Shea Stadium

[Astros]

I wanted to post more photos of my last visit to Shea in August, '08.

[Astros]

More shots I took during my last visits. The Astros really put it to the Mets that night.

[Astros]

Two more shots!

[alpineinc]

Nothin' better than a big crowd at old Shea. Mets/Braves, April 2007, courtesy me.

[bobo4444]

And if I accept what you say as true, and I'm not saying it isn't, then tell me based on your knowledge of New York City...

What would have been the best location for the Dodgers franchise in the NYC area? Well let's see, many of the fans had moved to Long Island and had fallen in love with the internal combustion engine so a good place would be someplace accessible say to the Long Island Expressway, the Northern State/Grand Central Parkways and perhaps for the people coming from the South Shore of Long island or lower Queens, some place accessible to the Van Wyck Express. It would be helpful if there was some momenteous event going on in the near vicinity of the ballpark bringing millions of tourists to the area. Hm something like a World's Fair. But yes there are people who don't drive..hm you need a subway station in the vicinity maybe 20 minutes away from Grand Central and Times Square....yeah and how about an LIRR station okay...and maybe a marina for the rich with yachts or whatever....does such a place exist??? Hm hm hm...

It would have been nice to find a place in Brooklyn but is there any place in Brooklyn then and now with all of these "advantages?" Perhaps Coney Island, the location of Keyspan Park but not enough highway accessibility. Maybe the location of Starett City but no mass transit and only one highway passing by. Floyd Bennet Field...same problem as Starett City.

And please none of this you can't call them the Brooklyn Dodgers if they played in Queens (how can you call the New York Giants and Jets if they play in New Jersey)...frankly Brooklyn and Queens (as well as Nassau and Suffolk) are all part of one contiguous land mass. The boundaries are totally artificial according to the way some Dutch towns were laid out in the 17th century. And all federal court cases in Queens, Nassau and Suffolk are heard in Brooklyn Federal Court as they are all part of the Eastern District of New York.

Atlantic/Flatbush...well there was this little problem, very minor, that the land there was not owned by the city. O'Malley could have done what Charlie Ebbets had done 45 years earlier and paid a market price for the land but a) was it the right place and b) could he afford it. The answer to both questions, of course, was no. Purely and simply and I know a lot of people not around then don't comprehend this, as run down as the location was, it was not city property or public property. New York State's eminent domain laws, more progressive probably than many other states, clearly made it illegal for the land to be condemned for a private enterprise owned by a private organization. Now I have heard it said that Moses, as mighty and powerful as he was, could have done it and while I might be tempted to agree, there would have been taxpayer suits up the you know what. Again, if you don't believe this do a google search on Ratner, Bruce A. (and this land now BTW is public property belonging to the MTA so eminent domain is not an issue)...

But while I agree hindsight is 20/20 but let's be real here. Based on what we know now, was Moses all that wrong on this issue? He offered to work with O'Malley to give him the same sweetheart lease, considered the best in baseball, ultimately given to the Mets. O'Malley would have all but owned the Stadium with all the parking revenue and the ability to keep a football team (ultimately the Titans AKA the Jets) from playing there till after the baseball season. This "oppresive" lease has enabled the Mets to become one of the three most valuable franchises in mlb far more so than the imposter organization playing on the left coast and using the name they stole from Brooklyn.

Now despite what you read and what you see on television, these are facts that cannot be disputed. So let's stop with this blame Robert Moses garbage. The Dodgers left the area because of the need for greed by Walter O'Malley and the clowns running major league baseball, Ford Frick and Warren Giles did nothing to protect the interests of the fans.

Some interesting reading: http://www.walteromalley.com/docu_ga...allery=1&set=1

Letters back and forth between O'Malley and the others on the subject.

Did O,Malley want to stay? Who knows. Stoneham was losing his shirt in NY and really had to move, but overall he still got screwed when he moved.

Robert Moses was the guy that forced the issue. The site in Brooklyn was going to be available, but Moses did not want a stadium there period. He was a suborn and arrogant BUT had the power and control of the money and was able to force the issue.

In the end O'Malley made out like a thief with the move. Both Moses and O'Malley were A-Holes.

Moses built an awful lot in NY, he did some good, but he also did an awful lot of damage. I read the Book the Power Broker by Robert Caro (a very long but good read) I couldn't help but feel some satisfaction in the way Rockefeller wrestled power away from Moses in the 70's and kind of left him to basically die a broken and powerless man.

[metsforever7515]

Nothin' better than a big crowd at old Shea. Mets/Braves, April 2007, courtesy me.

April 21, 2007?

[margatemanor]

great picture of shea 1964







shea_stadium.jpg

[Gary Dunaier]

What was the deal with that ticket booth outside the centerfield fence? Did they actually sell tickets there? Seems real out-of-the-way in relation to the other booths... or was that only used for football?

[Gary Dunaier]

Here are some images of Shea Stadium from the time when the Yankees also called it home, while Yankee Stadium was being renovated. These particular images were taken from the 1975 Yankees program that was sold during the July 25-27 series against Boston. I always found the cover to this edition interesting because it says YANKEES in large red letters yet it has a big picture of Shea Stadium...



...an image that (to me) just screams METS despite the presence of the Yankees' top hat logo atop the scoreboard where the Mets' logo would normally be. Here's a larger image of the photo...




