A few memories stick out...Aaron put on a superb BP session...At least 10 went yard...Mets were still in the game in the late innings when a single to right exposed the arm of rookie Cleon Jones... His toss was air mailed to the plate 4 or 5 rows behind the Brave dugout which allowed the winning run to score.

This was my very first Mets game. I had barely turned 7. I had seen softball in Brooklyn schooyards and baseball on black and white TV, and I don't think I actually realized that baseball was played on grass! And the outfield was so HUGE compared to the infield! That was amazing! Anyway, Joe Torre hit .315 with 36 hrs that first year in Atlanta, Aaron had another 44 hrs, Felipe Alou had another 31 and hit .317, but I had no idea who any of those players were. All I knew was that the Mets were MY team, and therefore were the best team, and they won.

The Mets came from behind to beat the Braves. Ken Boyer hit a two-run double in the eighth inning for a tie and Ron Swoboda walked with the bases loaded to win it in the 9th. The victory put the Mets over .500 for the first time ever.

The first game my father ever took me to. I remember as a six year old being in awe of the "huge" stadium and the nice uniforms. Clearest memory is walking out through the tunnel in the upper deck and looking back where I could still see the scoreboard and being devastated that we could actually lose (my father laughed) A Met fan ever since.

In the second game of a doubleheader the Mets hand the Braves their first-ever loss in Atlanta. Mets starter Tug McGraw goes seven innings for his first win of the season. It was also Tug's first start of 1966.

Felipe Alou hit two homers in the game for the Braves, one off McGraw and one off Larry Bearnarth. Tug also gave up a solo homer to Dennis Menke.

With the Mets up 2-1 Tug was the first batter in the top of the seventh and drew a walk off Clay Carroll. One out later Tug came around to score after a Roy McMillan single and an error by Eddie Mathews. Ken Boyer hit a sac fly to drive in the fourth Mets run.

This was the first time I went to Wrigley Field. It was a cold day and a real back-and-forth slugfest, until the great Dennis Ribant came in and shut down the Cubs (from what I remember, I think he retired about 6 or 8 hitters in a row, starting in around the 6th inning). By the end of the long game there was me waving my Mets pennant, and about 300 unhappy Cub fans... Unfortunately, on the way home some bully grabbed my Mets pennant and threw it down on the el tracks where it met its demise.

If anyone remembers any other details of the game (Ribant is all that's stayed with me), I'd love to hear it.

Further to Leonard's post from January 2004, here are some more details from this wild one at Wrigley.

First of all, Ribant came in with one out in the eighth and the tying run at the plate, and retired the last five Cubs batters for his first save of the season.

Jack Hamilton and Ernie Broglio started but both were not effective. The Mets fell behind early, but took a 4-2 lead in the third inning on back- to-back homers by Ken Boyer (a three run shot) and Ed Kranepool.

The Cubs came back with an unearned run to make it 4-3 but the Mets scored four more in the sixth. Johnny Lewis, Roy McMillan, and Ken Boyer each drove in a run and Mc Millan stole home as part of a double steal for the fourth run of the inning.

Back came the Cubs again, with four in the seventh to cut the Mets lead to 8-7. Randy Hundley drove in two with a single and Adolfo Phillips knocked in two more with a double.

In the top of the eighth, the Mets scored six times with just four hits plus two walks and an error. Ed Kranepool and Cleon Jones both drove in two runs in the inning, and the Mets had a 14-7 lead.

Darrel Sutherland was on the mound for the Mets in the bottom of the eighth, but gave up a walk and two singles around an out to make it 14-8. Dave Eilers came in but faced three batters and gave up three hits. That made it 14-11 and the Cubs had the tying run at bat. That's when Ribant came in and struck out Adolfo Phillips and got Glenn Beckert to ground out to first base. In the ninth, Ribant struck out Billy Williams, got Ron Santo on a pop to second, and retired John Herrnstein on a groundout, and the Mets won the darn game!

There would have been a game on April 30, but, The Pirates (10-5) were rained out for the second time in four days, this time with New York Mets (5-6).

Roberto Clemente had a 12-game hitting streak going into the final game of the series with the Mets, a team the right fielder liked to bat against.

In Clemente's four previous seasons against the Mets, he hit .228, .321, .338, and .413. In one game versus New York this season, Clemente went 1 for 5.

