BY MICHAEL NOWELS Thu Apr. 2, 2015

PHOENIX—At Arizona State baseball’s new-again home, relics of the past reach high into the dry, dusty desert air. Ten 75-year-old light poles hoist bulbs that illuminate Phoenix Municipal Stadium. But the steel beams weren’t always in the middle of the Mojave.
In the shadow of these light poles, Mel Ott used his trademark leg kick to smack the 511th and final home run of his career on Opening Day 1946. Bobby Thomson hit his 1951 pennant-clinching “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” Willie Mays chased down a fly ball off the bat of Vic Wertz in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series to make one of the most iconic catches in baseball history.
Before finding a home in the desert, the 160-ton, 150-foot towers brought light to the Polo Grounds, home of the New York Giants, beginning on May 24, 1940. That night, Bill Terry’s Giants defeated Casey Stengel’s Boston Bees 8-1 in the stadium’s first night baseball game. The lights replaced low-altitude football lights that were unsuited for baseball.
“Back then, they made things to last,” Phoenix Municipal Stadium manager James Vujs said of the light poles that have stood among Phoenix’s Papago Buttes for more than a half century after a 25-year stay across the Harlem River from Yankee Stadium.
Ed Logan Jr. played ball with childhood friends under those light poles when they towered over the old ballpark below Coogan’s Bluff. His father, Eddie Logan, was the Giants’ clubhouse manager for more than 30 years, spanning the team’s move from New York to San Francisco after the 1957 season.
“Just watching those guys climb up to change the lights gave me a dizzy feeling,” Ed remembered. The lights are just one stitch of an intricate tapestry of memories from a true baseball cathedral for Ed Logan Jr.
Ed was the Giants’ bat boy for that final season in New York between his junior and senior years in high school but as a child, he hung around in the center-field clubhouse with the players before games and after wins. After losses, his father made him wait outside until the players had calmed down.
“They did not censor anything,” Ed said. “There was lots of joking and lots of swearing, not PC like now. But it was totally integrated (racially).”
It wasn’t always so fun for Ed, though. He was tasked with keeping an eye on manager Leo Durocher’s son, Chris, who is five years Ed’s junior. For that duty, the skipper gave Ed a Schwinn bicycle.
Baseball fans are naturally nostalgic but the Polo Grounds’ character evokes a cascade of memories from those who visited it. Rich Rogers and Steve Rothschild were both raised as New York Giants fans and are involved with the New York Giants Preservation Society, as is Ed. Continue reading →