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Polo Grounds

The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the sport of polo. Bound on the south and north by 110th and 112th streets and on the east and west by Fifth and Sixth (Lenox) avenues, just north of Central Park, it was converted to a baseball stadium when leased by the New York Metropolitans in 1880.

The third Polo Grounds, built in 1890, and renovated after a fire in 1911, was in Coogan's Hollow and was noted for its distinctive bathtub shape, with very short distances to the left and right field walls and an unusually deep center field.

The original Polo Grounds was home to the New York Metropolitans from 1880 to 1885, and the New York Giants from 1883 to 1888. The Giants played in the second Polo Grounds for part of the 1889 season and all of the 1890 season, and at the third Polo Grounds from 1891 to 1957. The Polo Grounds was also the home of the New York Yankees from 1913 to 1922 and New York Mets in their first two seasons (1962, 1963). Each version of the ballpark held at least one World Series. The final version also hosted the 1934 and 1942 All-Star Games.

In American football, the third Polo Grounds was home to the New York Brickley Giants for one game in 1921 and the New York Giants from 1925 to 1955. The New York Titans/Jets of the American Football League played at the stadium from the league's inaugural season of 1960 until 1963.

Other sporting events held at the Polo Grounds included soccer, boxing, and Gaelic football. Its final sporting event was a pro football game between the Jets and Buffalo Bills. Shea Stadium opened in 1964 and replaced the Polo Grounds as the home of the Mets and Jets. The Polo Grounds was demolished and a public housing complex, Polo Grounds Towers, built on the site.

Polo Grounds I
The original Polo Grounds stood at 110th Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, directly across 110th Street from the northeast corner of Central Park. The venue's original purpose was for the sport of polo. Its name was initially merely descriptive, not a formal name, often rendered as "the polo grounds" in newspapers. The Metropolitans, an independent team of roughly major-league caliber, was the first professional baseball team to play there, beginning in September 1880, and remained the sole professional occupant through the 1882 season. At that time the Metropolitans' ownership had the opportunity to bring it into the National League, but elected instead to organize a new team, the New York Gothams — who soon came to be known as the Giants — mainly using players from the Metropolitans and the newly defunct Troy Trojans, and entered it in the National League, while bringing what remained of the Metropolitan club into the competing American Association. For this purpose the ownership built a second diamond and grandstand at the park, dividing it into eastern and western fields for use by the Giants and Metropolitans respectively. Polo Grounds I thus hosted its first Major League Baseball games in 1883 as the home stadium of two teams, the American Association Metropolitans and the National League Gothams. The dual-fields arrangement proved unworkable because of faulty surfacing of the western field, and after various other arrangements were tried, the Metropolitans and Giants alternated play on the eastern field in later years until the Metropolitans moved to the St. George Cricket Grounds on Staten Island in 1886.

Although the Giants would soon become the team of choice in the city, the "Mets" had a good year in 1884. They had started the season in a new facility called Metropolitan Park, which proved to be such a poor venue that they moved back to the Polo Grounds within a few weeks. Despite that bit of drama, the Mets went on to win the American Association pennant. Their good fortune ran out when they faced the Providence Grays in the World Series, in which Providence pitcher Old Hoss Radbourn pitched three consecutive shutouts against them. All three games had been staged at the Polo Grounds.

An early highlight of Giants' play at the Polo Grounds was Roger Connor's home run over the right-field wall and into 112th Street; Connor eventually held the record for career home runs that Babe Ruth would break July 8, 1921.

The original Polo Grounds was used not only for Polo and professional baseball, but often for college baseball and football as well – even by teams outside New York. The earliest known surviving image of the field is an engraving of a baseball game between Yale University and Princeton University on Decoration Day, May 30, 1882. Yale and Harvard also played their traditional Thanksgiving Day football game there on November 29, 1883 and November 24, 1887. (See Football below)

Demolition and forced relocation
New York City was in the process of extending its street grid into uptown Manhattan in 1889. Plans for an extended West 111th Street ran through the Polo Grounds. City workers are said to have shown up suddenly one day and begun cutting through the fence to lay out the new street. With the Giants having won the National League pennant the year before, as well as the World Series there was significant sentiment in the city against the move; a bill was even passed by the state legislature giving the Giants a variance which would allow the park to stand. Governor David B. Hill, who had campaigned for office on a "home rule" pledge, vetoed it on the grounds that whatever he might think of the forced destruction of the park, the will of the city government was to be respected. The loss of their park forced the Giants to look quickly for alternative grounds.

Polo Grounds II
The Giants opened the 1889 season at Oakland Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, playing their first two games there. Four days later, they moved to the St. George Cricket Grounds (where the Metropolitans had continued to play until their demise following the 1887 season).

After closing out a homestand at the St. George Grounds on June 14, the Giants went on the road. Upon their return on July 8 they had relocated again, to a "New Polo Grounds" site within Manhattan at the far terminus of the then Ninth Avenue Elevated at 155th Street and 8th Avenue (now Frederick Douglass Boulevard). Newspaper accounts indicate that the seats from the original Polo Grounds were moved to the new Polo Grounds stands. Despite their vagabond existence during the first half of the 1889 season, the Giants began their stay at the new ballpark just 4 games behind the league-leading Boston club. They rallied to win the pennant for the second consecutive year, as well as that year's World Series against Brooklyn.

The new site was overlooked to the north and west by a steep promontory known as Coogan's Bluff. Because of its elevation, fans frequently watched games from the Bluff without buying tickets. The ballpark itself was in bottomland known as Coogan's Hollow. The grandstand had a conventional curve around the infield, but the shape of the property made the center field area actually closer than left center or right center. This was not much of an issue in the "dead ball era" of baseball. The land remained in the Coogan estate, and the Giants were renters for their entire time at Polo Grounds II, III and IV. The Brooklyn Dodgers played a pair of home series at this ballpark in late July and early August 1890.

After the National League version of the New York Giants moved into Polo Grounds III in 1891, Polo Grounds II was sub-leased to the Manhattan Athletic Club and was referred to ever after as Manhattan Field. It was converted for other sports such as football and track-and-field.

The New York Giants leased Manhattan Field to the Columbia University football team for $14,000 in 1899 and $15,000 in 1900.

The superstructure of Manhattan Field was demolished in 1911 following the fire that destroyed Polo Grounds III, but the site still existed as a field for 20 more years. Babe Ruth's first home run as a Yankee, on May 1, 1920, was characterized by The New York Times reporter as a "sockdolager" (i.e. a decisive blow), and was described as traveling "over the right field grand stand into Manhattan Field". Bill Jenkinson's modern research indicates the ball traveled about 500 ft in total, after clearing the Polo Grounds double decked right field stand. Manhattan Field continued to be an occasional site for amateur sports reported in local newspapers as late as spring of 1942. In June 1948, the Giants again leased the Manhattan Field property, and had it paved over to serve as a parking lot for the Polo Grounds.

Polo Grounds III
Polo Grounds III was the stadium that made the name nationally famous. Built in 1890, it initially had a completely open outfield bounded by just the outer fence, but bleachers were gradually added. By the early 1900s, some bleacher sections encroached on the field from the foul lines about halfway along left and right field. Additionally, there were a pair of "cigar box" bleachers on either side of the "batter's eye" in center field. The expansive outfield was cut down somewhat by a rope fence behind which carriages (and early automobiles) were allowed to park. By 1910, bleachers enclosed the outfield, and the carriage ropes were gone. The hodge-podge approach to the bleacher construction formed a multi-faceted outfield area. There were a couple of gaps between some of the sections, and that would prove significant in 1911.