Roberto Clemente had his best game of the season, going 4 for 4, as the Pirates shut out the New York Mets, 8-0, before a crowd of 29,433 at Forbes Field. Clemente, who extended his hitting streak to 13 games, had two doubles, scored twice and drove in two runs. Clemente's double in the first inning came within a foot of clearing the wall in right-center field, 436 feet from home plate.

Bob Veale raised his record to 2-1 with the complete-game victory for the Pirates (11-5).

Jack Hamilton pitches a one-hit shutout in this game at St. Louis. The only hit was a two-strike bunt single by Cardinals pitcher (and future Met) Ray Sadecki in the third inning.

Sadecki was the losing pitcher and lone Cardinal to get a hit, if you call that bunt a hit!

Was traded for Orlando Cepeda a few days later. This was the last Met game at Sportsman Park and Sadecki's last game as a Cardinal.

I have great memories of this game. This was a very early season night game on a chilly evening in St. Louis. I remember Bob Murphy commenting that whereas most of the players had a sweatshirt under the uniform, Jack Hamilton wore just the uniform shirt. This was in the days before the obnoxious center field TV camera, and Hamilton's stuff looked fabulous from behind the plate. The fact that it was the Mets' last game in Sportsman Park added to the historic significance.

Jack Hamilton's one-hitter in this game was a gem. He faced 29 batters, retiring the side in order eight times with two Cardinals on base in the third inning. Ray Sadecki's single and Lou Brock's walk were the only things that stood between Hamilton and perfection. For the Mets, the win was the 200th in team history.

This turned out to be Sadecki's last game in a St. Louis uniform before being traded to the San Francisco Giants. His first game as a Giants pitcher would be nine days later against none other than the Mets with Hamilton on the mound.

It's tough to pitch a one-hit game and the only hit is by the opposing pitcher. Had to look up Sadecki's batting record. He wasn't a bad hitter, for a pitcher. He had a .191 lifetime average with 5 HR's and 56 RBIS, and the year he got this hit he batted .341 with 14 hits in 41 at bats and 3 HRs! So at least there's some comfort in that. It would be really tough if the only one who got a hit off you was someone like Dean Chance.

I attended this game with my Dad. It was also Willie Mays' birthday. In this game, I got to see an old-fashioned pitchers duel between Rob Gardner and Ken Holtzman. The Mets would win and I would get to see my first, in person, "Walk-off" home run as Cleon Jones won the game with a shot to left center field.

Coincidentally, 17 years later, to the day, I would attend another Mets game. This one was against Cincinnati and it was the debut of Darryl Strawberry. I would also witness another walk-off home run as George Foster homered in extra innings for another Mets win.

My first baseball game ever. I was 9 years old and will never forget walking up the tunnel to the seats and seeing how bright the lights were. The game went 17 innings - if memory serves me correctly Jim Davenport hit a homer in the 17th to win it for the Giants (although I was back in the bus sleeping by then). Been to Shea many times since then but you always remember the first. Great website.

It was a Jim Davenport homer in the 17th inning that gave the Giants a 5-4 win. The Giants improved to 22-7 and this win was their twelfth in a row.

My father was at this game. He remembers it was a packed house at Shea. I was not into baseball then.

Ray Sadecki's appearance in this game was interesting. He was making his debut as a member of the Giants after his trade from St. Louis a few days earlier. Sadecki's final game as a Cardinal before the deal was one in which he suffered defeat to the Mets and got the only hit off Jack Hamilton. For the second consecutive time, but with a different team, Ray was pitching against the Mets with Hamilton as his mound opponent.

Neither Sadecki nor Hamilton would be around long enough for a decision. The game lasted 17 innings and ended with a San Francisco victory on a home run by Jim Davenport off reliever Dave Eilers. It also featured Billy Murphy's first major league homer - a three-run blast against Sadecki in the bottom of the fourth.

Packed house. First night game attended 8 years old. Walking under stands towards box seats as #3 batter is announced. Crowd explodes in standing ovation as Willie Mays steps in batters box. Jim Hickman broke finger diving for foul ball in first inning and left game. I was charged up and awake even though game went past midnight.

As I wrote about the April 16th game, the first game I ever saw at Shea, I was 7 years old and knew nothing about baseball other than that the Mets were MY team and therefore the best team in baseball. The 1966 Giants had Willie Mays's last superstar year. He hit 37 hrs, McCovey hit 36, Jim Ray Hart hit 33, Marichal won 25 games, Gaylord Perry won 21, and the Mets beat the Giants anyway, 11-4.

