Polo Grounds [IV] / Brush Stadium (1911-1963)

**Lpeters199** · 05-21-2009, 04:09 AM

More from Getty.

**Lpeters199** · 05-21-2009, 04:12 AM

More Getty pics.

**Lpeters199** · 05-21-2009, 04:19 AM

More Getty pics.

**Lpeters199** · 05-21-2009, 04:22 AM

One more from Getty.

**mandrake** · 05-21-2009, 05:38 AM

What gets lost in history can be seen in these great photos. Most people don't realize that the Polo Grounds needed a quick renovation in order to be ready for the Mets. The pictures show no scoreboard down the 3rd base side, the dugout floors being rebuilt, etc. Since the Giants split in Sept of '57, the Polo Grounds was left to rot. The original home of the Mets was supposed to be Yankee Stadium, and MLB announced it in March of 1961. One week later, the Yanks said 'no thanks' so the Mets had to pour money into the PG. Funny how the Mets had to take the Yankees in just over a decade later.

Also ironic is the fact that the Giants had talked about building a new stadium with the Yankees back in 1956 and the Yankees said they already had the best stadium in the world. A decade later, the Yanks were drawing as little as 400 people to games and word was out soon after that they were following the Giants and Dodgers out of NYC.

Mayor Lindsey, who won reelection in 1969 mainly because he jumped on the Mets bandwagon, had bigger fish to fry as he was running for president in 1972 and wanted to maintain popularity so he gave away the store to keep the Yankees from moving to Texas in 1971.

Back to the Polo Grounds.....boy do I love those pictures !

**Gary Dunaier** · 05-21-2009, 06:35 AM

Originally Posted by Lpeters199

More Getty pics.

Interesting field level view with the Colonial Park housing project (now the Ralph J. Rangel Houses) in the background. Wonder what kind of a view you could get from those windows.

**Lpeters199** · 05-21-2009, 03:17 PM

The Saturday Evening Post

**Mary Ellen** · 05-22-2009, 04:35 AM

Let's take the horse and model A to the game.

**Lpeters199** · 05-22-2009, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by Mary Ellen

Let's take the horse and model A to the game.

Looks like the fans were lined up all the way across the 8th Avenue Viaduct, as I believe it was called. And what's that structure inside the park?

**mandrake** · 05-22-2009, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by Gary Dunaier

Interesting field level view with the Colonial Park housing project (now the Ralph J. Rangel Houses) in the background. Wonder what kind of a view you could get from those windows.

Gary
By a strange coincidence, while I had to wait for my mom to finish dialysis today, I struck up a conversation with two older men talking about the Yankees and Mets . I was telling them what I thought about the new ballparks, and they were asking me about diasbled seating....funny how many people this seems to affect. Anyway, this one man said he used to watch games from the 'projects' right next to the 3B side of the Polo Grounds. He said he lived on the 10th floor and he could see the field. He used to sit at the window and crank up the radio; he said "now they would be called skyboxes and like the Cubs, they would charge you to watch". I asked if he had any pictures and he said " my pictures now are up here" pointing to his head.
There must be some pictures somewhere.

**Mygirljess** · 05-22-2009, 09:08 PM

Carlos Beltran at the Polo Grounds, Carlos Delgado at Ebbets Field, Jorge Posada at Old Yankee Stadium.

**Yankeefan3783** · 05-22-2009, 10:23 PM

^Those cards looks really cool.

BTW, anyone know what kind of greeting the SF Giants received the first time back at the Polo Grounds in 1962?

**Mygirljess** · 05-22-2009, 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by Yankeefan3783

^Those cards looks really cool.

BTW, anyone know what kind of greeting the SF Giants received the first time back at the Polo Grounds in 1962?

From Baseball-Fever Archives, 9/17/04 POLO GROUNDS 1957 said: (sic)

ON JUNE 1 1962 the SF GIANTS returned to the polo grounds for the 1st time since they left in 1957, in front of a crowd of 43,742. WILLIE McCOVEY hit 2 homeruns in his 1st 2 at bats at the polo grounds and willie mays hit a HR in his first game back to the PG. ALSO jim davenport hits a GRANSLAM in the 7th inning.THE METS HOT ROD KANEHL hit his first ever ML HOMERUN in the losing cause. WINNNG pitcher for SF is BILLY PIERCE and the losing pitcher was ROGER CRAIG. THESE games i enjoy listening to over again the crowd at the PG was very vocal.

Wille Mays returns to the Polo Grounds, 6/1/62.

**tugger** · 05-22-2009, 11:46 PM

Originally Posted by Mygirljess

Carlos Beltran at the Polo Grounds, Carlos Delgado at Ebbets Field, Jorge Posada at Old Yankee Stadium.

Creepy. Do not mess with the space/time continuum.

**Lpeters199** · 05-23-2009, 07:18 PM

Search on Leland's Auction site for Polo Grounds.

http://www.lelands.com/searchlist.as...polo%20grounds

**Lpeters199** · 05-23-2009, 07:29 PM

1952 panoramic photo

**YankeeFanBx** · 05-23-2009, 07:33 PM

A young woman I know, who works for NYCTA at 155th St. on the A line, never knew a stadium was once right there where she works.
For a NYC resident and a baseball fan, it breaks my heart.
I can only hope the city decides to save something of old Yankee Stadium, just so kids know a ballpark once stood there.

**Lpeters199** · 05-24-2009, 04:43 AM

Originally Posted by Gary Dunaier

Interesting field level view with the Colonial Park housing project (now the Ralph J. Rangel Houses) in the background. Wonder what kind of a view you could get from those windows.

Probably something like this, only much closer. The view through the gaps in the left field stands must have been stunning, especially during a night game.

**Lpeters199** · 05-24-2009, 06:20 AM

Polo Grounds ready for a Titans game

**Mary Ellen** · 05-24-2009, 07:03 AM

At least they took a piece of sod from the PG west to Candlestick - nice gesture.

**mandrake** · 05-25-2009, 06:31 AM

Originally Posted by Mary Ellen

At least they took a piece of sod from the PG west to Candlestick - nice gesture.

Since the box says "Candlestick Point" but the Giants played at Seals Stadium 1958,59,60 ...I wonder what they did with the sod.

**Lpeters199** · 05-25-2009, 04:50 PM

Barney Doyle, ex-manager of James J. Braddock, was shot and killed in his seat at the Polo Grounds from the roof of 515 Edgecombe in 1950. The second picture is 515 Edgecombe today. It had a wonderful view of the Polo Grounds back in the day. The third picture shows where Doyle was sitting.

**Mary Ellen** · 05-25-2009, 05:12 PM

That is crazy stuff! I see the apartments to the left of photo 1 were under construction. I did not realize they date back to 1950.

**ol' aches and pains** · 05-25-2009, 05:21 PM

Wow, I never heard that story, so I googled Barney Doyle-Polo Grounds. When I saw this post and read that the guy was James J. Braddock's former manager, I assumed it was a mob sniper hit. Boxing has been known to have some shady connections from time to time. The truth is much stranger. A 14 year-old boy went up on the roof at 515 Edgecome to celebrate the 4th of July by firing his .45 pistol into the air. The bullet traveled about half a mile, and struck Doyle in the head as he sat in his seat at the Polo Grounds. The stories I read made no mention of Doyle in connection with Braddock or boxing, describing him only as a retired dock worker who was at the game with the 13 year-old son of a friend of his.

After his body was removed, fans in the standing-room holiday crowd fought over the two vacated seats!