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The Polo Grounds: Essays and Memories of New York City's Historic Ballpark, 1880-1963
In an era of unique baseball stadiums, the Polo Grounds in New York stood out from the rest. With its horseshoe shape, the Polo Grounds had extremely short distances down the foul lines and equally long distances up the alley and to center field. Some of baseball's most historic moments--Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard Round the World, Willie Mays' Catch, Fred Merkle's infamous blunder--happened at the Polo Grounds. This book offers descriptive text and photographs that give a sense of the glory of this classic ballpark. Additionally, it contains historical articles and memories submitted by more than 70 former players who played at the Polo Grounds.
296 pages, Paperback
Published February 12, 2019
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June 17, 2019
A recently released book titled, THE POLO GROUNDS: ESSAYS AND MEMORIES OF NEW YORK CITY’S HISTORIC BALLPARK, edited by Stew Thornley, was of immediate interest to me. I grew up in the 1950-60s, just one block away from the Polo Grounds Ballpark, which was a great source of pride in our historic Sugar Hill, Harlem neighborhood. Willie Mays lived up the street, and fans from every corner of New York City came to Harlem to watch the games. The book contains a wealth of absorbing material for baseball fans, historians, and readers like me who study and write about Harlem history.
Along with old photographs, one richly detailed piece in the collection—“White Circled Targets Drawn in Crayon the Untold Story Behind the Tragic Shooting of Bernard Doyle at the Polo Grounds,” by Daniel VanDeMortel—immediately caught my attention. It’s about the 1950 murder of Bernard Doyle, an innocent spectator in the stands, who was shot by a stray bullet. A young black teenager, Robert Peebles, is charged with the shooting and eventually confesses. However, things are not as they seem and the carefully researched article begins to read like an investigative crime story—one which casts doubt about Peebles’s conviction.
VanDeMortel gives readers much more than a story about murder at a baseball stadium. He also covers historical facts such as the popularity of boxing during the mid 20th-century, and how the Irish community fit into this scenario. The author reveals details on police tactics, the New York press, racism, juvenile incarceration, and the long odds of obtaining judicial fairness for a young black man.
Along with old photographs, one richly detailed piece in the collection—“White Circled Targets Drawn in Crayon the Untold Story Behind the Tragic Shooting of Bernard Doyle at the Polo Grounds,” by Daniel VanDeMortel—immediately caught my attention. It’s about the 1950 murder of Bernard Doyle, an innocent spectator in the stands, who was shot by a stray bullet. A young black teenager, Robert Peebles, is charged with the shooting and eventually confesses. However, things are not as they seem and the carefully researched article begins to read like an investigative crime story—one which casts doubt about Peebles’s conviction.
VanDeMortel gives readers much more than a story about murder at a baseball stadium. He also covers historical facts such as the popularity of boxing during the mid 20th-century, and how the Irish community fit into this scenario. The author reveals details on police tactics, the New York press, racism, juvenile incarceration, and the long odds of obtaining judicial fairness for a young black man.
Displaying 1 of 1 review