One more sport at the PG, I attended the heavyweight championship fight between Floyd Patterson and Ingmar Johansson there around 1960. The Swede had won the first one taking Patterson's title. In the return fight at the PG tables were turned and Floyd got the knockout. I basically grew up there watching countless baseball games, several football games and one boxing match. I was crushed when the Giants left and again when it was torn down. One Sunday when no workers were there, I wandered around the wreckage and got a couple of mementos, now long lost. Oh well
Fun fact: The groundskeeper for the Polo Grounds, Matty Schwab, lived with his family in an apartment under the left field grandstand. His son Jerry Schwab recounts growing up in the Polo Grounds in the September 4th 2024 episode of the Lost Ballparks podcast. Worth a listen.
When the Mets were formed, they sank a significant amount of money into rehabbing the Polo Grounds. Seats were repainted, the field was improved, ads placed back on the OF walls, and the distance signs were updated. I was there for a sold out double header between the Giants and Mets on 5-5-63. Willie Mays hit a 3 run home run 3/4's of the way back into the LF upper deck in the 1st inning of game one.
I went to the last Giants game at the Polo Grounds The Giants played the Pirates that day I wish I still had the ticket stubs There was a subway that branched off of the 4 train went close to the Polo Grounds
@RaymondHackinson that's actually incredible. What a bittersweet memory that must be. Speaking of transportation, one of my favorite things I learned about this stadium was that it didn't have a legitimate parking area because it was built before cars. Thanks so much for sharing!
The first baseball game I ever saw was a Giants Cubs game in June of 1957. Ray Jablonski hit a home run down the right field line, and the Cubs pitcher hit a ball over Willie Mays' head. I was sitting in the center field bleachers and Mays turned and ran straight toward us. I fell in love with him and baseball that day, and decades later, am still a Giants fan and an ardent believer that Willie Mays was the greatest player of the last 75 years.
I went twice to the Polo Grounds to see the Mets and the Titans soon to be the Jets in 1963 and the Mets once in 1962! My cousin Joe had two superettes nearby too.
Great clip! Yankee Stadium will always be my place, but while driving to the 1964 World’s Fair (I was 7 years old) I can remember my dad remarking about that brand new stadium the Mets had that was replacing their old one. So I was alive before the Polo Grounds was demolished, but didn’t come close to attending any events there. Wish I had.
@ Yes indeed, the World’s Fair was very cool, and I’m able to remember some of the exhibits, with a little help these days from RUclips clips! I did go to several games at Shea, but not until 1969….a pretty eventful year for the Mets, as it turned out! July game, Mets beat the Cubs, a little taste of what was to come later that summer!
Born after its demise but still think if ever i could be transported via time machine to a park on a late summer afternoon it would be the Polo Grounds perhaps in 55 Giants hosting Dodgers ? Fantastic production on every level by u
One of the co-owners of the NY Metropolitan’s & NY Gotham’s/Giants..Jim Mutrie (nicknamed “truthful Jim) was my great uncle…I was born and raised in Brooklyn NY, grew up as a Yankees fan..and my first ever baseball game was in April 1975, Yankees and Brewers doubleheader at Shea Stadium…Unfortunately never got the chance to see a Yankees game at the original stadium…however did get to see it from the outside once…when a bunch of us kids after school would sneak onto the subway in Brooklyn and ride the trains all the way to the Bronx..circa 1973
4:05 The Staten Island location also had lacrosse...??? I was born in 1958 and I remember going to at least a couple of Mets games at the Polo Grounds so I was 4 - 5 years old. I remember being aware that they were a bad team that usually lost, but everyone loved them anyway. My only specific recollection is feeling sorry for them, and at the end of a game leaning over the outfield fence when they trudged from the dugout back to the clubhouse and leaning over to shout at Casey Stengel, "Don't worry Casey, you'll win a game someday!" 😜 Oh, and I remember having a Chris Cannizzaro baseball card and thinking it was so cool they could fit that long name on the card at the bottom. Boy do I wish I still had that!
Enjoyed the video. I hope I can go to the steps one day. I was lucky enough to be taken to Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Cleveland many times, Tiger Stadium, Wrigley Field, Old Yankee Stadium, Riverfront, and Fulton County.
Incredible! I missed out on Tiger Stadium and Yankee Stadium by only a few years and I'll always count it. Every stadium you mentioned is on my list for a future video!
Growing up I went to Yankee Stadium soooo many times. Unfortunately they were the late 60s early 70s when they were no longer the great teams I watched on TV. Funny though my friends and I were only 13 years old when we first started going. We would take bus from NJ then subway and our parents never worried about us going without an adult.
That is kind of an insane journey for a child to make, but sometimes that's how the best memories are made I never got to go to old Yankee Stadium and I'll always regret it
Nice video, regret never going to a game at Polo Grounds, my first game was in mid 60s at Yankee Stadium. I do work with Army football and looking at their history, the Polo Grounds was more their NYC home than Yankee Stadium. Any idea how they maintained the grass field with so many Football games in fall, or did just become a worn out field late in year. Again nice video.
