December 14, 1963: The last event is held at the Polo Grounds, after 53 years of the current stadium, and 72 years of sports on the site. The New York Jets lose to the Buffalo Bills, 19-10.
I suppose it was only fair: The Jets, still known as the New York Titans at the time, ruined the Bills' 1st regular-season game, 27-3 over the September 11, 1960, also at the Polo Grounds -- and, of course, also the first game for the Jets-to-be.
It was a bit of an ignominious end for a stadium that had hosted 13 World Series, 5 NFL Championship Games and 2 Heavyweight Championship fights. Only 6,526 fans attended the wake. That was still more than the 1,752 who were at the last competitive baseball game at the old Harlem Horseshoe. On September 18, 1963, the New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1.
The following April, with both the Mets and the Jets having moved into the new Shea Stadium, the same demolition crew that demolished Ebbets Field in 1960 used the same wrecking ball, painted to look like a baseball, to take the Polo Grounds down. The Polo Grounds Towers opened on the site in 1966, with a playground named Willie Mays Field.
Polo Grounds Towers, as seen from Coogan's Bluff
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December 14, 1963 was a Saturday. Actress Cynthia Gibb was born. Singer Dinah Washington died. And the Baldwin Hills Dam broke in Los Angeles, killing 5 people. I have separate entries for Washington's death and the dam break.
Also in the American Football League that day, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Boston Patriots, 35-3 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. In the National Football League, the Green Bay Packers beat the San Francisco 49ers, 21-17 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. The rest of both Leagues played the next day, Sunday.
It was the last weekend of the college football season before the bowl games, and only 2 games were played. The University of Houston beat the University of Louisville, 21-7 at Rice Stadium in Houston, where they were groundsharing with their crosstown rivals, Rice University.
And Number 9 Alabama, coached by Paul "Bear" Bryant and quarterbacked by Joe Namath, beat the University of Miami, 17-12 at the Orange Bowl stadium in Miami. 'Bama and the University of Mississippi, each of whom had faced an integration crisis over the last year and change, did not play each other in the regular season, but 'Bama's losses to Florida and arch-rival Auburn, along with Ole Miss' undefeated season, gave Ole Miss the Southeastern Conference Championship. But since 'Bama hadn't had their shot at Ole Miss, they were pitted against each other in the Sugar Bowl, which traditionally features the SEC Champion, and 'Bama won, 12-7.
There were 4 games played in the NBA that day:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 123-119 at the old Madison Square Garden.
* The Cincinnati Royals beat the Boston Celtics, 108-105 at the Boston Garden.
* The St. Louis Hawks beat the Detroit Pistons, 104-92 at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis.
* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Baltimore Bullets, 113-108 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena. Jerry West led all scorers on the day with 38 points.
The NHL's entire "Original Six" was in action that day:
* The New York Rangers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-3 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins, 3-1 at the Montreal Forum.
* And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 5-4 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
And in English soccer, Arsenal, the North London team that I would one day support, traveled to the Birmingham area, and played Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. Wolves, to a 2-2 draw.
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