Ultimate Mets Database - The Ultimate Mets Scrapbook

THE ULTIMATE METS DATABASE IS NOT AFFILIATED IN ANY WAY WITH THE NEW YORK METS OR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.

- All-Time Roster Every Met player... EVER!
- Mug Shots The pretty ones and the ugly ones -- we have them all!
- Player Awards Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Hall of Fame, and more.
- Transactions Over a thousand player transactions -- in chronological order!
- Managers & Coaches The men who have led the Mets, and the men who helped them.
- Mets Staff Executives, General Managers, Broadcasters, and more. (And Jane Jarvis too!)
- Birth Places Perfect for planning your Mets pilgrimages!
- Oldest Living Mets See which Mets players have spent the most time walking the Earth.
- Necrology Mets players and personnel who are no longer with us.

- Game Results
  All the wins, all the losses. Includes box scores and score cards!
- Opening Day
  The first day of each season! See the starting lineups, who started at each position year-by-year, and leaders by position.
- Walkoff Wins & Losses
  Interactively search for the happiest and saddest endings to Mets games.
- Postseason Games How the Mets have fared in the games that count the most!
- No-Hitters & One-Hitters See a list of every no-hitter and one-hitter pitched by the Mets, or against them. One of these categories was frustratingly empty for over fifty years, but not anymore!
- All-Star Games Mets who have appeared in baseball's Mid-Summer Classic
- Opponents & Ballparks See the Mets won-lost record against every team, and in every ballpark in which they've played!
- Daily Standings What was the Mets' pennant outlook on any given day in past seasons?
- Yearly Finishes The heights and the depths: the Mets won-lost record at the end of each season.
- Mayor's Trophy Games A look back at the long-ago annual series between the Mets and their Bronx rivals.

- Leaderboards Career, season, and individual game leaders at your fingertips!
- Team Leaders Players who led the Mets in various categories, from season to season.
- Decade Leaders Mets history broken down into ten-year chunks!
- Post-Season Leaders Mets leaders, by category, in post-season games

- Ultimate Mets Scrapbook The history of the Mets, as it was reported when it happened!
- Forum Visit the Crane Pool Forum to discuss the Mets and just about anything else!
- Fan Memories Insightful. Poignant. Thrilling. Somber. Nutty. Our visitors have submitted thousands of thoughts and memories of the Mets and the games they've played.
- Mets Uniforms It's more than just laundry! Trace the evolution of the Mets official uniform over the years.
- Uniform Numbers In association with Mets By the Numbers, we present a full history of who wore what number, and when!/li>
- Baseball Cards Our collection of home-made baseball cards, in the style of the classic Topps cards of the 1970's.
- This Date in Mets History Births, Deaths, Transactions, Newspaper Covers

- Contact Us
- FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

The Ultimate Mets Scrapbook, a website within a website, presents the history of the Mets as it was originally reported. The games, the trades, the people, the places. The good news and the bad news. The hard news, and the soft news. We have examples of all of that here.

A comment form is present for each article. As always, you are welcome and encouraged to share your thoughts with other visitors.

New articles will be added periodically, so keep coming back again to see what's new!

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Forty-three Obituaries

Released August 31, 2023
Obituaries for 43 Mets players, coaches, etc., including John Stearns, Tim McCarver, Joe Pignatano, Pedro Feliciano, and more.

Here's the full list:

Larry Bearnarth, Jerry Buchek, Chuck Carr, Gene Clines, Tommy Davis, Pedro Feliciano, Tony Fernandez, Larry Foss, Jim Frey, Bob Friend, Jesse Gonder, Joe Grzenda, Tommy Holmes, Jeff Innis, Cookie Lavagetto, Phil Linz, Tim McCarver, Jeff McKnight, Herb Moford, Harold W. O'Shaughnessy, Brock Pemberton, Joe Pignatano, Grover Powell, Hal Reniff, Arthur Richman, Les Rohr, Red Ruffing, Ray Sadecki, Dick Selma, Norm Sherry, Dick Sisler, Denny Sommers, Tracy Stallard, Eddie Stanky, Leroy Stanton, John Stearns, Dick Stuart, Ralph Terry, Claudell Washington, George Weiss, Carl Willey, Gene Woodling, and Don Zimmer.

