after the 1890 season. That park was
located in Coogan's Hollow, the last vestige of a farm granted by the King of England in the 17th century to John
Lion Gardiner. The property became the Coogan estate when a Gardiner decendant married James J. Coogan, an
upholsterer who was elected the first borough president in 1890. The stadium of 1891 accomodated 16,000 with
5,500 in the grandstand.
Twenty years later while the Giants were out of town, a watchman at a tower of the nearby elevated railroad
noticed flames shooting skyward from the grandstand. He sounded the alarm but it was too late. The entire
wooden double-decked stadium burned to the ground. The next morning club owner John T. Brush surveyed the
damage from his wheel-chair and asked his wife Elsie's permission to, "build a concrete stadium, the finest that can
be constructed." Elsie was agreeable to the idea and construction began quickly on the Major League's third
concrete-steel ballpark, following those in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
During construction, the Giants played at Hilltop Park (Below), home of the American League's Highlanders. By
the end of June back in Manhattan, 16,000 seats were ready and the Giants moved in to their new home. As by
now was tradition with every new place they moved into, they imediately christened it, the "Polo Grounds", even
though it had been 22 years since they played at an actual polo field. By the time the World Series was ready to
be played that fall, 34,000 permanent seats were available. However, a tradition with the old Polo Grounds was
virtually eliminated with the new park -- Fans who used to watch the games from atop Coogan's Bluff were now
screened out of a view of the playing field with the new stadium's higher profile (above right). But another
tradition continued. Despite naming the new ballpark after himself, Brush Stadium as it was officially called, just
never caught on with fans and players who continued to call it the Polo Grounds.
With the disappearance of the carriage trade, there was no longer a need for an open outfield area where local
swells and their ladies could park their carriages to watch games, so bleachers were constructed in the outfield
after the 1908 season.
In 1913, the American League Highlanders, who by then were known as the Yankees, moved in as tenants of the
Giants - staying there for ten years until the construction of Yankee Stadium. After the Yankees acquired Babe
Ruth from the Red Sox in 1919, they were quickly transformed into a powerhouse. The Giants and the Yankees
each won their respective pennants in 1921 and 1922, so both teams called the Polo Grounds home during those
World Series. Left-handed Babe Ruth loved the short distance to right field at the Polo Grounds, and he was the
first player ever to knock a ball over the right-field roof. Ruth's consistent pattern of pull-hit homers clearly
influenced the design of Yankee Stadium, which was built a stone's throw away, on the other side of the Harlem
River, in 1923.
it was designed exclusively for baseball right from the begining. This was actually the fifth incarnation of a field
named "Polo Grounds" in upper Manhattan. The first Polo Grounds was indeed a polo field at the northern edge of
Central Park owned by New York Herald publisher, James Gorden Bennett. In 1890 after the city decided to run a
street through the polo field property, Giants owner John Day moved his club to Manhattan Field at the corner of
8th Ave. and 155th Street. The following year saw yet another venue change as the Giants moved into the larger
ballpark that was left vacant after the Players League went out of business after the 1890 season. That park was
located in Coogan's Hollow, the last vestige of a farm granted by the King of England in the 17th century to John
Lion Gardiner. The property became the Coogan estate when a Gardiner decendant married James J. Coogan, an
upholsterer who was elected the first borough president in 1890. The stadium of 1891 accomodated 16,000 with
5,500 in the grandstand.
Twenty years later while the Giants were out of town, a watchman at a tower of the nearby elevated railroad
noticed flames shooting skyward from the grandstand. He sounded the alarm but it was too late. The entire
wooden double-decked stadium burned to the ground. The next morning club owner John T. Brush surveyed the
damage from his wheel-chair and asked his wife Elsie's permission to, "build a concrete stadium, the finest that can
be constructed." Elsie was agreeable to the idea and construction began quickly on the Major League's third
concrete-steel ballpark, following those in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
During construction, the Giants played at Hilltop Park (Below), home of the American League's Highlanders. By
the end of June back in Manhattan, 16,000 seats were ready and the Giants moved in to their new home. As by
now was tradition with every new place they moved into, they imediately christened it, the "Polo Grounds", even
though it had been 22 years since they played at an actual polo field. By the time the World Series was ready to
be played that fall, 34,000 permanent seats were available. However, a tradition with the old Polo Grounds was
virtually eliminated with the new park -- Fans who used to watch the games from atop Coogan's Bluff were now
screened out of a view of the playing field with the new stadium's higher profile (above right). But another
tradition continued. Despite naming the new ballpark after himself, Brush Stadium as it was officially called, just
never caught on with fans and players who continued to call it the Polo Grounds.
With the disappearance of the carriage trade, there was no longer a need for an open outfield area where local
swells and their ladies could park their carriages to watch games, so bleachers were constructed in the outfield
after the 1908 season.
