Big Shea



Approaching Shea Stadium on the No. 7 train, Apr-2001.
This photo is taken through the dirty window of the train car.

The seating bowl, Apr-2001.

You can’t see it here, but the Throgs Neck Bridge is often visible past left field. This shot is from Sep-1993.

Chronological Tour: Stop 1next
Quick Facts: Rating: 3 baseballs
This utilitarian structure, the first of the big circular stadiums, rated quite a bit higher on the scale than places like Three Rivers, the Vet, and Riverfront.

Most people complained incessantly about Shea, saying the upper deck seats were way too high, the wind howled through there like nobody’s business, and when planes took off from nearby LaGuardia Airport, they couldn’t hear themselves think.

They were all valid complaints, but the Mets did everything possible to keep Big Shea (named for William Shea, a New York politician who was instrumental in bringing National League baseball back to the city in 1962 after a four-year absence) a serviceable facility while they worked on their new imitation Ebbets Field in the parking lot. In August 2006, the Mets broke ground for Citi Field, beyond center field closer to 126 Street, which opened in 2009. Shea was torn down several weeks before the new park opened.

Ticket prices rose in the last few years of the park, as the club had to pay the stars who turned it from a pretender into a contender. But at the end, a game at Shea was still more affordable than at its counterpart in the Bronx, and it was very possible to enjoy a game here.

Actually, the Yankees were tenants of Shea on several occasions. While their park was under renovation in 1974-75, they played their full schedule here, sharing the facility with the Mets. They returned for a single game in April 1998, when a structural failure caused Yankee Stadium to be shut down for a few days for inspection and repair.

Note: My impression of Shea was colored somewhat (rose-colored, one might say) because Shea was the first place I saw a game in my life. I grew up a Mets fan, and there’s still a hint of that somewhere even after I’ve seen parks numbering in the hundreds and I’ve come to “root, root, root for the home team” no matter where I roam. The 98 games I saw at Shea (95 Met games, one Yankee game, one minor league game, and one college summer league game) are, as of Shea’s closing, the most I’ve seen at any professional park.


