{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"114: New York\u2019s Polo Grounds \u2013 With Stew Thornley","description":"We cap off the long Memorial Day holiday weekend with a look back at one of the New York metropolitan area\u2019s most memorable sports stadiums of yore \u2013 the Polo Grounds \u2013 with author and Minnesota Twins official scorer Stew Thornley (The Polo Grounds: Essays and Memories of New York City's Historic Ballpark, 1880-1963). The \u201cPolo Grounds\u201d was actually the name of multiple structures across upper Manhattan during its history.  As its name suggests, the original venue (1876-1889) was built for, well, polo.  Located between Fifth and Sixth (Lenox) Avenues just north of Central Park, it was converted to a baseball stadium in 1880, soon becoming home to the city\u2019s first major league pro teams \u2013 the Metropolitans of the American Association and the Gothams (later, Giants) of the National League. Pushed out by a re-gridding of the borough in 1889, the Giants relocated northward to what became the second incarnation of the park in the Coogan\u2019s Hollow section of Washington Heights in 1890.  Coincidentally, it was also the year that most of the team\u2019s best players bolted to the upstart Players\u2019 League \u2013 also called the Giants, playing in their own new (and larger) stadium (called Brotherhood Park) right next door.  When the PL folded at the end of the season, the recombined NL Giants moved over to Brotherhood Park, rechristening it the \u201cPolo Grounds.\u201d  This third version \u2013 later renovated after a fire in 1911 (technically becoming the stadium\u2019s fourth version) \u2013 became the structure most remembered by long-time baseball fans, especially for its distinctive \u201cbathtub\u201d shape, very short distances to the left and right field walls, and unusually deep center field. While synonymous with the history of baseball\u2019s Giants (including Bobby Thompson\u2019s 1951 historic playoff \u201cShot Heard \u2018Round the World,\u201d and Willie Mays\u2019 dramatic over-the-shoulder catch during the team\u2019s 1954 World Series run), the Polo Grounds was also home to the New York Yankees from 1913-1922 \u2013 and the first two seasons of the NL expansion New York Mets from 1962-63, while waiting for the new Shea Stadium in Queens to be completed. The Polo Grounds was also the center of New York\u2019s burgeoning professional football scene \u2013 notably the National Football League\u2019s New York Giants from 1925-55 \u2013 but also the NFL\u2019s oft-forgotten Brickley Giants (1922) and Bulldogs (1949).   In later years, it also became the temporary home of the fledgling American Football League\u2019s New York Titans from 1960-62, and the renamed \u201cJets\u201d in 1963 \u2013 including the last-ever sporting event to be played there \u2013 a late-season (and typical) loss to the Buffalo Bills on December 14, 1963, in front of only 6,526 diehards. We love our sponsors SportsHistoryCollectibles.com, Audible, Streaker Sports, OldSchoolShirts.com, and 503 Sports \u2013 and you will too! ","author_name":"Good Seats Still Available","author_url":"https:\/\/goodseatsstillavailable.com","html":"