The New York Giants' home, the Polo Grounds, situated on Eighth Avenue between 155th and 157th streets, stood beneath a rock cliff called Coogan’s Bluff, which gave the park its nickname. When it was built in 1911, it had 34,000 seats, enlarged over time to about 56,000. The stadium's bathtub shape, with a clubhouse overlooking the playing field in deepest center field, yielded preposterously short distances down the lines (279 to left, 259 in right), but an unusually deep center field (483 feet when Willie Mays made "The Catch" in the 1954 World Series).

How did the Polo Grounds get its odd name? From 1883 through 1888, the New York Giants shared a polo field in upper Manhattan. When they moved into their final home further uptown in 1891, it was identified as the "new polo grounds." This ballpark burned down and was rebuilt in 1911, and over time served as home to three of the four New York City teams: the Giants from 1911 ‒ 1957; the Yankees from 1913 ‒ 1922; and the Mets from 1962 ‒ 1963.

The Glory Days: New York Baseball, 1947-1957 was on view at the Museum of the City of New York from June 27 to December 31, 2007.