Known as Brotherhood Park when it opened in 1890, Polo Grounds III was the home of a second New York Giants franchise in the Players' League. The latter was a creation of Major League Baseball's first union, the Brotherhood of Professional Base-Ball Players. After failing to win concessions from National League owners, the Brotherhood founded its own league in 1890. The Players' League Giants built Brotherhood Park in the northern half of Coogan's Hollow, next door to Polo Grounds II, otherwise bounded by rail yards and the bluff. Brotherhood Park hosted its first game on April 19, 1890, the same day the National League's Giants played their first home game of the season. For the full 1890 season the two editions of the Giants were neighbors. When the teams played on the same day, fans in the upper decks could watch each other's games, and home run balls hit in one park might land on the other team's playing field. After the one season the Players' League folded, and the Brotherhood's members went back to the National League. The National League Giants then moved out of Polo Grounds II and into Brotherhood Park, which was larger. They took their stadium's name with them once again, turning Brotherhood Park into the new-new Polo Grounds. Between Polo Grounds II and III-IV, they would remain in Coogan's Hollow for 69 seasons.

Fire and reconstruction as Polo Grounds IV
In the very early morning hours of Friday, April 14, 1911, a fire of uncertain origin swept through the stadium's horseshoe-shaped grandstand, consuming wood and leaving only steel uprights in place. The gaps between some sections of the stands saved a good portion of the outfield seating and the clubhouse from destruction. Giants owner John T. Brush decided to rebuild the Polo Grounds with concrete and steel, renting Hilltop Park from the Highlanders during reconstruction.

Progress was sufficient to allow the stadium to reopen just 2½ months later, June 28, 1911, the date some baseball guides date the structure. As configured, it was the ninth concrete-and-steel stadium in the Majors and fourth in the National League. Unfinished seating areas were rebuilt during the season while the games went on. The new structure stretched in roughly the same semicircle from the left field corner around home plate to the right field corner as prior but was extended into deep right-center field. The surviving wooden bleachers were retained basically as is, with gaps remaining on each side between the new fireproof construction.

The Giants rose from the ashes along with their ballpark, winning the National League pennant in 1911 (as they also would in 1912 and 1913). As evidenced from the World Series programs, the team renamed the new structure Brush Stadium in honor of their then-owner John T. Brush, but the name did not stick, and by the late 1910s it was passé. The remaining old bleachers were demolished during the 1923 season when the permanent double-deck was extended around most of the rest of the field and new bleachers and clubhouse were constructed across center field. This construction gave the stadium its familiar horseshoe or bathtub style shape, as well as a new nickname, "The Bathtub".

This version of the ballpark had its share of quirks. The "unofficial" distances (never marked on the wall) down the left and right field lines were 279 and 258 ft respectively, but there was a 21 ft overhang in left field, which often intercepted fly balls that would otherwise have been catchable and turned them into home runs. Contrasting with the short distances down the foul lines were the 450-foot distances to deepest left and right center (the gaps); the base of the straightaway centerfield clubhouse stood 483 feet from home plate, up a 58-foot runway from the grandstand corners on either side of the clubhouse (these corners were themselves 425 ft from home plate). The famous photo of The catch made by Willie Mays in the 1954 World Series against Vic Wertz of the Cleveland Indians occurred immediately in front of the "batter's eye", a metal screen atop the grandstand wall directly to the right of the centerfield runway. It would have been a home run in several other ballparks of the time as well as in most of today's modern ballparks. The bullpens were actually in play, in the left and right center field gaps. The outfield sloped downward from the infield, and people in the dugouts often could only see the top half of the outfielders.

The New York Yankees sublet the Polo Grounds from the Giants during 1913–1922 after their lease on Hilltop Park expired. After the 1922 season, the Yankees built Yankee Stadium directly across the Harlem River from the Polo Grounds, which spurred the Giants to expand their park to reach a comparable seating capacity to stay competitive. However, since nearly all the new seating was in the outfield, Yankee Stadium still had more desirable seats than did the Polo Grounds for watching baseball. However, the Polo Grounds became better suited for football due to the new seating placement.

The Giants' first night game at the stadium was played on May 24, 1940.

The Polo Grounds was the site of one of the most iconic moments in baseball history – the historic "Shot Heard 'Round the World" walk-off home run on October 3, 1951 that decided the hard-fought National League pennant playoff series between the Giants and their cross-town rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Deaths at the Polo Grounds
On August 16, 1920, Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch thrown by the Yankees' Carl Mays. At the time, batters did not wear helmets. Chapman died 12 hours after he was hit, at 4:30 a.m. on August 17. He remains the only player to die from an injury sustained in a Major League Baseball game.

On July 4, 1950, Bernard Doyle, a resident of Fairview, New Jersey, in his 50s, originally from Dublin, Ireland, was struck and killed by a stray bullet while in his seat at the Polo Grounds. Doyle had brought a neighbor's son with him to see a doubleheader between the Dodgers and the Giants. Doyle was killed about an hour prior to the start of the first game. A 14-year-old boy later confessed to having shot a .45 caliber pistol into the air from his rooftop at 515 Edgecombe Avenue, located 1120 ft from where Doyle was seated.

Giants' final years
The Polo Grounds' end was somewhat anticlimactic, especially compared to other "Jewel Box" parks.

Part of the problem was that the stadium was not well maintained from the late 1940s onward: while the baseball Giants owned the stadium, the Coogan heirs still owned the parcel of land on which it stood, while the neighborhood around the stadium had begun to go to seed in the late 1940s. These, along with other factors, combined to restrict ticket sales, even when the Giants played well.

In 1954, for example, the baseball Giants only drew 1.1 million fans (compared to over two million for the Milwaukee Braves) despite winning the World Series.

The football Giants left for Yankee Stadium across the Harlem River following the 1955 NFL season, and the baseball Giants' disastrous 1956 season – most of which they spent in last place before a late-season surge moved them up to sixth – caused a further decline on ticket sales. The Giants' 1956 attendance was less than half of that for the Giants' World Series-winning 1954 season, and also ranked last in Major League Baseball.

Along with the departure of the football Giants and the consequental loss of their rent, this collapse of the baseball Giants' gate financially devastated franchise owner Horace Stoneham, who was not nearly as wealthy as his fellow owners – the Giants were his sole source of income. To make matters worse, Stoneham was left with no money for stadium upkeep, and he was forced to lay off the stadium's maintenance staff in order to stay afloat.

The stadium also had very little parking; its final form had opened two years after the Model T was introduced. Due to the manner in which the stadium was designed, fans had to pour onto the field to exit via the center field gates, making for a problematic situation whenever attendance was anywhere near capacity.

Frustrated with the Polo Grounds being obsolete and dilapidated, and with no maintenance staff or prospect of the stadium being renovated, Stoneham seriously considered having the Giants become tenants of the Yankees in the Bronx, or moving to a proposed stadium that would have been owned by the city.

After both of those plans fizzled, the Giants announced on August 19, 1957 that after 74 years of professional baseball in New York, they would relocate to San Francisco, California at the end of the season, following their long-time rivals Dodgers to the West Coast. The Giants had won five World Series titles in the Polo Grounds.

The final years of the Polo Grounds
The ballpark then sat largely vacant for nearly three years, until the newly formed Titans of New York (present-day New York Jets) began play in 1960, followed by the newly formed Mets in 1962, using the Polo Grounds as an interim home while Shea Stadium was being built. As a 1962 baseball magazine noted, "The Mets will have to play in the Polo Grounds, hardly the last word in 20th Century stadia."

In 1961, the city of New York decided to claim the land under eminent domain, for the purpose of condemning the stadium and building a high-rise housing project on the site. The Coogan family, which still owned the property, fought this effort until it was finally settled in the city's favor in 1967.

On September 18, 1963, 1,752 fans went to see the New York Mets play their last game at the Polo Grounds against the Philadelphia Phillies with a 5–1 Philadelphia win. The game's highlights were later shown on Universal's Universal International Newsreel. On October 12, the Polo Grounds played host to one last exhibition contest, as Latin American All-Stars of the National League, managed by Roberto Clemente and behind the pitching of Juan Marichal and Al McBean, defeated Hector Lopez's AL Stars, 5–2.

