Making The Call: Historical In Its Own Right

Photo from wallyg on flickr

Shea Stadium is perhaps most famous as a venue for a memorable Beatles concert and that is a shame. While it certainly doesn’t have the history that Yankee Stadium did and it is an eyesore, Shea has been a witness to plenty of memorable moments.

Start with the Mets and you start with the miracle of October 26th, 1986, that ended with one of the most famous plays in baseball history. But, many fans would say that the events of October 16, 1969, when the Mets won their first championship was even more of a miracle. When Davey Johnson made the final out, the Mets won one of the most unlikely titles in sports.

O.J. Simpson became the first player to rush for over 2,000 yards at Shea and Willie Mays hit his final home run, number 660, there. Joe Namath led the Jets past the Raiders in 1968 in the AFL championship game. Gary Carter hit a walk-off home run in his first game at Shea in a Mets uniform and Mike Piazza hit a two-run shot in the first game in New York after September 11th. In 1975, Shea Stadium served as the home to the Mets, Yankees, Jets and Giants and on April 15, 1997 Jackie Robinson’s number 42 was retired across baseball in a ceremony at Shea.

Perhaps the passing of Shea is not being mourned because the new stadium looks so impressive. Citi Field will certainly be a magnificent park and a much better place to watch a ballgame. But, it will take a long time to surpass the history of its predecessor.

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By Peter Trinkle in News on September 28, 2008 3:42 PM

Comments [rss]

JMH

Shea isn't an eyesore, it looks like a freaking stadium.

drewo

While it's too late for both Shea and Olde Yankee Stadium, here's an idea I may have posited here before: convert old stadiums into condos. While "living" at Yankee Stadium might elicit sweet dreams, Shea might be more the stuff of nightmares.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenal_Stadium

"Arsenal Stadium is currently (as of 2008) being redeveloped and converted into apartments, in a project known as "Highbury Square", a scheme that will see 711 properties built on the site... the matching West Stand are being preserved and incorporated into the new developments, while the rest of the stands' structures have been removed. The pitch will become a communal garden. In October 2005 the proposed apartments went on sale; as of May 2006 all properties in the North, East and West Stands had been taken. The apartments are expected to be ready by 2010."

longacre

Citi Field will certainly be...a much better place to watch a ballgame.

I'm sure Citi Field will be great, but I don't think it will be "better." All we need is a good team and seats to watch them from. Shea does this job completely fine. Citi Field will have about 20% fewer seats, so not only will tickets purchased directly from the team go up in price, but the laws of supply and demand dictate secondary market tix to sold out games like opening day or Subway Series games will go up A LOT. Yeah, wider aisles and better sight lines will be nice, but for a real baseball fan I don't think these things matter at all.