THE POLO GROUNDS New York City, New York

The Polo Grounds opened in 1880 to major league baseball.    It was the home of the New York Giants. It was used by Major League Baseball's New York Giants from 1883 until 1957, New York Metropolitans from 1883 until 1885, the New York Yankees from 1912 until 1922, and by the New York Mets in their first two seasons of 1962 and 1963. It also hosted the 1934 and 1942 Major League Baseball All-Star Games.

 1900

The original Polo Grounds was built in the 1870s for the sport of polo, thus accounting for its name. It was the only one of the four structures that was actually used for polo. The field was originally referred to in newspapers simply as "the polo grounds", and over time this generic designation became a proper name. It was converted to a baseball stadium when leased by the New York Metropolitans in 1880. The stadium was used jointly by the Giants and Metropolitans from 1883 until 1885, and the name stuck for each subsequent stadium of the Giants. The fourth and final Polo Grounds, which the Giants used until they moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season, and which the Mets used until Shea Stadium was completed in 1964, was the most famous, and is the one most people mean when they refer to the Polo Grounds. The name "Polo Grounds" did not actually appear prominently on any of the stadiums, until the Mets posted it with a large sign in 1962.

1905

1910

1910

The park was noted for its distinctive bathtub shape, with very short distances to the left and right field walls, but an unusually deep center field. 

 1922 - Capacity 34,000 1923 - Capacity 56,000

 1923

Left field also had an upper deck ("the short porch") which extended out over the field (after its 1923 extension), reducing the distance from 279 feet (85 meters) to about 250 feet (76 meters). That meant it was technically rather difficult to hit a home run into the lower deck of the left field stands, unless it was a line drive such as Bobby Thomson's famous home run in 1951.

 1950

No player ever hit a fly ball that reached the 483-foot (147-meter) distant center-field wall, which fronted a part of the clubhouse which overhung the field. Given that overhang, it was not inherently clear what the actual "home run line" would have been in straightaway center. Some sources listed the center field distance as 505, which suggests that was where the true home run line would have been, at the back of the clubhouse overhang. But if there were any ground rules governing such a situation, they never had to be applied.

 1950

Contrasting with the short distances down the lines were the 450-some foot distances in the gaps, with straightaway center field 483 feet distant from home plate; the catch that Willie Mays made in the 1954 World Series against the Cleveland Indians would likely have been a home run in almost any other ballpark of the time. The bullpens were actually in play, in the left and right center field gaps. The outfield sloped downward from the infield, and people in the dugouts often could only see the top half of the outfielders.

 Willie Mays "Basket" Catch 1954

Polo Grounds changed very little during the rest of its tenure as a baseball stadium. The Giants along with the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to California after the 1957 season. The last Giants game at Polo Grounds was on September 29, 1957. However, Polo Grounds was not demolished. Major League Baseball expanded and awarded a new baseball team to New York. After $250,000 was spent renovating the stadium, the New York Mets moved into Polo Grounds for the 1962 and 1963 seasons while their new ballpark, Shea Stadium was built. The final game ever at Polo Grounds was on September 18, 1963.

Demolition of the Polo Grounds began in April of that year with the same wrecking ball that had been used four years earlier on Ebbets Field. The wrecking crew wore Giants jerseys and tipped their hard hats to the historic stadium as they began the dismantling. It took a crew of 60 workers more than four months to level the structure.

Memorable Moments:

1908	September 23: The infamous "Merkle Boner" base running gaffe changes a Giants win to a tie versus the Cubs. The game will be replayed if it has a bearing on the pennant race.
1908	October 8: Mordecai Brown and the Cubs beat the Giants in a one game playoff 4-2 to give the Cubs the National League championship. This game stemmed from the "Merkle Boner" 2 weeks earlier
1920	August 16: The only on-field fatality in baseball history happens here when Carl Mays' pitch beans Ray Chapman in the head.
1934	July 10: Site where Carl Hubbell fanned Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Simmons and Cronin in succession in the All Star Game.
1940	May 24: First night game here sees the Giants beat the Braves 8-1.
1945	August 1: Mel Ott smashes his 500th homer.
1951	October 3: Bobby Thomson's infamous "Shot heard 'round the world" gives the Giants the National League pennant.
1954	September 29: Willie Mays makes the most memorable catch in World Series history. With his back to home plate, he makes an over the shoulder catch in center on a drive by the Indians Vic Wertz. The catch prevented two runners from scoring, instead none scored.
1963	September 18: The curtain closes on the historic park in front of only 1,752 fans. The Phillies beat the Mets 5-1. The Mets Jim Hickman hits the parks last home run.   Four sluggers have put a ball over the center field wall in the Polo Grounds (Version IV). Those sluggers are Luke Easter of the Negro Leagues in 1948; Joe Adcock on April 29, 1953; Lou Brock on June 17, 1962; and Hank Aaron on June 18, 1962.