Ten Amazin' Shea moments
Mystique and Aura haven't danced in Queens as often as they have in the Bronx, but that doesn't mean Shea Stadium hasn't housed a treasure-trove of special memories in its 45-year history - mostly driven by its primary tenant, the Mets - on its way to the wrecking ball.
And unlike the going-home Yankees, the Mets still have a chance to add a few memories - good, bad or cataclysmic - to their list.
10: You Can Go Home Again
April 5, 1983
Tom Seaver, the greatest player in team history, returns to the Mets nearly six years after he was traded to Cincinnati - tying Walter Johnson's record of 14 Opening Day starts and tossing six shutout innings in a 2-0 win over the Phillies.
Later that season, Darryl Strawberry and Keith Hernandez arrive and the Mets are on their way to rebuilding toward their 1986 championship. Seaver would be a non-roster member of the Red Sox by then after a two-year stop with the White Sox, but Tom Terrific's brief return to New York kick-started the karma of the Mets' turnaround following years of futility and irrelevance.
9: The Black Cat Struts
Sept. 9, 1969
Indeed, No. 9 on our list occurred on 9/9. But maybe this moment really should be No. 13 in our top 10, because no further proof was needed that the fledgling Mets' fortunes were changing and the Cubs' bad luck would continue toward their current 100-year drought in 1969.
THE BOTTOM 10
• June 21, 1964: Future Hall of Famer and U.S. Senator Jim Bunning of the Phillies throws a perfect game.
• June 15, 1977: Seaver cries in clubhouse - and fans do the same all over the city - after the Midnight Massacre, as The Franchise is traded to Cincinnati on the darkest day in club history. Whither Dan Norman?
• Dec. 27, 1981: The Jets lose a playoff thriller to the Bills, 31-27, when Bill Simpson intercepts Richard Todd on the 2-yard line in the waning seconds. Todd had rallied the Jets from a 31-13 fourth-quarter deficit in the final NFL playoff game at Shea.
• Dec. 10 1983: The Jets play final game at Shea and leave for somewhere in the swamps of Jersey. Jets lose, 34-7, to Steelers in Terry Bradshaw's final game.
• Sept. 11, 1987: Terry Pendleton belts a two-run home run in ninth off Roger McDowell to tie a game rival Cardinals would win in 10 innings. Bottom falls out of the season as Mets go 12-9 the rest of the way to finish three games behind Cards.
• June 15, 1977: Oct. 9, 1988: Mike Scioscia belts game-tying homer off Dwight Gooden in the ninth inning and Dodgers win Game 4 of NLCS in 12th en route to knocking out the Mets in seven.
• Oct. 26, 2000: A ground ball trickling doesn't work out so well this time. Luis Sojo's two-run bouncer up the middle wins Game 5 of the World Series as Yankees celebrate on the Shea field.
• June 15, 2002: Mets starter Shawn Estes lobs one behind Roger Clemens - but also hits a homer - as retaliation for The Rocket hurling a bat shard at Mike Piazza during the 2000 World Series.
• Oct. 19, 2006: Adam Wainwright freezes Carlos Beltran on strike three with the bases loaded as the Mets drop Game 7 of the NLCS to the Cardinals, 3-1.
• Sept. 30, 2007: Tom Glavine is rocked for seven runs in 1/3 of an inning in the finale as the Mets complete one of the worst collapses in baseball history, blowing a seven-game lead over the Phillies with 17 to play.
– Peter Botte & Joe Belock
A stray black cat danced in front of the visiting dugout in the first inning of a critical pennant race game the Mets would win to move within a half-game of the fading Cubbies in the NL East en route to their first division title and world championship in the Impossible Dream season.
8: Pratt's All, Folks
Oct. 9, 1999, Game 4, NLDS
With Mike Piazza out with an injured thumb, it was only fitting popular backup Todd Pratt would belt the only walkoff home run to win a playoff series in Mets history. Ahead 2 games to 1 in the National League division series, and tied 3-3 in the 10th inning of Game 4, Pratt takes Arizona reliever Matt Mantei deep to dead-center. And the Diamondbacks are dead as center fielder Steve Finley slumps against the wall after his leap fails to bring down the ball. And Pratt brings down the house as he jubilantly rounds the bases.