The final sporting event played at the Polo Grounds was on December 14, 1963 when the now renamed AFL team New York Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills 19–10.

In the 1992 book The Gospel According to Casey, by Ira Berkow and Jim Kaplan, it is reported (p. 62) that in 1963, Mets manager Casey Stengel, who had bittersweet memories of his playing days at the Polo Grounds, had this to say during a rough outing to pitcher Tracy Stallard, whose greatest claim to fame had been giving up Roger Maris' 61st homer in 1961: "At the end of this season, they're gonna tear this joint down. The way you're pitchin', the right field section will be gone already!"

Demolition
The final iteration of the Polo Grounds was demolished in 1964, beginning on April 10 with a wrecking ball bomb painted to look like a baseball, the same one that had been used four years earlier on Ebbets Field.

The wrecking crew wore Giants jerseys and tipped their hard hats to the historic stadium as they began dismantling it, with a crew of 60 workers taking 4½ months to level the stadium. Stephen McNair, a Dodger fan, grabbed a sledge hammer as easily as Johnny Mize picked up a bat, marked off the left field fence beneath Section 33, and vowed, “I'm going to take that place down myself.” It was the fence over which Bobby Thomson hit the home run that kept the Dodgers out of the World Series in 1951 and put the Giants in.

The foreman on the job, Abe Gach, shouted, “No, you don't. Be gentle over there. History was made there.”

The Indians' bus passed the site in the midst of demolition while Cleveland was playing the Yankees: Dick Donovan, eyeing the rubble, remarked, "Boy, they must have had a helluva game there last night."

The site is now home to the Polo Grounds Towers, a public housing project opened in 1968, and managed by the New York City Housing Authority.

Football
The various incarnations of the Polo Grounds were well-suited for football, and hundreds of football games were played there over the years.

The first professional football game played in New York City was played at the Polo Grounds on December 4, 1920. The game featured the Buffalo All-Americans against the Canton Bulldogs in the first year of the American Professional Football Association. The Buffalo All-Americans won the game, 7–3. Some argue that the Buffalo All-Americans are tied with the Akron Pros for the first championship of the American Professional Football Association, which soon came to be known as the National Football League. In 1921 the NFL's New York Brickley Giants played the final game of their 1921 season against the Cleveland Indians at the Polo Grounds. The game ended in a 17–0 Giants loss. Shortly afterwards, the team folded. The Brickley Giants were originally formed with the intent of competing in 1919, and having all of their home games held at the Polo Grounds. However, after the team's first practice, the 1919 schedule, that began with an opening day game against the Massillon Tigers, was scratched because of conflict with New York's blue laws. In 1919, the city allowed professional baseball on Sunday and the Giants thought the law would also apply to football. However, it was ruled that professional football was still outlawed on Sundays, so the team disbanded until 1921.

Other than the name, there is no relation between the Brickley Giants and the modern New York Giants franchise.

Both the New York Giants of the National Football League and the New York Jets (then known as the New York Titans) of the American Football League used the Polo Grounds as their home field before moving on to other sites. The Giants moved initially to Yankee Stadium in 1956 while the Jets, founded in 1960, followed the New York Mets to Shea Stadium in 1964. The football Giants hosted the 1934, 1938, 1944, and 1946 NFL Championship Games at the Polo Grounds, while the 1936 NFL Championship Game, originally scheduled for Fenway Park, was moved to the Polo Grounds by mutual agreement of Boston Redskins franchise owner George Preston Marshall, the Green Bay Packers, and the NFL due to low ticket sales in Boston; the Redskins would relocate to Washington in 1937.

College Football
Columbia University and Yale University, two of American football's oldest teams, played football in the original 110th Street Polo Grounds in the 19th century, for some games which were expected to draw large crowds, including the Thanksgiving contests in 1883 and 1887. (See also List of Harvard-Yale football games).

The grounds were also used for many games by New York-area college football teams such as Fordham and Army. An upset victory by the visiting University of Notre Dame over Army in 1924 led to Grantland Rice's famous article about the Irish backfield, which he called "The Four Horsemen". The field was also the site of several Army–Navy Games in the 1910s and 1920s.

Soccer
The Polo Grounds held its fair share of international soccer matches as well over the years. In 1926, Hakoah, an all-Jewish side from Vienna, Austria, "drew the largest crowds ever to watch soccer in America up to that time: three successive games drew 25,000, 30,000, and 36,000 spectators. The highlight of the tour was a May 1, 1926 exhibition game between Hakoah and an American Soccer League all-New York team which drew 46,000 fans to the Polo Grounds in New York." (The ASL team won 3–0.)

On 1927, Club Nacional de Football played 3 matches in his tour of North America. They played Flooring Indiana, Brooklyn Wanderers and an American League All-Star.

The first soccer played at the Polo Grounds was as far back as 1894 when the owners of the various major baseball clubs thought it would be a great way to fill their stadiums in the off-season. Six famous baseball franchises of the era formed Association Football sections and fans were told that many would be fielding their baseball stars on the football field in the opening season. The New York Giants soccer team took the field in all-white uniforms with black socks and played six games before the threat of a rival baseball league being formed diverted the owner's attention away from their new venture and caused it to be suspended mid-season. The Giants lay third in the league after six games with two victories, having played their matches in midweek in front of attendances in the high hundreds paying 25 cents a game. Although the owners remained positive about the venture and wanted to run it again the following season this never happened and the Giants' soccer team was no more.

On May 19, 1935, the Scotland national team toured the United States, and in their first game played against an ASL All-Star squad which was unofficially representing the United States. Scotland won 5–1 in front of 25,000 people at the Polo Grounds. In 1939, the Scots returned to America for another tour, and played at the Polo Grounds twice. In their first game at the Polo Grounds on May 21, 1939, Scotland tied the Eastern USA All-Stars 1–1 in front of 25,072 fans. In their second game at the Polo Grounds on June 18, 1939, Scotland beat the American League Stars 4–2.

Following World War II, on September 26, 1948, the USA beat Israel 3–1 in their first ever game since independence before 25,000 fans at the Polo Grounds. On June 9, 1950, a crowd of 21,000 fans came to the Polo Grounds to watch an 'International Dream Double Header'. Beşiktaş J.K. of Turkey defeated the American Soccer League All-Stars 3–1, and then Manchester United defeated Jönköping (the top amateur team in Sweden) 4–0. On May 17, 1960, Birmingham City of England played Third Lanark of Scotland and lost 4–1 at the Polo Grounds in New York City. On August 6 of the same year, 25,440 patrons showed up at the Polo Grounds to watch the inaugural International Soccer League Final which saw Bangu of Brazil edge out Kilmarnock FC of Scotland 2–0. Bangu's six games on Polo Ground had a total attendance of 104,274. The following year, 1961, may have been the last year documented that soccer was played at the Polo Grounds. The second edition of the International Soccer League held most of its game at the Polo Grounds, with a few games held in Montreal. On July 16, 1961 Shamrock Rovers beat Red Star Belgrade 5–1, on August 9, Dukla Prague beat Everton 7–0, and four days later on August 13, Dukla Prague beat Everton again 2–0, thus winning the Dwight D. Eisenhower Trophy. The combined attendance for both games at the Polo Grounds was 31,627. In domestic league soccer, the Polo Grounds was the home to the New York Nationals of the American Soccer League in 1928.

Gaelic football
On September 14, 1947, the Polo Grounds hosted the final of the All-Ireland Senior Gaelic Football championship between Cavan and Kerry. It was decided that New York would host this match as a commemoration of the 1847 Irish famine which forced a large number of Irish people to emigrate to North America. This novel location for the game was chosen for the benefit of New York's large Irish immigrant population. It was the only time that the final has been played outside Ireland. Cavan emerged victorious in the game itself, fondly remembered for RTE commentator Michael O'Hehir's successful pleas to his station for the broadcast to be extended as the game had run late.

