Opening Day, 1979: young Jesse Orosco makes his major league debut, coming in to pitch to one batter and getting the last out of the game. The batter he faced was....Bill Buckner.

I was very excited about the Hebner trade. I had remembered his play with the Pirates and I had high hopes for this season. Yes, I liked Richie Hebner but then again I like green ham. Opening day against the Cubs, Hebner is four for four and he came up with a runner on third and less than two out. I was hoping for a hit or a sacrifice fly so he could have a perfect day at the plate. He popped up to the infield. I felt a strange foreboding at that moment.

I remember that this was the first game in which the Mets had names on the back of their uniforms. This was because the National League put in a rule that the visiting team had to have names on the uniforms.

Opening day. Skipped JHS classes to go see opening day. Cold day, not much of a crowd and definitely not much hope in the air; we always knew the Mets would be in the chase for the first couple days of the season at best, so we needed to feel excitement before reality set in.

Snuck down to the fourth row on the Mets side between home and dugout. Watched in horror as the next "great" prospect, Kelvin Chapman missed the suicide squeeze and Bruce Bosclair, with his eye shade under his eyes running down the 3rd base line caught like a deer in the headlights. He was quickly tagged out and on we drudged on until the 14th and lost.

Ah yes, typical Mets at the time, but for a few seconds we had hope. No less, caught a cold walking back to Main Street to catch the buses back home. It was cold!

Surprised out of all the memories here, no one remembers this one. This was "Midget Met Day", not sure if they ever tried this again. I believe the entire upper deck was filled with schoolkids. I myself was a fourth grader. They gave out those miniature bats at the gate, and kids were beating each other senseless with them in the bathrooms. To make things even more kid friendly, John Stearns and Gary Carter had a collision at home plate (both being catchers I can't remember who which was running), they got into an all out brawl, setting a great example for the kids in attendance. This one I will always remember.

Listened to this game on the car radio as our family was driving thru CT on the first day of Easter break. Chapman -- my new favorite player -- contributed a sac fly and a triple. Unfortunately, he then went into a 19 AB swoon and never became a regular again.

I will never forget this game. It was the one where Richie Hebner was thrown out at the plate, and argued with the umpire. He was ejected.

So he tossed dirt all over home plate and stumped off to the dugout. Joel Youngblood came in from right field to play third base, and Bruce Boisclair (Andrew and I always called him Bruce Boys-clare) jogged out to play right field. The Mets lost anyway.

I guess Hebner was happy to get the game off.

This was an Easter Sunday DH. My friend and I took the bus and walked over the Roosevelt Ave. Bridge as usual. In the upper deck a Phillies fan named Howie started talking to us. And he never stopped talking for 2 games. He was nuts but knew a lot about the Philly sports scene. He did a great Harry Kalas imitation. He really entertained us. We always looked for him again but never met up "Howie Phillie" again.

This was "Pete Rose Day" They gave out pictures of his record breaking hitting streak swing from the prior year at Shea.

This time the disgraced Rose was taunted by the Shea crowd. Most of the pictures got torn up and scattered on the field. There were loud chants of "Pete Rose Sucks"!!.

Easter Sunday. Cold drizzle through the whole doubleheader - Phillies in control the whole day. My brother and a friend of ours sat in the upper deck freezing until the last inning - naturally we missed 3 run homers by Schmidt and Mazzilli...also missed Easter Sunday dinner with the family, who forgave me. My friend I believe caught whoopass bronchitis or pneumonia and missed the next week of school - I think he also forgave me...don't know what happened to the Rose photos - but honoring an opposing player (a mere 6 years after he fisted Bud in the playoffs) while his team is sweeping a doubleheader, well, that just typified the late 70s era

My Dad, sister and I attended the double header. After the miserable conditions, Dad and I were ready to leave, but my sister insisted we stay until they announced the winner of the 60-pound Fanny Farmer chocolate bunny rabbit. Dad and I were not happy, but we stayed. Lo and behold my sister won that rabbit! Mom was watching the game and couldn't believe when she heard my sister's name called. Mom partitioned off that rabbit for my entire freshman year of baseball! Needless to say, we didn't stick around for the second game. We had to get the bunny home.

Having watched most of the first game of this doubleheader while relaxing in the whirlpool, a refreshed Richie Hebner started game two. He got a huge ovation for his "toughness" before his first atbat, and a huge round of boos after going 0-for-3.

He should have stood in bed.

There was nothing memorable about this game, except that it was televised in an uncommon way for its time. The game was covered nationally by NBC and was shown on the New York NBC affiliate, Channel 4.

Back then, a game on national TV was not aired on the national station in the market of the teams playing. Local coverage was provided by the stations that usually carried the teams' games. Normally, WOR-TV Channel 9 would have carried this game for the New York audience and NBC for the rest of the country.

But on this day, Channel 9 showed a hockey playoff game between the Islanders and Rangers instead of the Mets. Therefore, the local blackout was lifted and the game was shown on Channel 4 for New Yorkers.

Watching your team via a national, and not local, broadcast was rare at this time. With this game, an exception was made.

Mets had some promotion with I believe Dairylea and sponsored a high school journalist night - a special press conference was held with Pete Falcone as the token Met (I guess Nino Espinosa was unavailable). I believe the event was the 100,000 free Dairylea ticket given out. Anyway, the sandwiches were stale, the giveaway clipboard cheap, and my school paper editor didn't have time to finish another issue so my article never ran. Oh, by the way, the Padres and Gaylord Perry easily won - I can't remember any of the details otherwise and the box score didn't help.