At that game, however, my father gave me a history lesson: The Giants, he told me, used to play in New York. The Dodgers, he told me, used to play in Brooklyn. They only recently had moved to California, and the Mets were a brand new team, and were the worst team in the Majors.

I was so disillusioned that, starting with the June 4th loss to the Dodgers, the Mets lost the next 7 games we went to!

Jack Fisher picked up his first win of the season in this game at Shea. The Mets had 17 hits in the game, and all of them were singles.

After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, RBI singles by Johnny Lewis and Cleon Jones gave the Mets a 2-1 lead in their half of the first. The Giants tied it in the second on a double by Don Landrum, an infield out, and a wild pitch.

The Mets took the lead for good in the third on an Ed Kranepool single that scored Ron Hunt. They added two more in the fifth and then batted around in the sixth with the key play being a bases loaded error by Jim Ray Hart (my scorecard says Hal Lanier) that allowed two runs to score. Ron Hunt drove in the final run in the seventh.

The Giants were down 11-2 in the eighth and put together three consecutive one-out singles for a run, then Dick Selma came in and gave up a run on a fielder's choice groundout, and retired pinch- hitter Willie McCovey on a fly ball to the warning track in left with runners at the corners and two outs. Selma pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to close it out.

The Mets put together a seventeen-hit attack of pure singles in routing the first place Giants. The victory ended a twelve-game winning streak for the San Francisco team.

Reds ace Jim Maloney allows two hits in shutting out the Mets, 4–0, at Shea

My dad took me and a bunch of friends to see the Yankee - Twins doubleheader at the stadium. I admit right here that I am a SF Giants fan. The Mets were playing two in SF that day. We listened to much of the action on the way home in the car. First game was dominated by Marichal. He tossed a two or three hitter. In the nightcap, our neighbor (he lived a few blocks away in Brooklyn) Jack Hamilton handcuffed the Giants 7- 2 going all the way. Jim Hart slammed a few home runs that day. And I don't remember off hand how the Yankees fared. Mudcat Grant was one of the starters. Man, I'm gettin' old!

I went to this doubleheader in my sophomore year of high school with my friends Jack & Karl. We were sitting in the Mezzanine Reserve section off first base and I don’t remember a thing about either ball game, except for the fan sitting next to me. Every time Tony Taylor of the Phillies got up or caught a ball, this fan (probably in his mid-twenties) shouted over and over again “Tony Tony Two By Four, Can’t Fit Through The Bathroom Door, Makes A Puddle On The Floor, Licks It Up And Does Some More. You Stink Phillies” The three of us made a pact to switch seats every three innings to share this embarrassment. I did the first three innings, then Jack switched with me. After Jack did his three innings, Karl refused to switch seats --- and Jack was stuck with the chanting fan for the rest of the first game and all of the second. Somehow I don’t think Jack ever forgave us but the three of us can still recite that chant after forty years.

Pitcher Don Cardwell won his first game of the season as the Pirates defeated the New York Mets, 3-1, at Shea Stadium. Cardwell struck out four and gave up five hits in 8 2/3 innings. Al McBean struck out Mets first baseman Dick Stuart with the bases loaded to save the victory. Stuart hit his third homer of the season in the fifth. Roberto Clemente went 2 for 4 and drove in the Pirates' first run in the fourth. He had nine hits and seven RBIs in his past five games.

Donn Clendenon led off the sixth inning with his fourth home run of the season as the Pirates defeated the New York Mets, 5-0, at Shea Stadium. Pitcher Vernon Law gave up three hits and went the distance for the Pirates (26-20). Law, who also hit a homer, captured the 150th victory of his career with five strikeouts. It was the fourth consecutive time Law shut out the Mets.

Roberto Clemente went 0 for 3, going hitless for the first time in his past six games.

On June 2, 1966 I went to my first Major League Baseball game and the only one I ever went to with my Dad. I was not quite 9. Just before the start of the game, while the players were warming up and playing catch my father took me on the field behind home plate. I remember looking at the big Pittsburgh Pirate players (Stargell, Clemente, Clendenon) and recall thinking how big their butts were. I also remember the ball being thrown like sling shots between the players. Someone came over and moved us to between home and first to be safer. A cameraman for WOR joined us and I remember him calling Yogi out of the dugout. Yogi came out, shook my hand and signed the back of my ticket. I went to about another hundred Mets games but this is the only ticket I don't have. I still have the scoresheet my dad used to keep score. Sometime in the 7th or 8th inning a man had an attack to our left and in front and they loosened the man's belt while he lay on his back and my Dad said let's go. My Dad died the following summer of cancer. He was 35.