I don't know anything specifically about the grounds keeping, but I imagine it was a tremendous amount of work to keep the grass functional. I never had the chance to go to old Yankee Stadium, and I'm quite jealous. That place was mythic. Thanks for sharing! Go Army!
I was born in NY in the mid '60s, so I missed all of this. I can say, however, that I never heard an old guy or even someone my dad's age say he "missed the Polo Grounds" ...
That is a fair point. Everything I've read has indicated that it was time for the stadium to go. By the 1940s it was already out of date. The real tragedy is that the Giants couldn't find a new home in New York
I love your content. I'm a big baseball fan. I suppose growing up in Rochester, New York. I have fun memories of Silver Stadium the home of the Rochester Red Wings.
It's amazing how NY lost two of its baseball teams at the height of dominating the sport. I think that for people of the older generation, it was something they never forgot or could get over.
I believe I saw it referenced as Coogan's Hollow in two places; Wikipedia and SABR, though I didn't double check before responding. The usage of it seemed colloquial, and likely even improper. Probably shouldn't have used the term as a replacement for Coogan's Hollow
In another video about the Polo Grounds, I asked if anyone had hit a homerun through centerfield. And a very kind colleague told me that he only knew one about Chuck Norris.
My first baseball game was at the Kingdome, i was 3 or 4 and my dad let me eat all the snacks and candy i wanted. Apparently i threw up all over the car on the ride home. If I remembered it that would be my favorite memory of the Kingdome but I always remember how big of an event it was when they imploded the stadium, every tv channel had it live.
Cleveland Municipal Stadium was basically my favorite place to go to throughout my childhood but more so when I started driving. I could grab a cheap seat during the summer weekdays, take my Redman chewing tobacco and I would have an entire section of seating for myself. I was able to simply enjoy a game regardless of the outcome. I don’t think my mom loved that I was downtown but it was different back then. I loved that ugly ,bland stadium. It was home.
That feels like all of the best parts of baseball wrapped into a nutshell. Ugly, bland, yet full of character. Municipal Stadium, from what I've read, is VERY fondly remembered. Thanks for sharing!
BALTO MD’s MEMORIAL STADIUM & ORIOLE PARK at CAMDEN YARDS rule above all for me…but the greatest defensive play ever is Brooks Robinson so adroitly snagging future teammate Lee May’s missile down the third base line, ten feet out in foul territory and well behind the 3rd base bag, then throwing from darn near the field box seats to nab Lee at first base on one hop and straight into the awaiting glove of renowned BBQ impresario John BOOG Powell in Game 1 of the 1970 World Series at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati OH…Mays’ catch is the most well-known defensive play ever, but a distant second behind Brooks’ superhuman kaleidoscopic feat…cheers to baseball!
Brooks play was indeed amazing, but Ron Swoboda's diving catch in RF the year before was not only more spectacular, but more impactful in WS history. Ironically, it came off the bat of Brooks Robinson.
Not a dumb question. For the last incarnation of the Polo Grounds, Polo Grounds IV, the only players to ever hit a home run to center field during a game were Joe Adcock, Luke Easter (Negro Leagues), Lou Brock, and Hank Aaron. Astoundingly, Lou Brock’s and Hank Aaron’s home runs occurred on consecutive days. A few other players managed to hit center field home runs during batting practice, including Schoolboy Rowe. However, none of these home runs were absolute dead center over the 483 ft sign-they all occurred just right of center, closer to where Willie Mays made his catch. On June 14th 1921, when the Yankees played their home games at the Polo Grounds-and before it underwent its final renovations-Babe Ruth hit the longest home run ever recorded at Polo Grounds, 490 ft just to the right of dead center. Ralph Kiner and Willie Mays were also famous for hitting home runs into the deep outfield bleachers. But a straightaway dead center home run? No one ever did it.
Very good video but you neglected to mention several very important boxing matches that took place at PG # 4 along with at least two summers (1960 and 1961) when numerous International Soccer League games were held, including the 1960 championship game that attracted a crowd of 26,000. It was more of a international tournament than a full-fledged league but it helped to keep the PG busy after the Giants moved to SF.
@@TheBadBaseballFan Close! Kzoo. We didn't have a minor league team when I first started going to see the Battle Cats, and I always preferred them over the Kodiaks or Kings when they started up
@bluemooncinco Awesome! I spent my adolescence in BC and high school in KZOO. I grew up on the Battle Cats. I hated when they changed their name, and it devastated me when they moved. As I was editing that part of the video I was praying somebody would recognize C.O. Brown Stadium!
*The New York Bulldogs renamed themselves the Yankees for two seasons before moving to Dallas (for one season) and then Baltimore to become the Colts.*
It’s amazing to think New York City and the state of New York didn’t have the foresight to no how big football would become after the baseball giants left there was a golden opportunity to make it a football stadium fun fact the football giants and jets never had a true New York home
There were three separate sites. I didn't regard the fourth as a separate stadium as it was the same field as the third iteration and maintained many facilities from III that didn't burn down. The sources were split about 50/50 on referring to either 3 or 4 iterations of the stadium.
