JUNE 28, 1911 | NEW YORK, NEW YORK – A new
Polo Grounds opened for business on this date in 1911. The “previous” Polo Grounds was severely damaged by fire two and a half months earlier. The Polo Grounds was one of the most unusual stadiums in a sport known for unusual venues. It was described as horseshoe shaped, some say it looked like a bathtub. To put a baseball diamond in such a structure meant the left and right field foul lines were extremely short, less than 280 feet, while center field was a country mile – more than 470 ft.
Another unusual trait was that the left field upper deck extended more than 20 feet over the lower deck, which meant an outfielder could be waiting for the ball to drop in his glove, only for it land in the upper deck for a home run.
So why was the Polo Grounds called “The Polo Grounds”? For the reason you’d expect, the original of four structures to occupy the site was made for polo.
Here are the four New York major league baseball teams that called the Polo Grounds home:
• Metropolitans 1883-1885 member of American Association, dissolved in 1887
• New York (Baseball) Giants 1883-1957 moved to San Francisco in 1958
• New York Yankees 1912-1922 moved to Yankee Stadium in 1923
• New York Mets 1962-1963 moved to Shea Stadium in 1964
The Polo Grounds was also home to a couple National Football League teams; the New York Giants and New York Bulldogs. It also housed the New York Titans (now the Jets) of the American Football League (now the NFL). For baseball, the Polo Grounds was a very unusual place to play.
CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
Giants history
Mets history
Yankees history
Metropolitans history