A scoreless pitcher's duel for four innings between Claude Osteen and Jack Hamilton, but the Dodgers broke through first.

In the fifth Osteen led off with a triple and Maury Wlls drove him in with a single. Wills was sacrificed to second by Wes Parker, and scored on a Willie Davis single. The Dodgers added four more in the sixth as Osteen singled to drive in John Roseboro, then after a Wes Parker hit, Tommy Davis hit a three run homer off Gordie Richardson. Gordie would pitch again the next day, get creamed, and never pitch in the majors again.

The Mets runs came on a sixth inning triple by Ed Bressoud followed by a Jerry Grote single, and in the seventh Dick Stuart and Ron Swoboda had RBI singles.

This was the one and only time I saw Sandy Koufax pitch in person. Arrigo was knocked out of the box early by the Dodgers. Wes Parker hit two home runs. The crowd was huge because of Koufax's appearance. The only surprise was that the Mets scored as many as 3 runs against him.

This was my 1st game. I was 8 and my parents and I sat in Upper Reserved, directly over home plate. Traffic was backed up on the Whitestone Expressway so we got to the game a little late. I seem to remember Gerry Arrigo hitting a double but getting removed (I asked my parents why he was being taken out.) On the way to the game, my mother told me about the 7th inning stretch and the flags above the stadium that show the standings.

The game details are fuzzy but I can say I saw Koufax!

This was also the one and only time I saw Koufax in person. I was eight. It was standing room only, and my brother, his fiancee and me were among the standing. Just before the game started, Koufax, finished with his warmups, walked from the bullpen to the dugout and the crowd applauded politely, respectfully, as if (and I am not the first to note this) applauding a maestro about to conduct an orchestra. The Dodgers scored seven runs in the seventh inning -- and Koufax was on base twice in that innning.

I seem to remember that it was 90 degrees and my dad and I were sitting together in one section and my cousin and his dad (my father's cousin) in another section. The great Koufax, who never ever got on base because he was such a lousy hitter, hit a double, clearing the bases which were loaded (I think.) I may be wrong, but in the second game of that doubleheader Tug McGraw started for the Mets, but I may be wrong about that. I was 17 then. Long time ago.

Also remember it being very hot. And how bizarre it seemed to see Koufax wearing his warm-up jacket when he was on base.

If I remember correctly, Mets won 2nd game when Perranoski (sp?) threw a wild pitch w/bases loaded & 2 outs in the 9th.

Nice web site! Brings back many good memories!

I got hooked on the Mets back in 62 and saw them at the Polo Grounds on my birthday on 9/15/62. Marv went deep! Once Shea opened my Dad would always take my brother and I down from Hartford for Dodger doubleheaders. My brother was a Dodger fan.

I remember this game quite well. I thought Arrigo looked like the best lefty the Mets had since Al Jackson. Therefore, I thought this was going to be quite a matchup. Well Arrigo fooled the Dodgers for awhile, but when they timed his heat it was pretty ugly. Got out of hand fast. To add insult to injury, Koufax, a notoriously bad hitter drilled a double late in the game against one of the many stiffs that came out of the Met Bullpen. I think he would up on 3rd after the Mets kicked the ball around.

We were in the upper deck behind the plate so we had a very good vantage point. Koufax was simply amazing. Everyone talks about his blazing fastball, but I was most impressed with that slow curve he threw. No chance.

Things improved in the 2nd game as the Mets squeezed out a win, which made for a happy ride home. I still have the program from this game.

Yes this was a very warm day; besides Sandy thwarting the Metropolitans, Ron Hunt hit a inside-the-park home run.

I was so excited to see the games that I didn't sleep much the night before. I went with a friend and his dad. We sat behind third base in the lower boxes. I was really excited to see Koufax pitch and see my fav Met, Roy McMillan. He got the entire Met team to autograph a baseball for me that my aunt, who lived in the same apartment building asked him to autograph just for me. It was a really hot day and I just really enjoyed being with my best friend and watching major league baseball.