What events / teams played here during WWII ? and i wonder what considerations did construction of these parks take pertaining to sunlight as day games were the norm if not only option seems to me home plate faced east so as the late summer sun would be angled at fielders not hitters ? Not even sure why i care but as a traditionalist i think back to the glory days of day ball !😢
They had a few weird series like that back in the day. The pre-modern championship changed its structure nearly every year. Even the modern World Series had some 9-game versions early on!
@@STU1NYRF I actually just looked this up in response to another comment and it's a bit grayer than you'd think! Their name is a spiritual successor to the 1880s Metropolitans, and the current organization's incorporated name is actually "The New York Metropolitan Baseball Club, Inc" But technically you are correct, the current Mets have always just been called the Mets
@@TheBadBaseballFan It's not gray at all. When the team was named in May 1961, and you can look it up, the owners made sure to state that while the then corporate name was the Metropolitan Baseball Club, the team name was just "Mets." I have screen shots of the next day stories in both the New York Times and New York Daily News that prove it's just Mets. In fact, for years, the team Media Guide used the headline "The name is Mets, just Mets" on the description of how the team was named.
I conceded your point, I believe you. But I would say the corporate name of Metropolitans would certainly create a gray area. Below I've linked an MLB.com article on the history of the name. The article references the name of Mets as a shortening of the team's corporate name and a shortening and callback to the baseball team of the 1880s MLB also says that they only chose the name Mets for simple reasons; easy to remember, easy to print www.mlb.com/news/new-york-mets-team-name-history
@@TheBadBaseballFan actually, it's very complicated. But very briefly - when NY lost both the Dodgers and the Giants in 1957, the city tried to get an expansion team - but the AL and NL weren't expanding. A committee dedicated to bring an N.L. team back to NY tried to entice the Reds, Pirates, or the Phillies to relocate, but to no avail. Attorney William Shea (whom Shea Stadium was named after) - proposed creating a whole new major league, the Continental League. MLB had an Federal Anti-Trust Exemption - which might be rescinded if they tried to squash the league. In 1959, the league was announced with former Dodger President Branch Rickey as C.L. President and 8 franchises, Toronto, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Buffalo, Houston, and New York (trivia -former Washington Redskins/LA Lakers/LA Kings/Toronto Maple Leafs owner Jack Kent Cooke had the Toronto franchise). Rather than MLB squash the league, they agreed to absorb the franchises over time. With Shea's mission accomplished, the C.L. was disbanded. However, there was an issue in NY regarding where the stadium would be built, Brooklyn or Queens. Because of this, the newspapers decided to call the team the NY Mets, short for Metropolitans, as there was still a possibility of a stadium on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn, (where Walter O'Malley wanted to move the Dodgers - he only went out west when Robert Moses refused). So for legal purposes, the franchise's owner, Joan Payson, referred to the team the NY Metropolitan Baseball Club, until it's final destination was determined. Queens was chosen, the franchise chose the Dodger Blue and Giant Orange has their colors in homage to the lost N.L. teams, a naming contest was held, and the name 'Mets' won. When the football Titans moved to Shea - next to LaGuardia Airport, they changed their name to the 'Jets'. There was also a pro tennis team when that league briefly existed, that played at the National tennis Center next to Shea, called the 'NY Sets'. And lets not forget the NY - then NJ - now Brooklyn Nets.
The Mets are not the "Metropolitans." The name of the team is Mets. It was never the Metropolitans. The actual name of the NFL Giants is 'The New York Football Giants."
The corporation that the Mets are officially filed under is legally called "The New York Metropolitan Baseball Club, Inc." I believe I refer to the Football Giants as such in the video, but if not, they are colloquially referred to as the "New York Giants" all the time.
@@TheBadBaseballFan That's right about the football Giants. However Metropolitans is not the name of the team, I mean the official name of the NY Giants was "the National Exhibition Company." It is also the offical name of the SF Giants as well. I'm pretty sure you didn't know that!
You are correct. The New York Knicks are officially the Knickerbockers, but the Mets name is not short for anything. it's just Mets. If I could post screen shots of the newspaper stories from May 1961 announcing the official team name, I would.
@@TheBadBaseballFanI seem to remember reading somewhere that the owner or the manager (Jim Murtie?) of the team would refer to some of the players as "his Giants" since a few of them were rather tall people for that period in time and the name just sort of took in the newspapers and there was a decision to refer to the team as "the Giants" going forward.
a great museum lost because a team ran away from their fans... I abhor relocation. I think teams should lose their team history when they move. That should be left where it was made.. with the fans that were part of it... much like the Utah Hockey club lost theirs... and the Ravens don't get to claim any of the browns history.. just how it should be.
And like how the *mumbles* A’s should’ve really lost their history and team name when they left a few months ago. The whole temporary move to *mumbles* was a stupid stopgap move that’s just going to hurt them in the long run. And when history looks back at this hack job of a relocation.
