Bad Houseguests

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

I'd never heard of this before and searching the CPF doesn't pull anything up, so I don't think we've discussed it before. Apparently, in 1975 when the Yankees were using Shea Stadium they hosted a 200th Anniversary of the US Army celebration with a 21-gun salute.

The cannon blasts knocked over the outfield walls and started fires.

Walter Cronkite brings you video:

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So does NBC News

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Anyone remember this?

Edited February 7, 2014 by Guest

[Ceetar]

wtf? We let you use our place and you fire freaking cannons at the walls?

[batmagadanleadoff]

I remember that. In fact, the outfield wall was never quite the same. Even after the fence was repaired, you could notice slight irregularities at the top of the fence that didn't exist before the bombing.

[MFS62]

They should have saved those cannon and used them on the right field fence in YS III to make it almost a major league ballpark.

Later

[Zvon]

haha, thats some crazy shit. I was still living in NYC and going to lots of game in '75, don't recall anything about that.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

I imagine that the reports echoing off the bowl of the stadium would've been pretty deafening.

[nymr83]

that was awesome. Could we borrow those cannons for a trip to Turner Field?

[Guest d'Kong76]

Hilarious, have zero recollection of that.

[Ceetar]

Nymr83 wrote: that was awesome. Could we borrow those cannons for a trip to Turner Field?

They're gonna knock the place down themselves anyway.

[Edgy MD]

Totally irrational, but those clips have me deeply desirous for a brutal Yankee beatdown.

[metirish]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I remember that. In fact, the outfield wall was never quite the same. Even after the fence was repaired, you could notice slight irregularities at the top of the fence that didn't exist before the bombing.

the bombing....lol...

great find Willets

[batmagadanleadoff]

metirish wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: I remember that. In fact, the outfield wall was never quite the same. Even after the fence was repaired, you could notice slight irregularities at the top of the fence that didn't exist before the bombing. the bombing....lol...

They don't call 'em The Bronx Bombers fer nuthin'.

[batmagadanleadoff]

The MFY's at Shea charged fans more for an Upper Level Box ($3.50) than for a Loge seat behind the plate ($3.00)

[Zvon]

And field box and mezzanine box were the same price? I always thought mezz box were some of the best seats in the house for actually seeing the action on the field. They didn't go by Met prices? What did they do? Send a scout to see what they were worth from their perspective?

[batmagadanleadoff]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: The MFY's at Shea charged fans more for an Upper Level Box ($3.50) than for a Loge seat behind the plate ($3.00)

Big price increases at MFY-Shea for the '75 season.

[Zvon]

I looked for a Mets one for those years to compare prices but I'm not finding it.

Back in the day 99.9% of the time I paid upper level (IIRC $1.50) and snuck down. Or just walked down, cause as long as it wasn't crowded with paying customers, 99.9% of the attendants had no problem with it.

[metsmarathon]

how did the army not realize that having a cannon facing right at the outfield wall was anything but a terrible idea?

[Edgy MD]

I'm going to guess that these weren't the regulars.

[Frayed Knot]

OPJA!!!!!



Maybe it was F-Troop. They never once realized that their cannon blast wasn't going to knock over the lookout tower (y'know, the one with the nearly-blind Private Vanderbilt seemingly always stationed in it).











* OPJA = Old Person's Joke Alert

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

I'm curious about the "Doctors' Calls" section which implies that is mandatory for doctors to register their attendance. Was this common back then or were the Yankees just too cheap to hire first aid/medical staff for the spectators?

[Edgy MD]

The best part of that is the absence of "asked."

"Doctors attending the game are to leave their name..." Not "asked to leave their name." Hippocrates was a totalitarian guy.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I think the "Doctors Calls" is a courtesy to the doctors themselves. In those days before cellphones and beepers, this would allow doctors to be reachable in case of an emergency to one of their patients. I don't think it was intended for the doctors to be on call to treat other fans.

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I think the "Doctors Calls" is a courtesy to the doctors themselves. In those days before cellphones and beepers, this would allow doctors to be reachable in case of an emergency to one of their patients. I don't think it was intended for the doctors to be on call to treat other fans.

Back in those days, sick patients had to call the Mets to get a hold of a doctor.

[Guest themetfairy]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I think the "Doctors Calls" is a courtesy to the doctors themselves. In those days before cellphones and beepers, this would allow doctors to be reachable in case of an emergency to one of their patients. I don't think it was intended for the doctors to be on call to treat other fans.

I believe that is correct. My dad is a retired physician, and back in the day it was very hard for him to leave the house for lengths of time when he was on call.

[Frayed Knot]

Ceetar wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: I think the "Doctors Calls" is a courtesy to the doctors themselves. In those days before cellphones and beepers, this would allow doctors to be reachable in case of an emergency to one of their patients. I don't think it was intended for the doctors to be on call to treat other fans. Back in those days, sick patients had to call the Mets to get a hold of a doctor.

Fuckin' government-run Johnson-care!

[Edgy MD]

Hey, man, we're confusing the Yankees with the Mets here.

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I think the "Doctors Calls" is a courtesy to the doctors themselves. In those days before cellphones and beepers, this would allow doctors to be reachable in case of an emergency to one of their patients. I don't think it was intended for the doctors to be on call to treat other fans.

Ah, I was thinking of it as a more formalized version of "Is there a doctor in the house?!" Thanks.

[batmagadanleadoff]

[fimg=666:1k6az6o3]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7425/12472487573_f8f9bff568_o.jpg[/fimg:1k6az6o3]

[MFS62]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I think the "Doctors Calls" is a courtesy to the doctors themselves. In those days before cellphones and beepers, this would allow doctors to be reachable in case of an emergency to one of their patients. I don't think it was intended for the doctors to be on call to treat other fans.

Just like Police Captians had to sign out of the precinct and let them know where they would be.
Michael Corleone liked that policy.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Otherwise he really would have come out of the bathroom with just his dick in his hand.