I was 15 when I and a few friends with their dads went to Shea that Sunday. We didn't know Koufax was to pitch till a few days before- not knowing the rotation. We were lucky, as we had Right Field Box Seats. It is still the largest crowd ever at Shea. I think it was over 58,000 with SRO in Right Field. Koufax came out to warm up on the sidelines and got a nice round of applause. He then dominated the Mets. One inning he struck out the side, and during one warm up between innings I remember him breaking off the best curve anyone will ever see. The whole place yelled in unison. Only one run was earned, and that came when Ron hunt hit a sharp single to center and Wes Parker charged it only to have it bounce over his head all the way to the wall. Wes the great first-sacker should have been at first and not in center. I am 65 now, but this memory will last a lifetime. The man was so fast that day with an incredible curve, but he only k'd nine. An off day for the best pitcher in the last 60 years!

I was a Yankee fan but when I found out that Koufax was pitching, and I lived relatively close to Shea Stadium, I had to go. He did not disappoint. What was surprising was that Koufax, a notoriously bad hitter, had two hits that day. It was in the 90's and he asked for a warmup jacket after hitting a double. An unforgettable day.

I was there and all the memories above are correct – the size of the crowd, the heat, Koufax, getting couple of hits to help win the game and the Mets winning the second game (started by Don Drysdale) of the doubleheader on a wild pitch by an extraordinary great reliever Ron Peranowski. What no one has mentioned was the fact that it was “Helmet Day, and that may have contributed as much to the crowd – at the time – largest in Shea Stadium history then the fact that the two Hall of Fame were pitching. What made the games extra thrilling for me as a 12-year-old was the fact that my father, sitting next to me, caught a foul tip off the bat of Dodger catcher Johnny Roseboro

Another day, another Mets loss..they dropped to 17-27. But of more historical value: on this day the Mets select catcher Steve Chilcott with the number one pick in the free agent draft. The A's, picking second, take Reggie Jackson.

Chilcott retired after six years in the minor leagues and never made it to the show...

All in all it was a pretty good day. The Mets shut out the Reds, the Beatles released "Paperback Writer," and I was born. Cool!

I remember this game very well! It was Rusteck's ML debut, and he threw a shutout against the heavy-hitting Reds. Being a fan of the Mets throughout their short existence, I thought: At last! A quality pitcher who is not at the end of his career! Alas, Rusteck hurt his arm a few starts later and was gone from MLB forever. Trivial note: I believe that Rusteck was a graduate of Notre Dame.

Sitting in front of the b&w tv watching the pre-game show brought to you by Benjamin Moore Paints. Interview with Gordy Coleman, calls Selma the toughest slider that he has seen all year. Rusteck throws a 6-hit gem besting Jimbo Maloney and the future looks great until he throws his arm out!

This was the first and only win, complete game, and shutout of Dick Rusteck's short major league career.

It was Rusteck's major league debut, and he allowed just four singles and one walk. The Reds never had more than one baserunner on at a time, and they never got a runner as far as second base.

Ed Bressoud had a three-run homer in the second inning and a solo homer in the eighth. John Stephenson drove in the other Mets run with a third inning single.

Rusteck pitched three more games, then was on the DL for two months. After coming back he pitched four more games in September and October, making a total of eight appearances for the year...and then his major league career was over.

I remember my Dad taking me to this doubleheader. I was deeply under the spell of the Mets in those days. I think this was one of the few trips down from Hartford that wasn't a bus trip. There was a light drizzle throughout the first game. Bob Shaw had just been acquired from the Giants & spun a beauty. Al Jackson pitched for the Cards. Al was traded in the Ken Boyer deal the previous winter. It seemed very odd to see Jackson (the battling little lefthander from Waco Texas) as Bob Murphy used to call him pitch against the Mets.

You could see the Mets were starting to change. Their older players like Boyer still had gas in their tank and you could see the talent in Cleon Jones, Dennis Ribant, Ed Kranepool and Ron Hunt. Defensively they had improved as well and on this weeknight they gave the Cardinals all they could handle; rallying late to take the lead and then holding it. Very un-Metlike!

I remember young Billy Murphy playing well that night and was always surprised that he didn't turn out better.

I also can remember getting a charge out of Dick Stuart. He was at the end of the line but still had that "swagger."

I remember my mom took me and my childhood friend Tony. We were both 8 years old. It was the first game of a twi-nighter and the first doubleheader I ever went to! It was also nearing the end of school with summer vacation about to begin! Great times for sure!

