Mystery Friday Foto #8 Solved; Midget Racing at the Polo Grounds & The Marty Himes Collection
Attention all baseball and race fans!
Did you identify this Midget racetrack at the Polo Grounds in 1948?
Image and all automobilia courtesy of the Marty Himes Collection.
Identify;
- The hallowed baseball stadium and team associated with the stadium
The stadium is the Polo Grounds, home of the former New York Giants baseball team. Also utilized for the new NY Mets team in the 1962/63 seasons prior to Shea Stadium being built.
- The type of track and what type of vehicles utilized the race track
Wooden board track utilized for Midget racing in the 40's, and again at the Polo Grounds in the late 50's. In total, midget racing came to the Polo Grounds 3 times, but none of the 3 events were very successful.
- Year
June 5, 1948
- Kudos; How was this racetrack constructed?
“1-1/2 inch thick tongue and groove pine boards of varying widths created the track surface secured by cleats to the pre-engineered aluminum stringers with stainless steel fittings.” From Kevin Triplett’s Racing History: Kevin Triplett's Racing History
As Phil 'Scooter' Rizzuto would say; "Holy Cow!" An impressive amount of guesses this week!
Comments (17)
Congrats to David Miller, Ron Ridolph, Dennis Spina, Al Prete, Mitch Paluszek, Roy Warner, Al Velocci, Patrick, Frank, John Ulrich, Tom Orlando, Steve Lucas, James King, Art Kleiner, and ErnieM for correctly identifying the Polo Grounds.
Thanks to Tom Orlando and Art Kleiner for supporting photos and documents.
Kudos to Dennis Spina, Tom Orlando, Steve Lucas, and Art Kleiner for detailing track construction.
Greg O.
Image courtesy of the Marty Himes Collection
Closeup of the Polo Grounds grandstands
From the Marty Himes Collection; Advertising Flyer
A treasure trove of automobilia from the Marty Himes Collection including flyers, programs and tickets.
Discount Ticket
1948 was not the only time Midget racing came to the Polo Grounds. They returned again in 1959, but did not prove to be any more successful.
The complete 1948 Program
Fortunately, the original spectator with this program filled in the results of all the heats inside. This program is from the second night, June 12, 1948.
Interestingly, the original owner noted on the front cover; "2nd meet, Cool Dry Track...Fords, more than the 1st meet." as well as their seating arrangement.
Aside from the results, this spectator also noted their expenses for the evening on the inside cover.
Bridge- .50
Tickets- $5.50
Program- .25
Peanuts- .20
Beer- .60
Ice Cream- .30
A whopping $7.35 to attend the race!
And after the races, don't forget the "Gay New Revue" starring Martin & Lewis at the Copa on East 60th! No cover, no minimum and no cabaret tax! $2.50...What a deal!
For under 10 bucks, you could catch some midget racing, dinner and a show at the Copa and have a night to remember!
All the greatest baseball players of course smoked Chesterfields
Marty Himes Article on the Polo Grounds racing
Unknown to many, Marty Himes was also a prolific writer on racing for many Long Island publications.
This article from the November 2004 edition of Great South Bay Magazine.
The first night's big winner; NY's own #21 Wheeler Offy driver Ray Nestor winning an impressive $974.00.
Comments
This is the Polo Grounds where the NY Giants played. This is a “board track” where midget/sprint race cars competed. The year of the picture is 1958.
Polo Grounds, New York
The stadium is the Polo Grounds, home of the New York Giants
The type of track (and how it was constructed) was “1-1/2 inch thick tongue and groove pine boards of varying widths created the track surface secured by cleats to the pre-engineered aluminum stringers with stainless steel fittings.”
The type of racing was board track midget racing
The year was 1948
Answers about the track and its construction are from Kevin Triplett’s Racing History: https://triplettracehistory.blogspot.com/2016/10/post-war-midget-board-track-racing-this.html
It’s the Polo Grounds, home of the N.Y. Giants baseball team, and later, the Mets.
I’m more of a baseball fan than a racing fan, but I’ll guess that those are midget racers and the track is made out of wood.