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	Man Who Built Yankees, George Weiss, Dies at 78 Newsday, August 14, 1972 Not only did Weiss build a dynasty in the Bronx, but he also helped build the franchise that would call Queens its home. He would serve as President of the Mets from 1962 to 1964. This is his obituary.
Tags: George Weiss.

	Grover Powell, former pitcher for N.Y. Mets, dies of leukemia News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), May 22, 1985 Grover Powell's career got off to a promising start, but he was derailed by an early injury. He also, sadly, suffered an early death. This is his obituary.
Tags: Grover Powell.

	Yankees Great Red Ruffing Is Dead at 80 Newsday, February 20, 1986 Red Ruffing was a Hall-of-Fame pitcher who served on Casey Stengel's 1962 Mets coaching staff.
Tags: Red Ruffing.

	Ex-Dodger star Lavagetto dies San Francisco Examiner, August 11, 1990 Cookie Lavagetto was one of Casey Stengel's coaches during the 1962 and 1963 seasons. His place in Mets lore is as part of a Marv Throneberry anecdote, where he tells his manager, "Don’t bother arguing Casey, he missed first base too.”
Tags: Cookie Lavagetto.

	Ex-major league baseball player Dick Sisler dies The Tennessean, November 21, 1998 Obituary for Dick Sisler, who was a former coach for the Mets.
Tags: Dick Sisler.

	Stanky is dead at 83 New York Daily News, July 6, 1999 Although it's not mentioned in this obituary, Eddie Stanky served one year in the Mets front office, in 1965. He is better known as a "fiery second baseman" with the Dodgers, Giants, and Braves.
Tags: Eddie Stanky.

	Tigers scout Larry Bearnarth dies Tampa Bay Times, January 3, 2000 Obituary for former Mets pitcher Larry Bearnarth.
Tags: Larry Bearnarth.

	Woodling, Yanks' Old Faithful, dies at 78 New York Daily News, June 3, 2001 Obituary for Gene Woodling, former player with the Yankees, Orioles, Indians, Senators, and Pirates, who finished his career with the 1962 Mets.
Tags: Gene Woodling.

	Love of a Lifetime Fresno Bee, August 29, 2001 Obituary for Dick Selma, a pitcher who started his career with the Mets but was lost in the expansion draft to the San Diego Padres. His career would last until 1974.
Tags: Dick Selma.

	Even with a strange glove, ex-Pirate was always a hit Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, December 20, 2002 Better known as a Pittsburgh Pirate, Dick Stuart, "Doctor Strangeglove", was a Mets first baseman in 1965. This is his obituary.
Tags: Dick Stuart.

	Odds And Ends Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pennsylvania), October 3, 2004 We wish we had been able to find an obituary for Hal Reniff that wasn't titled "Odds And Ends".
Tags: Hal Reniff.

	Ballplayer, Oaklander Jesse Gonder, 68, dies Oakland Tribune, November 17, 2004 Obituary for Jesse Gonder, a Mets catcher from 1963 through 1965.
Tags: Jesse Gonder.

	Former major league pitcher Herb Moford dies Journal Tribune (Biddeford, Maine), December 7, 2005 Obituary for Herb Moford, who pitched in seven games for the 1962 Mets.
Tags: Herb Moford.

	Former Boston Braves great dies Palm Beach Post, April 15, 2008 After his playing career, Tommy Holmes worked for the Mets. He was on hand at Shea when Pete Rose broke his National League hitting streak record. This is his obituary.
Tags: Tommy Holmes.

	Arthur deserves media monument Newsday, March 26, 2009 Although this obituary/eulogy emphasizes Arthur Richman's time with the Yankees, he worked for the Mets for over two decades, from 1966 to 1988.
Tags: Arthur Richman.

