National League Standings, August 9, 1963
METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE AUGUST 9, 1963 GAME:
Joe
November 27, 2001
Jim Hickman hit a grand slam to end Craig's 18-game losing streak. Afterwards, a reporter asked Hickman if Craig thanked him, and Hickman replied, "I think he kissed me."
Bob P
January 29, 2004
As mentioned by Joe in November 2001, Roger Craig finally got a win in this game, thanks to Jim Hickman's ninth inning grand slam off Lindy McDaniel.
The Mets were shut out nine times in 1963 with Craig on the mound.
Ray Trifari
December 30, 2006
Craig switched to uniform #13 to change his luck.
bruce h
October 13, 2008
Billy Williams went back on the high fly which Hickman hit. Just as he pounded his glove the ball went into the first deck of the left field overhang in the Polo Grounds.
Vic Golat
September 21, 2009
I was 13 and went to the game with my uncle. We sat on the first base side in foul territory looking across the outfield. After Hickman hit the homer it was as if they won the 7th game of the World Series; Met fans were going crazy and one guy behind us had a hand cranked siren that he turned for what seemed like a half hour. I still remember the homer as if it happened yesterday.
tomorrowsboy7
August 18, 2011
I remember watching this game on tv (WOR) and seeing Roger Craig run out of the dugout to greet Jim Hickman as he crossed the plate, and the Mets and me and my brother jumping up and down like they'd just won the World Series. Also I remember Lindsey Nelson and Bob Murphy saying that at this moment, the NY Mets were in 7th place, and I thought we had reached the stratosphere.
rich z nj
September 9, 2011
I was a young boy, loved baseball and was becoming a Mets fan. I recall listening to this night game on my AM radio (think it was WJRZ 970) and the announcer calling the play: "tie score, bottom of the 9th, bases loaded, 2 out, 3-2 count on Jim Hickman, here's the pitch and he hits it deep to left field...going....gone...home run...grand slam...Mets win!" (Maybe not the exact call, but this was the situation.) The electricity and adrenaline this baseball moment generated for me sort of initiated my absolute love of playing and now watching the game. There is no clock to run out of time, play hard every pitch of every inning of every game no matter the score, and that is the true greatness of the game of baseball.
herbert sweet
August 28, 2022
I recorded the final play on tape recorder. It went something like this "this will be a pay off and real payoff. Ball hit to left. It is hanging up there. And it is a home run"
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!