The last Gaelic game at the Polo Grounds was on June 1, 1958 when Cavan played New York.

Boxing
The Polo Grounds was the site of many famous boxing matches. These included the legendary 1923 heavyweight championship bout between Jack Dempsey and Luis Ángel Firpo, Harry Greb's defense of the middleweight championship title against reigning World Welterweight Champion Mickey Walker in July 1925, and Billy Conn's near-upset over heavyweight champion Joe Louis in June 1941. It was also the venue for the rematch between World Heavyweight Champion Ingemar Johansson and former champion Floyd Patterson on June 20, 1960. In what turned out to be the last major boxing match at the Polo Grounds, Patterson became the first heavyweight boxer to regain the championship over the Swedish-born Johansson, who almost one year to the day took the crown from Patterson at Yankee Stadium.

Motorsports
The Polo Grounds were the site of three different oval tracks. The first track, a ¼ mile dirt oval, was used for midget racing in 1940 and 1941. The second, a 1/5 mile board track, was used briefly in 1948. The final track, a ¼ mile paved oval, was used for stock car racing in 1958 and 1959, after the Giants moved to San Francisco.

Open-air concert
A performance of Verdi's Requiem took place at the Polo Grounds on June 4, 1916, presented by the National Open Air Festival Society. It was given by a chorus of 1,200 singers (chorus master, Arnaldo Conti), selected from among the leading choral societies of New York; and an augmented New York Philharmonic Orchestra of 120 players. The soloists were Maria Gay, Louise Homer (under the assumed name of 'Lucile Lawrence'), Giovanni Zenatello (Gay's partner) and Leon Rothier, and the performance was conducted by Louis Koemmenich.

Center field
One of the oddest features at the Polo Grounds were the deep dimensions in straight away center field. The wall was so far away from home plate, at 483 ft, that no batter ever hit home runs over it. Before its 1923 reconstruction, only Babe Ruth ever reached the centerfield stands; after 1923 only five players would reach the distant centerfield bleachers. The entire 60 ft wall in dead center field was considered in play, as were the clubhouse windows on the in-play side of the wall. The ground rules of the Polo Grounds were set up so that if a ball went through an open window in the clubhouse, it was a ground rule double, rather than a home run. Since no ball ever reached that area in the life of the stadium, that rule was never tested.

In Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, Giants outfielder Willie Mays made a sensational catch of a fly ball hit by the Cleveland Indians' Vic Wertz into deep center field, a catch which, in the words of NBC television sports announcer Jack Brickhouse, "must have looked like an optical illusion to a lot of people", and which turned the tide of that Series in the Giants' favor.

On October 2, 1936, in Game 2 of the 1936 World Series, Yankees centerfielder Joe DiMaggio made a similar, though far less crucial, catch (his team being ahead 18–4) for the final out of the game. The Giants' Hank Leiber hit a long fly ball to deep center field that DiMaggio caught in the runway, perhaps 430–440 from the plate, and his momentum carried him partway up the clubhouse steps. He then stopped and turned around, as the crowd stood and acknowledged the departure of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was in attendance that day.

Babe Ruth hit many of his early signature blasts at the Polo Grounds, reaching the center field seats on several occasions. His longest blast at the grounds, over the right-center upper deck in 1921, was estimated at over 550 feet. He also hit several centerfield home runs at other ballparks which exceeded 500 feet. Had Ruth played regularly in the remodeled Polo Grounds, theoretically he would have been capable of hitting the clubhouse if conditions were right. Neither he nor anyone else ever did, but a few came close.

After the 1923 remodeling, only five players ever hit a home run into the center field stands:
 * Schoolboy Rowe, while taking batting practice before a pre-season exhibition game on April 8, 1933.
 * Luke Easter in a Negro leagues game on July 18, 1948.
 * Joe Adcock on April 29, 1953.
 * Hank Aaron and Lou Brock on consecutive days (June 17 and 18) in 1962.

Right field
The deep center field was complemented by the short right-field fence. Its foul pole was 258 ft from home, one of the shortest ever used in the major leagues. Since the early 20th century, home runs that just cleared a field's shortest fence had been known as "Chinese home runs", from a stereotype of Chinese immigrant workers as doing the bare minimum required for the low wages they received for menial labor. Within baseball, by the 1940s those home runs were largely associated with the short right-field fence at the Polo Grounds. The 511 career homers hit by Giants outfielder Mel Ott, whose physique and batting technique were not those associated with power hitting, have often been downplayed because a significant number were hit to right at home, a criticism he often responded to by asking why few other hitters in the league were making that hit if it were so easy.

Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" that won the 1951 National League pennant for the Giants was hit over the left field fence. But arguably the best-remembered home run hit to the right side was the walk-off three-run shot by Dusty Rhodes, batting for Monte Irvin in the 10th inning of Game 1 of the 1954 Series, after Mays' catch had kept the Giants tied. It just barely cleared the fence, above the outstretched glove of the leaping outfielder Dave Pope, leading Al López, manager of the heavily favored Indians, to attribute the Giants' stunning victory in the Series opener to the ballpark's unusual dimensions.

Bullpens
Both the home and visitors' bullpens resided on the outfield warning track, situated, respectively, in the right-center and left-center power alleys, each roughly 450 feet from home plate. Anyone seated on the bench was offered some measure of protection from the elements by what has been variously described as an awning, a canopy, or simply the top of the bullpen, as Pittsburgh sportswriter Les Biederman put it when, two years after the ballpark's demolition, he reminded readers that this had been the landing spot for Roberto Clemente's first major league home run.

John T. Brush Stairway
The only part of the Polo Grounds that still remains is the "John T. Brush Stairway", which runs down Coogan's Bluff from Edgecombe Avenue to Harlem River Driveway at about 158th Street. The stairway, named for John T. Brush—the then-recently deceased owner of the Giants—opened in 1913 and led to a ticket booth overlooking the stadium. The stairway reportedly offered a clear view of the stadium for fans who did not purchase tickets to a game. A marker on the stairway reads: "The John T. Brush Stairway Presented By The New York Giants."

Donations from the New York Giants, Jets, Yankees, Mets, San Francisco Giants, and Major League Baseball enabled a $950,000 restoration project that began in 2011. The restoration was scheduled to be completed in September 2012, but after numerous delays, the restored steps opened finally in early August 2014.

Polo Grounds light poles
The light poles from the Polo Grounds remain in use at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Arizona State University's baseball field in Phoenix, Arizona, built in 1964. When the stadium was built, Horace Stoneham, owner of the San Francisco Giants, had the original Polo Grounds light poles shipped there. The Giants held spring training at the stadium's predecessor since 1947 and played at the new ballpark during spring training in 1964. The poles were installed in the stadium where they currently remain standing.

Timeline and teams

 * Polo Grounds I
 * Gothams/Giants (National League), 1883–1888
 * Metropolitans (American Association), 1880–1885
 * Polo Grounds II (otherwise known as Manhattan Field)
 * Giants (NL), 1889–1890
 * Polo Grounds III (originally called Brotherhood Park, also known as Brush Stadium from 1911 to 1919)
 * Giants (Players' League), 1890
 * Giants (NL), 1891–1911
 * Giants (NL), 1911–1957
 * Yankees (American League), 1913–1922
 * Giants (NFL), 1925–1955
 * Bulldogs (NFL) 1949
 * Titans/Jets (AFL), 1960–1963
 * Mets (NL), 1962–1963
 * Cubans (Negro National League II), 1939-50
 * Black Yankees (Negro National League II), 1931-1946

Dimensions
Compiled from various photos, baseball annuals, The Official Encyclopedia of Baseball (Turkin & Thompson, 1951) and Green Cathedrals by Phil Lowry.