Great outing for San Francisco Giants pitcher Phil Nastu from Bridgeport, Connecticut. Did not get the "W" but pitched 5 1/3 solid innings and left the game with a 4-1 lead. It is also amazing that Jesse Orosco who took the loss for the Mets is still pitching in 2003 with the dreaded Yankees.

This game is on YouTube. (Who says YouTube is great only for stupid stunts and dunking women underwater?) Bob Murphy doing the TV only a few years before he would move to radio full time. 6000 was the attendance at a time when the 'Stick was a cold concrete dump and light years away from the Giants getting their jewel of a park. FYI, the 'Stick is gonna be no more because the 49ers are saying farewell after the 2013 season as they get ready to open their own jewel of a stadium.

I went to this game with my brother on the train from Long Island. It was a Saturday afternoon game, and it rained. I remember after watching the Mets lose in extra innings, we went home and watched the NY Rangers lose to Montreal 4-3 in overtime in Game 4 of the 1979 Stanley Cup to go down 3-1 in the series, so it was a double loss of a day to have both of your favorite teams lose.

If I remember correctly, Hebner hit a game winning walk off home run. Listened to it on the radio. Great call by Murph!

Richie Hebner hit a big home run in the bottom of the 10th inning of this game. It was a 3-run bomb into the Mets' bullpen in right field that retied the game after the Cardinals had scored three in the top of the inning. The Mets then scored in the 11th and won.

My sister and I were watching and she switched channels after the Cards scored their three runs. I continued to watch in another room. When Hebner came up with two runners on, I told my sister and she switched back to the game. We saw the homer and the game-winning run without any more channel changing!

This game is a good example of Yogi Berra's quote "It's not over until it's over."

This was probably the worst game at Shea I ever attended. The franchise had hit bottom, but home from college, I caught up with a couple of high school classmates and we went to the game. The crowd was so small that they closed off the upper deck and with $1.30 general admission tickets we got were directed to the mezzanine level. The Mets fell behind quickly and the fans that were there were quite vocal about their discontent about the state of the team. The Mets did not even draw a million fans that year. Thank goodness the Mets were sold after the season and things got better in the 1980's.

I wrote about this game in the prior post. I was thinking about this game recently and decided to look up the attendance which I figured was maybe 8,000. It was even worse than that. Only 4,320 people for a doubleheader. I did not stay for the second game which they actually won. It really was an awful time for the team.

This was the great "fog-out" game. Youngblood hit a routine fly in the bottom of the 11th but fog had rolled in making it impossible for the outfielder to see it and it went for a triple. The umps then stopped the game for over an hour to see if the fog would lift. When it did not, they called the game, and it went in the books as a 3-3 tie.

I should add that this season seemed like it would never end for Met fans - and thanks to this tie, it went 163 games instead of 162.

May 25, 1979 was one of the strangest games I ever attended. I was not quite 13 years old and attended the game with my older brother (by two years) and a slightly older friend who had just gotten his license to drive. Anyway we were there for the first time on our own. I seem to remember that the Mets had just installed a TV video screen in left field. I don't think it was the current DiamondVision. Our friend had gotten three tickets right over the Pirates dugout and we were excited to see ourselves on the board. (Hey, we were kids.)

Anyway, the game started out just fine. It was a little hazy but no big deal. By the 6th inning or so a strange fog or mist was visible above the light towers and the upper deck. The Pirates rallied and took the lead, 3-1 I think in the 8th inning. Nothing unusual for 1979. Right? Wrong! The Mets rallied in the 9th and tied it on a pop-up "single" by John Stearns that either Dave Parker or Bill Robinson (I can't quite remember which) lost in the fog. The Pirates were HOT arguing that the game should not have continued in those conditions. They played another couple of innings in even worse conditions before the game was stopped and not continued at least that night!

To this day it was the most bizarre weather conditions I have seen at Shea. You literally could not see anything in the air and the eerie spectacle of the scoreboard lights was amazing. I still have my ticket stubs in memory of that night.

I watched this game on TV. I remember the cameras showed one fan who was trying to blow away the fog by repeatedly opening and closing his umbrella.

I think about this date, May 25th, 1979 a few times per year, even though I was only a year and a half old at the time.

To explain, on this site on April 20, 2012, Paul posted his memory of the cameras showing "one fan who was trying to blow away the fog by repeatedly opening and closing his umbrella," and when I read that, a flash of a possible memory flashed in my mind.

You see, somehow that image of a fan trying to blow the fog away with his umbrella would have generated a chuckle from my mom for sure, and since she was a Mets fan, there's a good chance she and my dad had the game on. I can just imagine my toddler brain hearing my mom laugh and then looking up at the TV and seeing a guy try to blow fog away with his umbrella. Since my "memory" basically comes from reading the previous posts, I can't say this is my first Mets memory, but this game really resonates with me.

By the way, it was Bill Robinson who lost the ball in the fog in the eleventh inning and led to Joel Youngblood being able to get to third base on a pop up, which led to the game being called a 3-3 tie.

Eerily, there are two other reasons besides the fog that makes this an infamous date in the history of New York City crime as well as a black day in the history of American aviation.

