Vince Lombardi Was One of the “Seven Blocks of Granite” at Fordham University

The twenties and thirties linemen at this Bronx school’s football team were dominant, with a player who would become a coaching icon.

by Rich Watson 

Vince Lombardi was such a big deal as a head coach in what became the NFL, they named the championship trophy for him. You know Green Bay, Wisconsin exists because of him. The shadow he cast over professional football was long.

Once upon a time, though, he was a young lineman on a team at a Bronx university called Fordham. The line on that Rams team was special.

They were granite.

The Polo Grounds Went Through Four Incarnations (and a Weird Shape) to Become a Legend

The Manhattan stadium seemed ill-suited for baseball, yet it was home to some of baseball’s best and worst   moments.

by Rich Watson

Its shape resembled a giant bathtub. The foul lines were so short they were more appropriate for a high school baseball game, and its center field could’ve been reached if one used a trebuchet in place of a bat. Not only did one of the winningest baseball teams play there, though, a number of the game’s most memorable events occurred at this place.

New York City’s Polo Grounds was unique among ballparks. Within it, the Giants dominated for years before the cross-town Yankees became a powerhouse. After the Giants left, the Mets moved in and established a new standard for futility.

And no one actually played polo there.

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