Earliest/Most favorite Shea Stadium memory

[Lefty Specialist]

My wife was at Game 6 in 1986, and she said it all happened so fast she almost couldn't process it. So I married into that memory.

[Benjamin Grimm]

HahnSolo wrote: Best memory: October 25, 1986.

Me too, as stated earlier in this thread. There's no topping that one, is there? Where were you sitting?

[HahnSolo]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Best memory: October 25, 1986. Me too, as stated earlier in this thread. There's no topping that one, is there? Where were you sitting?

I don't have my stub anymore, but I got them from a friend of my dad's who worked as an usher* (before I was born my dad worked the stadiums and the Garden as an usher in a little side-hustle, and he still had good buddies at Shea).

I want to say we were either section 1 or 3 of the upper deck, right behind home plate. I think it was row 8 of the upper reserved, and we were right on the aisle.

* Mets gave all ushers the option to buy tickets to any WS game. Dad's buddy bought 2 and sold them to dad with a slight mark up. Of course I VCR'd the game, and if you watch the NBC broadcast post game, when Marv Albert interviews Ray Knight on the field there's an usher standing next to them on camera--it was the guy who sold dad the tickets!

[Ceetar]

Frayed Knot wrote: Lefty Specialist wrote: Favorite memory inside was the Todd Pratt homer against the D-Backs in 1999 to win the division series. An entire stadium held its breath for a split-second and then exploded. Incredible. The only people that didn't hold their breath for a split-second that day were those of us in the waydafuckupthere seats in the RF corner upper deck because that angle gave you a knife-edge view along the entire length of the RCF wall thus allowing those sections to immediately see the ball bouncing around underneath the scoreboard. So rather than having to wait for Finley to check his glove then do the shoulder-slump thing, we knew Finley didn't catch the ball before Finley knew that Finley didn't catch it. We also has a several second jump on Pratt knowing (he was still standing and staring after I celebrated then turned towards the IF) and, upon listening to the radio replay on the way home, it was obvious that we knew before Gary as well.

The cheers definitely moved around the stadium day, best wave ever. I remember cheering (uppers behind home somewhere) before I could tell Finley didn't catch it. I remember remarking "I guess he didn't catch it". We were the farthest people from it after all. Was the best game I'd been to in my life to that point, though that only lasted about a week.

[Guest d'Kong76]

The ol' girl's last day standing...

[Benjamin Grimm]

And here's a much younger Shea Stadium:

[Lefty Specialist]

Favorite memory inside was the Todd Pratt homer against the D-Backs in 1999 to win the division series. An entire stadium held its breath for a split-second and then exploded. Incredible. The only people that didn't hold their breath for a split-second that day were those of us in the waydafuckupthere seats in the RF corner upper deck because that angle gave you a knife-edge view along the entire length of the RCF wall thus allowing those sections to immediately see the ball bouncing around underneath the scoreboard. So rather than having to wait for Finley to check his glove then do the shoulder-slump thing, we knew Finley didn't catch the ball before Finley knew that Finley didn't catch it. We also has a several second jump on Pratt knowing (he was still standing and staring after I celebrated then turned towards the IF) and, upon listening to the radio replay on the way home, it was obvious that we knew before Gary as well. The cheers definitely moved around the stadium day, best wave ever. I remember cheering (uppers behind home somewhere) before I could tell Finley didn't catch it. I remember remarking "I guess he didn't catch it". We were the farthest people from it after all. Was the best game I'd been to in my life to that point, though that only lasted about a week.

The Gary Cohen play-by-play on this is awesome: 'Finley back to the warning track...to the wall...jumping....AAAAAAND.....it's outta here!

That AAAAAAND is when everybody held their breath.

[Zvon]

Does anyone here have a good enough memory or Shea knowledge to tell me when the clock on the Shea scoreboard, the best scoreboard known to man and the universe, changed clock sponsors?
First it was LONGINES and then it became ELGIN.



I know it was still LONGINES when the Yanks slept over in 1974-75. After that I lose track until the scoreboard makeover that placed an oval clock in the center, where the Mets logo used to be.

[Vic Sage]

i'm sure I went to games before '73, but my earliest memory was seeing Jon Matlack take a line drive off his head that year. It was mid-May (we went for my 12th birthday), and a rainy day against the Braves. I don't remember who hit it, but I remember the sound off the bat, like a gunshot, and Matlack going down like a puppet with its strings cut. People thought he was dead. My father was, like, "of course he's dead. that's the Mets for you." we ended up losing. It was a bad day, but ended up a pretty good year.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Marty Perez hit the liner that hit Matlack's skull. Matlack contemplated pitching with a hockey mask upon his return, but didn't.

