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 500 feet (150 m) long by 400 feet (120 m) 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.^[1]

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.^[2][3] 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 and not 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.^[4]

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. The stadium was designed in the Art Deco style by architect Christian H. Ziegler. 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 bowl-shaped and surrounded by a concrete wall with a terra-cotta façade. Terrazzo flooring was featured throughout most of the facility. The grandstand was 60 feet (18 m) high and consisted of terraced seating of 35 rows and bleachers. Multiple well-placed ramps gave patrons easy access to their seats.

The ballpark's opening 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.^[5] Rain washed out the planned events and the opening 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.^[6] The Jersey City Giants took on the Rochester Red Wings who would go on to beat the Giants 4–3.^[4]

Sports

Roosevelt Stadium was constructed to serve as the home field of the Jersey City Giants, the Triple-A International League farm team of the New York Giants, from 1937 to 1950. The Giants finished first in the IL in 1939 and 1947, but no Jersey City team ever went on to 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 Jersey City Giants' season opener against the Montreal Royals, marking the professional debut of the Royals' Jackie Robinson and the breaking of professional baseball's color barrier. In his five trips to the plate, Robinson 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.^[7][8]

Between 1949 to 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."^[7]

It was used for 15 "home" games by the Brooklyn Dodgers during their last two seasons in Brooklyn – seven in 1956 and eight in 1957.^[9] The games were played partly as a negotiating tactic with the Borough of Brooklyn, in pursuit of a new stadium to replace Ebbets Field.^[10] 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 Dodgers' negotiation came to naught, and the team moved to Los Angeles in 1958.^[11]

High level baseball would return to Roosevelt Stadium with the Jersey City Jerseys of the IL in 1960 and 1961, 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.

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.^[4]

Although, initially constructed as a home field for 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 soldout crowds. It was the site, on September 28, 1974, of the game that set the New Jersey state record for consecutive losses by a high school football team at 42, when Dickinson High School lost to Hudson Catholic, 22–0. The Hawks offense was led by quarterback Steven Neri and halfback Tony Cavallo and Dickinson was held to -2 yards rushing and 18 passing by a Hudson defense led by Steve Cuccinelli, Ray Parente and Bruce Bock. Neri, Bock, Parente and Cuccinelli have all been inducted into the Hudson Catholic Football program's Wall of Fame.^[12]

The stadium also hosted college football with Jersey City State College (now New Jersey City University) playing their home football games on Friday nights at Roosevelt stadium during the 1960s and 1970s prior to the construction of the Thomas M. Gerrity Sports Complex on the adjacent tidelands.^[4]

In 1971, the stadium was selected to host an NASL and international soccer double-header. Bologna were to meet West Ham United while the New York Cosmos were to play the Dallas Tornado in the opener. A week later, Santos (Brazil) were scheduled to meet Bologna with Pelé announced. The first doubleheader was set for Yankee Stadium in the Bronx but the contract that the Cosmos had with the Yankees allowed for a "weather clause" in which the baseball team could cancel if bad weather conditions posed a potential threat to the field.^[13]

Concerts

The Grateful Dead played six concerts at Roosevelt Stadium: July 18, 1972; September 19, 1972; July 31, 1973; August 1, 1973; August 6, 1974; and August 4, 1976.^[14]

Demolition

In November 1982, the Jersey City City Council voted to demolish the stadium.^[15][16] It was finally demolished in 1985,^[17] and a gated community named Society Hill opened on the site in 1996 and a later phase known as Droyer's Point opened in 2004.^[18]

In 1983, Cochrane Stadium in the Caven Point section of Jersey City was built as a municipal stadium replacement for the City and the local schools.^[19]