Former stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey, US
Roosevelt Stadium was a baseball stadium at Droyer's Point in Jersey City, New Jersey. It opened on April 23, 1937, and was the home of the Jersey City Giants of the International League (IL), the Triple-A farm team of the New York Giants, from 1937 to 1950 and later hosted other high-minor league baseball teams. It also hosted 15 Major League Baseball (MLB) home games for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1956 to 1957, plus championship boxing matches, top-name musical acts, an annual championship drum and bugle corps competition known as "The Dream" (1946–1983), professional wrestling matches, important regional high school football games, college football games, minor league football games, soccer matches and even NASCAR races. The stadium was demolished in 1985 and replaced by the Society Hill housing development.
History.
Planning and construction.
On June 5, 1929, Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague announced his plans to construct a 50,000-seat municipal stadium in Jersey City to surround a field long by wide, that would be dedicated to the memory of the city's war dead. It was expected to cost $500,000 and be built by Spring 1930. Mayor Hague planned for the stadium to have 35,000 permanent seats with ground space for an additional 15,000. It would be a multi-purpose stadium for baseball, football, track and field events, and boxing.
The stadium was envisioned as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project on the grounds of what was the Jersey City Airport at Droyer's Point. The airport was built and first operated by noted aviator Clarence D. Chamberlin in 1928 and then later operated by aviator Eddie August Schneider starting in 1935. By 1935, Jersey City was suffering from the effects of the Great Depression and Mayor Hauge was looking to create construction jobs for Hudson County's working class. He applied for federal funds through the Civil Works Administration and the WPA of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program. Under the terms of the grant program, the money received could not be used to purchase land so the city had to contribute land for the project. According to the Mayor, Droyers Point was the only available city-owned property and better suited for a municipal sports stadium than a municipal airport which would have eventually been a financial liability to the city. He boasted that the stadium would be a self-sufficient operation and would employ 250 people on a seasonal basis.
On December 10, 1935, Mayor Hague, with nearly 2,000 people in attendance, turned the first shovel of earth to officially break ground on the stadium. At the ceremony, Mayor Hauge said, “We owe to President Roosevelt’s efforts the realization of our dream. He has been considerate of Jersey City in giving us this beautiful stadium. Besides the stadium, I am happy that its construction will provide work for nearly 1,000 men and through them hundreds of our citizens will benefit. This is a very happy occasion for all of us." Jersey City was awarded $1.5 million in federal WPA funds for the construction of the stadium which provided 2,400 jobs and in recognition of the award, Mayor Hague named the ballpark "Roosevelt Stadium" in honor of the president.
Design.
Architect Christian H. Ziegler designed the stadium in the Art Deco style, a style he used in designing the former Jersey City Medical Center, to emphasize Jersey City's strength and influence. Considered the best minor league baseball park of the time, the 24,000-seat stadium was constructed of steel and concrete and featured marble sourced from Pennsylvania and Tennessee. The stadium was horse shoe and bowl shaped surrounded by a concrete wall with a terra-cotta façade. Terrazzo flooring was featured on the first floor and concourse, in bathrooms, locker rooms, showers and corridors. The grandstand was high and consisted of terraced seating of 35 rows and bleachers. Multiple well-placed ramps gave patrons easy access to their seats.
Opening.
The ballpark's home opener was scheduled for April 22, 1937, with the opening of the 1937 International League season. Mayor Hague declared a half-holiday for the city's schools and employees. New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham was expected at the opener along with Senator Harry Moore. Rain washed out the planned events and the opening game was moved back to April 23 with Mayor Hague throwing out the first pitch and Sen. Moore and owner Horace Stoneham on hand for the ballpark's dedication. The Jersey City Giants took on the Rochester Red Wings with the Red Wings defeating the Giants 4–3 in front of an over capacity crowd of 31,234, a then minor league record.
Events.
Baseball.
Roosevelt Stadium was constructed to serve as the home field of the Jersey City Giants, the Triple-A International League (IL) farm team of the New York Giants, from 1937 to 1950. The Giants won the International League regular-season pennant in 1939 and 1947 and were runners-up to the Syracuse Chiefs in the Governors' Cup playoffs in 1942, but no Giants team would ever win a pennant in postseason play. Hague routinely hawked opening day tickets for "Little Giants" games, selling 40,000 seats in a stadium that held only 24,000. When asked about the discrepancy, he was reported to have said "Hell of a crowd in the men's rooms."
On April 18, 1946, Roosevelt Stadium hosted the historic Jersey City Giants' season opener against the Montreal Royals, the Triple-A IL farm team of the Brooklyn Dodgers, marking the professional debut of the Royals' Jackie Robinson and the breaking of professional baseball's color barrier. Mayor Hague declared the day a half-day school holiday and threw out the ceremonial first pitch. A sold-out over capacity crowd of 51,872 witnessed Robinson's debut. In five trips to the plate he got four hits, including a three-run homer, scored four runs and drove in three; he also stole two bases in the Royals' 14–1 victory over the Giants. After the game, Robinson was mobbed by fans and well-wishers, Black and white, who wanted to congratulate him. Some people even followed him through the dugout tunnel and into the locker room. Robinson recalled his debut in his autobiography, "My Own Story", saying "Although I was wearing the colors of the enemy, the Jersey City fans gave me a fine ovation. And my teammates were shouting, 'Come on, Jackie, start it off. This guy can't pitch. Get a-hold of one!'"