The disparities in some of the posted distances, notably straightaway center, have not been fully reconciled by researchers. The closest object in straight center field was the Grant Memorial, followed by the post supporting the overhang of the clubhouse (above which the 483 or 475 signs were posted), and a roll-up door several feet behind the overhang at ground level. The roof of the protruding part of the clubhouse sloped back and met the vertical wall of the larger part of the clubhouse. The exact objects referred to by the numbers 475, 483, and 505 can be speculated but remain unconfirmed. In 1931, additional box seats were built and the infield was moved 8 feet toward center field, while the 483 sign remained as-is. That at least accounts for the 483/475 (and also 433/425) discrepancies, though not identifying precisely what object the 483/475 signs referred to.

title: Polo Grounds


text:
Tupolev Tu-124

The Tupolev Tu-124 (NATO reporting name: Cookpot) is a 56-passenger short-range twinjet airliner built in the Soviet Union. It was the first Soviet airliner powered by turbofan engines.

Design and development
Developed from the medium-range Tupolev Tu-104, the Tu-124 was meant to meet Aeroflot's requirement for a regional airliner to replace the Ilyushin Il-14 on domestic routes. Resembling a 75% scaled-down Tu-104, the two were hard to tell apart at a distance but it was not a complete copy of the Tu-104. The Tu-124 had a number of refinements, including double-slotted flaps, a large centre-section airbrake and automatic spoilers. Unlike the Tu-104, the wing trailing edge inboard of the undercarriage was unswept.

The Tu-124 had a drogue parachute to be used in an emergency landing or landing on a slippery surface and had low pressure tires for operation from unpaved airfields. As on the Tu-104 the engines were installed in the wing roots, but the turbofan engines used less fuel. The installation of the engines close to the fuselage allowed vibrations to be more readily transmitted to the cabin, which reduced passenger comfort, and also reduced the fatigue life of the wing assembly.

The standard seating of the basic version was 44 seats. The first of two prototype, SSSR-45000 (C/N 0350101) made its first flight from Zhukovsky airfield on 24 March 1960. The second prototype, SSSR-45001 (C/N 0350102), followed in June 1960. Two other airframes served as a static test cells. Testing was successful, and the aircraft entered production at Factory 135 at Kharkiv, Ukraine, replacing the Tu-104 in production. Deliveries to Aeroflot began in August 1962, with the type operating its first scheduled passenger service, between Moscow and Tallinn in Estonia, on 2 October 1962.

Operational history
Aeroflot was impressed with the flight performance of the Tu-124 and used it on domestic routes from the end of 1962. The improved Tu-124V, which could seat 56 passengers instead of the 44 of the original model, and which had increased range and maximum takeoff weight, came into service in 1964. An Aeroflot Tu-124V was exhibited at the 1965 Paris Air Show. Despite the aircraft's low purchase price (stated as $1.45 million in 1965) and low operating costs, few were exported, with Československé Státní Aerolinie (ČSA) and the East German airline Interflug being the only airlines other than Aeroflot that bought the Tu-124 new, although ČSA sold its surviving Tu-124s to Iraqi Airways for use on VIP flights in 1973. Interflug used its three Tu-124s as an alternative to the Ilyushin Il-62, when the Il-62s were grounded due to mechanical issues. All three were sold back to the Soviet Union in 1975.

Three airframes were completed in 1966 in a VIP configuration, and designated Tu-124K. However, Aeroflot never placed them into service, and they were purchased by the Indian Air Force.

A number were also sold to military users, including the Soviet Air Force, which used them as navigational trainers, and to the Chinese Air Force.

A total of 164 Tu-124s were built. Issues with the safety of the Tu-104 affected the fate of the Tu-124, although the reliability of the Tu-124 was slightly better. Production ended in 1965 and Aeroflot decommissioned its last twelve Tu-124s on 21 January 1980. The Tu-124 continued in operation for some years with the Soviet Air Force and in Iraq, but all aircraft were withdrawn before and in 1990, The ones in Iraq military and Iraqi Airways were destroyed in early 1990s during the Gulf War.

Several Tu-124s have been preserved. One is in the museum of the Kharkiv State Aircraft Manufacturing Company (formerly the Tu-124 manufacturer Factory 135), another is in China's Datangshan aviation museum in Beijing, another at the Central Air Force Museum at Monino outside Moscow. A Tu-124K is on display at New Delhi Airport and next to the State Museum at Lucknow Zoo.

Variants

 * Tu-124/Tu-124V
 * The first production variant. International demand was small, as most foreign airlines were waiting to buy the improved Tupolev Tu-134

 * Tu-124B
 * Three prototypes with D-20P-125 engines, built in 1963

 * Tu-124K/Tu-124K2
 * VIP configuration operated by the militaries of Iraq and China, and by the Indian Air Force

 * Tu-124Sh-1
 * Military version used as navigator trainer

 * Tu-124Sh-2
 * Military version used as navigator trainer

 * Tu-127
 * Proposed military transport version, not built.

 * Tu-124A
 * Despite bearing this designation, this aircraft (CCCP-45075) was the prototype Tu-134, with engines located at the rear, and totally revised wings and T-tail. Preserved at Moscow-Novogireyevo.

Former civil operators

 * ČSA Three Tu-124V (OK-TEA, -TEB, -UEC)
 * Interflug Three (DM-SDA, -SDB, plus ?) (Interflug colours but operated on behalf of the East German Air Force)
 * 🇮🇶 Iraq
 * Iraqi Airways Two Tu-124V (YI-AEL, -AEY)
 * Aeroflot
 * Iraqi Airways Two Tu-124V (YI-AEL, -AEY)
 * Aeroflot
 * Aeroflot

Former military operators

 * People's Liberation Army Air Force
 * Czechoslovakian Air Force
 * East German Air Force
 * Indian Air Force [three Tu-124K VIP variants]
 * 🇮🇶 Iraq
 * Iraqi Air Force
 * Soviet Air Force
 * Indian Air Force [three Tu-124K VIP variants]
 * 🇮🇶 Iraq
 * Iraqi Air Force
 * Soviet Air Force
 * Soviet Air Force

Accidents and incidents
A total of fifteen Tu-124s were written off in crashes during the type's operational career; another two aircraft of Iraqi Airways were destroyed on the ground during the Gulf War.

1960s

 * 21 August 1963
 * Aeroflot Flight 366, a Tu-124 (СССР-45021), ditched in the Neva River in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) after both engines failed due to fuel exhaustion while the crew was preoccupied with landing gear problems; all 52 on board survived.

 * 8 March 1965
 * Aeroflot Flight 513, a Tu-124 (СССР-45028), stalled and crashed shortly after takeoff from Kuybyshev Airport, killing 30 of 39 on board.

 * 11 November 1965
 * Aeroflot Flight 99, a Tu-124V (СССР-45086), crashed on the frozen Lake Kilpyavr after the pilot mistook lights near Murmansk Airport for the runway threshold lights, killing 32 of 64 on board.

 * 13 June 1966
 * An Aeroflot Tu-124 (СССР-45017) overran a wet runway on landing at Minsk-1 International Airport and was written off; no casualties.

 * 27 July 1966
 * Aeroflot Flight 67, a Tu-124V (СССР-45038), went into a dive over Zaporizhzhia Oblast after flying into a storm at 7200 m. The crew were able to regain control at 2800 m and landed safely at Simferopol, but one passenger died (of 90 on board) and several more were injured during the incident. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service, but was lost in the crash of Aeroflot Flight 5484 in 1979.

 * 7 March 1968
 * Aeroflot Flight 3153, a Tu-124 (СССР-45019), crashed on takeoff from Volgograd Airport after the crew accidentally activated the spoilers, killing a crew member; all 44 passengers survived. The spoiler switch had been poorly placed on the control column, allowing the pilot to hit it by accident.

