Tag Archives: Polo Grounds
Don Williams
Don Williams (Sportswriter. Born, Jamaica, NY, Aug. 31, 1932; died, Westbury, NY, Sept. 1, 2011.) A quiet, unassuming presence, Clement Donald Williams spent nearly a half-century covering sports, primarily pro football. Williams was hired by the Long Island Press in 1950 and worked a wide range of inside jobs at the paper, moving into sports [...]
Hoyt Wilhelm
Hoyt Wilhelm (Baseball. Born, Huntersville, NC, July 26, 1923; died, Sarasota, FL, Aug. 23, 2002.) Starting a career that was to last 21 years with nine teams, James Hoyt Wilhelm joined the New York Giants in 1952 and was 15-3 in a league-high 71 appearances. Wilhelm was unique as a knuckleballer who specialized in relief [...]
Phil Weintraub
Phil Weintraub (Baseball. Born, Chicago, IL Oct. 12, 1907; died, Palm Springs, CA, June 21, 1987.) A thickly-built lefthanded hitter, Philip Weintraub was a noted minor league hitter in the 1930s and played 103 games for the Giants in parts of three seasons (1933-35), primarily as an outfielder. Weintraub hit just .278 in that span [...]
Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas (Baseball. Born, Pittsbugh, PA, June 11, 1929.) It perhaps said more about the early Mets than about his ability that Frank Joseph Thomas was the first real star of the team. Thomas was a dead pull hitter from the right side whose stroke was ideally suited to the leftfield confines of the Polo [...]
Bill Terry
Bill Terry (Baseball. Born, Atlanta, GA, Oct. 30, 1898; died, Jacksonville, FL, Jan. 9, 1989.) William Harold Terry was not only the best National League first baseman of his time, but he also compiled a lifetime .341 average in 14 seasons with the New York Giants and managed the team to three pennants. Terry joined [...]
Harry M. Stevens
Harry M. Stevens (Executive. Born, London, England, June 14, 1855; died, New York, NY, May 3, 1934.) Harry Mosley Stevens may be one of the few sports figures to have invented a business. Stevens’ efforts created the modern sports concessioning business, although he always referred to himself as a “publisher and caterer.” Stevens came with his [...]
Suitcase Bob Seeds
Suitcase Bob Seeds (Baseball. Born, Ringgold, TX, Feb. 24, 1907; died, Erick, OK, Oct. 28, 1993.) Although he earned his nickname for his travels around the minor leagues, Robert Ira Seeds played parts of nine seasons with five major league teams, including two in New York – the Yankees (1936) and the Giants (1938-40). Seeds did [...]
Ingemar Johansson
Ingemar Johansson (Boxing. Born, Gothenburg, Sweden, Oct. 16, 1932; died, Kungsbacka, Sweden, Jan. 30, 2009.) Heavyweight champion for just over 51 weeks in 1959-60, Ingemar Johansson both won and lost the title in New York. Johansson became the champion June 26, 1959, by virtue of a third-round knockout of Floyd Patterson at Yankee Stadium. He lost the [...]
Lou Little
Lou Little (College football. Born, Leominster, MA, Dec. 6, 1893; died, Delray Beach, FL, May 28, 1979.) Louis Lawrence Little stamped his name indelibly on some of the brightest moments in the history of New York college football during his 27-year tenure as head coach at Columbia. After playing a season at Vermont, Little transferred [...]
Jim Mutrie
Jim Mutrie (Baseball. Born, Chelsea, MA, June 13, 1851; died, New York, NY, Jan. 24, 1938.) James J. Mutrie came to New York with the idea of starting a high-level professional baseball club. In the event, he started two. When Mutrie arrived in 1880, the city lacked a big league-quality team since the Mutuals had [...]