Between 1949 and 1950, future Hall of Famer Monte Irvin played several games with the Jersey City Giants in between being called up to the New York Giants. With Jersey City, he batted .373 in 1949 and .510 with ten home runs in eighteen games in 1950. In an interview with the "Jersey Journal", Irvin reflected on his time playing at Roosevelt Stadium and said "What a wonderful stadium," "It was the class of the International League and better than many [Major League] stadiums. I had a lot of thrills there."
Following the 1950 season, the New York Giants decided to move the club to Ottawa due to recent drops in attendance. Like their former neighbors and rivals, the Newark Bears, they found that rather than attending local minor league affiliate games, fans in New Jersey, due to the growth of television after World War II, were increasingly watching Giants, Dodgers and Yankees games from the comfort of their own homes.
On July 8, 1960, it was announced high-minor league baseball would return to Roosevelt Stadium with the Jersey City Jerseys of the IL for the 1960 and 1961 season. The Jerseys had moved from Havana, Cuba where they were known as the Havana Sugar Kings and had just won the 1959 International League title. The Sugar Kings move was forced by Fidel Castro nationalizing all U.S.-owned enterprises in Cuba and Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick feeling political pressure at home from Secretary of State Christian Herter to protect the “safety and welfare” of club personnel and baseball's interests. On July 15, the club arrived in Jersey City and was greeted by its residents as it took part in an eight-car twenty-mile motorcade through the city on their way to the stadium to play the Columbus Jets.
The stadium would see the last high-minor league baseball competition with the Jersey City Indians of the Double-A Eastern League (EL) in 1977 and, following a change in minor-league affiliation, the Jersey City A's of the EL in 1978 led by future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson.
Major League Baseball.
From 1956 to 1957, the stadium hosted 15 "home" games by the Brooklyn Dodgers during their last two seasons in Brooklyn – seven in 1956 and eight in 1957. The games were played partly as a negotiating tactic with the City of New York and the Borough of Brooklyn, in pursuit of a new stadium to replace Ebbets Field. While it had just 24,000 seats as opposed to Ebbets Field's 31,497, Roosevelt Stadium had 10,000 parking spaces compared to Ebbets Field's 700. The agreement between Jersey City and the Dodgers stipulated that the club would rent Roosevelt Stadium from the city for an annual fee of $10,000. The Dodgers also agreed to absorb the cost of making the stadium ready for major league baseball. In return, the Dodgers received all parking and ticket revenue. Team owner, Walter O'Malley, added that if by 1958 their new stadium in Brooklyn was still under construction, the Dodgers would not play at Ebbets Field and could play the entire season in Jersey City. The Dodgers' negotiations with the City of New York came to naught, and the team moved to Los Angeles in 1958.
During their time at Roosevelt Stadium, the Dodgers played in several memorable games.
On April 19, 1956, the Dodgers played the Philadelphia Phillies in their first game at Roosevelt Stadium. A pregame ceremony was held with the club raising their 1955 World Series Championship banner which was displayed at both Roosevelt Stadium and Ebbets Field. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Jersey City mayor Bernard Berry, and Eddie Fisher sang the National Anthem. Jersey City's St. Patrick's Drum and Bugle Corps also took part in the festivities. The game went to extra innings tied 3–3. Down 4–3 in the bottom of 10th inning, the Dodgers would tie the game and with the bases loaded, Rube Walker hit a sacrifice fly to center field that allowed Don Zimmer to score the winning run and give the Dodgers a 5–4 victory over the Phillies.
On July 25, 1956, Carl Furillo hit the Dodgers' first home run at the stadium off of Brooks Lawrence. The game ended with a walk-off home run by future Hall of Famer Duke Snider to give the Dodgers the 2–1 victory over the Cincinnati Redlegs.
On August 15, 1956, the Dodgers hosted their rival, the New York Giants, at the stadium. The Giants had built a large following in Jersey City after being the home of their Triple-A affiliate, the Jersey City Giants, for 13 years. Jackie Robinson went 0–4 and was booed by the sold-out pro Giants crowd of 26,385. The most memorable moment of the game occurred in fourth inning when future Hall of Famer Willie Mays hit the only home run ever hit completely out of Roosevelt Stadium off of Don Newcombe. That home run gave the Giants the 1–0 victory over the Dodgers.
On June 5, 1957, future Hall of Famer Don Drysdale pitched the first of his 49 Major League shutouts at the stadium defeating the Chicago Cubs 4–0.
Boxing.
Boxing matches were also a big draw at the stadium. In 1940, former heavyweight champion Max Baer beat "Two Ton Tony" Galento at Roosevelt Stadium. A year later in 1941, Jersey Joe Walcott defeated the reigning heavyweight champion, Ezzard Charles. On September 21, 1948, European champion Marcel Cerdan of France defeated Tony Zale for the world middleweight championship title in one of the Tournament of Champions bouts held at the stadium. On August 9, 1950, Sugar Ray Robinson defeated the former 3-time New Jersey State Champion Charley Fusari to defend his welterweight title.
Football.
Although, initially constructed as a home field for the Jersey City Giants, the stadium later saw its most common use for high school football, as Jersey City's William L. Dickinson, James J. Ferris, Abraham Lincoln, Henry Snyder high schools and the city's major parochial schools, Hudson Catholic and St. Peter's Prep, all used the stadium, particularly on Thanksgiving Day, when Dickinson and St. Peter's would play before