Saturday Seasons: 1964, Finally a New Home Sweet Home for the Mets

The Mets’ third season of existence was essentially the same as their previous two as their won-lost record was par for the course, but 1964 would provide the team with a brand new home in Flushing, NY and a number of historical and memorable moments.

For the third straight season, the Mets lost more than 100 games (53-109) but in 1964, they christened a brand new ballpark after playing their first two years at the aging Polo Grounds.

The original plan was to have the team play one season at the former home of the New York Giants, who left for San Francisco after the 1957 season, and start play at their new ballpark in the 1963 season, however severe winter weather conditions and a number of labor issues delayed the opening until the 1964 season.

The Stadium was named in honor of William A. Shea who spearheaded the return of National League baseball to New York after the Dodgers and Giants departed for the West Coast following the 1957 season.

It was a big year for Flushing, New York. Five days after Shea Stadium hosted its first game, the 1964 World's Fair opened for a two-year run across the street.

It took a cost of over $28 million dollars to construct what was billed a “state of the art” facility, but the shiny new home of the Mets opened on Friday, April 17th with a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Before a crowd of over 48,000 fans, the Mets dropped a 4-3 decision.

The opening of a new ballpark prompts a number of trivial firsts.

Jack Fisher was the Mets first starting pitcher at Shea. The Mets right hander retired the first batter, Pirates shortstop Dick Schofield on a pop out. Fisher gave up the first Shea hit, first Shea home run and first Shea RBI to Hall of Famer Willie Stargell in the second inning.

Mets first-baseman Tim Harkness was not only the Mets first batter, he also had the first hit by a Met when he singled with two out in the bottom of third inning.

Catcher Jesse Gonder had the first Met RBI when he drove in Ron Hunt with a single to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth. Shortstop Amado Samuel brought the sellout crowd to its feet with a two run double as the Mets took a 3-1 lead.

Five years before he made his imprint on Mets history, Pirates 1B Donn Clendenon tied the game with an RBI single in the seventh. Bill Mazeroski’s RBI single in the top of the ninth provided the winning run. The Mets went down 1-2-3 in the ninth against Pirates pitcher Bob Friend, who went the distance as the first winning pitcher. Mets reliever Ed Bauta blew the save and was the first losing pitcher.

The first Mets win at Shea came on April 19th as left hander Al Jackson went the distance on a six-hit shutout in beating the Pirates, 6-0.

Thanks to a number of rain outs, the next home game wasn’t until four days later when Ron Hunt hit the first Mets home run at Shea in a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

The new ballpark would provide some memorable moments in its inaugural season.

On May 31st, over 57,000 fans watched the Mets host Willie Mays and the San Francisco Giants in a scheduled doubleheader.

In the opener, Hall of Famer Juan Marichal went the distance as the Giants beat the Mets, 5-3. The nightcap would prove to be historic.

The Mets were trailing 6-3 in the last of the seventh, when Joe Christopher brought the massive crowd to its feet with a game tying, three run homer.

16 more innings would be played but not without some memorable moments.

In the bottom of the tenth, Mays played shortstop for the second time in his career, but did not get any chances.

In the top of the 14th, the Giants had runners on first and second with nobody out. Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda was at the plate when the runners were put in motion. Cepeda lined a ball towards the middle. Mets shortstop Roy McMillan was covering second when snagged the liner for the first out, stepped on second and threw to first to complete the Mets second triple play in their history.

In the top of the 23rd inning, Del Crandall's pinch-hit double plated the go ahead run. Jesus Alou added an RBI single to make it a two-run lead.

Bob Hendley pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 23rd to earn the save in an 8-6 win that gave the Giants a sweep of the doubleheader.

The second game took 7 hours and 23 minutes. The doubleheader lasted 9 hours and 52 minutes, a record that still stands.

Note: Ralph Kiner had gone downstairs in the ninth inning to prepare for Kiner's Korner and stayed down there throughout the entire extra innings. After it was over, Kiner had three guests from the Mets: pitchers Larry Bearnarth and Frank Lary and Joe Christopher. (Listen to the rare audio from Kiner's Korner below)

In the opening game of a Father's Day doubleheader on June 21st, over 32,000 fans were on hand to watch Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jim Bunning pitch a perfect game against the Mets. At the time, it was the seventh perfect game in Major League history and the first in the National League since 1880.

The closest that the Mets came to getting a hit was in the fifth inning when Phillies second baseman Tony Taylor made a diving stop and threw out Mets catcher Jesse Gonder at first.

The raucous crowd, hoping to see history was roaring when Charlie Smith fouled out for the first out of the ninth. Pinch-hitter George Altman struck out on an 0-2 pitch and pinch-hitter John Stephenson struck out on a 2-2 pitch to complete the historic game.

Shea Stadium hosted one of the best All Star games ever played on July 7th. Phillies outfielder Johnny Callison hit a three-run, walk off home run to give the National League a come from behind, 7-4 win over the American League.

It was a notable game for the host team as second baseman Ron Hunt became the first Met ever to start an All Star game.

On July 12th, the Mets swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds for their first twin bill sweep at Shea.

On August 23rd, they swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs, winning both games in walk off fashion. It was also the first Banner Day at Shea.

Three Wheatley High School students produced the grand prize winning banner that read, "Extremism In Defense Of The Mets Is No Vice." One of the students was Arthur Engoron, who was the presiding judge in the case of the State of New York vs. the Trump Organization that lasted from October, 2023 to January, 2024.

The Mets played a role in deciding the winner of the National League pennant in 1964.

The first place St. Louis Cardinals had a half game lead over the Reds entering the final weekend. The Cards were scheduled to finish their season at home against the Mets so it appeared to be a fait accompli that they would wrap up the NL pennant with no problem. The Mets had other ideas.

In the first game, Mets left hander Al Jackson beat Bob Gibson as he shutout the Cardinals on five hits in a 1-0 win. The Mets won the second game, 15-5, so with one day left, the Cardinals were tied with the Reds.

Gibson came back on one day of rest to pitch four innings in relief as the Cards scored an 11-5 win to clinch the NL Pennant as the Reds were beaten by the Phillies, 10-0.

Charley Smith led the Mets with 20 home runs in 1964 while Joe Christopher had a team leading 76 RBI.

On the pitching side, Jackson won 11 games while Tracy Stallard was a 20-game loser. Galen Cisco's 3.62 ERA was the best among the starters. Willard Hunter led the staff with five saves.

On August 27th, the seeds were planted for what was to occur five years later as the Mets signed left hand pitcher Jerry Koosman as an amateur free agent.

1964 was not a winning season but the young ball club had a home they could call their own.