The monstrosity of the Polo Grounds were in sight of Yankees stadium from Manhattan . What??? No Mets since 1960. wtf. NO METS!!!! This is totally wrong in this respect. Referring to the Mets before they existed. The NY Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers were the only teams with the Dodgers & Giants moved to California when NY would not rebuild either a stadium. There were 2 years where the one team in NY FROM 1958 to 62 The Bombers were the only team until the Metropolitans. Dead center being ridiculous at 468 ft a/k/a Death Valley. Fun fact Death Vally was ridiculous by standards that sparked even though debate to standardized to make stadiums identical. That never happened. Each stadium excluding the rebuilt stadiums give to their own personality which gives teams to draft or trade for someone who has a swing that complements that. But NO METS IN 1925. wtf? U can't make a huge mistake by that. No one who studies questioned this? This is kinda changing of the fax? I mean any baseball fan with the brief of knowledge knows WtF? Sorry for cursing knows the Mets or Metropolitans know who I can't believe I have to even state this did not exist till 1961!!! Sabbatica shoul be in Coooerstown. 2 wins with the Cleveland Indians ( Guardians) & the NY Yankees & Cleveland. Go CC!!!! 😎
With all due respect, please do some research before you leave unhinged comments full of typos and insults. It takes about a minute to find quite a bit of information on the 1880s Mets. If you'd like, I can share some sources with you to help out.
@ please do. The typos are my bad since AI made corrections that I missed it's news to me & I grew up in Brooklyn &Queens since the 60 s that's for informing this lifelong Yankee fan.🫢
@@TheBadBaseballFan this was unhinged. It was just a history i was told since 1960 which i wished i had known but unhinged. wtf? Just because I'm just saying since 1969 since I was never told. My questioned u overreacted give me a break using this aggressiveation . Huh?
I think that was a fair assessment. You gave a long comment with interesting information, but sprinkled in three random times informing me I was incorrect, when I in fact was not. I read that as you openly insulting my ability to research. My apologies, sources in the next comment!
Here are two articles from two trusted baseball sources. Can provide more if need be. sabr.org/bioproj/topic/new-york-metropolitans-team-ownership-history/ www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/New_York_Metropolitans
YANKEE STADIUM 🏟 RANKS WITH THE COLOSSEUM IN ROME OPEN IN 1923 IT WAS THE FIRST TRIPLE-DECKED STRUCTURE OF ITS KIND AND THE FIRST BALLPARK WITH THE TITLE STADIUM 🏟 YANKEE STADIUM 🏟.
One more sport at the PG, I attended the heavyweight championship fight between Floyd Patterson and Ingmar Johansson there around 1960. The Swede had won the first one taking Patterson's title. In the return fight at the PG tables were turned and Floyd got the knockout. I basically grew up there watching countless baseball games, several football games and one boxing match. I was crushed when the Giants left and again when it was torn down. One Sunday when no workers were there, I wandered around the wreckage and got a couple of mementos, now long lost. Oh well
I write from memory but it seems to me that Rocky Marciano also fought some defense of his world title at Polo G.
Fun fact: The groundskeeper for the Polo Grounds, Matty Schwab, lived with his family in an apartment under the left field grandstand. His son Jerry Schwab recounts growing up in the Polo Grounds in the September 4th 2024 episode of the Lost Ballparks podcast. Worth a listen.
Incredible! I had no idea!
Also I appreciate it, I'm always looking for more baseball history content.
I love that podcast and directing baseball fans to it n
When the Mets were formed, they sank a significant amount of money into rehabbing the Polo Grounds. Seats were repainted, the field was improved, ads placed back on the OF walls, and the distance signs were updated. I was there for a sold out double header between the Giants and Mets on 5-5-63. Willie Mays hit a 3 run home run 3/4's of the way back into the LF upper deck in the 1st inning of game one.
So cool thanks for sharing
Absolutely incredible. What a memory that must be, especially in hindsight. Thank you for sharing, this is why I love making content
I went to the last Giants game at the Polo Grounds The Giants played the Pirates that day
I wish I still had the ticket stubs
There was a subway that branched off of the 4 train went close to the Polo Grounds
@RaymondHackinson that's actually incredible. What a bittersweet memory that must be.
Speaking of transportation, one of my favorite things I learned about this stadium was that it didn't have a legitimate parking area because it was built before cars.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Best of all, the Mets got rid of those annoying, unnecessary green walls in center field.
Great post. Had no idea there were four versions of the stadium. Great background info and vintage photos. Well done.
I was 6 years old for the final season of Tigers Stadium, and I still remember running the bases with my dad on Father's Day
Another sport played at the Polo Grounds - Gaelic Football, it hosted the 1947 All-Ireland Championship between Cavan and Kerry - 35,000 in attendance
The first baseball game I ever saw was a Giants Cubs game in June of 1957. Ray Jablonski hit a home run down the right field line, and the Cubs pitcher hit a ball over Willie Mays' head. I was sitting in the center field bleachers and Mays turned and ran straight toward us. I fell in love with him and baseball that day, and decades later, am still a Giants fan and an ardent believer that Willie Mays was the greatest player of the last 75 years.
I went twice to the Polo Grounds to see the Mets and the Titans soon to be the Jets in 1963 and the Mets once in 1962! My cousin Joe had two superettes nearby too.
