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Discussion relating to the past and present operations of the NYC Subway, PATH, and Staten Island Railway (SIRT).

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 #312069  by NJTRailfan
 
I heard that there were elevated lines to both Polo Grounds and Ebbet's Field Baseball stadiums at one time. Does anyone have any pics of these places and esp Polo Grounds and why was this demolished rather then expanded to meet another line? Also Was Polo Grounds the better stadium then Ebbets? I see alot more stuff on Ebbet's then Polo. I'm trying to find pictures on the outside along with the elevated lines that ran next to them if any did.

Thanks

 #312081  by pennsy
 
Hi,

To the best of my recollection, the shuttle from the BMT service to Ebbets field was underground. You would pick up the shuttle in a cut. That is, you would have to go downstairs to get the train, but the train was out in the open, below ground level. The Ebbets field station was totally underground and was the end of the line for the shuttle.

By the way, I was one of the kids that came to Bedford Ave. with my catcher's mitt and waited for the Dodgers to hit one over the stands and into the street, on Bedford Ave. You would then take the baseball to the gate and it became your free admission to the game.

On the series "Baseball" on PBS, they had an interview with Andy Pafko. I didn't recognize him, but the minute he spoke I recognized the voice. He was one of the outfielders when I was a kid. We used to chat with him before the game.

 #312961  by Dylanchris73
 
What station and line would I take to the Ebbets Field site?

 #313026  by CHIP72
 
Dylanchris73 wrote:What station and line would I take to the Ebbets Field site?
I think the station currently closest to where Ebbets Field once stood is the Prospect Park station, which is served by the B, Q, and Franklin Avenue Shuttle trains. Ebbets Field was a short distance east of this station.

 #313071  by 7 Train
 
There was a Polo Grounds shuttle on the 9 Avenue El until 1958 (when the Giants moved to San Fransisco) and the IND had a station at 155 Street nearby.

 #313433  by NJTRailfan
 
Which one of the two were the better stadium and does anyone have a picture of Polo Grounds from the outside? I can only find the diamond pic of Polo.

 #313531  by pennsy
 
Hi NJT,

Well now, I spent more time in Ebbets field than I did at the Polo Grounds. However, I also saw only Football games at the Polo grounds, so it was a different time of year, and I was bundled up against the cold. All that aside, I preferred Ebbets Field over the Polo Grounds. Better view, better facilities, nicer crowd, etc. Also, I could literally walk to Ebbets Field from my home.

 #313593  by CHIP72
 
NJTRailfan wrote:Which one of the two were the better stadium and does anyone have a picture of Polo Grounds from the outside? I can only find the diamond pic of Polo.
GOING OFF-TOPIC TO ANSWER THE QUESTION

There are various ballpark websites on the internet that have pictures of both the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field. Just do a search for "Polo Grounds" or "Ebbets Field". Ebbets Field was probably considered by most to be the superior baseball facility, though the Polo Grounds was more unique and much larger.

The Polo Grounds was an elongated, bathtub-like facility that was laid out much more ideally for football than baseball. Its design created a lot of foul territory behind home plate, very short dimensions down the lines, and very long dimensions to the power alleys and center field. (NOTE: the version of the Polo Grounds most people are familiar with was actually the fourth stadium to have that name. Also, polo was never played on a regular basis at the "final" version of the Polo Grounds.) You could also see Yankee Stadium from inside the Polo Grounds (and vice-versa, though you had to look out from behind home plate in Yankee Stadium); the two ballparks were less than 1 mile apart on opposite sides of the Harlem River.

Ebbets Field was a classic ballpark that in some ways resembled Shibe Park in Philadelphia and Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, two parks opened 4 years before Ebbets Field. In its "classic" (final) form (1932-1957), it was a very hitter-friendly park with short dimensions to pretty much all fields.

Finally, getting back on topic, as you may have guessed based on the location description above, the Polo Grounds was located near the current 155th Street stop for the B/D Trains (to the north) and the 155th Street stop for the C Train (to the northeast).
Last edited by CHIP72 on Wed Nov 01, 2006 4:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 #313689  by NJTRailfan
 
Thanks guys, But atleast Ebbets Field will be making a come back when the new Mets Stadium will be built. From the outside it will look alot like Ebbet's by the outer brickwork. I did hear that the stadium could be named after Jackie robinson. I hope that happens.

 #318727  by GP38
 
Too late, the new Mets Stadium will be called "CitiField Stadium".....Citicorp bought the rights to it.

 #318993  by motor
 
I saw an NYC subway map from 1979 recently. Back then, the D stopped at 161 St/YS AND the sites of both 155 St and Prospect Pk before continuing along Flatbush to Coney. This was before the D was rerouted along 4 Av and New Utrecht.

I don't know if the same route connected YS, the PG and EF before O'Malley and Stoneham left town. I wasn't alive in 1958. Anyone know?

motor

 #319610  by NJTRailfan
 
GP-38, where did you hear this from? I haven't seen anything on what the Mets planned to name their stadium. If so then this is dissapointing that Jackie Robinson hasn't had a stadium named after him. I would think that that should be a fittign name since the new stadium will look exactly like Ebbet's from the outside esp with all that beautiful brick work.

I know the new Yankee Stadium was supposed to still retain it's name or be named after "The Babe"

 #320517  by Terrapin Station
 
NJTRailfan wrote:GP-38, where did you hear this from? I haven't seen anything on what the Mets planned to name their stadium. If so then this is dissapointing that Jackie Robinson hasn't had a stadium named after him. I would think that that should be a fittign name since the new stadium will look exactly like Ebbet's from the outside esp with all that beautiful brick work.

I know the new Yankee Stadium was supposed to still retain it's name or be named after "The Babe"
GOOGLE News...
 #320518  by Terrapin Station
 
NJTRailfan wrote:I heard that there were elevated lines to both Polo Grounds and Ebbet's Field Baseball stadiums at one time. Does anyone have any pics of these places and esp Polo Grounds and why was this demolished rather then expanded to meet another line? Also Was Polo Grounds the better stadium then Ebbets? I see alot more stuff on Ebbet's then Polo. I'm trying to find pictures on the outside along with the elevated lines that ran next to them if any did.

Thanks
Photos of the remains of the Polo Grounds shuttle:

http://www.railfanwindow.com/gallery/PoloGrShTour01
 #1494998  by erie910
 
A link to a YouTube video of the Polo Grounds shuttle follows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ok--4gJFiI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The first part of the video is about the Dyre Avenue shuttle, which ran on the right-of-way to Dyre Avenue, on the NYC border. At about 12:30 of the video, the subject becomes the Polo Grounds shuttle, the remnant of the 9th Avenue elevated line which ran from south Manhattan into the Bronx and joined the Jerome Avenue elevated line. The Polo Grounds shuttle continued to run for about a year after the NY baseball Giants left the Polo Grounds, but there might have been NY football Giants games there still. In the year before abandonment, service on the shuttle was reduced to one train operating on the in both directions on the northbound track.