In 1913, the American League Highlanders, who by then were known as the Yankees, moved in as tenants of the
Giants - staying there for ten years until the construction of Yankee Stadium. After the Yankees acquired Babe
Ruth from the Red Sox in 1919, they were quickly transformed into a powerhouse. The Giants and the Yankees
each won their respective pennants in 1921 and 1922, so both teams called the Polo Grounds home during those
World Series. Left-handed Babe Ruth loved the short distance to right field at the Polo Grounds, and he was the
first player ever to knock a ball over the right-field roof. Ruth's consistent pattern of pull-hit homers clearly
influenced the design of Yankee Stadium, which was built a stone's throw away, on the other side of the Harlem
River, in 1923.
Tenants: New York Highlanders (1903-1912) New York Giants (1911)
Opened: April 30, 1903
Closed: October 5, 1912
Demolished: 1914
Cost: $75,000
Dimensions:
LF foul line: 365 ft.
Center-field: 542 ft.
RF foul line: 400 ft.
Seating Capacity: 16,000
American League baseball came to New York in 1903 when a couple of bartenders, Frank Farrell and Big Bill Devery,
bought the Baltimore Orioles franchise for $18,000. They estasblished the team at Hilltop Park, a hastily
constructed wooden park seating about 15,000 fans on Broadway between 165th and 168th streets. $200,000 was
spent excavating the site that the ballpark was built on due to its rocky terrain. Opening Day came on April 30,
1903, when the New York Highlanders played the Washington Senators (The ballpark was originally known as
American League Park, but was renamed Hilltop Park soon after because the ballpark sat on high ground).
However, the ballpark was not in good condition when it opened. There was a swamp in right field that had yet
to be filled with rock, the outfield had no grass, the grandstand had not been completed, and players had to dress
at their hotel rooms because the clubhouse was not completed. When Hilltop Park was finally completed, a single
tier wooden covered grandstand extended from the third base dugout to homeplate, and around to the first base
dugout. Uncovered grandstands extended to both foul poles. From behind homeplate, fans could see scenic views
of the Hudson River and New Jersey Palisades. After Polo Grounds burnt down in 1911, the New York Giants moved
into Hilltop Park. The next year, the Highlanders moved into a rebuilt Polo Grounds along with the Giants, and
were renamed the Yankees. The last big league game played at Hilltop Park was on October 5, 1912. The park was
demolished in 1914. The site remained vacant until Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center opened in 1928.
Memorable moments:
One of the most amazing pitching performances of all time took place at Hilltop Park. On September 4, 1908, 20
year-old Walter Johnson shut out New York 3-0 with a five-hitter. The next day, Johnson blanked the home club,
6-0, on a three-hitter. The city's "blue law" prevented a game on Sunday, but on Monday, September 7, Senator
manager Joe Cantillon again gave Johnson the ball and unbelievably, the kid improved again, this time hurling a
TWO-hit, 4-0 victory, his third shutout in the space of four days!
May 15, 1912 - After being heckled for several innings, Detroit outfielder Ty Cobb leaped the fence and attacked
his tormentor. He was suspended indefinitely by league president Ban Johnson, but his suspension was eventually
reduced to 10 days and $50
Opened: April 30, 1903
Closed: October 5, 1912
Demolished: 1914
Cost: $75,000
Dimensions:
LF foul line: 365 ft.
Center-field: 542 ft.
RF foul line: 400 ft.
Seating Capacity: 16,000
American League baseball came to New York in 1903 when a couple of bartenders, Frank Farrell and Big Bill Devery,
bought the Baltimore Orioles franchise for $18,000. They estasblished the team at Hilltop Park, a hastily
constructed wooden park seating about 15,000 fans on Broadway between 165th and 168th streets. $200,000 was
spent excavating the site that the ballpark was built on due to its rocky terrain. Opening Day came on April 30,
1903, when the New York Highlanders played the Washington Senators (The ballpark was originally known as
American League Park, but was renamed Hilltop Park soon after because the ballpark sat on high ground).
However, the ballpark was not in good condition when it opened. There was a swamp in right field that had yet
to be filled with rock, the outfield had no grass, the grandstand had not been completed, and players had to dress
at their hotel rooms because the clubhouse was not completed. When Hilltop Park was finally completed, a single
tier wooden covered grandstand extended from the third base dugout to homeplate, and around to the first base
dugout. Uncovered grandstands extended to both foul poles. From behind homeplate, fans could see scenic views
of the Hudson River and New Jersey Palisades. After Polo Grounds burnt down in 1911, the New York Giants moved
into Hilltop Park. The next year, the Highlanders moved into a rebuilt Polo Grounds along with the Giants, and
were renamed the Yankees. The last big league game played at Hilltop Park was on October 5, 1912. The park was
demolished in 1914. The site remained vacant until Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center opened in 1928.
Memorable moments:
One of the most amazing pitching performances of all time took place at Hilltop Park. On September 4, 1908, 20
year-old Walter Johnson shut out New York 3-0 with a five-hitter. The next day, Johnson blanked the home club,
6-0, on a three-hitter. The city's "blue law" prevented a game on Sunday, but on Monday, September 7, Senator
manager Joe Cantillon again gave Johnson the ball and unbelievably, the kid improved again, this time hurling a
TWO-hit, 4-0 victory, his third shutout in the space of four days!