On the morning of this day, a young boy who lived in Soho named Etan Patz disappeared from his school bus stop, with his murder only being solved in the 2010s. On the same day as this infamous crime, American Airlines Flight 191 crashed in Chicago. As of 2023, that is still the deadliest aviation accident in this country's history.

The only other professional sports game I remember being played in fog was the 'Fog Bowl' played on December 31, 1988, ten days after the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 (which is still the deadliest aviation disaster ever in the history of the UK).

1979 was a weird year during President Carter's "malaise" era, the height of disco and excess. This game was a tiny blip in the madness of that year, but considering what happened in Soho and Chicago earlier that day, maybe that fog had some supernatural significance. Looking back, it was definitely an omen.

To end on a positive note, the Society for American Baseball Research has an excellent article on this game alone. From reading it, I learned that on top of everything else, Steve Henderson hit a foul ball into the stands that hit a little girl in the face, eventually resulting in a lawsuit. Okay, maybe not so positive.

For those interested in a deeper dive into the weirdness of this game (without the supernatural elements), here is the entire article: https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/may-25-1979-flushing-fog-out-as-pirates-Mets-finish-in-tie/

I was at this game. . .couldn't tell you a thing about it except it was a Saturday afternoon, and Gil Flores started at first instead of Willie Montanez (one of my favorites). I was shocked the Mets scored 10 runs against the eventual World Champs.

Really an incredible game for the otherwise not-so-good '79ers. Pirates take an early 1-0 lead. Mets come back and score 5 in one inning. Pirates tie it up. Mets add single runs in the next two frames. Pirates come back and take the lead again, 8-7. Mets break thru with two more runs and hold on for 10-8 win. Who said this team wasn't exciting?

I remember scoring this game on my dad's IBM electric typewriter. Now, as a working journalist, I can say "it began here."

This was my first Met game. I was 9 years old. They gave away real cheap "rain jackets" that night as a giveaway. My sister and some friends arrived real early so we could meet some players at the player parking lot - and we did. Lee Mazzilli came over and said hello to us. The game was great. I remember Henderson and Youngblood's homers and I remember the old scoreboard, pre Bud sign, flashing HENDU when he hit his homer.

We sat in General Admission, I think $2.50 per ticket. It was pretty exciting and we were all hooked. Still loving those Metropolitans and going to Shea nearly 30 years later.

My dad took me to this game on my 10th birthday. I still have the ticket stubs from this game. Box 220 A, Seat 7-8, price $6.00. At 10 years old, these players were my heroes. John Stearns and Maz were my favorite players during this game. I lived on Long Island at the time and I remember the drive into Shea. I miss the orange and blue checkers on the side of the stadium so much. My wife and I name our most recent baby girl "Shea". We now live in AZ but thanks to the internet and DirecTv, we watch every game. I miss those games when they gave away the batting helmets. I think I remember the song "The Hustle" being played during pre-game warmups. LETS GO METS!

The one thing I remember from this game is when Pirates pitching coach Harvey Haddix made a visit to the mound. When he did, Steve Albert mentioned on television that it was the 20th anniversary of his 12-inning perfect game that he lost in the 13th.

This was the first time as well going to a Mets game at Shea. I do remember those cheap rain jackets they gave away that day.

I also remember this game: I was supposed to go but I was sick and Michael Goldberg went instead. It was jacket day, but I got his jacket anyway

I remember Lee Mazzilli grounding out as a PH with the bases loaded in 7th or 8th, down 3-1. Then a long rain delay. We left and by the time we got home, Pirates had put 3 more up in the 9th!

I was a kid back then and was so proud a Met could be 5-0. Maybe Pat Zachry would go undefeated, I thought. Did not quite work out that way.

Seaver hit a solo homer at Riverfront Stadium but the Mets former ace lost to their current one in this game.

Frank Taveras makes a particularly feeble attempt to field a routine Jeff Leonard grounder, which goes thru his legs to score an unearned run.

The Mets scored a club record 10 runs in a single inning, including an inside-the-park three-run homer by Doug Flynn when Cesar Geronimo misplayed his fly to deep center. Possibly the highlight of the season.

I was at this game and remember Flynn's inside- the-parker and the 10-run inning.

Although the game was in June, it was fireworks night and after Flynn hit the homer they lit up big 'LETS GO METS!' sign made behind the left center field fence.

The crowd went nutty.

The first time the Mets ever scored ten or more runs in an inning. They would not do so again until 6-30-2000 in the celebrated come-from-behind victory against the Braves.

Attended game while on a biz trip to NYC on my birthday. Approached a 'scalper' who was negotiating with another who was going overboard low-balling. The scalper was exceedingly frustrated, turned to me for a different offer. As I mentioned it was my birthday, he gave me the ticket for free and said "Happy Birthday". The ticket was behind home plate, up a bit, but a great game view. After the 5th inning was completed, a total of 15 runs scored, 10 by the home team, I took a picture knowing that this was a rare feat. Probably the first time ever to a Mets game. Maybe have seen them once or twice since.

I remember this game, Doug Flynn hit a home run on fireworks night. I was 7 years old, he became my favorite player until Strawberry came to New York

I think this game was the very first fireworks night. There was such a good crowd at this game that I prayed that the Mets wouldn't embarass themselves before so many people.

