Polo Grounds and Giants owner Horace Stoneman's seats!

[chairman]

Hello Polo Grounds fans..... I have a question for you. Where can I get stadium views that show the seats? I own the supposedly exact pair of Polo Grounds seats that New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham would sit in when he watched a game in front. They were amongst the first taken out in 1964 by a man (dead now), whose relatives I got them from. They were located just behind the catcher, over his shoulder, the very first row, the two end seats. I have no provenance for them other than this story, so I have to prove they are the real mccoy by comparing them with other seats and photos of that spot. They are a connected pair with a figural "NY" at either end and a third armrest in the center. They have all kinds of relief and impressed factory and company numbers and letters in the metal in back of the seat surface. The top numbers are "1" and "2." In the 2003 "Standard Catalog Of Sports Memorabilia," by Lehman, on page 187, there's a photo of one chair. Mine look like that except there's no "D" shaped hole in the side metal below the seat... Is this pair unique? Were they only used in private boxes? Anybody have any photos that inlcude that spot of the stands?

[chairman]

Those relatives weren't exactly sure over which of the catcher's shoulders the seats were behind, and photos of the either side would be interesting, anyway. Actually, I'd like to see photos of ANY seats closeup in the stadium..... The strength of the story was that this person was a die hard fan that went to a zillion games, and he knew where the owner's seats were, having seen him there many times, and purposely went for them when the stadium was demolished.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Hello here is a photo of some polo grounds seats. maybe this can help.Donald

[chairman]

Thanks, Donald. Mine are like them; except they are a row of only TWO with the "NY" figural at each end. I wonder how many pairs with 2 figurals there were in the whole stadium? The paint on mine is green, I think. I'm a little color blind, so I'm not certain.. Under the green on the armrest I see some orange. The logos look like orange with black trim.

[chairman]

Here are Horace's seats!

[chairman]

Maybe he marked or signed them somewhere. From the description, they were somewhere between the dugouts against the front wall. I saw a photo and it looks like there were three sections there; and on both sides, there were also a couple seats from the next section on the inside edge of the dugouts. If he sat there, he could talk to the players. If he sat directly in back of the catcher, he could see the pitches.

[chairman]

http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/claws/chairs1.jpg

[chairman]

Here's Horace's seats! http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/claws/chairs1.jpg http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/claws/chairs4.jpg http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/claws/chairs5.jpg http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/claws/chairs6.jpg http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/claws/chairs2.jpg http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/claws/chairs8.jpg http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/claws/chairs9.jpg

[William J. Sullivan]

I attended a game at the Polo Grounds and would love to own chairs from there. Know of any for sale?

Thanks,

William J. Sullivan

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

I attended a game at the Polo Grounds and would love to own chairs from there. Know of any for sale?

Thanks,

William J. Sullivan

Hello check on ebay there are some polo grounds seats on ebay, DOANLD :waving

[chairman]

William, a single figural "NY" chair goes for $3,000.00. A chair without the metal NY figure goes for $800.00. The figures were usually at either end of a long line of chairs. My chairs here are somewhat of a rarity by themselves, being an original pair with the NY figural on either end of only two. There could not have been a lot of pairs in the whole stadium like mine. So I imagine my pair would bring over $6,000. They are all original with no repainting, restoring, or repair........... However! They came with a convincing story, which I totally believe to be true, about this pair being the owner's seats that were later specifically targeted by a fan when they demolished the stadium. If I could prove that to be true by finding old photographs of the spot these were taken from, right in back of the catcher, end of the first row, and successfully compare the chairs in the photos with mine, I am off to Sotheby's. The owner always sat in the same spot right there.... Doesn't anyone out there have an old photo that includes that spot? A foul ball being caught by the catcher or something? A photo of the owner in the stands? A photo showing batters on deck? I'm hoping!

[chairman]

How about this? Are there any Stoneham relatives, friends, stadium workers, players, broadcasters, or fans still out there with any stories of him in the stands? Is there anything that could help written in books about the Polo Grounds or about him? Even one small sentence could help. How about letters or other correspondence written to or from, or involving him? .... I just had a thought. Old NY Giants programs or yearbooks might have a photo or something for me. Let me know if anyone finds anything. Thanks.

[chairman]

The wear pattern in both the chair backs is similar and interesting, as if whoever sat in them always leaned to his left.