1970s

 * 29 January 1970
 * Aeroflot Flight 145, a Tu-124V (СССР-45083), struck a hillside while on approach to Kilpyavr Airport, Murmansk; of the 38 on board, five died on impact and another six died in the freezing temperatures while waiting for rescue.

 * 18 August 1970
 * CSA Flight 744, a Tu-124V (OK-TEB), landed wheels-up at Kloten Airport after the pilot, preoccupied with a cabin pressurization problem, failed to hear the command to lower the landing gear; all 20 on board survived. The gear warning system alarm had been turned off.

 * 2 September 1970
 * Aeroflot Flight 3630, a Tu-124 (СССР-45012), crashed near Dnepropetrovsk (now Dnipro) following an unexplained loss of control, killing all 37 on board.

 * 9 July 1973
 * Aeroflot Flight 5385, a Tu-124V (СССР-45062), suffered an uncontained failure of the right engine shortly after takeoff from Kuybyshev Airport. Debris from the engine penetrated the fuselage, killing two passengers and injuring another four. The crew began an emergency descent and the engine was shut down. Panicking passengers moved to the front of the cabin, causing the center of gravity to move forward, but flight attendants were able to get the passengers seated and the aircraft was able to land safely at Kuybyshev. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.

 * 20 November 1973
 * An Aeroflot Tu-124V (СССР-45031) overran a snow-covered runway on landing at Kazan Airport; no casualties.

 * 16 December 1973
 * Aeroflot Flight 2022, a Tu-124V (СССР-45061), went into a spiraling dive at 8000 m while descending for Moscow due to a short circuit in the elevator trim system. Although the crew were able to pull out and regain control at around 2000 m, control was lost again due to a failed gyro and spatial disorientation and the aircraft crashed near Karacharovo, killing all 51 on board.

 * 23 December 1973
 * Aeroflot Flight 5398, a Tu-124V (СССР-45044), crashed near Vinniki when a defective turbine blade in the no. 1 engine failed, resulting in violent vibration of the affected engine. The vibrations caused the fuel line to break. The resulting in-flight fire caused a loss of control resulting in the plane's crash and loss of all 17 on board.

 * 3 January 1976
 * Aeroflot Flight 2003, a Tu-124V (СССР-45037), crashed shortly after takeoff from Vnukovo Airport due to a loss of control following instrument failure after entering clouds, killing all 61 on board; one person on the ground also died when the aircraft struck several homes

 * 5 November 1977
 * Indian Air Force Tu-124K V643, named Pushpak Rath (Floral Chariot), crashed in a paddy field near Jorhat after descending too low during the second attempt to land, killing five crew; Prime Minister Morarji Desai is among the survivors.

 * 1977
 * Soviet Air Force Tu-124Sh 53 red landed wheels-up at Lugansk Airport after the pilot forgot to lower the landing gear; no casualties.

 * 29 August 1979
 * Aeroflot Flight 5484, a Tu-124V (СССР-45038), went into a spin, broke apart in mid-air, and crashed near Kirsanov after a flap was accidentally extended, killing all 63 on board. This crash is the deadliest involving the Tu-124, and Aeroflot retired it afterwards.

1990s

 * February 1991
 * Two Iraqi Airways Tu-124Vs (YI-AEY and YI-AEL) were destroyed on the ground at Saddam International Airport by US or allied bombs during the Gulf War.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Tupolev Tu-124


text:
American Numismatic Association

The American Numismatic Association (ANA) is an organization founded in 1891 by George Francis Heath. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, it was formed to advance the knowledge of numismatics (the study of coins) along educational, historical, and scientific lines, as well as to enhance interest in the hobby.

The ANA has more than 24,000 individual members who receive many benefits, such as discounts, access to website features, and the monthly journal The Numismatist. The ANA's Colorado Springs headquarters houses its administrative offices, library, and money museum. The ANA received a federal charter from the United States Congress in 1912.

A board of governors is in charge of the ANA. Numerous advisory committees help to operate it properly. The ANA has a Young Numismatists program intended to promote interest among youth. The ANA has held annual conventions throughout the nation in most years since 1891, with two per year since 1978. The Chester L. Krause Memorial Distinguished Service Award is bestowed upon the most dedicated members. The ANA also maintains a Numismatic Hall of Fame.

History
Dr. George F. Heath of Monroe, Michigan, gained knowledge of world history by studying his collection of coins. The obscurity of his community was an obstacle towards obtaining certain specimens, and made meeting fellow numismatists difficult. In 1888, he printed, published and distributed a four-page leaflet, NUMISMATIST, in which he listed his coin needs, advertised duplicates for sale, and discussed numismatic topics.

The nascent publication found many friends among other isolated collectors. As Heath's subscription list increased, a need for a national organization of numismatists was evident. The February 1891 edition of The Numismatist printed a question, "What is the matter with having an American Numismatic Association?" A follow-up statement was included: "There is nothing like the alliance of kindred pursuits to stimulate growth and interest."

On October 7 and October 8, 1891, five men—Heath, William G. Jerrems, David Harlowe, J.A. Heckelman and John Brydon—holding 26 proxies, met in Chicago with 61 charter members. The result was the founding of the ANA, which has since become the largest non-profit numismatic organization in the world. Heath then introduced the idea of a numismatic convention, where members could make personal contact with other numismatists. The first convention was held in 1891, then annually until 1895, and then in 1901 and 1904. After the 1907 convention in Columbus, Ohio, it was decided to hold annual conventions thereafter.

On June 16, 1908, Dr. Heath suddenly died. Farran Zerbe, then president, assumed the task of editing and publishing The Numismatist, and soon purchased the publication from Heath's heirs. In 1911, W.C.C. Wilson of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, purchased The Numismatist from Zerbe and presented it to the ANA. Since then, the magazine has been owned and published monthly by the ANA.

On May 9, 1912, the ANA attained national prominence as it was granted a Federal Charter signed by President William Howard Taft. In 1962, an amendment to make the Charter permanent and allow for a larger Board was introduced and passed by Congress and signed into law by John F. Kennedy on April 10. The amendment was presented by Congressman Wilbur Mills and Senator John L. McClellan, both of Arkansas.

An ANA national headquarters building fund was established on April 29, 1961. A site in Colorado Springs, Colorado was selected as the headquarter's location and a ground breaking ceremony was held on September 6, 1966. On December 20, the $250,000 building fund goal was reached and the new headquarters was dedicated and officially opened on June 10, 1967.

Headquarters
The ANA's administration operates from its Colorado Springs headquarters. The ANA's monthly journal, The Numismatist, is produced here; its editor-in-chief is Caleb Noel. Many articles are contributed by ANA members. The facility houses the largest circulating numismatic library in the world. Books, educational slide programs and instructional videotapes are loaned to members without charge other than costs to cover postage and insurance. The ANA has many affiliate club members throughout the United States, such as the Beverly Hills Coin Club and the Chicago Coin Club.

ANA headquarters contains the ANA Money Museum, which includes over 250,000 objects encompassing the history of numismatics from the earliest invention of money to modern day.

The Harry W. Bass Collection, a feature of the museum from 2000-2022, featured American gold coins, experimental pattern coins and paper money. The collection includes a complete set of three dollar gold coins, including the unique 1870-S specimen, a complete type set of U.S. gold coin designs from 1834 to 1933, and a collection of pattern coins from the United States Mint. In April 2022, the museum announced that the foundation was auctioning off the collection, with the proceeds going to various Dallas-area charities.

The museum also offers changing exhibits about money in history, art, archeology, banking and economics, and coin collecting. Members may study the items on display and, by prearrangement, can use other museum materials for research purposes.

Membership
The ANA has nearly 24,000 individual members. Memberships last one year, three years, five years, or a lifetime. The cost of the latter differs, depending on a member's age and whether the ANA's magazine, The Numismatist, is mailed or read digitally. Membership is classified into five levels: silver, gold, or platinum, with a "life membership" option available for a one-time payment, and a youth option for kids under 18.