Doug Flynn's home run just barely reached the left field stands in the corner -- an out anywhere else in the park. And then they gave a preview of the show by shooting off fireworks as Dougie rounded the bases. VERY cool!

I remember being so impressed with fireworks night that I wrote a letter to then Mets owner Linda DeRoulet, suggesting that they set off fireworks every time a Met hits a home run at every home game (along with other suggestions, such as getting rid of that pathetic mule mascot).

Ms. DeRoulet actually wrote me back, very politely explaining how the air traffic patterns at LaGuardia Airport prohibited fireworks with any regularity.

But it was a night that actually created just a tad of, and short lived, optimism for Mets fans. A great evening.

This game was suspended after eight innings and completed later in the season. A predetermined stopping time was put into place due to the fact that the Mets had a flight to Houston scheduled that evening. When the curfew time arrived, play was halted so the Mets could catch their plane.

News of this strange happening was reported on the "Today" show the next morning. Anchorman Floyd Kalber, after telling the audience the reason for the suspension, started laughing. Who could blame him? Having to stop a game because of poor travel planning is ridiculous! This is the kind of thing that typified the '79 Mets, who were simply a laughingstock.

When looking at the basic facts of this game, one might think that Jeff Reardon got the win in his major league debut. Not exactly. The game was suspended (as Hank M points out in the previous entry) and not completed until ten weeks later. Reardon pitched the top of the ninth inning and recorded the victory on Alex Trevino's RBI single in the bottom half after the game resumed on August 27th. Two days earlier, Jeff made his first actual appearance on a major league mound.

I was working for National Airlines and had to take a milk run flight to Houston. Leaving from JFK we had stops in Norfolk, VA, Jacksonville, FL ,and New Orleans LA before arriving. Although the Mets lost the game, it was fun watching a game indoors and enjoying the Astrodome experience. I still have the ticket and scorecard.

If I remember correctly, this was a make-up game for a game that was fogged out a month earlier. It was part of an unscheduled twi-night double header. If memory serves correctly, the original game was called a tie because Bill Robinson lost a fly ball in the ninth inning off of Joel Youngblood. The game was delayed and eventually postponed. I swear do these things only happen to the Mets! I remember being in utter panic because we arrived at Shea around 6:00 and this game was already in the fourth inning. Then an usher told us that this was a make-up game and we would see an additional nine inning as soon as this one was over.

Falcone pitched a complete game. The fans were chanting "Lets Go Pete" in the 9th. Torre would say afterward that he was concerned that Falcone would get nervous. This was the first full day of summer vacation and the day was made complete by $1.00 General admission and a small tip to usher # 89 who set us up in the mezz boxes behind the plate.

This was the second game in the memorable fog- out make up game. The Mets were having another miserable year and the Pirates were on their way to a Worlds Championship. I remember it was a Friday night and the crowd was quite small. We were able to buy field box seats at the gate only one hour before game time.

It was amazing how the Mets kept outscoring the Pirates in the late innings. After the Mets scored a run in the top of the 7th, the Pirates topped that and scored 2, then the Mets topped that and scored three, and the Pirates came back with 4 more, and the Mets answered back with 5 more of their own in the top of the ninth to put the game away. Great looking box score!

The Mets tied this game 3-3 in the top of the eighth on a homer by Lee Mazzilli, then scored six runs in the eleventh inning as Joel Youngblood and Mazz hit two-run homers and Steve Henderson tripled to drive in two more.

But after the Cubs got a run back in the bottom of the eleventh they loaded the bases and ex-Met Mike Vail hit a pinch grand slam to make it 9-8.

Ed Glynn came on to get the last two outs and save a wild one.

I remember watching this game...I couldn't believe they might blow the lead and that Mike Vail was going to be the reason.

My other memory was that the next day (remember it was a pre-internet, pre-Elias Sports Bureau era, so these things took a while!), it was reported that it was the most combined runs scored in a single extra inning.

This game stands out in my mind because I had just got married the night before, got in around 6 AM with my new bride, went to sleep for about 6 hours, woke up went to get us something to eat and put on the Mets - Cubs DH and remember Kingman hitting a long HR.

I went to this game with a group of people on a bus trip. We watched from the upper deck on the first base line behind the Mets' dugout. It was Lee Mazzilli Poster Day and the famous San Diego Chicken made an appearance on this sunny Saturday afternoon.

The Chicken turned out to be the best part of the day. He was entertaining while the Mets were downright awful! In the first inning, the Padres' Jerry Turner came up with the bases loaded and missed a grand slam by inches. He hit a ball off the top part of the right field wall for a 3-run triple. This set the tone for the entire game, which San Diego won easily.

A little excitement came about at the end of the sixth inning. Steve Henderson was thrown out at home trying to score on a fly ball. Joel Youngblood came from the on-deck circle and got into the face of Padre catcher Gene Tenace. Everyone from both dugouts then came out to home plate, but no fight broke out.

There's one other thing I recall from this day. The Padres wore gold jerseys during pre-game warmups. They switched to their regular brown ones for the game. This was the first time I ever saw a team wear special jerseys just for batting practice, which were just beginning to come around.

