Shea - a little history and the 2000 Subway Series
Written: Oct 23 '00 (Updated Oct 23 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It's in NY!
Cons: It's in NY - Noise and traffic
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| Barbarajo's Full Review: Shea Stadium |
A WARNING FOR THE READER
Before I get barraged with nasty comments and E-mails, I would like to take the time to explain the origin of this editorial and some of its content.
I originally wanted to write about the Subway Series here in NY focusing on good sportsmanship between the players and the fans. I could not however, find a suitable category, so a friend suggested that I write it under Shea Stadium. Having written a piece on Yankee Stadium a while back, I took her up on her suggestion. Thanks ACDC711!
After all, I grew up by Yankee Stadium and now live in (practically) walking distance to Shea.
In all fairness to the reader and in trying to stay within the Epinion rules, I decided to write about Shea as well before getting into the other portion of the editorial.
Be sure to read AC's excellent piece on Shea. She is a die-hard Mets fan. Here's the address:
http://www.epinions.com/sprt-review-CFC-1374030-39F024A9-prod1
For a comprehensive review and history of Yankee Stadium, please read my piece at:
http://www.epinions.com/sprt-review-7F62-10698D6B-393D378F-prod1
A Little History on Shea
Shea Stadium is named after attorney, William Alfred Shea who acquired a new team for New York.
NY Mayor Robert Wagner had appointed Shea chairman of Baseball Commission. After the city losing two major NY teams in the 50's, Shea tried to get many teams to move to NY but was unsuccessful. He even tried to organize a third major league called The Continental League in 1958 with a franchise for New York, but the league died before a single game was played.
In 1960, National League owners decided to expand to 10 teams and awarded franchises to Houston and New York. There were rumors that New York would be rejected unless it guaranteed construction of a new stadium. At Shea’s suggestion, Wagner sent telegrams to each owner with such an assurance, hence the Mets were born and started playing on April 17, 1964.
The stadium is located in Flushing, New York, in the borough of Queens near the site of the 1939 and 1964 World's Fair. It has a baseball capacity of 55,601 and is owned by the City of New York.
Shea is easy to access by public transportation and by car. The Whitestone Expressway / Interstate 678 or the Grand Central Parkway are the best highways to take. It is also accessible by subway by exiting the #7 train at the Roosevelt Avenue exit. For those completely unfamiliar, it is just southeast of La Guardia Airport.
The Mets were scheduled to play only one season at the Polo Grounds, the former home of the New York Giants. However, construction of Shea fell behind schedule. Shea Stadium cost $28.5 million to build and took 29 months from its groundbreaking on October 28, 1961, to its dedication on April 17, 1964. It was originally to be called Flushing Meadow Park, but a movement was quickly launched to name it in honor of Shea.
A die-hard baseball fan, I attended my first major league game at the Polo Grounds. The Mets were playing!
On an interesting note, it was the first stadium capable of being converted from baseball to football and back using two motor-operated stands that moved on underground tracks. Shea Stadium is the noisiest outdoor ballpark in the majors because it is in the flight path of La Guardia Airport. For that reason alone, I do not enjoy attending events there. They say that when the city scouted out stadium sites in 1962, they went during the winter, when flight paths into La Guardia are different, so they never anticipated the aircraft noise. Plans were drawn up to add 15,000 seats and cover the stadium with a dome. Those plans were scrapped when studies showed that the stadium could collapse under the weight of a roof. An article in the February 1, 1996 issue of the New York Times reported that the Mets plan on building a new ballpark in Queens some time in the next ten years. Rumor has it that it will resemble Ebbets Field with a retractable roof.
Here is some stadium trivia:
~ It is designed to be expandable to 90,000 seats.
~ Its right-center scoreboard is one of largest in the majors at 175 feet long and 86 feet high with a Bulova clock on top.
~ Behind the fence in center, just to the right of the 410 mark, is a Mets Magic Top Hat. When a Met hits a homer, a red Big Apple rises out of the black top hat.
~ Shea has the worst visibility for hitters in the majors.
~ It was christened on April 16, 1964, with Dodgers Holy Water from the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn and Giants Holy Water from the Harlem River at the exact location where it passed the old Polo Grounds.
~ The Beatles played before 53,275 fans in August 1965 and again in August 1966. My favorite group - even now!
~ The New York Yankees played there from April 6, 1974, to September 28, 1975 while Yankee Stadium was renovated.
Fast forward to today, Monday, October 23, 2000. It is a day of much needed rest for weary NY Baseball fans.
A New Yorker and die-hard, hard-core Yankee fan, I have lived for what is now taking place in my beloved city. Finally! A Subway Series. Perhaps only a New Yorker can truly understand what this means. Although a Yankee Fan, I am also a NY fan, so I cannot even begin to explain the feeling. And none of that childish behavior like we are going to kick butt!
Driving over the Bronx - Whitestone Bridge after Game 1 on Monday, I peeked over my shoulder and caught a glimpse of the aura of light emanating from Yankee Stadium. In front of me was Shea, in all her glory. Lit up at 2:00 a.m., days before Game 3. To my immediate right was the NYC skyline. There is nothing like it on a clear, crisp Autumn Night!
Frankly, I believe that the Mets played better ball this year and deserve to be in the Series. We all know that the Yankees did not. They made it to the Series this year because the other teams in their Eastern Division played lousier. Moreover, I believe that Joe Torre's managerial skill is brilliant.
This is more likely than not, a rare opportunity of a lifetime. After all, the last Subway Series to take place in NY was 44 years ago! I lived on 161st Street in The Bronx at the time, just a few blocks from Yankee Stadium. I am fortunate enough to remember the excitement in the streets and the parade of cars loaded with the Yankees en-route to celebrate their victory at a local Steak house.
The NY Yankees are up two games after winning on their home field. Many of you may have seen the game last night and the event that took place. Many of you may assume that because I am rooting for the Yankees, that I accept Clemens behavior! (I actually applaud all good plays, regardless of the team who did it). I absolutely think Clemens act was intolerable. Regardless of whether he was aiming at Piazza when he threw the bat, he was wrong! He acted in a total unprofessional manner. Yet, I cannot believe that a Hall of Famer would jeopardize his career and his 24 teammates chance of winning a game.
We can listen to endless radio shows, television news and read the voluminous amounts of articles already published on this, but no matter what, it all boils down to speculation. Only Clemens himself knows the truth. Or does he? Is he that out of control? If so, he does not belong in the Major Leagues. He should not be a role model.
What scares me more than anything is that the media will take this opportunity to invoke an already near boiling point in an already hot city that does not need extra coals added to the fire.
As a New Yorker, I want the world to see that we can have this Subway Series without any violence or trouble and that we are more sophisticated than most give us credit for. Just keep AC off the grass! <grin>
After seeing today's NY Papers, my hopes are beginning to dwindle.
At a time when we should be enjoying this rare event, let's all take the time to keep the faith that all will go well here without incident.
In closing I wish the best of luck to both teams and all fans. Only one team will win and that is unfortunate. It will only boil down to the team that happens to play 4 games better than the other.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Barbarajo
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Member: Barbara Jo Acosta
Reviews written: 97
Trusted by: 58 members
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