Board of governors
The ANA is run by a nine-member board of governors composed of the President, Vice-President, and seven Governors, each elected by ANA members in odd-numbered years. Governor candidates must have been ANA members for at least three years. President and Vice President candidates must have served at least one term as a Governor. Total service on the Board is limited to 10 years.

The incumbent board of governors was elected in 2023. The election results were as follows:

List of ANA presidents

 * 1) William G. Jerrems Jr., 1891–1892
 * 2) George F. Heath, 1892–1894
 * 3) August G. Heaton, 1894–1899
 * 4) Joseph Hooper, 1899–1902
 * 5) Benjamin P. Wright, 1902–1905
 * 6) Albert Romer Frey, 1905–1908
 * 7) Farran Zerbe, 1908–1910
 * 8) John M. Henderson, 1910–1912
 * 9) Judson P. Brenner, 1912–1914
 * 10) Frank G. Duffield, 1914–1915
 * 11) Henry O. Granberg, 1915–1917
 * 12) Carl Wurtzbach, 1917–1919
 * 13) Waldo C. Moore, 1919–1921
 * 14) Moritz Wormser, 1921–1926
 * 15) Harry H. Yawger, 1926–1927
 * 16) Charles Markus, 1927–1930
 * 17) George J. Bauer, 1930–1932
 * 18) Alden Scott Boyer, 1932–1933
 * 19) Nelson T. Thorson, 1933–1935
 * 20) T. James Clarke, 1935–1937
 * 21) J. Henri Ripstra, 1937–1939
 * 22) L.W. Hoffecker, 1939–1941
 * 23) J. Douglas Ferguson, 1941–1943
 * 24) Martin F. Kortjohn, 1943–1945
 * 25) V. Leon Belt, 1945–1947
 * 26) Loyd B. Gettys, 1947–1949
 * 27) M. Vernon Sheldon, 1949–1951
 * 28) Joseph Moss, 1951–1953
 * 29) J. Hewitt Judd, 1953–1955
 * 30) Leonel C. Panosh, 1955–1957
 * 31) Oscar H. Dodson, 1957–1961
 * 32) C.C. Tim Shroyer, 1961–1963
 * 33) Paul K. Anderson, 1963–1965
 * 34) Matt H. Rothert, 1965–1967
 * 35) Arthur Sipe, 1967–1969
 * 36) Herbert M. Bergen, 1969–1971
 * 37) John J. Pittman, 1971–1973
 * 38) Virginia Culver, 1973–1975
 * 39) Virgil Hancock, 1975–1977
 * 40) Grover C. Criswell, Jr., 1977–1979
 * 41) George D. Hatie, 1979–1981
 * 42) Adna G. Wilde, Jr., 1981–1983
 * 43) Q. David Bowers, 1983–1985
 * 44) Florence M. Schook, 1985–1987
 * 45) Stephen R. Taylor, 1987–1989
 * 46) Kenneth L. Hallenbeck, Jr., 1989–1991
 * 47) Edward C. Rochette, 1991–1993
 * 48) David L. Ganz, 1993–1995
 * 49) Kenneth Bressett, 1995–1997
 * 50) Anthony Swiatek, 1997–1999
 * 51) H. Robert Campbell, 1999–2001
 * 52) John Wilson, 2001–2003
 * 53) Gary E. Lewis, 2003–2005
 * 54) William Horton, 2005–2007
 * 55) Barry Stuppler, 2007–2009
 * 56) Clifford Mishler, 2009–2011
 * 57) Tom Hallenbeck, 2011–2013
 * 58) Walter Ostromecki, 2013–2015
 * 59) Jeff Garrett, 2015–2017
 * 60) Gary Adkins, 2017-2019
 * 61) Col. Steven K. Ellsworth, Ret., 2019–2021
 * 62) Dr. Ralph Ross 2021-2023
 * 63) Thomas J. Uram 2023-present

– Sources:

Advisory committees
The ANA is also served by various advisory committees. There are temporary advisory committees for searches, and one formed for forming a Strategic Vision for the board in 2012. There are several more permanent advisory committees.

Young Numismatists
The ANA has many programs for Young Numismatists (YNs). There are currently three programs in which YNs can earn free coins by completing coin-related activities. These programs are the Early American Copper Project, the David R. Cervin Ancient Coin Project, and The Dollar Project. Another program, Coins For A's, allows kids to get free coins, plus a basic-level ANA membership by getting A's in school. The ANA also has a YN Dollars program in which YNs earn YN Dollars for different activities. They can spend these YN Dollars at the ANA Summer Convention at the annual YN auction. The Young Numismatist of the Year award has been given by the ANA every year since 1968. Many former winners of the award are now prominent numismatic professionals, or have distinguished themselves in other areas.

The Young Numismatists of America (YNA) was a worldwide coin organization founded in 1990 at the ANA Summer Seminar. In its early days, the YNA was an attractive way for young numismatists (YNs) to submit articles for publication. However, by late 1996, many of the YNA founders were in college and could no longer help out. The YNA slowly faded away because of lack of interest. In 2001 at the ANA Summer Seminar, the young collectors decided to reform YNA. Within several years, the YNA once again ceased to exist.

Events
The ANA has held conventions annually most years since 1891, and expanded to two annual shows in 1978. The ANA offered a third show in 2011 and 2012, but announced on May 4, 2012 that it will not continue this in 2013. The features of these conventions include the offering of a large bourse room, along with exhibits, educational programs, junior member activities, auctions, and meetings of affiliated specialty organizations. The National Money Show and the ANA World's Fair of Money are the brands for shows that have been held on an Annual Basis by the ANA. The National Money Show is traditionally held in the Spring while the World's Fair is held in the Summer. The Fall shows in 2011 and 2012 also used the National Money Show brand.

The annual ANA Summer Seminar is an assortment of classes held in Colorado Springs mid-summer (generally the last week of June and first week of July). Most classes are one week long but some weeks have half-week classes available. Classes are taught by numismatic experts. Students are of all ages and divided between collectors and numismatic professionals. There are special programs for Young Numismatists. The ANA and many local coin clubs sponsor a few scholarships to defer some costs for a few students.

Convention locations
Locations for the ANA Conventions.

Chester L. Krause Memorial Distinguished Service Award
The Chester L. Kraause Distinguished Service Award, (formerly the Farran Zerbe Memorial Award) is the highest honor conferred by the ANA. It is given in recognition of numerous years of outstanding, dedicated service to numismatics. The criteria for the nominee should be that the individual is considered someone who has rendered numerous years of outstanding service to the ANA as well as the field of numismatics. An additional qualification is that the nominee should be a former Medal of Merit and Glenn Smedley Memorial Award recipient. The award is limited only to members of the ANA.

 * For a list of winners, please see Chester L. Krause Memorial Distinguished Service Award

Hall of Fame
To enshrine the most important numismatists of all time, the ANA established the Numismatic Hall of Fame at its Colorado Springs headquarters in 1964. The Hall's constitution and bylaws were drafted that year, and the first inductees enshrined in 1969 and the next group in 1970, with subsequent honorees inducted every two years thereafter. The Hall was the brainchild of Jack W. Ogilvie, a Hollywood film writer and editor who served as ANA historian from 1950 to 1970.

Prior to each induction year, nominations are accepted from the membership. After review by a five-member Hall of Fame council, the names and qualifications of the nominees are passed on to a 25-member elector panel. Candidates receiving 13 or more votes are inducted; those receiving six to 12 votes are reconsidered in the next election. Members of the council, the ANA board of governors, and ANA appointed officers and staff are ineligible to serve as electors.

The nominees are considered in alternating annual cycles. "Historic Era" nominees (deceased more than 25 years prior to induction) are considered in odd numbered years, and "Modern Era" nominees (living or deceased less than 25 years) are considered in even-numbered years.

title: American Numismatic Association


text:
BMW 5 Series

The BMW 5 Series is an executive car built and sold by BMW since 1972 and is currently in its eighth generation.