Game Date League Level Result
1 Sun 9-Jul-1967 National MLB NY METS 5, Atlanta 4
2 Sun 16-Jun-1968 National MLB San Francisco 4, NY METS 1, 1st
3 Sun 15-Sep-1968 National MLB Pittsburgh 3, NY METS 0
4 Sun 29-Jun-1969 National MLB NY METS 7, Pittsburgh 3
5 Sun 13-Sep-1970 National MLB St Louis 5, NY METS 4, 13 inn
6 Sun 12-Sep-1971 National MLB NY METS 3, Philadelphia 2
7 Sun 25-Jun-1972 National MLB St Louis 7, NY METS 1, 1st
8 Sun 25-Jun-1972 National MLB St Louis 2, NY METS 1, 2d
9 Thu 25-Apr-1974 American MLB Kansas City 6, NY YANKEES 1
10 Wed 10-Jul-1974 National MLB San Diego 8, NY METS 1
11 Thu 3-Jul-1975 National MLB NY METS 4, Chi Cubs 0
13 Sat 14-Aug-1976 National MLB NY METS 2, Cincinnati 1
14 Tue 12-Jul-1977 National MLB NY METS 4, Chi Cubs 2
16 Fri 14-Aug-1981 National MLB Philadelphia 8, NY METS 4
17 Tue 13-Apr-1982 National MLB NY METS 5, Philadelphia 2
13 Mon 26-Jul-1982 College Summer ACBL All-Stars 5, Cape Cod All-Stars 2
18 Tue 5-Apr-1983 National MLB NY METS 2, Philadelphia 0
19 Tue 17-Apr-1984 National MLB Montréal 10, NY METS 0
20 Sat 8-Sep-1984 National MLB Chi Cubs 6, NY METS 0
21 Sun 23-Sep-1984 National MLB NY METS 6, Montréal 1
22 Wed 26-Sep-1984 National MLB NY METS 7, Philadelphia 1
23 Tue 9-Apr-1985 National MLB NY METS 6, St Louis 5, 10 inn
24 Mon 14-Apr-1986 National MLB St Louis 6, NY METS 2, 13 inn
44 Fri 6-Sep-1991 National MLB Atlanta 4, NY METS 2
47 Sun 22-Sep-1991 National MLB St Louis 2, NY METS 1
48 Sun 29-Sep-1991 National MLB NY METS 4, Philadelphia 3
50 Wed 22-Apr-1992 National MLB NY METS 3, St Louis 2
73 Mon 31-Aug-1992 National MLB Atlanta 8, NY METS 6, 14 inn, 1st
74 Mon 31-Aug-1992 National MLB Atlanta 7, NY METS 5, 2d
78 Sun 20-Sep-1992 National MLB NY METS 1, Montréal 0
80 Sun 4-Oct-1992 National MLB Pittsburgh 2, NY METS 0
81 Mon 5-Apr-1993 National MLB NY METS 3, Colorado 0
82 Fri 9-Apr-1993 National MLB Houston 7, NY METS 3, 10 inn
83 Fri 25-Jun-1993 National MLB St Louis 8, NY METS 5
100 Tue 24-Aug-1993 National MLB NY METS 5, Cincinnati 4
111 Mon 13-Sep-1993 National MLB Philadelphia 5, NY METS 0
116 Fri 24-Sep-1993 National MLB Montréal 6, NY METS 3
117 Sat 25-Sep-1993 National MLB Montréal 4, NY METS 1
118 Tue 28-Sep-1993 National MLB NY METS 6, St Louis 1
119 Thu 30-Sep-1993 National MLB NY METS 3, St Louis 2
123 Fri 15-Apr-1994 National MLB Houston 8, NY METS 1
124 Sat 16-Apr-1994 National MLB NY METS 9, Houston 1
130 Sun 17-Jul-1994 National MLB San Diego 10, NY METS 1
183 Thu 24-Aug-1995 National MLB NY METS 5, San Diego 4
194 Sat 6-Apr-1996 National MLB Pittsburgh 5, NY METS 0
233 Mon 9-Sep-1996 National MLB NY METS 6, Florida 1
234 Tue 10-Sep-1996 National MLB Florida 9, NY METS 3, 12 inn
235 Sat 14-Sep-1996 National MLB NY METS 6, Atlanta 5, 12 inn
236 Sun 15-Sep-1996 National MLB Atlanta 3, NY METS 2
244 Sat 28-Sep-1996 National MLB NY METS 4, Philadelphia 2
245 Sun 29-Sep-1996 National MLB Philadelphia 9, NY METS 5
263 Mon 4-Aug-1997 NY-Penn A PITTSFIELD 8, NJ Cardinals 4
264 Mon 4-Aug-1997 National MLB NY METS 4, St Louis 2
279 Fri 22-Aug-1997 National MLB NY METS 9, San Diego 8, 11 inn
290 Sat 13-Sep-1997 National MLB NY METS 9, Montréal 6, 11 inn
291 Sun 14-Sep-1997 National MLB NY METS 1, Montréal 0
298 Wed 24-Sep-1997 National MLB NY METS 7, Pittsburgh 5
300 Sun 28-Sep-1997 National MLB NY METS 8, Atlanta 2
303 Thu 30-Apr-1998 National MLB Colorado 4, NY METS 0
308 Thu 9-Jul-1998 National MLB Montréal 9, NY METS 8, 11 inn
347 Fri 18-Sep-1998 National MLB Florida 7, NY METS 6
350 Wed 23-Sep-1998 National MLB Montréal 3, NY METS 0
365 Fri 23-Jul-1999 National MLB NY METS 5, Chi Cubs 4
386 Fri 3-Sep-1999 National MLB Colorado 5, NY METS 2, 10 inn
396 Fri 17-Sep-1999 National MLB Philadelphia 8, NY METS 5
400 Sat 2-Oct-1999 National MLB NY METS 7, Pittsburgh 0
445 Wed 13-Sep-2000 National MLB NY METS 4, Milwaukee 1, 10 inn
450 Tue 26-Sep-2000 National MLB Atlanta 7, NY METS 1
455 Sat 14-Apr-2001 National MLB Cincinnati 1, NY METS 0
493 Fri 24-Aug-2001 National MLB NY METS 4, San Francisco 3
500 Fri 31-Aug-2001 National MLB NY METS 6, Florida 1
514 Fri 5-Oct-2001 National MLB Montréal 8, NY METS 6
518 Fri 21-Jun-2002 National * MLB NY METS 4, Kansas City 3
562 Tue 3-Sep-2002 National MLB Florida 3, NY METS 2, 12 inn, 1st
563 Tue 3-Sep-2002 National MLB NY METS 11, Florida 5, 2d
579 Sun 29-Sep-2002 National MLB NY METS 6, Atlanta 1
583 Fri 18-Apr-2003 National MLB NY METS 6, Florida 3
653 Wed 24-Sep-2003 National MLB NY METS 5, Pittsburgh 3
708 Wed 25-Aug-2004 National MLB San Diego 4, NY METS 0
724 Sat 11-Sep-2004 National MLB Philadelphia 11, NY METS 9, 13 inn
730 Fri 24-Sep-2004 National MLB Chi Cubs 2, NY METS 1, 10 inn
732 Sat 2-Oct-2004 National MLB Montréal 6, NY METS 3
736 Fri 10-Jun-2005 National * MLB LA Angels 12, NY METS 2
760 Wed 3-Aug-2005 National MLB Milwaukee 6, NY METS 4
792 Wed 14-Sep-2005 National MLB Washington 6, NY METS 3
794 Sat 17-Sep-2005 National MLB Atlanta 7, NY METS 4
804 Sun 2-Oct-2005 National MLB Colorado 11, NY METS 3
808 Sun 16-Apr-2006 National MLB NY METS 9, Milwaukee 3
857 Fri 22-Sep-2006 National MLB Washington 3, NY METS 2
862 Mon 23-Apr-2007 National MLB NY METS 6, Colorado 1
905 Tue 11-Sep-2007 National MLB Atlanta 13, NY METS 5
909 Sun 16-Sep-2007 National MLB Philadelphia 10, NY METS 6
917 Wed 26-Sep-2007 National MLB Washington 9, NY METS 6
944 Fri 8-Aug-2008 National MLB NY METS 3, Florida 0
954 Fri 22-Aug-2008 National MLB NY METS 3, Houston 0
958 Mon 25-Aug-2008 National MLB NY METS 9, Houston 1
970 Wed 10-Sep-2008 National MLB NY METS 13, Washington 10
982 Tue 23-Sep-2008 National MLB NY METS 6, Chi Cubs 2
* Interleague play.
METS’ RECORD VS. OPPONENTS
when I attended Shea Stadium
4-7 Atlanta Braves
4-2 Chicago Cubs
2-1 Cincinnati Reds
2-3 Colorado Rockies
5-3 Florida Marlins
3-2 Houston Astros
1-0 Kansas City Royals
0-1 Los Angeles Angels
2-1 Milwaukee Brewers
4-7 Montréal Expos
6-6 Philadelphia Phillies
4-3 Pittsburgh Pirates
5-6 St. Louis Cardinals
2-3 San Diego Padres
1-1 San Francisco Giants
1-3 Washington Nationals
46-49 TOTAL
Note: I never saw the Arizona
Diamondbacks or Los Angeles
Dodgers play at Shea.
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This page updated 10-Aug-2009