Ultimate Mets Database: Game of September 25, 1973

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

Previous Game:
September 23, 1973
Mets 5, Cardinals 2 1973 Regular Season Game 157
September 25, 1973
Mets 2, Expos 1 Next Game:
September 26, 1973
Expos 8, Mets 5

Click to view scorecard

National League Standings, September 25, 1973

Box Score Game Memories Scorecard Mets Stats
Thru This Game

METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE SEPTEMBER 25, 1973 GAME:

john m
December 21, 2004
First game I ever went to in person. Two brothers and I spent all spring saving Dairylea milk carton coupons (4 gallon container coupons equaled a free upper deck ticket) and picked a game in September.

Well, it turned out to be Willie Mays Night - 55,000+ to watch Willie say farewell and the Mets - in first place! Win a close game and retain first place! Chanting "We're number one!" leaving a sold out Shea for the IRT 7 - it's never been better!

Of course, next season the promotion was only valid for games thru July - not that the team contended seriously for another decade.

Check the box score - Bud Harrelson was intentionally walked!

Bob P
December 27, 2004
As JohnM says above, Bud Harrelson was intentionally walked, mainly because he was batting eighth. With two outs in the bottom of the second, Jerry Grote doubled. Harrelson was walked to get to Jerry Koosman, who popped to short to end the inning. Harrelson finished his career with 31 intentional walks, or about as many as Barry Bonds gets in a week!

Back to this game, the Mets scored first on a sac fly by Felix Millan in the fifth inning. The Expos tied it on an unearned run in the top of the sixth but Cleon Jones quickly untied it with a one-out homer in the bottom of the sixth.

The win, combined with a 2-1 win by the Phillies in Pittsburgh, moved the Mets a game and a half ahead of the Pirates with five games remaining.

Ray Tucker
July 5, 2005
My memories of this game aren't as vivid as the September 20 game against the Pirates (the "Ball on the Wall" game), but I do remember being there. My father and I had no idea it was Willie Mays night, and my most vivid memory was after the Mets had won, the big scoreboard in right field lit up with "Look Who's in First", and listed the National League East standings after the game with the Mets in first place.

AJP
October 19, 2011
I was in attendance for Willie Mays night on September 25, 1973. It was one of my most memorable nights ever at Shea. My mother's friend took me and my brother. I was in 6th grade at the time and it is interesting to note my mother's friend coincidentally happened to be my Spanish teacher's mother!

We got there very early and I saw Channel 2's Andy Fisher file a report outside Gate C. (First time I ever saw a live TV report.)

We were in the first base mezzanine with a bunch of Giants fans and during the pre-game ceremonies I never heard anybody get booed more lustily than Horace Stoneham did. Willie's final words, "Willie, say goodbye to America" were amazin'.

Joe Santoro
August 11, 2015
The night was bittersweet. I heard the game on the radio, because my older sister wouldn't let me watch the TV. She was watching a Rolling Stones documentary- "Gimme Shelter" I was 10 years old. Could care less about music. All I cared about was sports, the Mets, and Willie Mays. I had to hear his retirement speech on the radio as well as the game. I was very emotional from the combination of the speech and, but mostly, from not being able to watch it live. At least I did get to see the highlights on the news. However I did get my revenge in the post season!

Raymond M.
October 31, 2016
A friend of our family got the tickets from the milk carton coupons. They did not want to go so they asked my father and he took me instead and both of us had a great time. What made it special was the Mets win and it was Willie Mays Night and the Mets were in the middle of a pennant race.

Frank the Met
February 28, 2020
A few memories about this game that no one has mentioned. Yes, it was Willie Mays night and it was another crucial victory in the pennant drive. But I remember, first, that it was the final win in that famous 7-game wining streak that the Mets put together in September. With the score tied 1-1, Cleon hit a monstrous home run to give the Mets the lead off Steve Rogers, who was the Expos' best pitcher. And I remember Pearl Bailey, a big Met fan, was at the game, and as Cleon was rounding the bases after his home run they showed Pearl cheering. In a later inning, with the one-run lead, Cleon made one of his patented circus catches, back-handed, in left-center, preserving the lead and the game. What great cherished memories!

Ed V
August 12, 2024
My mom worked at Manufacturers Hanover Trust offices and her boss gave her firm tix to this game. Since my dad was a NY Giants fan in the 50s we took the Q44 from Parkchester Bronx to Main Street Flushing and then walked across Roosevelt Ave instead of taking the 7 one stop. Lucky for us the pregame ceremony started at 8 so we didn't miss anything. Great game for Cleon offensive and defensive..

Now it's your turn! Tell us what you remember of this game:

Please note:
We're looking for your comments about this specific game. We've had people use this space to share their thoughts on how the current season is going, or on ways that the Mets can improve the team. Such comments, unless in the context of this particular game, will be considered off-topic and will be removed.

Example One
The Mets suck! They need to trade Smith and get somebody like Jones.
This comment is off-topic and will be removed. It has nothing to do with any specific game. But here's an acceptable alternative:

Example Two
The Mets suck! Smith made three errors in this game, and hit into a double play, and the Mets blew a 5-0 lead. They need to get rid of Smith and get somebody like Jones.
See the difference? Here you're getting the same point across, but it's in the proper context. We wouldn't consider this message to be off-topic, and we would let it remain.

We do appreciate anybody who takes the time to share their thoughts on our site, and we hate to remove anybody's postings. But if we didn't take steps to ensure that only on-topic messages were retained, The Ultimate Mets Database would become a confusing jumble of unrelated comments, and would thus be less enjoyable to visitors like you.

Thank you!