The scoreboard clock was sponsored by Elgin as early as 1977. I've got pics of the clock from 1976 but I can't tell the sponsor. The 1976 lettering doesn't look like Longines or Elgin. When my internet connection gets fixed, I'll post pics.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Vic Sage wrote: People thought [Matlack] was dead. My father was, like, "of course he's dead. that's the Mets for you."

Some things never change.

[Ceetar]

internet tells me Elgin went defunct in '68?

[Zvon]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: The scoreboard clock was sponsored by Elgin as early as 1977. I've got pics of the clock from 1976 but I can't tell the sponsor. The 1976 lettering doesn't look like Longines or Elgin. When my internet connection gets fixed, I'll post pics.

Thanks Batmag. Same with me, it's so small on most photos it's hard to make it out.

Ceetar wrote: internet tells me Elgin went defunct in '68?

Thanks for looking. That's wacky because I know they had their name up there before the scoreboard went blue. Post (app.)75-Pre 1980.

Vic Sage wrote: i'm sure I went to games before '73, but my earliest memory was seeing Jon Matlack take a line drive off his head that year. It was mid-May (we went for my 12th birthday), and a rainy day against the Braves. I don't remember who hit it, but I remember the sound off the bat, like a gunshot, and Matlack going down like a puppet with its strings cut. People thought he was dead. My father was, like, "of course he's dead. that's the Mets for you." we ended up losing. It was a bad day, but ended up a pretty good year.

You were at that game!?!? WOWZERS! I was watching on TV and you could hear the gunshot like sound at home. Damn, I was so scared shitless (spellcheck says I was scared "shirtless") Matlack was seriously hurt. Jon was a favorite at the time and I was very upset. He came back so fast and so unaffected that I thought it was a miracle.

[Guest cooby]

My brother got me a beautiful Elgin watch for my High School graduation in 1977. It has a gorgeous silver mesh band that unfortunately catches on stuff. But I love my brother and cherish it to this day

[Zvon]

Oh, my favorite memory was when I sneaked up into the greatest scoreboard known to man and the universe back in '72 or '73 after a night game. I've got to write up that adventure someday (maybe I have here at the CPF, I don't recall). I know I've touched on it before but to do it justice will take a lot of typing.

[Vic Sage]

Zvon wrote: You were at that game!?!? WOWZERS! I was watching on TV and you could hear the gunshot like sound at home. Damn, I was so scared shitless (spellcheck says I was scared "shirtless") Matlack was seriously hurt. Jon was a favorite at the time and I was very upset. He came back so fast and so unaffected that I thought it was a miracle.

He had been a speaker at my little league's awards breakfast after his rookie year and i had gotten his autograph. He seemed to be like 17 feet tall, and he looked a little bit like Herman Munster. So when i saw him go down at that game, it was pretty scary. It was like somebody i knew. It must've made an impression because here i am, 45 years later, and i can still smell the grass and the rain.

[MFS62]

2004 - Victor Diaz and Craig Brazell both hitting late inning homers to tie, then win, the game for the Mets. It was the only game I ever saw from a luxury box with about 25 folks sharing catered food, drink and the victory.

Later

[seawolf17]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Vic Sage wrote: People thought [Matlack] was dead. My father was, like, "of course he's dead. that's the Mets for you." Some things never change.

That was literally my first thought too.

[Frayed Knot]

seawolf17 wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: Vic Sage wrote: People thought [Matlack] was dead. My father was, like, "of course he's dead. that's the Mets for you." Some things never change. That was literally my first thought too.

Except that I'm pretty sure he didn't actually die from that incident.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Matlack in 2013.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

MFS62 wrote: 2004 - Victor Diaz and Craig Brazell both hitting late inning homers to tie, then win, the game for the Mets. It was the only game I ever saw from a luxury box with about 25 folks sharing catered food, drink and the victory. Later

I was at that game with the notorious Bret Sabermetric.

Best thing was how they shut up the Cubs fans who'd treated the first 8 innings as though they were clinching the playoffs at the enemy's field. IIRC the Cubs' chances were badly damaged by this and they narrowly missed the playoffs.

Do believe our man LaTroy Hawkins surrendered one or both of those bombs.