The game stats for this game, I think, are wrong. I remember this game because I was there. I was a big Dodger fan and my parents took me to see this night game on the way back to Florida after visiting my aunt and uncle on Long Island. We sat about ten rows up from the top of the left field fenc, about two aisles to the foul side of the foul pole. Home plate was a galaxy away, but I didn''t care. Anyway, what I remember is my boyhood idol, Steve Garvey, making it a game I would never forget when he stroked a late-inning laser beam over the left field wall with two on. The ball was out of the park in less than four seconds, and Garvey hadn't reached first base. Thanks, Steve.

Oh, about the wrong stat. You don't credit Dodger right-fielder Gary Thomasson with an error for dropping a simple, short fly ball. I know he did because I saw it, and I remember thinking that was typical for the Dodgers that evening. No way the scorekeeper would have awarded the batter a hit on the play. I think Thomasson was too focused on getting the runner tagging from third.

Wow! 8 runs in the 1st inning! The next time the Mets would score 8 runs in the 1st inning at home would be 40 years later against the lowly Marlins

At a Holy Name Breakfast earlier in the year, my family won tickets to this game. This was the 10th anniversary of the 1969 Champs and I remember some Mets like Seaver and McGraw speaking on the public address because they were still playing. I remember we had bad seats in the loge; the sun was really in our eyes that day. A few years ago I aquired a video of the Old Timers Day that day. What a treat that was to go back and relive that memory. Lindsey Nelson who was in his first year as a Giants announcer after leaving the Mets after 1978 participated in the festivities.

I still have my ticket stub for this game. We had Mezz Box ($6.00), pretty good tickets on what I remember was a beautiful day. All these years the only thing I could remember about this game was that Tom Hausman started for the Mets. Now, after seeing the boxscore, I realize why Hausman's performance stayed with me all these years.

This was Old Timers Day, and the Mets pulled off one of the funniest stunts I've seen at Shea...

Comedian Garrett Morris was in his Saturday Night Live heyday, when he Chico Escuela ("Baseball been berry, berry good to me.")

During the Old Timers game, Morris was in a Mets uniform, and when someone got a hit, he ran onto the field to the announcement, "Now pinch running for the Mets, no. 5, Chico Escuela."

I went to this game with my friend Barry on a Saturday afternoon. Must have been less then 10,000 fans there. Anyway got great box seats and saw a great game. Only time I ever saw a batter hit 3 HR's in a game. Dave Kngman went 4-4 with 3 HR's yet the Cubs still lost. Mazzilli and Stearns homered for the Mets. When Kingman hit his 3rd HR of the game I remember Lee Mazzilli and Steve Henderson in the outfield shrugging their shoulders as if to say "what can you do about it?"

This was supposed to be a double header but it rained, afterwards we went to cousin Joe's in queens and saw Paul.

Oh yeah, Richie Hebner hit a homer run

During the summer of 79 I saw Kobel pitch 5 times. This was one of the good ones. We drove in a car that day that had no floor in the back seats so water was spitting up from the Whitestone Expressway onto the back seat.

I still have the ticket stub from this DH which was only one game due to the rainout of game 2. My mother had a friend who had season tickets to the Mets and I got to go with my older brother. I sat in the Field Level, Box 46C, Seat 1; Right near the Cubs bench and when Dave Kingman came out of the dugout to get to the on-deck circle, he looked like Hulk Hogan if he was wearing a powder blue Cubs uniform with pinstripes which was their road wear back then. As a 12-year old, I went "OH MY GOD". Looking at the boxscore, I see that Bill Buckner had an UNEVENTFUL 0 for 3. That seat in 1979 cost $400 for the entire season, just wondering what that same seat costs in 2006?

My wife was the biggest Dave Kingman fan,and I liked him, too, so we got tickets to the Sunday doubleheader against the Cubs. Well, Friday we didn't go to the game, and Kingman hit 2 home runs. Saturday we didn't go to the game, and he hit 3 home runs! So here we are, in miserable weather, for a doubleheader. Well, Kingman went 0-3; the game was called after 7 innings and a long rain delay. Obviously the second game was rained out. We got tickets for the make-up twi-nighter, where my wife's bad-luck-Kingman timing continued.

Can't imagine anyone else remembers this game. But as a 13-year-old Met fan whose favorite pitcher was Wayne Twitchell, this was one of the most satisfying games of the year. I still have it on VHS, believe it or not!

This was my first baseball game. I was 8 years old and devoured every moment.

I remember listening to this game on the radio and hearing Bob Murphy tell the listeners that Thurman Munson had been killed that day. A few minutes later they posted it on the scoreboard. Murph described how the next Met batter, Lee Mazzilli, turned back towards the dugout to gain his composure, and Pete Rose turned around and stared up at the message on the scoreboard in disbelief. I'll never forget that.

I just turned 13 and had sent away enough Dairylea milk red caps (4 points) and cut out half gallons (2 points) so that I could see the Mets and Phillies at Shea. Game was not originally a doubleheader, so I was thrilled that this became a 5:35 p.m. twin-bill. Awesome. Unfortunately, that would be the day Thurman Munson was killed.

As Lee Mazzilli stepped to the plate I remember that the letters on the "Big" scoreboard were slowly coming up stating something about All-Star Yankee catcher... Thurman Munson.. was killed in a plane crash in Ohio... I remember thinking what the heck was he doing in Ohio? Wow. I mean I hated the Yankees and really disliked the arrogant Munson but the silence and shock was real. I remember that Mazzilli stepped out of the box to sort of catch his breath.

