The story
The Polo Grounds was the name of four stadiums in Upper Manhattan, used mainly for baseball and football from 1880 to 1963. The last version grew out of disaster: on April 14, 1911, a fire destroyed the grandstand of the stadium then standing, and the Giants played at Hilltop Park while owner John T. Brush rebuilt in reinforced concrete and steel. The new park opened on June 28, 1911, with Christy Mathewson shutting out Boston 3-0.
Fans and reporters kept calling it the Polo Grounds rather than Brush Stadium. After a 1923 expansion it took its bathtub shape. Its dimensions were extreme: 279 feet down the left-field line, 258 down the right-field line, and 483 to center field.
The Giants played there until 1957, the Yankees from 1913 to 1922, and the Mets in 1962 and 1963. The last sporting event was on December 14, 1963, and demolition began April 10, 1964. The original light poles were shipped to Phoenix Municipal Stadium in Arizona.
What's There Now
The site is occupied by the Polo Grounds Towers public housing project, opened in 1968; the John T. Brush Stairway is the only remaining original structure.
Everything that was here
- 1911–1963
Polo GroundsStadium
A fire destroyed the Polo Grounds grandstand in April 1911, and a concrete-and-steel stadium reopened on the same site by June 28.
See the map in 1912 →
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Connected places
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Shea Stadium
Candlestick Park
Seals Stadium
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Nearby history
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