Bush Stadium, my slice of baseball heaven. Another great video, BBF. Beard army sent me and you kept me with the string of interesting videos.
Much appreciated!
Wow, that's awesome to know that the Polo Grounds had so much history. It really must have been fun to be there for so many sports. Awesome video. 🔥🙌
Thank you!
Great clip! Yankee Stadium will always be my place, but while driving to the 1964 World’s Fair (I was 7 years old) I can remember my dad remarking about that brand new stadium the Mets had that was replacing their old one. So I was alive before the Polo Grounds was demolished, but didn’t come close to attending any events there. Wish I had.
Pretty cool that you went to the 1964 World's Fair! Did you ever go to a game at Shea Stadium? I imagine it was pretty great when it was brand new
@ Yes indeed, the World’s Fair was very cool, and I’m able to remember some of the exhibits, with a little help these days from RUclips clips! I did go to several games at Shea, but not until 1969….a pretty eventful year for the Mets, as it turned out! July game, Mets beat the Cubs, a little taste of what was to come later that summer!
Born after its demise but still think if ever i could be transported via time machine to a park on a late summer afternoon it would be the Polo Grounds perhaps in 55 Giants hosting Dodgers ? Fantastic production on every level by u
As Mets fan I'll always love Shea Stadium. Citi Field is pretty awesome. Can you do a video on Ebbets Field?
Gladly! I plan on stretching this into a series on several old stadiums and Ebbets Field is near the top
One of the co-owners of the NY Metropolitan’s & NY Gotham’s/Giants..Jim Mutrie (nicknamed “truthful Jim) was my great uncle…I was born and raised in Brooklyn NY, grew up as a Yankees fan..and my first ever baseball game was in April 1975, Yankees and Brewers doubleheader at Shea Stadium…Unfortunately never got the chance to see a Yankees game at the original stadium…however did get to see it from the outside once…when a bunch of us kids after school would sneak onto the subway in Brooklyn and ride the trains all the way to the Bronx..circa 1973
So cool that Jim Mutrie was your great uncle! Love reading comments like this, thanks for sharing!
4:05 The Staten Island location also had lacrosse...???
I was born in 1958 and I remember going to at least a couple of Mets games at the Polo Grounds so I was 4 - 5 years old. I remember being aware that they were a bad team that usually lost, but everyone loved them anyway. My only specific recollection is feeling sorry for them, and at the end of a game leaning over the outfield fence when they trudged from the dugout back to the clubhouse and leaning over to shout at Casey Stengel, "Don't worry Casey, you'll win a game someday!" 😜
Oh, and I remember having a Chris Cannizzaro baseball card and thinking it was so cool they could fit that long name on the card at the bottom. Boy do I wish I still had that!
Enjoyed the video. I hope I can go to the steps one day. I was lucky enough to be taken to Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Cleveland many times, Tiger Stadium, Wrigley Field, Old Yankee Stadium, Riverfront, and Fulton County.
Incredible! I missed out on Tiger Stadium and Yankee Stadium by only a few years and I'll always count it. Every stadium you mentioned is on my list for a future video!
Growing up I went to Yankee Stadium soooo many times. Unfortunately they were the late 60s early 70s when they were no longer the great teams I watched on TV. Funny though my friends and I were only 13 years old when we first started going. We would take bus from NJ then subway and our parents never worried about us going without an adult.
That is kind of an insane journey for a child to make, but sometimes that's how the best memories are made
I never got to go to old Yankee Stadium and I'll always regret it
Beautiful work!
Nice video, regret never going to a game at Polo Grounds, my first game was in mid 60s at Yankee Stadium. I do work with Army football and looking at their history, the Polo Grounds was more their NYC home than Yankee Stadium. Any idea how they maintained the grass field with so many Football games in fall, or did just become a worn out field late in year. Again nice video.
I don't know anything specifically about the grounds keeping, but I imagine it was a tremendous amount of work to keep the grass functional. I never had the chance to go to old Yankee Stadium, and I'm quite jealous. That place was mythic.
Thanks for sharing! Go Army!
Bravo . Well done. For me, Tiger Stadium. Saw Thanksgiving games there in 70 and 71.
Hey man, great video! It's the first one of yours I've seen. You've earned a sub! Well done, I look forward to more!
@@BewareofDarkness44 Thank you, it's greatly appreciated!
I was born in NY in the mid '60s, so I missed all of this. I can say, however, that I never heard an old guy or even someone my dad's age say he "missed the Polo Grounds" ...
That is a fair point. Everything I've read has indicated that it was time for the stadium to go. By the 1940s it was already out of date. The real tragedy is that the Giants couldn't find a new home in New York
1. Great info
2. No stock pictures or videos
3. Very tasty music
The opposite of the trends towards all three.
Soundtrack is🔥great video!
I love your content! Thanks a ton!
@@TheBadBaseballFan I appreciate that!
I love your content. I'm a big baseball fan. I suppose growing up in Rochester, New York. I have fun memories of Silver Stadium the home of the Rochester Red Wings.
OG Yankee Stadium. It’ll always remain the most special stadium in history.