[chairman]

Sorry I spelled his name wrong. It is Stoneham, not Stoneman. I corrected it in the threads but couldn't in the title.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Hello i looked at my polo grounds seating chart and saw that there were a few areas were there was only 2 seats together in the field level box seat area.and one thing you may want to consider the 2 seats could have also been seats for the owner of the mets joan payson.the seating chart is posted on my polo grounds site both sites. Donald :waving

[chairman]

Nope. These die hards went to "Giants" games for many many years. They even followed them out ot California and went to games there. They knew the owner and his name well. He had owned the team for many many years. I'll check your seating charts.

[chairman]

Donald, what is your site address?

[Paulmcall]

I thought Stoneham watched a lot of games from his centerfield office.
That long row of seats looks like the set I saw at the Hall of Fame this past week.

[GIANT]

Stoneham allegedly slept in the centerfield clubhouse when he was recovering from a "headache." During a Mets broadcast last year Ralph Kiner told this story about Stoneham. The Pirates were in town to play the Giants a Sunday doubleheader at the Polo Grounds on a beautiful sunny day. Prior to the first game, workmen were washing the clubhouse windows in centerfield. Stoneham was asleep and was awaken by the noise. According to Kiner, Stoneham saw the water on the windows and thought it was raining. He canceled the doubleheader. Kiner said he was shagging fly balls and was told the doubleheader was postponed because of rain. Kiner went back to the Pirates clubhouse. Shortly thereafter, he heard Leo Durocher unleash a profanity laden tirade. Kiner claimed the irony of it all was the Giants were rained out and the Dodgers were playing a doubleheader in Brooklyn.

[westsidegrounds]

[QUOTE=GIANT]
According to Kiner, Stoneham saw the water on the windows and thought it was raining. He canceled the doubleheader. /QUOTE]

Hence the common expression "according to Kiner"

e.g. "According to Kiner, the moon is made of bleu cheese salad dressing."

[GIANT]

[
Hence the common expression "according to Kiner"

e.g. "According to Kiner, the moon is made of bleu cheese salad dressing."[/QUOTE]

Where did you read or hear that?

[chairman]

Paulmcall, OK, but the story was: "That when he wasn't in his private areas, when he DID want to sit on the field, he sat in the same 2 prime seats in the first row behind the catcher, in these 2 seats." They actually told the story to me somewhat in that fashion, that he did have private areas in the stadium, but when he wanted to be close, he came down and sat in these seats. And he was seen there often. Someone out there must remember seeing him in the stands! I'm sure there's photos showing this. Come on, guys, get those photos and stories from your grandfathers! ........ I'm still waiting to see a seat chart for the Polo Grounds stadium. In most stadiums, the spots next to the field have special reserved seats, and are arranged in small groups....... Anyway, thanks to everbody for the information and the Stoneham stories. It appears there's a lot more interesting and odd facts about this guy than just his being the owner! Keep 'em coming.

[chairman]

Here's three closeups from PG's postcards and photos. In the first one, a single row, special box seat area stuck out from the general stands directly behind the catcher and between the dugouts.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Hello you may want to check out this site for photos of the seats you have
http://www.dailynewspix.com
or you can checkout the CORBIS.COM site for photos Donald

[chairman]

Attention...... This Pair Of NY Giants Figural Seats Will Be For Sale At Sotheby's In Their December Baseball Auction

[chairman]

Thanks, Donald. Those photos did show bettter views of the lower level seats and some areas near the catcher, but not exactly the place I'm looking for. Anyway, as for those other lower level seats, none of them are pairs. I see long rows, then some sixes, and then a lot of fours; but I saw no twos. My two seats are getting rarer. In those photos, I really could not make out the seats along the wall or fence directly in back of the catcher. That's the spot in question. There was a set of five along the wall right next to the visitors dugout.

[chairman]

Here's some closer views. The second one with Willie Mays is probably on the outfield side of the dugout. I still need better views in back of the catcher... The last two pics are of Horace Stoneman.

[crzybeauti]

Hello...I noticed people posting about memorbilia that has come from the pologrounds and I was wondering if someone who knew anything about pricing could answer my question. I have the home plate from the last game played at the pologrounds signed by team players and 4 tickets from that game and a newspaper article about my grandfather who obtained this plate.IT
IS AUTHENTIC!!!Does anyone one know how much (approximatly) this could all be worth? My grandmother and I have always been curious. Thanks