The game continued and Greg Luzinski pounded a HR and the Phillies won the first game. Dan Norman, the overrated prospect we received for Seaver, hit a HR for the Mets. Maybe the only good thing he ever did for us. The second game was delayed by rain but the Mets mercifully won that game. Unfortunately, I didn't see a lot of the second game because of the rain delays since I was due home, baseball or no baseball.

I'm a Yankee fan, but my best friend was a diehard Mets fan. He told me he attended this game, and witnessed a stunned silence as the scoreboard posted news about the death of Thurman Munson on the giant scoreboard.

My first baseball game! I was seven years old.

It was supposed to be a double header, but the first game was rained out in the top of the 7th. I went with my Dad, my maternal grandfather and my uncle, who got the tickets to New York Telephone's box seat -- a great vantage point from which to watch Lee Mazzilli in the on-deck circle. It was my only glimpse of Shea before Fred and Nelson bathed the place in blue paint (and took down the panels); and a decent crowd to see a woeful team. (My father, a die-hard Yankee fan coming off two titles, took one for the team here).

My main memory of the game was watching my grandfather stand and cheer every time Dave Kingman got up to bat. It wasn't until years later I understood that it was just a form of protest as to what had gone on just three years prior...

-- Mike D.

A weak two hit effort from the anemic 79 Mets. My lasting memory of this game was Willie Monnnntannnezz trying to nonchalantly snatch a ground ball and having it bounce off his glove into RF. The next week Willie was off to Texas for a pair of socks and a water cooler. I don't think the Mets would have even been able to get Rich Chiles for Willie at that point.

Remember comparing Willie to the Cardinals' Hernandez and wonder why the Mets never seem to get real ballplayers.

This is the game Andy from Rego Park referred to in the "Gil Flores" memory section.

Dock Ellis started this game for the Mets, who jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Richie Hebner. George Foster singled to tie it in the bottom of the first. It was still 1- 1 in the fifth when with one out, Flores hit an inside the park home run, his only homer as a Met and the second and final homer of his major league career. Of course, the Mets couldn't hold the lead as the Reds came right back and batted around in the bottom of the fifth, scoring four runs.

The Mets actually came back to tie the game, scoring one in the sixth, then two in the seventh on a pinch homer by Dan Norman. But the Reds won the game in the bottom of the eighth when Dave Collins drove in Ray Knight with an infield out. Tom Hume came in to pitch a 1-2-3 ninth for the Reds and they swept the three game series at Riverfront, winning all three games by one run in their final at bat.

I went to this game, but don't remember it. I know I went because I found the ticket stub in my collection, but have no memory of it. Joe Niekro pitched a two-hitter, so I should remember that. Didn't go to too many two-hitters, but this one completely escapes me.

Great finish to this game. Falcone had apparently gotten the last out but time had been called. Kranepool at 1B thinking the game over goes to the clubhouse. Falcone again gets the apparent third out but game is protested on account of the Mets only having 8 men on the field. The league upheld the protest and the Mets had to get the third out the next day. Kobel got the last out and then continued as the starting pitcher for the next game without any stoppage between games.

What a bizarre ending, as Ed pointed out above. The Mets had to get the final out 3 times! Pete Falcone, who was suffering through a miserable season, had just pitched a complete game shutout- -but lo and behold, the ump ruled that some infielder had called time, so he had to do the last pitch over. This time, Pete gave up a single and lost his shutout before retiring the next batter. But because of the protest (I had forgotten about that), they had to it once more the next day. So they ended up getting the shutout, but hard-luck Falcone didn't get credit for the complete game.

Found this on This day in Astro's history - A bizarre ending comes to Pete Falcone's 5-0 shutout of Houston. Jeff Leonard gets three turns at bat. He flies out to right for the final out but an umpire had called time before the pitch. Three pitches later, Leonard singles while Met first baseman Ed Kranepool is sitting in the clubhouse. Finally, with Kranepool back on the field, Leonard flies out again. Houston wins the protest but Jose Cruz finishes it the next day, grounding out with Leonard on first.

This is the only Mets game I have been to. I'm from California but was touring NY with my dad at the time and sitting behind third base. I remember when Mazzilli caught the initial Leonard fly ball, the scoreboard flashed "PETE" in huge letters. Then when play resumed, I was also guilty of not noticing Kranepool's absence. I know there were only three umpires that night, but what about the first base coach, second baseman, right fielder, battery, Torre and all of the coaches and reserves in the Mets dugout on the first base side? If Leonard had noticed, he could have bunted anywhere and reached base. Then Astros' manager Bill Virdon argued long enough to allow Kranepool to return from the clubhouse. I think Virdon even got tossed. I just recently found out about the protest and resumption of the game the following day.

Okay I was there as well that night sitting in the mezzanine box seats behind home plate ($1.50 to get in and $1 to the usher) Here is what actually happened: Leonard flys out to end the game and as was customary when the Mets won that year (which wasnt often) the Mets Owner/President Ms. Lorinda De Roulet was being escorted to the mound to congratulate the winning pitcher (Falcone) when the umpires ruled that time had been called prior to the last pitch. Kranepool had already gone to the clubhouse and I distinctly remember that after order was restored and as Falcone was delivering the pitch Kranepool was on the top step of the dugout trying to get to his position but before time could be called and anyone realized it Leonard had lined a basehit to centerfield. The umpires convened and ruled that the hit did not count because there were only 8 defensive players on the field for the Mets when Leonard hit it. The Astros announced they were protesting the game. Leonard then flied out and the game we thought was over. The league President ruled that night that the protest was upheld and the final out had to be played the next day with Kobel pitching thus costing Falcone the shutout.

