The first polo match in San Francisco was held on November 11, 1898.  But the significant amount of funding for what became San Francisco’s polo fields in Golden Gate Park^[1] actually came from two automobile clubs: the Golden Gate Driving Club and the San Francisco Driving Club. The polo fields were built over a portion an old automobile speedway that had been constructed in 1894 but never properly maintained. 150,000 cubic yards of sand were removed and replaced with 40,000 cubic yards of clay and loam. The fenced polo fields lie in a basin ringed with a 1 kilometer paved cycling track inside a .75 mile dirt track intended for horses and automobiles.

The polo fields were originally called the Golden Gate Park Stadium. It officially opened on July 4, 1906 as a cycling velodrome, though polo was played there through the 1940s. Today the space is used for cycling, youth soccer and cross-country running.   

Notable events that have taken place at the polo fields include the 1967 Human In^[2] and the 1991 free memorial concert honoring Bill Graham^[3]. From 1986-2009 the Bay to Breakers^[4] post race celebration was held there. Outsidelands Music and Arts Festival takes place at the polo fields every August, and the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival^[5] is held there every September. 

The largest event ever to take place in the polo fields was a public rosary held in 1961: there were 550,000 participants. The Family Rosary Rally was led by Father Patrick Payton, a Holy Cross priest who had a radio program in 1947 called Family Theater. A-list Hollywood celebrities came onto the show to endorse the power of prayer, and Father Peyton held rosary rallies (like the one in San Francisco) all over the world. 

^[1] Golden Gate Park: story coming April 4th

^[2] Human Be In: story coming January 14th

^[3] Bill Graham: story coming February 28th

^[4] Bay to Breakers: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4309

^[5] Hardly Strictly Bluegrass: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4291