[Zvon]

You were at that game!?!? WOWZERS! I was watching on TV and you could hear the gunshot like sound at home. Damn, I was so scared shitless (spellcheck says I was scared "shirtless") Matlack was seriously hurt. Jon was a favorite at the time and I was very upset. He came back so fast and so unaffected that I thought it was a miracle. He had been a speaker at my little league's awards breakfast after his rookie year and i had gotten his autograph. He seemed to be like 17 feet tall, and he looked a little bit like Herman Munster. So when i saw him go down at that game, it was pretty scary. It was like somebody i knew. It must've made an impression because here i am, 45 years later, and i can still smell the grass and the rain.

Yo, I couldn't even sleep that night. It was like someone I knew was in a bad accident. Here's a detailed break down of that indecent that I wrote up in 2014:

The young lefty did not get off to such a great start in '73. On May 8th 1973 Jon was 2-4 and set to face off against the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium. New York established a 2-1 lead going into the 7th inning of this damp, chilly night game. Matlack had surrendered a home run to Davey Johnson in the 4th for the Braves lone run. The Met pitcher had only given up 3 hits through 6 but in the 7th he ran into trouble. With one out Jon issued a base on balls to Atlanta first baseman Dick Dietz. Catcher Paul Casinova and pinch hitter Rod Gilbreath followed with back to back singles, loading the bases. Ollie Brown popped out to Ed Kranepool at first and with two out Marty Perez came to the plate. The Braves shortstop connected on a Matlack fastball and smacked a wicked line drive right up the middle. The screaming meemee hit the Mets pitcher on the forehead above his left eye and caromed up and through the air, landing in the Mets dugout. I was watching on TV and it was just horrifying. Matlack lay on the mound clutching his head as his teammates rushed to his aid. Two runners scored and Perez was credited with ground rule double. I really thought the worst, that Matlack was seriously hurt and this was the end of his most promising career. He was taken off the field on a stretcher. Jon suffered a hairline fracture of his skull. Amazingly he recovered and returned to pitch six shutout innings only 11 days later on May 19 in Pittsburgh. This was just one of many injuries that kept knocking the team down in 1973. But they would keep bouncing back. In August and September, during the stretch run for the playoffs, Matlack was 7-2. He had a 1.40 ERA in four September starts helping the Mets capture the National League East crown.

I made the same comment about Herman Munster in the past (lol):

From the mfc project: Matlack reminded me of Fred Gwynn who played Herman Monster on T.V.

I went Munster in 2014 for Da Murph:
[fimg=400]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/PS1PlXt2QuACvj58c1H_pHka-LKJEiCG-uYUIfo-dOAatAOevbG9j63h2-0rdPCuqCXf3UtONYEibgYR8ix1dhkpMjMcbOFWvFhVT_pkO5nVErogAiZouGOS6wARwF_d0D_grx08-a22nTUiADOyd9KDFUW2_VJL7XLOrCwuYLBosM0m5wzhhP4WC_FvCCgMcUuFZLaPc6MAbhuCA_Ar6ej8N03tAIW6HeYCjnrJedTlj6JH9rnSJtJNJzYbb8NKTH_JKTX5-HHip2VFANrFLoXJE_w4OGEJ2LpqqBFZxRTTyLUZI6EF2Ipeiojr3bLvZjJBswgiVyqKwsSy9yJpwDv4jgJMWyHN_rBHkbBfyr-RKO2bWqADUDIwaYG0AMiTis307MS158vib2qU5UgUhJhbEQkU4sElVb2m7iFA9Azg_SfnCVJigDdNRwNMFKII1qb-k6yDpwzrHtqWAfmeedCb_KawdQ3JmUPc2ZfJjjALY-jFbPKjJ7WxlGW-sUEi2qXHko5cQtaOTbNi7TcSNfNwm-IXLKI5YUnTj8bsBODceEmtczemOlodefVSaIPaXq_OWwijf_uTzG1CBH8yY7v09qFWkNHMgR3E1spB=w652-h463-no[/fimg]

[Guest cooby]

I loved the 1973 team. My favorite ever

[Guest Mets Willets Point]

Shea Stadium memories.

[Guest cooby]

Doubleheader. Promotional date. Pennant contending year. On cable TV so schmucks like me could watch

Six bucks.

Holy mackerel

Now I remember why I’ve slowly withdrawn from the Mets and just can’t find the magic

[Guest Mets Willets Point]

And the Mets had raised ticket prices that year! I remember thinking that the box seats were really expensive at $10, and my family certainly wasn't going to pay that much.