The car is sold as either a sedan or, since 1991, a station wagon (marketed as "Touring"). A 5-door fastback (marketed as "Gran Turismo") was sold between 2009 and 2017.

Each successive generation has been given an internal G-code designation since 2017. Previously, a F-code designation was used between 2016 and 2010 while an E-code designation was used between 2010 and 1972. These are used to distinguish each model and generation from each other.

The first generation of the 5 Series was powered by naturally aspirated four-cylinder and six-cylinder petrol engines. Following generations have been powered by four-cylinder, six-cylinder, V8 and V10 engines that are either naturally aspirated or turbocharged. Since 1982, diesel engines have been included in the 5 Series range.

The 5 Series is BMW's second-best-selling model after the 3 Series. On 29 January 2008, the 5 millionth 5 Series was manufactured, a 530d sedan in Carbon Black Metallic.

BMW's three-digit model naming convention began with the first 5 Series, thus the 5 Series was BMW's first model line to use "Series" in the name.

Since the E28, all generations of 5 Series have included an "M" model, called the BMW M5.

First generation (E12; 1972)
The E12 is the first generation of 5 Series, and was manufactured for model years 1972–1981. It replaced the New Class sedans and was produced in the sedan body style. The initial models were powered by four-cylinder engines, with a six-cylinder engine introduced a year later.

There was no M5 model for the E12, however the E12 M535i is considered the predecessor to the M5.

The E12 was replaced by the E28 in 1981, with South African production continuing until 1984.

Second generation (E28; 1981)

The E28 is the second generation of 5 Series, manufactured for model years 1981-1988 as a sedan. It was initially offered with petrol four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines.

In 1983, a diesel engine became available for the first time in a 5 Series. The E28 was the first 5 Series with the centre console angled towards the driver and the option of anti-lock brakes (ABS).

The E28 M5 began a line of M5 high performance models that has continued through every generation since. It was powered by the S38B35 and the M88/3 six-cylinder engines.

Third generation (E34; 1988)

The E34 is the third generation of the 5 Series, manufactured for model years 1988–1996. It was launched in the sedan body style, with the range expanded in 1990 to include the "Touring" wagon/estate body style.

The E34 was the first 5 Series to be available with the wagon body style, all-wheel drive and V8 engines. It also saw the introduction of stability control (ASC), traction control (ASC+T), a 6-speed manual transmission and adjustable damping (EDC) to the 5 Series range.

Nine different engine families were used over its lifetime, consisting of four-cylinder, six-cylinder and V8 petrol engines, and six-cylinder diesel engines.

The E34 M5 is powered by the S38 six-cylinder engine and was produced in sedan and wagon body styles.

Fourth generation (E39; 1995)

The E39 is the fourth generation of 5 Series, which was manufactured for model years 1995–2004. It was launched in the sedan body style, with the wagon/estate body style (marketed as "Touring") introduced in 1996.

The E39 was the first 5 Series to use aluminium components in the front suspension. The proportion of chassis components using aluminium significantly increased for the E39, in order to reduce weight. It was also the first 5 Series where a four-cylinder diesel engine was available.

V8 models used recirculating ball steering (as per previous 5 Series generations), however rack and pinion steering was used for the first time, in the four-cylinder and six-cylinder models. Unlike its E34 predecessor and E60 successor, the E39 was not available with all-wheel drive.

The E39 M5 sedan was introduced in 1998, powered by the 4.9-litre S62 V8 engine.

Fifth generation (E60/E61; 2003)
The E60/E61 is the fifth generation of the 5 Series, which was sold from 2003 to 2010. The body styles of the range are:
 * 4-door sedan/saloon (E60 model code)
 * 5-door estate/wagon (E61 model code, marketed as "Touring")

The E60 generation introduced various electronic features to the 5 Series, including iDrive, head-up display, active cruise control, active steering and voice control. The E60 also was the first 5 Series available with a turbocharged petrol engine, a 6-speed automatic transmission and regenerative braking. New safety features for the E60 included adaptive headlights, night vision, active headrests, Lane Departure Warning, and high intensity emergency brake lights. Unlike the three previous generations of 5 Series and the F10 successor, the E60/E61 centre console is not angled towards the driver.

The E60/E61 M5 was released in 2005 and was powered by the S85 V10 engine. It was sold in the sedan and wagon body styles, with most cars using a 7-speed automated manual transmission ("SMG III"). However, in the North American Markets, there was the option to buy the BMW M5 in a manual version.

Sixth generation (F10/F11/F07/F18; 2010)

The BMW F10/F11/F07/F18 is the sixth generation of the BMW 5 Series, which was manufactured for model years 2010–2017. The body styles of the range are:
 * 4-door sedan/saloon (F10)
 * 5-door estate/wagon (F11, marketed as "Touring")
 * 5-door fastback (F07, marketed as "Gran Turismo")
 * 4-door long wheelbase sedan (F18, sold only in China and the Middle East)

The F07 Gran Turismo was the only 5 Series to date produced as a fastback. The F10 was also the first 5 Series to offer a hybrid drivetrain, a turbocharged V8 engine, an 8-speed automatic transmission, a dual-clutch transmission, active rear-wheel steering (called "Integral Active Steering"), electric power steering, double-wishbone front suspension, an LCD instrument cluster (called "Black Panel Display") and automatic parking (called "Parking Assistant").

The F10 M5 was powered by the S63 twin-turbo V8 engine with a 7-speed dual clutch transmission. It was the first M5 to use a turbocharged engine. Like the previous generation, the F10 M5, in North America was sold with a manual transmission.

Seventh generation (G30/G31/G38; 2017)
The BMW G30/G31/G38 is the seventh generation of the 5 Series. It was officially announced in October 2016, and sales began in February 2017.

Body styles included: The fastback 5 Series GT model from the previous generation is no longer offered, and was moved to the 6 Series range.
 * 4-door sedan/saloon (G30)
 * 5-door wagon/estate (G31)
 * 4-door long-wheelbase saloon (G38)

The G30 is based on the same modular platform as the 7 Series (G11). The G30 is the first 5 Series to be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, the 530e iPerformance, which would have the advanced driver-assistance systems found in the 7 Series.

The F90 M5 is the M5 performance model for the G30 generation, and is the first M5 to employ an all-wheel drive powertrain. The X-Drive system allowed for the front differential to disconnect and provide a rear-wheel drive experience to the vehicle. It is powered by an upgraded version of the S63 twin-turbo V8 engine used in the previous generation F10 M5. The 5 Series received a face lift in 2020, retaining the same mechanics and engines.

Eighth generation (G60/G61/G68; 2024)
The BMW G60/G61/G68 is the eighth generation of the 5 Series. It was revealed on May 24, 2023, and will commence production in summer at BMW's Dingolfing Plant in 2023, with first deliveries beginning around October 2023. The fastback 6 Series Gran Turismo model has been discontinued. The 5-series will be offered in 530i, 540i, and 550e trims, with the 530i containing a 255-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, offered with rear or all wheel drive. The 540i is standard with all-wheel drive as well as a 375-hp turbocharged inline-six engine. All variants—excluding the plug-in hybrid variants—feature a 48-volt mild hybrid system; this system consists of a 20 Ah lithium-ion and an electric motor/integrated starter-generator rated at 13 kW and 200 Nm. The 5 Series is claimed to be powerful enough to hit 60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds by BMW.

The eighth generation BMW 5 Series is also offered with a battery electric powertrain, dubbed the "i5". Three models are offered; the entry-level, rear-wheel-drive eDrive40 model, the mid-range, all-wheel-drive xDrive40, and the range topping M60 xDrive model.

Production and sales
Current production is located in Dingolfing, Germany, Shenyang, China and Magna Steyr, Austria.

title: BMW 5 Series