I unfortunately never had the chance to go there. Something I will always regret.
It's amazing how NY lost two of its baseball teams at the height of dominating the sport. I think that for people of the older generation, it was something they never forgot or could get over.
I saw the Titans and the Mets play there, as a kid. Centerfield was so deep; it was almost impossible to hit a home run there.
Are you sure it was called Coogan's Hollow? Everything I have read about the place (over the decades) used the term "Coogan's Bluff".
I believe I saw it referenced as Coogan's Hollow in two places; Wikipedia and SABR, though I didn't double check before responding. The usage of it seemed colloquial, and likely even improper.
Probably shouldn't have used the term as a replacement for Coogan's Hollow
I believe the 'Bluff' was the overhanging cliff, and the 'Hollow' was the valley down below where the ballpark stood. Could be wrong.
@@TheBatugan77 this is correct
As a former NYC boy, I can't believe we had Willie, Mickey & The Duke and somehow they screwed that up!
Just an unbelievable time in baseball history. To have so many Hall of Famers in such close proximity...
Could you do one of these but for rfk stadium
In another video about the Polo Grounds, I asked if anyone had hit a homerun through centerfield. And a very kind colleague told me that he only knew one about Chuck Norris.
Actually, there were three MLB players hit home runs to the center field bleachers: Joe Adcock, Hank Aaron and Curt Flood.
The Polo Grounds also was the site of the Dempsey-Firpo fight in 1923.
Now do a video on Ebbets Field, and Old Comiskey Park.
The idea that there is a polo grounds is a myth. What the polo grounds stand for is legend.
My first baseball game was at the Kingdome, i was 3 or 4 and my dad let me eat all the snacks and candy i wanted. Apparently i threw up all over the car on the ride home. If I remembered it that would be my favorite memory of the Kingdome but I always remember how big of an event it was when they imploded the stadium, every tv channel had it live.
great video sir
Cleveland Municipal Stadium was basically my favorite place to go to throughout my childhood but more so when I started driving. I could grab a cheap seat during the summer weekdays, take my Redman chewing tobacco and I would have an entire section of seating for myself. I was able to simply enjoy a game regardless of the outcome. I don’t think my mom loved that I was downtown but it was different back then. I loved that ugly ,bland stadium. It was home.
That feels like all of the best parts of baseball wrapped into a nutshell.
Ugly, bland, yet full of character. Municipal Stadium, from what I've read, is VERY fondly remembered.
Thanks for sharing!
BALTO MD’s MEMORIAL STADIUM & ORIOLE PARK at CAMDEN YARDS rule above all for me…but the greatest defensive play ever is Brooks Robinson so adroitly snagging future teammate Lee May’s missile down the third base line, ten feet out in foul territory and well behind the 3rd base bag, then throwing from darn near the field box seats to nab Lee at first base on one hop and straight into the awaiting glove of renowned BBQ impresario John BOOG Powell in Game 1 of the 1970 World Series at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati OH…Mays’ catch is the most well-known defensive play ever, but a distant second behind Brooks’ superhuman kaleidoscopic feat…cheers to baseball!
Brooks play was indeed amazing, but Ron Swoboda's diving catch in RF the year before was not only more spectacular, but more impactful in WS history. Ironically, it came off the bat of Brooks Robinson.
I always wished I saw a game at the polo grounds and ebbets field, but they were torn down before I was born
Maybe a dumb question. Did anyone ever hit a home run to center field in this ballpark?
Not a dumb question. For the last incarnation of the Polo Grounds, Polo Grounds IV, the only players to ever hit a home run to center field during a game were Joe Adcock, Luke Easter (Negro Leagues), Lou Brock, and Hank Aaron. Astoundingly, Lou Brock’s and Hank Aaron’s home runs occurred on consecutive days.
A few other players managed to hit center field home runs during batting practice, including Schoolboy Rowe. However, none of these home runs were absolute dead center over the 483 ft sign-they all occurred just right of center, closer to where Willie Mays made his catch.
On June 14th 1921, when the Yankees played their home games at the Polo Grounds-and before it underwent its final renovations-Babe Ruth hit the longest home run ever recorded at Polo Grounds, 490 ft just to the right of dead center.
Ralph Kiner and Willie Mays were also famous for hitting home runs into the deep outfield bleachers.
But a straightaway dead center home run? No one ever did it.
Very good video but you neglected to mention several very important boxing matches that took place at PG # 4 along with at least two summers (1960 and 1961) when numerous International Soccer League games were held, including the 1960 championship game that attracted a crowd of 26,000. It was more of a international tournament than a full-fledged league but it helped to keep the PG busy after the Giants moved to SF.
C.O. BROWN STADIUM MENTIONED
YES! THAT PLACE IS SO DEAR TO ME!
Are you from BC?
@@TheBadBaseballFan Close! Kzoo. We didn't have a minor league team when I first started going to see the Battle Cats, and I always preferred them over the Kodiaks or Kings when they started up
@bluemooncinco Awesome! I spent my adolescence in BC and high school in KZOO. I grew up on the Battle Cats. I hated when they changed their name, and it devastated me when they moved.