Strange day. Kobel first had to get the last out to complete the game from the previous day (see the post for that game). The Mets won the continued game 5-0. Then Kobel continued on as the starting pitcher for the scheduled game - and lost it.

I was at this game with my brother Andrew. We didn't know about the fuss with Kranepool not being on the field the day before, but learned later. How you could play a third of an inning without anyone -- umpires, players, coaches, broadcasters -- noticing there was no first baseman. They ran Kobel out to end the game, and Torre protested having to finish it. After that absurdity, Kobel started the real game and lost anyway. I forgot that John Stearns played third base that day. Day game after a night game, I guess. He didn't do too well there, either. I think Richie Hebner was booed as a pinch-hitter. I remember the Cruz home run.

This game was in the middle of a dreadful stretch and season for the Mets and I remember that it was a rare appearance for them on the NBC Saturday afternoon Game of the Week. They were playing the playoff-bound, high-profile Reds. I was 14 and really excited my team was on national TV for a change. But Jeff Reardon, who was a rookie, blew the game.

Tom Seaver shuts out the Mets and I remember see the Goldberg's at the game

Tom Seaver won his eleventh straight decision for the Reds, retiring 18 batters in a row between the second and eighth innings. Tom also had a single and a double and drove in two runs.

Ed Kranepool had two singles off his long-time teammate.

This was my first Mets game ever attended. My older brother took me, and I was amazed how big Shea Stadium looked (especially with all the empty seats). I still have 4 pictures I took with a 110 camera. It is great to see the old green walls. I have a picture of John Stearns throwing a ball in from left field (which was one of the positions he played a few times that season), and of of the Reds congratulating Tom Seaver following the complete game shutout.

For years, I was trying to find out the exact date of this game. I knew it was in '78 or '79. I finally found it by looking on this web site.

This was the first Mets game I ever went to. I was able to convince my mom to take me since it was a day game in the middle of the week. We bought tickets when we got there and got field level seats. I remember my first look at the players uniforms and noticing how vivid the colors were. I had binoculars and used them mostly to watch the starting pitchers — Ray Burris and Rick Matula. It was overcast most of the game, but started raining heavily with Ed Kranepool coming to bat with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning. They played on through the rain with the Mets down to their final out and the potential tying run on first. Joel Youngblood had just singled, driving in Frank Taveras and Alex Trevino, to get the Mets within a run, but Kranepool popped up to the second baseman to end the rally and the game. The next day, I looked at the box score in the newspaper and saw that the attendance was 6,602. I told my mom that we were the “2” in that attendance number.

This game was the first date I had with my wife. We were married in 1982 and still are Met fans, despite living in Tennessee. Thank goodness for the internet and MLB network.

This was the first baseball game I ever attended. My Dad took me while we were visiting family in Queens. I remember the Pirates tying the game in the 6th or 7th inning on a collision at the plate where Ron Hodges couldn't hold on to the ball. The game went 15 innings and we couldn't stick around until the end, but we heard the outcome later on the radio. Even though the Mets were not a good team in 1979, I was glad they won the first game I ever saw at Shea.

Wow. This was my first trip to Shea to see the Mets also. Actually caught a foul ball in the 11th. Doug Flynn hit it off of Grant Jackson. We stayed to the end (15th inning)I think John Stearns drove in the winning run. Also, I remember Richie Hebner striking out and giving the finger to the booing fans.

My brother Andrew and I sat through this entire game. He kept score.

I'll never forget Dock Ellis, proud and ancient,coming on in relief as the skies darkened, the pigeons wheeled, and paper debris flew all over the place. 15 innings! Incredible.

I could not understand how the Pirates, with all their lumber, could not muster two runs against Kevin Kobel and Ed Glynn or the other alleged pitchers.

It was good to see John Milner and Tim Foli again, though. I forgot about Hebner giving the fans the finger. By then he had emotionally packed his bags.

So my wife is this huge Dave Kingman fan with the worst luck/timing. We went to a Sunday doubleheader against the Cubs in July; Kingman hit 5 home runs on Friday and Saturday, then did nothing Sunday in the rain and cold, and one game was rained out. This is the makeup twi-nighter. The first game starts at 5pm, so my wife leaves straight from her job and gets there in the bottom of the third inning, right after Kingman knocked in 2 Cubs. He does nothing the rest of the game, neither do the Mets; they lose 2-0. Second game is 1-1 after 9 innings, with Kingman 0-4. It's late, so we leave to go home. On the radio on the way home, of course we hear that Kingman singles in a run in the 11th, and the Cubs win 2-1. At this point we're waiting for Kingman to call us and tell us to stay home when he plays!

This was the beginning of the Mets worst homestand ever as they went 0-9 hosting the Cubs, Expos, and Cards.

Obviously I must have a serious personality flaw.

Not only did I go to a September twi-night double header that was not even remotely meaningful, but stayed for both games in their entirety.

Not suprisingly, the crowd was small enough to personally know everyone on a first name basis.

I was amply rewarded for my efforts, however. Caught a foul ball (Houseman pitching to Rudy May (or was it the other way around?) sitting in the orange seats (lodge? loge?) behind home plate.

