Home of three teams for more than a half of a century, the last Polo Grounds was one of baseballs hallowed ballparks. Throughout the history of baseball in New York City there have been four ballparks known as the Polo Grounds dating back to the 1800s. Named after the sport, polo, the first Polo Grounds was located near Central Park between 110th and 112th streets. In 1880, John Day rented land where polo was played and constructed a single deck grandstand. He bought the New York Mets and later the New York Gothams (renamed the Giants). The Giants played their first game at the Polo Grounds on May 1, 1883 against Boston and the Mets followed days later with their first game. Both teams played on the same parcel of land, but on two different fields. The Giants had the superior field as the Mets field was built atop a garbage heap.  A second deck was added to the ballpark that year and the first Polo Grounds had a seating capacity of 12,000. The Giants played their last game here on October 13, 1888. Manhattan officials evicted the team and 111th street was constructed through the outfield.

In 1889 the Giants moved to Harlem's Coogan's Bluff where the team played at several ballparks for nearly seven decades. Located along 155th and 157th Streets along 8th Avenue, the Giants played their first game at the second Polo Grounds on July 8, 1889. Located along 157th and 159th Streets was Brotherhood Park, home of the Players League New York Giants. Located side-by-side, there were two ballparks, with two different teams that shared the same name. The Giants played their last game at the second Polo Grounds on September 30, 1890. In 1890 the Players League merged with the National League and the N.L. Giants bought and moved into Brotherhood Park in 1891. Renamed Polo Grounds, the Giants played their first game here on April 22, 1891. The third incarnation of the Polo Grounds had a seating capacity of 16,000. The main double decked grandstand arched around homeplate and down the baselines. Bleachers were located in dead center field and 7,000 seats were added in 1908. By 1911, the ballpark had a seating capacity of 31,000 and was the largest stadium in baseball. Built of mainly wood, the ballpark caught fire and burned while the Giants were out of town on April 14, 1911. The ballpark suffered $250,000 in damage and was a complete loss.

Like the Philadelphia Athletics and Pittsburgh Pirates, the Giants decided to follow their trend and construct a ballpark of steel and concrete. Constructed on the same location as its predecessor, the fourth and final Polo Grounds opened on June 28, 1911. The grandstand consisted of 16,000 seats and by the end of the season the capacity grew to 34,000. Double decked grandstands extended from home plate, to half way down the left field line and 40 feet past the right field foul pole. The ballpark had several distinctive features including an Italian marble facade and seats that had decorative iron scrollwork. Polo Grounds inherited a new tenant in 1913 when the New York Yankees moved into the ballpark with the Giants. Although the distances were short down both lines to the foul poles, 277 in left field and 258 feet in right field, the distance to centerfield was 455 feet making it one of the longest in MLB history. Polo Grounds was a hitters paradise with the exception of centerfield. A pop fly down the either line could become a homerun easily. With acquisition of Babe Ruth the Yankees became a huge success, winning many games at Polo Grounds. Owner of the Giants, John McGraw became angry when the Yankees began drawing more fans than the Giants at Polo Grounds. After the 1922 season McGraw evicted the Yankees from the ballpark, where they built the greatest stadium in sports, Yankee Stadium just a quarter mile south of the Polo Grounds.