As I was editing that part of the video I was praying somebody would recognize C.O. Brown Stadium!
*The New York Bulldogs renamed themselves the Yankees for two seasons before moving to Dallas (for one season) and then Baltimore to become the Colts.*
It’s amazing to think New York City and the state of New York didn’t have the foresight to no how big football would become after the baseball giants left there was a golden opportunity to make it a football stadium fun fact the football giants and jets never had a true New York home
Mine is WOSC Pioneers JuCo field in SW Oklahoma. Sunshine, lemonade and the crack of a bat....not much better ❤
Nothing better in the world! Thanks for sharing!
Beer meats food lead me here.
Cancer and diabetes close behind.
How about the NY Cosmos featuring Pelé??
5:34 why is Hank Hill there?
🤣🤣
I zoomed in and had a good laugh
Imagine being in NYC while the Giants, Yankees and Dodgers were all within a couple of miles.
Gotta thank BMF for helping me find this
The "Brooklyn Bridegrooms?!" Well if that name doesn't strike fear in the hearts of every opposing team's players, then NOTHING will!!!🤣
There were Mets before the Mets? 🤯
There were FOUR Polo Gounds built.
There were three separate sites. I didn't regard the fourth as a separate stadium as it was the same field as the third iteration and maintained many facilities from III that didn't burn down.
The sources were split about 50/50 on referring to either 3 or 4 iterations of the stadium.
This is the place where Floyd Patterson regained the World Heavyweight title by knocking out Ingemar Johansson.
What events / teams played here during WWII ? and i wonder what considerations did construction of these parks take pertaining to sunlight as day games were the norm if not only option seems to me home plate faced east so as the late summer sun would be angled at fielders not hitters ? Not even sure why i care but as a traditionalist i think back to the glory days of day ball !😢
11 game series? What?
They had a few weird series like that back in the day. The pre-modern championship changed its structure nearly every year. Even the modern World Series had some 9-game versions early on!
The National League expansion team of 1962 was never the "Metropolitans." they have always been the "Mets, just "Mets."
@@STU1NYRF I actually just looked this up in response to another comment and it's a bit grayer than you'd think!
Their name is a spiritual successor to the 1880s Metropolitans, and the current organization's incorporated name is actually "The New York Metropolitan Baseball Club, Inc"
But technically you are correct, the current Mets have always just been called the Mets
@@TheBadBaseballFan It's not gray at all. When the team was named in May 1961, and you can look it up, the owners made sure to state that while the then corporate name was the Metropolitan Baseball Club, the team name was just "Mets." I have screen shots of the next day stories in both the New York Times and New York Daily News that prove it's just Mets. In fact, for years, the team Media Guide used the headline "The name is Mets, just Mets" on the description of how the team was named.
I conceded your point, I believe you.
But I would say the corporate name of Metropolitans would certainly create a gray area. Below I've linked an MLB.com article on the history of the name. The article references the name of Mets as a shortening of the team's corporate name and a shortening and callback to the baseball team of the 1880s
MLB also says that they only chose the name Mets for simple reasons; easy to remember, easy to print
www.mlb.com/news/new-york-mets-team-name-history
@@TheBadBaseballFan actually, it's very complicated. But very briefly - when NY lost both the Dodgers and the Giants in 1957, the city tried to get an expansion team - but the AL and NL weren't expanding. A committee dedicated to bring an N.L. team back to NY tried to entice the Reds, Pirates, or the Phillies to relocate, but to no avail. Attorney William Shea (whom Shea Stadium was named after) - proposed creating a whole new major league, the Continental League. MLB had an Federal Anti-Trust Exemption - which might be rescinded if they tried to squash the league. In 1959, the league was announced with former Dodger President Branch Rickey as C.L. President and 8 franchises, Toronto, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Buffalo, Houston, and New York (trivia -former Washington Redskins/LA Lakers/LA Kings/Toronto Maple Leafs owner Jack Kent Cooke had the Toronto franchise). Rather than MLB squash the league, they agreed to absorb the franchises over time. With Shea's mission accomplished, the C.L. was disbanded. However, there was an issue in NY regarding where the stadium would be built, Brooklyn or Queens. Because of this, the newspapers decided to call the team the NY Mets, short for Metropolitans, as there was still a possibility of a stadium on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn, (where Walter O'Malley wanted to move the Dodgers - he only went out west when Robert Moses refused). So for legal purposes, the franchise's owner, Joan Payson, referred to the team the NY Metropolitan Baseball Club, until it's final destination was determined. Queens was chosen, the franchise chose the Dodger Blue and Giant Orange has their colors in homage to the lost N.L. teams, a naming contest was held, and the name 'Mets' won. When the football Titans moved to Shea - next to LaGuardia Airport, they changed their name to the 'Jets'. There was also a pro tennis team when that league briefly existed, that played at the National tennis Center next to Shea, called the 'NY Sets'. And lets not forget the NY - then NJ - now Brooklyn Nets.
The Jets weren't the Jets until they moved to Shea Stadium.
I thought they officially became the Jets during their last season at the Polo Grounds.