	Ex-Met Carlton Willey, 78 Newsday, July 23, 2009 Obituary of Carlton Willey, who pitched for the Milwaukee Braves for five years before joining the Mets. His niche in Mets history is that he was their first pitcher to hit a grand slam.
Tags: Carl Willey.

	O'SHAUGHNESSY Newsday, August 8, 2011 Death notice for Harold W. O'Shaughnessy, who served in the Mets front office for 23 years.
Tags: Harold W. O'Shaughnessy.

	Losing a Legend; Don Zimmer, 83, dies after 66 years in baseball Bradenton Herald (Bradenton, Florida), June 5, 2014 It would be hard to find someone who was more of a baseball "lifer" than Don Zimmer. The Mets were just one of many teams who employed him over his long career.
Tags: Don Zimmer.

	Sadecki gave spark to Cards' magical 1964 season St. Louis Post Dispatch, November 25, 2014 Obituary for Ray Sadecki, a Mets pitcher who is better known for his time as a St. Louis Cardinal.
Tags: Ray Sadecki.

	Former big-leaguer McKnight dies at 52 Visalia Times Delta (Visalia, Cal.), March 3, 2015 Obituary for former Mets infielder Jeff McKnight.
Tags: Jeff McKnight.

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Other releases

January 29, 2024
Spotlight on Bud Harrelson
In memory of Mets Hall-of-Famer Bud Harrelson. This release includes articles dating back to when Bud first signed with the Mets organization in 1963, through his playing career including the World Championship in 1969, the fight with Pete Rose in 1973, his decline and trade to the Phillies, his return to the Mets organization as a minor league manager and then a major league coach, his turbulent tenure as Mets manager and his association with the Long Island Ducks. There's a lot here, so you'd better get started!

July 31, 2023
Ron Swoboda, Edgardo Alfonzo, Gary Carter's debut, and more

Spotlights on Ron Swoboda, Edgardo Alfonzo, and Gary Carter's Opening Day home run in 1985
Portraits of Jerry Koosman, Bud Harrelson, Ron Swoboda, and Wayne Garrett by Bruce Stark
A visit from Cool Papa Bell
A memorable 18-inning win over the Pirates in 1985 at Shea
Obituary of Mets coach Clyde McCullough
Cartoons from Bill Gallo and Bruce Stark
The morning of the first home opener at Citi Field, by Mike Lupica
Francisco Alvarez enjoys participating in the Subway Series against the Yankees

November 16, 2022
Kevin McReynolds, Bruce Stark (1963), Robert F. Kennedy

Spotlight on Kevin McReynolds
Four 1963 cartoons by Bruce Stark of the Daily News.
The Mets honor the memory of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
Rick Aguilera struggles to gain a foothold in the 1988 Mets starting rotation.

November 7, 2022
April 1962
Contemporary coverage of the Mets' first month in the National League. Their first game in St. Louis, a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan, the reopening of the Polo Grounds after four idle years, their first home game, and more, including profiles of Joan Payson and Jay Hook.

October 26, 2022
Expansion Draft, Tim Foli, Shea Goodbye

Coverage of the 1961 expansion draft which provided the Mets with their first batch of players.
Spotlight on Tim Foli. The Mets made him the first draft pick in the nation in 1968.
Shea Goodbye! The final game ever played at Shea Stadium ended the Mets' postseason hopes, but was followed by a star-studded ceremony.
Polo Goodbye! The final game ever played at the Polo Grounds had no fanfare at all and very few fans in attendance.
Now Straw's the Man Who Stirs the Mets: A Joe Gergen column from Newsday in 1988. Darryl Strawberry is coming into his own as a superstar.
From 1969, Bruce Stark portraits of Tom Seaver and Cleon Jones.
Obituaries of Bill Robinson and Clem Labine.

October 18, 2022
First update
Jim Bunning's 1964 perfect game, and Mets postseason losses in 1973, 1986, 2000, and 2015. Willie Randolph gets fired, Warren Spahn dies, Ron Darling and Tim Teufel get arrested, trades for Bruce Berenyi and for Carlos Baerga, and more. Includes two cartoons from Bruce Stark.