May 15, 1912 - After being heckled for several innings, Detroit outfielder Ty Cobb leaped the fence and attacked
his tormentor. He was suspended indefinitely by league president Ban Johnson, but his suspension was eventually
reduced to 10 days and $50
| "The Catch" -- September 29, 1954 -- ---------------------------------------------------- -- |
| The famous overhanging second deck. It wasn't uncommon for a routine fly ball to shallow left field to land in the upper deck--much to the frustration of the left fielder, who would've made an easy catch. This now-familiar double-decked section was constructed after the 1922 season, replacing the "traditional" bleachers that had previously ringed the outfield. -- ---------------------------------------------------- -- |
| 1909 saw the construction of outfield bleachers--replacing the open outfield which had allowed fans to park their horse-and-carriages or stand behind ropes to watch the games -- ---------------------------------------------------- -- |
| -- ---------------------------------------------------- -- Former New York ballparks Hilltop Park Formerly, American League Park Bronx, New York |
| The Polo grounds in the late 1950s (above) and in 1920 (below). |
| -- ---------------------------------------------------- -- |
From 1911-1954, the polo Grounds hosted 14 World Series, 2 All-Star Games and many other memorable moments,
including what many say was the most memorable moment in baseball history on October 3, 1951. In the last six
weeks of the season, the Giants had come from nowhere to catch the Brooklyn Dodgers and tie for first place at
the end of the season. The Dodgers leading 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth felt that they were just minutes away
from the Pennant that they thought they had sewn up in mid August. Alvin Dark ignited the Giants last-gasp effort
with an infield single. Don Mueller singled - sending Dark to third. Monte Irvin popped up, but the next batter,
Whitey Lockman doubled into the left-field corner, scoring Dark and sending Mueller to third.
Bobby Thomson was up next as Dodger skipper Charley Dressen yanked Don Newcombe and brought in Ralph
Branca. Branca's first pitch was a called strike. On the second pitch, Thomson smacked the ball into the lower
deck of the left-field grandstand to win the game, and the pennant for the Giants, 5-4 in a moment that would be
forever known as "the shot heard 'round the World".
The Polo Grounds would host its last World Series in 1954 and a mere three years later, would see the Giants
leave New York and the Polo Grounds behind. After 2 years of inactivity, the brand-new American Footbal
League's New York Franchise, dubbed the Titans, agreed to play their home games in the Polo Grounds starting in
1960. And in 1962, when National League Baseball returned to New York in the form of the Mets, The Polo
Grounds enjoyed a baseball rebirth. $250,000 in improvements restored the park to a playable condition until Shea
Stadium could be redied in 1964. For 2 seasons, Casey Stengel's Mets bumbled and stumbled where the Giants of
McGraw and Terry had performed with near flawlessness.
When the Mets and Jets moved out in 1963, the city's Board of Estimates voted to tear down the one-time palace
of baseball to make way for a 1,700 unit, low-income housing project - one of Robert Moses' trademark gifts to the
city.
including what many say was the most memorable moment in baseball history on October 3, 1951. In the last six
weeks of the season, the Giants had come from nowhere to catch the Brooklyn Dodgers and tie for first place at
the end of the season. The Dodgers leading 4-1 in the bottom of the ninth felt that they were just minutes away
from the Pennant that they thought they had sewn up in mid August. Alvin Dark ignited the Giants last-gasp effort
with an infield single. Don Mueller singled - sending Dark to third. Monte Irvin popped up, but the next batter,
Whitey Lockman doubled into the left-field corner, scoring Dark and sending Mueller to third.
Bobby Thomson was up next as Dodger skipper Charley Dressen yanked Don Newcombe and brought in Ralph
Branca. Branca's first pitch was a called strike. On the second pitch, Thomson smacked the ball into the lower
deck of the left-field grandstand to win the game, and the pennant for the Giants, 5-4 in a moment that would be
forever known as "the shot heard 'round the World".
The Polo Grounds would host its last World Series in 1954 and a mere three years later, would see the Giants
leave New York and the Polo Grounds behind. After 2 years of inactivity, the brand-new American Footbal
League's New York Franchise, dubbed the Titans, agreed to play their home games in the Polo Grounds starting in
1960. And in 1962, when National League Baseball returned to New York in the form of the Mets, The Polo
Grounds enjoyed a baseball rebirth. $250,000 in improvements restored the park to a playable condition until Shea
Stadium could be redied in 1964. For 2 seasons, Casey Stengel's Mets bumbled and stumbled where the Giants of
McGraw and Terry had performed with near flawlessness.
When the Mets and Jets moved out in 1963, the city's Board of Estimates voted to tear down the one-time palace
of baseball to make way for a 1,700 unit, low-income housing project - one of Robert Moses' trademark gifts to the
city.
| Construction of low-income housing projects rise next-door to the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan in the late 50s. After the demise of the ballpark in 1964, several more housing projects were constructed on the site that once hosted 14 World Series. -- ---------------------------------------------------- -- |
