The Polo Grounds, Part One

The first New York Polo Grounds was the only one where polo was ever actually played. It was located across from the northeast corner of Central Park. The Gothams/Giants played there from 1883 thru 1889. A highlight of those days was a mammoth homer by Roger Connor which cleared the right field wall and landed on 112th Street. Connor was the actual "big man" who inspired the new name "Giants." He stood 6'3'' and weighed 220 pounds, apparently huge for 1883. He hit 138 career homers, which was the record until Babe Ruth passed that number in 1921.
In 1889, after the Giants had won two consecutive championships, the powers-that-be who ran New York City decided to expand the street grid into that part of town, and without much advance notice, they tore down the first Polo Grounds. The Giants had to find a new place to play.