It would be strange if the dodgers and giants never left NY. Having 4 teams in NY. I wonder if they all could have survived.
Any sports will say the same it dose not Australian Rules Football, rugby or union., basketball ect
The Mets are not the "Metropolitans." The name of the team is Mets. It was never the Metropolitans. The actual name of the NFL Giants is 'The New York Football Giants."
The corporation that the Mets are officially filed under is legally called "The New York Metropolitan Baseball Club, Inc."
I believe I refer to the Football Giants as such in the video, but if not, they are colloquially referred to as the "New York Giants" all the time.
@@TheBadBaseballFan That's right about the football Giants. However Metropolitans is not the name of the team, I mean the official name of the NY Giants was "the National Exhibition Company." It is also the offical name of the SF Giants as well. I'm pretty sure you didn't know that!
@@deepcosmiclove I did not! That's actually pretty neat!
You are correct. The New York Knicks are officially the Knickerbockers, but the Mets name is not short for anything. it's just Mets. If I could post screen shots of the newspaper stories from May 1961 announcing the official team name, I would.
so in essence, The Metropolitans(Mets) were in NY since the late 1800's... before the Yankee's... hmmm
Another (like soldier field) old world structure that was repurposed then demolished. They have nearly erased our stories!@ Thank you
Wait.. When, and how, did the Gothams become the Giants?
@@mark1mer I want to say it was following the 1884 season. Not entirely sure why though, Gothams was a cool name.
I'll edit this if I learn more!
@@TheBadBaseballFan Thank you.
@@TheBadBaseballFanI seem to remember reading somewhere that the owner or the manager (Jim Murtie?) of the team would refer to some of the players as "his Giants" since a few of them were rather tall people for that period in time and the name just sort of took in the newspapers and there was a decision to refer to the team as "the Giants" going forward.
a great museum lost because a team ran away from their fans... I abhor relocation. I think teams should lose their team history when they move. That should be left where it was made.. with the fans that were part of it... much like the Utah Hockey club lost theirs... and the Ravens don't get to claim any of the browns history.. just how it should be.
And like how the *mumbles* A’s should’ve really lost their history and team name when they left a few months ago.
The whole temporary move to *mumbles* was a stupid stopgap move that’s just going to hurt them in the long run. And when history looks back at this hack job of a relocation.
The monstrosity of the Polo Grounds were in sight of Yankees stadium from Manhattan . What??? No Mets since 1960. wtf. NO METS!!!! This is totally wrong in this respect. Referring to the Mets before they existed. The NY Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers were the only teams with the Dodgers & Giants moved to California when NY would not rebuild either a stadium. There were 2 years where the one team in NY FROM 1958 to 62 The Bombers were the only team until the Metropolitans. Dead center being ridiculous at 468 ft a/k/a Death Valley. Fun fact Death Vally was ridiculous by standards that sparked even though debate to standardized to make stadiums identical. That never happened. Each stadium excluding the rebuilt stadiums give to their own personality which gives teams to draft or trade for someone who has a swing that complements that. But NO METS IN 1925. wtf? U can't make a huge mistake by that. No one who studies questioned this? This is kinda changing of the fax? I mean any baseball fan with the brief of knowledge knows WtF? Sorry for cursing knows the Mets or Metropolitans know who I can't believe I have to even state this did not exist till 1961!!! Sabbatica shoul be in Coooerstown. 2 wins with the Cleveland Indians ( Guardians) & the NY Yankees & Cleveland. Go CC!!!! 😎
With all due respect, please do some research before you leave unhinged comments full of typos and insults.
It takes about a minute to find quite a bit of information on the 1880s Mets. If you'd like, I can share some sources with you to help out.
@ please do. The typos are my bad since AI made corrections that I missed it's news to me & I grew up in Brooklyn &Queens since the 60 s that's for informing this lifelong Yankee fan.🫢
@@TheBadBaseballFan this was unhinged. It was just a history i was told since 1960 which i wished i had known but unhinged. wtf? Just because I'm just saying since 1969 since I was never told. My questioned u overreacted give me a break using this aggressiveation . Huh?
I think that was a fair assessment. You gave a long comment with interesting information, but sprinkled in three random times informing me I was incorrect, when I in fact was not.
I read that as you openly insulting my ability to research.
My apologies, sources in the next comment!
Here are two articles from two trusted baseball sources. Can provide more if need be.
sabr.org/bioproj/topic/new-york-metropolitans-team-ownership-history/
www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/New_York_Metropolitans
You Didn't Say Shit About Boxing
This is true, I focused the video exclusively on team sports, and boxing should have gotten a mention for sure.
YANKEE STADIUM 🏟 RANKS WITH THE COLOSSEUM IN ROME OPEN IN 1923 IT WAS THE FIRST TRIPLE-DECKED STRUCTURE OF ITS KIND AND THE FIRST BALLPARK WITH THE TITLE STADIUM 🏟 YANKEE STADIUM 🏟.
Actually, the home of the Washington Senators, was renamed Griffith Stadium in 1920, three years before Yankee Stadium opened in 1923.