Here's a shot of Roy White in action, showing the extra distance marker beyond the right field fence.




This photo shows how the Shea Stadium scoreboard handled the designated hitter situation in the lineups. The pitchers' numbers were put in the American League out-of-town scoreboard, below the games being played: note the OAK. 30P and N.Y. 33P (Holtzman v. Medich).



The original out-of-town scoreboard could be versatile in its own way, in its own context; during the 1986 World Series game, in lieu of out-of-town scores it displayed the final results of each LCS, and the scores of each World Series game.

Finally, here's the Shea Stadium seating plan as it was set up for Yankee games in 1975. What's unusual is that except for the last few rows, the upper deck reserved eats in the infield were more expensive than similar seats in the outfield. I don't think the Mets ever charged more for infield v. outfield seating at Shea, and I don't recall the Yankees having that kind of pricing structure in the 1980s and 1990s.

[Chef Bill]

Finally, here's the Shea Stadium seating plan as it was set up for Yankee games in 1975. What's unusual is that except for the last few rows, the upper deck reserved eats in the infield were more expensive than similar seats in the outfield. I don't think the Mets ever charged more for infield v. outfield seating at Shea, and I don't recall the Yankees having that kind of pricing structure in the 1980s and 1990s.

My recollection is that the outfield sections and last rows of the upper deck were general admission seats, and the infield area was reserved seating.

[WillMissShea]

great picture of shea 1964




shea_stadium.jpg

I can't see this picture for some reason.

[oldnymetsfan]

What was the deal with that ticket booth outside the centerfield fence? Did they actually sell tickets there? Seems real out-of-the-way in relation to the other booths... or was that only used for football?

That was "Gate F" during football season

[margatemanor]

[QUOTE=WillMissShea;1461300]I can't see this picture for some reason.[/QUsOTE]

sorry..should work now

[bobo4444]

Here are some images of Shea Stadium from the time when the Yankees also called it home, while Yankee Stadium was being renovated. These particular images were taken from the 1975 Yankees program that was sold during the July 25-27 series against Boston. I always found the cover to this edition interesting because it says YANKEES in large red letters yet it has a big picture of Shea Stadium...

...an image that (to me) just screams METS despite the presence of the Yankees' top hat logo atop the scoreboard where the Mets' logo would normally be. Here's a larger image of the photo...

I remember the two years the Yankees played there, the field was really in bad shape from all the traffic, especially between home and the mound.

It would have be so cool to have had the Mets and Yankees in the WS together those years in particular (74/75). One City, One Park.

[WillMissShea]

[QUOTE=margatemanor;1461310]

I can't see this picture for some reason.[/QUsOTE]

sorry..should work now

Thanks. This is a great shot. I have a photo taken from that exact same spot. Only with a game in progress. I believe it is from opening day 1970. It was posted here last year. And people mentioned that ticket booth back then as well. We didn't know why it was there then either. This is the first time I heard it was for football.

[Mary Ellen]

Years back I bought a "Lost Treasures of Baseball" NYWF patch. The 2004 Shea Anniversary patch was a reverse of the original uniform patch worn in 64/65.

I recently learned that the Dodgers, Giants & Yankees wore the 1939 Patch shown below with the Trylon & Perisphere. I never saw a photo with the 1939 patch on a uniform.

And a retro Tug McGraw shirt is now being marketed with the 64/65 patch.

[Paul W]

all ny clubs promoted the fair with patches in 1938...
the first is babe ruth and "daffy" dodgers, next is is joe d. and his teammates, gehrig w/1939 patch and last casey stengel admiring ralph terry's uni...
in 1939 all major/minor leagues and many amateur leagues wore the "centennial" patch which was part of publicizing the opening of the hall of fame in cooperstown.

[Mary Ellen]

Great photos PaulW. The 39 patch looks so large on the sleeve.

[Paul W]

here's something i had made up a while ago...
these are all but 2 of the patches the mets have worn on their uni's or jackets. not sure if i'm gonna add this year's one.
the two missing are the 1973 nyc diamond jubilee logo and the john mcsherry memorial.i'm showing the front and back of my jacket.
i wear this on special occasions...

[Paul W]

a section of the mets dugout bench and wall!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/AUTHENTIC-SHEA-S...#ht_500wt_1182

[Cheap Char]

In what year did the Mets close up the old grounds crew walkway and doors behind the plate? I'm guessing it was around 2000.

[bluenautica]

Would you have preferred I use this guy?

Is it just me, or doesn't he look like Scott Baio

[DiggerODell]

a section of the mets dugout bench and wall!!

I'd settle for the stool circled in white. "Somebody" must have sat there.

[mets16]

I'd settle for the stool circled in white. "Somebody" must have sat there.

Yeah, I think the batboys. It would be unreal having that dugout in my house.

[RichieA13]

Here are a couple nice black & white shots I found. The second one is the Blackout of 1977 @ Shea. Was anyone on this thread AT that game? If so, fill us in. I believe it was Tom Seaver & at least one other player drove their cars onto the field in order to use the light from their car headlights to help people see their way out of the Stadium? If anyone can "shed some light" in this story (OK ... that was a REALLY bad pun, but I couldn't resist!), feel free .... especially if you were at the game in person.