Willie Mays in 2018. D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

With Willie Mays' death, an epic era of NYC baseball continues to slip away

By Zach Wadley | Last updated Jun 20, 2024 3:42 PM ET

In the 1950s, Major League Baseball reigned over American sports and New York City served as its castle.

Boasting three MLB teams — the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants and New York Yankees — the city was a slice of baseball heaven. With legends in the field and unique, quirky ballparks, New York baseball often took center stage.

In the 1950s, a New York team won the World Series eight times and finished runner-up six times.

But westward expansion beckoned and before the 1958 season, the Dodgers (who would win the World Series in 1959 in Los Angeles) and Giants left New York for California. It ended an era that is now fading fast.

In a two-month span, Carl Erskine — a standout pitcher for 12 seasons with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers — and Willie Mays — a Giants superstar from 1951-72 — have died. According to Baseball Reference, their passing leaves 12 players still living from those Brooklyn Dodgers or New York Giants.

Soon, the 1950s baseball scene in New York will only be told in the media — no player will be left to share what it was like out on the field.

The Hall of Fame remembers 2023 Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Carl Erskine, who passed away Tuesday. https://t.co/cVpXiHvb88 pic.twitter.com/T1v0sTSRwL
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) April 16, 2024

Consider the fact that at one point in New York, Mays (Giants), Duke Snider (Dodgers) and Mickey Mantle (Yankees) roamed center field. All are Hall of Famers. One would be lucky to find three good center fielders in three neighboring states, let alone three boroughs.

Ebbets Field, home of the Dodgers, was 18 miles from Yankee Stadium. Straightaway center field was a ridiculous 507 feet at Ebbets Field. A quick walk across the Macombs Dan Bridge sat the Polo Grounds, only 277 feet down the left-field line.

Five times from 1950-56, the World Series featured the Yankees and either the Dodgers or Giants, so there was no need for a travel day with a trip that short.

The game is losing its cast from its greatest show. Erskine's devastating curve or Mays' towering shots over the fence are memories. Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds — where Mays made his remarkable, over-the-shoulder catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series — are long gone, replaced by forgettable apartment complexes.

Would have loved to see Willie Mays cover center field at Polo Grounds. #Legend #RIP pic.twitter.com/jMQN390EX9
— MLB Cathedrals (@MLBcathedrals) June 19, 2024

Baseball will continue to churn forward, spurred on by a new batch of stars. But make no mistake, the game will never see anything like it did in New York in the 1950s.

Zach Wadley

Zach Wadley's sportswriting career began at the age of 12 when he started covering Little League games for his local newspaper. Since then, he's worked in the sports information field where he merged his love of writing, social media, and broadcasting. He is a graduate of Anderson University (IN).

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