Polo Grounds

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Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds press photo.jpg
Location Flushing, Queens, New York
Opened April 19, 1890
Closed December 14, 1963
Demolished April 10, 1964
Other Names Brush Stadium (1911-19)
Brotherhood Park (adjacent to Polo Grounds II, 1890)
Tenants New York Jets (1960-63)
New York Mets (1962-63)
New York Giants (MLB) (1890-1957)
New York Giants (1925-55)
Fordham Rams (1928-50, 1953-54)
New York Bulldogs (NFL) (1949)
Columbia Lions (1900-22)
New York Yankees (1913-22)

The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the sport of polo. Bound on the south and north by 110th and 112th Streets and on the east and west by Fifth and Sixth (Lenox) Avenues, just north of Central Park, it was converted to a baseball stadium when leased by the New York Metropolitans in 1880. The third Polo Grounds, built in 1890, was renovated after a fire in 1911 and became Polo Grounds IV. The fourth Polo Grounds is the one generally indicated when the Polo Grounds is referenced. It was located in Coogan's Hollow and was noted for its distinctive bathtub shape, very short distances to the left and right field walls, and an unusually deep center field.

In baseball, the original Polo Grounds was home to the New York Metropolitans from 1880 through 1885, and the New York Giants from 1883 through 1888. The Giants played in the second Polo Grounds for part of the 1889 season and all of the 1890 season, and at the third and fourth Polo Grounds from 1891 through 1957. The Polo Grounds was also the home field of the New York Yankees from 1913 through 1922 and the New York Mets in their first two seasons in 1962 and 1963. Each of the four versions of the ballpark held at least one World Series. The fourth version also hosted the 1934 and 1942 Major League Baseball All-Star Games.

In American football, the third Polo Grounds was home to the New York Brickley Giants for one game in 1921 and the New York Giants from 1925 to 1955. The New York Jets of the American Football League played at the stadium from the league's inaugural season of 1960 through 1963.

Other sporting events held at the Polo Grounds included soccer, boxing, and Gaelic football. The last sporting event at the Polo Grounds was a football game between the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills on December 14, 1963. Shea Stadium opened in 1964 and replaced the Polo Grounds as the home of the Mets and Jets. The Polo Grounds was demolished over a period of four months that year and a public housing complex, known as the Polo Grounds Towers, was built on the site.

Teams and Seasons

Season Team League
1905 New York Giants Major League Baseball
1927 New York Giants National Football League

List of credited publications

League Date/Season Team(s) Type
Major League Baseball 1910 New York Giants Program
1921 New York Yankees Program
1922 World Series (New York Giants vs. New York Yankees) Program
National Football League November 22, 1925 New York Giants vs. Kansas City Cowboys Program
December 6, 1925 New York Giants vs. Chicago Bears Program
October 17, 1926 New York Giants vs. Frankford Yellow Jackets Program
October 24, 1926 New York Giants vs. Kansas City Cowboys Program
November 21, 1926 New York Giants vs. Providence Steam Roller Program
November 4, 1928 New York Giants vs. Frankford Yellow Jackets Program
October 26, 1930 New York Giants vs. Providence Steam Roller Program
November 2, 1930 New York Giants vs. Staten Island Stapletons Program
October 23, 1932 New York Giants vs. Boston Braves Program
November 19, 1933 New York Giants vs. Chicago Bears Program
Major League Baseball 1935 New York Giants Program
1936 New York Giants Program
National Football League October 25, 1936 New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Program
November 1, 1936 New York Giants vs. Detroit Lions Program
October 17, 1937 New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Program
October 16, 1938 New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Program
December 11, 1938 New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers Program
October 15, 1939 New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Program
October 12, 1941 New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Program
October 29, 1944 New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Program
November 10, 1946 New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Program
November 26, 1950 New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Program
Major League Baseball 1951 New York Giants Program
National Football League October 21, 1951 New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Program
October 26, 1952 New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Program
November 29, 1953 New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Program
November 14, 1954 New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles Program
October 30, 1955 New York Giants vs. Washington Redskins Program
Boxing June 20, 1960 Ingemar Johansson vs. Floyd Patterson Program
American Football League November 2, 1963 New York Jets vs. San Diego Chargers Program
December 14, 1963 New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills Program

See also

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American Football League
Eastern Division Boston Patriots • Buffalo Bills • Houston Oilers • Miami Dolphins • New York Jets
Western Division Cincinnati Bengals • Denver Broncos • Kansas City Chiefs • San Diego Chargers • Oakland Raiders
Seasons 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969
Venues Alumni Stadium • Astrodome • Balboa Stadium • Candlestick Park • Cotton Bowl • DU Stadium • Fenway Park • Frank Youell Field • Jeppesen Stadium • Kezar Stadium • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Mile High Stadium • Municipal Stadium • Nickerson Field • Nippert Stadium • Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum • Orange Bowl • Polo Grounds • Rice Stadium • San Diego Stadium • Shea Stadium • War Memorial Stadium
Related All-Star Games • League publications • National Football League