1958 Stock car racing at the Polo Grounds. I think the track was made of wooden boards.
It’s the Polo Grounds, of course. But then, again, I’m 75 y/o and my father took me there in the ‘50s and I went to see the Mets w/one or more of my friends when they had to use the field starting in ‘62 before Shea was completed in ‘64.
I recognize the midget cars. And the track was probably made of wood. But to discern the exact year is hard. First, night baseball started to be used in 1935 during the Depression. And the event might have been held during the War. But It just seems to outlandish for me that the event would have been held during either of these eras. So, my conclusion is that the races were done after the War. However, I don’t know how they would have been run during the baseball season. I imagine that they would have been run either shortly before or shortly after the baseball season. When? I haven’t a clue. However, I was born in ‘48 and I started to read at four; my closest aunt was a school teacher. But I didn’t start to read newspapers regularly until I was in 2nd grade at PS 162 in Bayside where each parent had to buy a student subscription to the old NY Herald Tribune. And I never heard it mentioned on the radio. So, the way I figure it, the races must have been between the end of the War in ‘45 and ‘53.
Back in 1962 1 attended my first ever Met game at this stadium.
Polo Grounds
Home of the NY Giants (baseball),
also the Metsies for a while before Shea was built
I believe this is the Coogan’s Bluff Ballpark- The Polo Grounds
Home of the NY (baseball) Giants
The Mets played here their first two years I believe,
If this helps
NY Giants (baseball) Polo Grounds . Manhattan NY
Year 1948
midget race car driving. Very popular at the time.
Horace Stoneman ,2nd generation owner of the team ,Needed some extra pocket money. Same man who moved Giants to west coast (SF) after 57 season, after Dodgers also announced relocation to La La land.
The Polo Grounds at155th Street and 8th Avenue,Manhattan, home of the New York Giants. (also used at various times by NY Yankees, NY Mets, Titans-Jets) torn down in 1964. Only remains are staircase from Cogan’s Bluff. Track is banked wood board track for ARCD (American Racing Care Drivers) piloting Offenhauser type midget racers
First race on board track June 8th 1948, Due to low attendance only 2 races took place of the scheduled 15.( previous earlier races on the warning track tore-up part of the baseball field)
Track was 1-1/2” tongue n groove board on aluminum frame with metal fittings, 30 semi trucks of materials, set up and then dismantled in 14 hours by a crew of 200 men.
That’s the iconic Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan, NYC. Remembered mainly as the home of the NY Giants baseball team, it also served (at various times) as the home field for the NY Football Giants, NY Highlanders (later NY Yankees), NY Titans (jets), and NY Mets. The track was a portable wood board track. It was used by midget racers (sometimes called sprint cars). I believe the date of the photo is 1948. The track was designed to be portable by Lionel Levy and consisted of 2200 separate pieces weighing a total of 325 tons and needing 30 semi trucks for transport. It took a team of 200 workers about 14 hours to set it up using aluminum supports with stainless steel fittings.
From James King
Polo Grounds
New York’s Polo Grounds - New York Giants
“During the summer months, while the Giants baseball team was on the road, the facility was converted into a racetrack that hosted Midget cars. The $150,000 one-fifth-mile board surface was laid over an aluminum frame so as to not damage the playing field, and took 18 hours to construct.” (Getty Images)
1948/1949
Article is from Billboard, April 17, 1948.
A little clearer picture.
I believe the picture shows Dexter Park which I think was off Woodhaven Blvd in Queens.
Was never there because I was not allowed to drive out of Nassau County
My first guess was this would be the Polo Grounds where the Dodgers played.
The track looks to be wood planks. My dad took me to a race once in Garden City South on Hempstead Turnpike, indoors in some arena. I believe there is still an arch from that place fronting the Cherry Valley Marketplace. Dad called the race cars “Midgets.”
That’s all my failing memory, eyesight, and Google could dig up.
Loved seeing all the supporting materials that were added after the “mystery” was solved. The Marty Himes memorabilia is a rare treat. Thanks for sharing it.
In Brooklyn the former home of the Brooklyn Dodger at Ebbits Field, left for L.A. after the 1957 season, it was use for other events until 1960 when it was demolished for Ebbits Field Apartments complex. One year in 1959, me a car nerd then, went in 1959 to this event.