New York’s Polo Grounds (1890-1964) hosted the New York Giants (both baseball and football), the New York Mets for two seasons, the New York Jets (then called the Titans), boxing matches and other sporting contests. What some say is the greatest baseball play of all time, “The Catch” made by Willie Mays in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, happened at centre field in this stadium.
The Polo Grounds also hosted numerous important Jewish events.
In 1926, Hakoah, a Jewish soccer team from Vienna, played against a New York team drawing 46,000 fans, the largest crowd to watch a soccer game in the United States at that time. That same year, at a benefit for the United Jewish Campaign, $75,000 was raised at a “Theatrical & Sports Field Day” which featured Harry Houdini, Al Jolson, the Marx Brothers and an amateur champion Charleston contest
On May 16, 1948, a “Salute to the Jewish State” rally took place two days after Israel was proclaimed, organized by the American Committee of Jewish Writers, Artists & Scientists. In September 1948, the Israeli national soccer team played its first game since independence, losing 3-1 to the United States.
This pennant is a souvenir from the celebration of Israel’s 10th anniversary which the Polo Grounds hosted on April 27, 1958. The 50,000 attendees at the “Salute to Freedom” celebrated in a chilly drizzle. Luminaries in attendance included Eleanor Roosevelt and Moshe Dayan.
In his keynote address, former New York governor and senator Herbert H. Lehman said “I believe that Arab leaders are now coming to realize that in preventing the settlement of Arab refugees they are keeping alive a problem for themselves.
“We must help and encourage the Arab States to resettle the Arab refugees in Arab lands, so that the pitiful plight of these refugees will no longer be a source of tension and danger to the peace of mankind.”
Israeli Ambassador Abba Eban told the audience: “The issue is no longer whether Israel will survive. The choice is between survival in peace, as we should prefer, or survival in stress and turmoil, which we shall accomplish if we must.”
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The first 40 seconds of this newsreel footage shows the festivities.