7: Rockin' Robin
Oct. 17, 1999, NLCS Game 5
Three outs from elimination against the hated Braves, barely one week after Pratt's heroics, the Mets load the bases in the bottom of the 15th inning and forge a 3-3 tie on Pratt's walk, bringing third baseman Robin Ventura to the plate. Ventura belts what looks to be another walkoff blast to right field, but Pratt and other Mets intercept him in celebration between first and second base. Ventura never reaches second base, and the official scoring is changed to a "grand slam single." The Mets would force a sixth game but fail to reach the World Series.
6: Buddy Brawl, NLCS Game 3
Oct. 8, 1973
All bets were off when Pete Rose slid hard into Mets shortstop Bud Harrelson on a double play, sparking a roll-around fight on the infield dirt between the two scrappers in Game 3 of the NLCS. Rose hit a game-winning home run in the 12th inning of Game 4, but the Mets took the series in five before falling to Oakland in the World Series in seven games. The Harrelson fight exemplified the fighting spirit of Yogi Berra's Mets, who came from behind to win the NL East despite winning only 82 games in the regular season.
5: J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!
Dec. 29, 1968
Broadway Joe Namath guarantees the Jets a place in history by delivering a 27-23 victory with three touchdown passes against the Oakland Raiders in the AFL Championship Game. Namath, of course, then backs up a guarantee by pulling off one of the biggest upsets and most significant wins in football history with a 16-7 win over NFL-champion Baltimore in Super Bowl III.
4: The Fab 4 arrive
Aug. 15, 1965
Shea becomes the first outdoor stadium in the U.S. to hold a major rock concert, welcoming The Beatles to New York a year after John, Paul, George and Ringo had invaded America on the Ed Sullivan Show. The sound wasn't great and the 12-song set was largely drowned out by 55,000 shrieking fans, but the show is a groundbreaking moment in music history. The Beatles returned to Shea in 1966, and in later years, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, The Police, The Clash, Eric Clapton, Elton John and others would take the stage there, including two concerts by Long Island native Billy Joel earlier this year.
3: Helping the Healing
Sept. 21, 2001
Led by manager Bobby Valentine, the Mets did whatever they could to help in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as Shea became a staging area in the recovery effort. Baseball resumed to the city10 days later with an emotional game against the Braves at Shea, with the bitter rivals hugging on the field beforehand and Liza Minnelli singing a rousing rendition of "New York, New York" during the seventh-inning stretch.
Fittingly, Mike Piazza, wearing an NYPD batting helmet, belts a mammoth two-run homer in the eighth inning for a 3-2 Mets victory. Piazza, Valentine and the Mets all donate a day's pay - approximately $450,000 - to the families of the police officers and firefighters killed in the attacks.
2: Amazin' champs!
Oct. 16, 1969, WS, Game 5
Completing an eight-year ascent from laughable expansion team to first-time champion, Baltimore second baseman and future Mets skipper Davey Johnson flies out to Cleon Jones in left for the final out to complete the Impossible Dream. This improbable World Series run would include several heroes, from manager Gil Hodges to aces Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman to Series MVP Donn Clendenon to unsung Al Weis and Ron Swoboda to the black cat to the shoe polish. It also includes a leadoff homer and two tremendous catches by center fielder Tommie Agee two days earlier that should not be forgotten.
1: Gets by Buckner!
Oct. 25, 1986, WS, Game 6
The champagne was iced and the championship trophy ready and waiting in the visiting clubhouse after the Red Sox scored twice against reliever Rick Aguilera in the 10th inning and moved one out away from ending their decades-long Curse. But three straight singles by Gary Carter, Kevin Mitchell and Ray Knight against ex-Met Calvin Schiraldi moved the Mets within a run, before mopey reliever Bob Stanley allowed the Mets to tie it on a wild pitch to jackknifing batter Mookie Wilson. And you know the rest.
With all due respect to Vin Scully's "behind the bag" call on the national broadcast, every true Met fan can recite verbatim Bob Murphy's classic words on the radio for Mookie's grounder down the first-base line:
"And a ground ball, trickling, it's a fair ball, gets by Buckner! Rounding third Knight, the Mets win the ballgame! The Mets win! They win!"
And win they did, two nights later at Shea, coming from behind again for an 8-5 win in Game 7 for their second - and still last - World Series title.