Great web site!

Actually, the games were quite meaningful to the Expos who with Andre Dawson, Tony Perez, and a young Gary Carter were in a close race with the Pirates for the NL East title. They swept the Mets in two straight doubleheaders but ultimately fell two games short of the Pirates. Two years later, they would clinch a play-off spot at Shea near the end of the 1981 strike- season.

This game was Keith Hernandez' favorite Shea Stadium memory, according to the 5/10/2008 broadcast, because this was the day he effectively clinched the 1979 batting title over Pete Rose.

Um, Keith? Division? Pennant? Championship? In a Met uniform?

With one out in the top of the fifth inning of this game, Lou Brock walked. He then stole second base and came all the way around to score when John Stearns' throw went into the outfield.

The stolen base was the 928th of Brock's career. At that point he broke Billy Hamilton's record for most career steals. Hamilton had played mainly in the 1890s. Of course, years later Rickey Henderson passed Brock and Rickey is still going as of this writing!

The Cards won the game 7-4 in ten innings. Mets pitchers allowed just five hits in the game but they walked 11 batters, threw a wild pitch and committed a balk..and the fielders pitched in with 3 errors. Aaah, the late seventies at Shea!

I do know that after this mind-numbing loss, their record over the last 48 games was, I believe, 9-39. An absolute low point in Mets history during this time. In a few short months, Wilpon, Doubleday and Cashen came into the picture to begin salvaging this wreck of a franchise.

This was the end of the worst homestand in Mets history as they went 0-9 including four doubleheaders swept in less than a week.

The sad part was that the pitching wasn't all that bad (35 runs given up in 9 games) but the offense was anemic as they could only score 15 runs.

I don't recall the exact attendance number for the 5 playing dates but I doubt it was more than 30,000 combined.

Well this home game for the Mets would be not just their last of the 1979 season, but it would also be the last home game for that club under the Payson family ownership as well as the last one for the late Mrs. Jane Jarvis as its Shea Stadium home game organ player. This would be the late Mrs. Jarvis' swan song Met Shea Stadium home game as its organ player where in the hundreds and hundreds and of Met Shea Stadium home games prior, dating back to that club's first season in Shea, 1964 with the hundreds and hundreds of playings of the Mexican Hat Dance music during the 7th Inning Stretch along with her hundreds of playings of the "Star-Spangled Banner" (the U.S. National Anthem) at the outsets of Met Shea Stadium regular season home games, particularly during the 1970s in A Major. She (the late Mrs. Jarvis) would be terminated from her organ-playing duties with the Mets during the 1979/1980 off-season period when the Payson family sold that franchise to the Doubleday/Wilpon team. But for many seasons after that her recording of "Charge!" was played at Shea Stadium home games.

The New York Times got it wrong reporting this game. In their early editions, they headlined this loss of the first-game of a doubleheader as the Mets losing their 100th game of the season. In fact, the Mets needed to lose the entire doubleheader to get to their hundredth loss. Of course, they ended up winning the second game of the doubleheader and their final five games in 1979 after that to finish the year with "only" 99 losses.

The Mets won this game causing the New York Times to commit an embarrassing blooper. The Mets started the doubleheader with 98 losses and lost the first game and were losing this game which was the nightcap. The Times must have had a headline ready: "Mets Lose 100th Game." The Mets ended up rallying and winning this game but the Times erroneously ran the headline in some of their editions. The win began a six-game winning streak to end the season and the Mets never did suffer their 100th loss. They finished the season 63-99.

From Retrosheet I've figured out that this was the game that featured perhaps the funniest plays I've ever seen in baseball.

With a man on, Bruce Boisclair hit a sinking line drive to short right field. Larry Biittner of the Cubs attempted a shoestring catch but missed. As Biittner ran in his cap had flown off and when the ball got by him it rolled under the cap. When Biittner turned around the ball was nowhere to be seen. He started whirling in circles like a dog chasing his tail while the Wrigley crowd screamed at him to look under the cap. When he finally retrieved the ball the run had scored and Bruce was on his way to third, and Biittner fired the ball in and nailed Bruce at third base (I thought Boisclair got a triple, but apparently my 12-year old brain only remebered what it wanted to about the play).

A victory for the Mets to start a twi-night doubleheader in St. Louis. Juan Berenger recorded the first win of his career that would last fifteen seasons. Also, Jeff Reardon notched the first of his 367 career saves.

A wild doubleheader nightcap in which the Mets kept battling and came away with a win in extra innings. In the top of the 11th, Gil Flores hit a triple on which an error by the Cardinals' first baseman (some guy named Keith Hernandez) allowed him to score and put the Mets ahead to stay. The victory gave the Mets a sweep of the doubleheader.

Ed Kranepool pinch hit and got a base hit. It was his last at bat for the Mets!

It was also the last game in Mets' history that they were not owned (at least in part) by the Wilpon family. And despite how miserable the season was, they managed to avoid 100 losses with this win.

I remember being at this game. It was Lou Brock's last game and Richie Hebner's last game as a Met. Hebner grounded out in the 8th inning I believe, and we booed him mercilessly. He had stated earlier in the week that he could not wait to get out of NY, so we were letting him know how we felt. On his way back to the dugout after grounding out, and us booing him, he gave us the finger. I will never forget that SOB as long as I live.