It was a rainy night and with a 5 pm starting time there were very few people in the stands. However, there was this lonely old man sitting behind us and he started to talk to us about the Mets and my mom felt sorry for him and gave him one of the sandwiches she had packed for us.

Braves pitcher Tony Cloninger drives in five runs as Atlanta wins easily. Cloninger is just getting warmed up: seventeen days later he hits two grand slams against the Giants and drives in nine runs.

Cloninger finished 1966 with five doubles, five homers, 23 RBIs, and a .234 average in 111 at bats. Try stacking Rey Ordonez' numbers against those!

These were my first major league games a doubleheader 2 days before my 14th birthday. I was with my dad. I'm from Louisville but was a Mets fan from day 1 of their existence. When the Mets swept my dad made the shhh sign but I walked out with a 10 foot smile.

Here's what I remember from this game.....I got free tickets and sat in the loge box section between home and first. Best seats I had to that date. Ron Hunt led off with a near home-run that just curved foul at the left field pole. He worked out an infield hit to second base. Woody Fryman proceeded to retire the next 27 batters. To top things off Jose Pagan hit a grand slam. Probably his only one. Woirst game I ever attended.

Friday night, school's been out just a few days, oh, to be young, free and a Mets fan in 1966!

The big bad Pirates are in town. I remember Don Sutton saying of these sluggers, "Some hitters wait for a fastball, others look for a curve, these guys just look for a baseball."

Alley, STARGELL, CLEMENTE, Clendenon, Alou, Mota were all hitting over .300 and Woody Fryman (no relation to Travis) took the hill.

The rookie lefthander surrended a lead off base hit to Ron Hunt. If I REMEMBER correctly, Hunt was picked off or erased on a double play ball. The next 27 METS were retired. In effect, Fryman, who went 12-9 that year tossed a perfect game. The Mets dropped a 12-0 game.

A few more details about this pitching gem.

Pitcher Woody Fryman threw a one-hitter as the Pirates clobbered the New York Mets, 12-0, at Shea Stadium. It was the sixth consecutive victory for the Pirates (44-29).

Fryman gave up a single to the Mets' leadoff hitter, Ron Hunt, and was perfect after that. Fryman struck out eight and raised his record to 6-3.

Roberto Clemente went 1 for 5 to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. Willie Stargell hit his 16th home run of the season.

Fryman only faced 27 batters - 26 after Hunt was out stealing. I do not remember whether the steal attempt occurred because Hunt was picked off.

I stand corrected. Jose Pagan did not hit a grand slam, rather he hit a 2 run homer --- 1 of the 4 dingers he hit that year.

Being a life long die hard Mets fan I was thinking about some of the memorable Mets games I attended. From watching Sandy Koufax (beat the Mets 5-0) and Bob Gibson pitch to the first time the Mets beat Juan Marichal or watching Shea Stadium packed watching Tom Terrific pitch against the Mets that first time. For some reason this game always stood out. I was sitting in the upper deck in line with the 3rd base bag. I remember being so excited when Ron Hunt led the game off with a hit and then was caught stealing.

Looking back on it I feel fortunate to have seen some of the all time greats in baseball to those famous in Mets history play. Guys like Ken Boyer, Cleon Jones, Ron Swoboda and Jerry Grote for the Mets and Matty Alou, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Bill Mazerowski to name a few for the Bucs. Little did we know the star of the game (not including Woody Fryman)was one of the most famous Mets Donn Clendenon. Sure the Mets lost badly but it was still a special game nonetheless.

The ninth-place New York Mets (30-42) snapped the Pirates' six-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory at Shea Stadium. The Mets, who ended a four-game slide, were 15 1/2 games out of first place and 13 games behind the second-place Pirates (44-30). Roberto Clemente hit his 12th home run of the season. He went 1 for 5 and struck out in the eighth inning and grounded to first in the ninth - both at-bats coming with the bases loaded.

Pirates pitcher Steve Blass lost his second game of the season and fell to 6-2.

The Pirates (45-31) split a doubleheader with the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. The Mets nearly overcame a seven-run deficit but lost the first game, 8-7. The Pirates blew a three-run lead in the second to lose 9-8. Roberto Clemente went 2 for 4 and scored a run in the first game, and doubled in three at-bats in the second. He extended his hitting streak to 14 games.

Willie Stargell hit two home runs in the second game to give him 18 for the season. The Pirates hit 12 homers in the four-game series.

Chuck Hiller started inn LF in the first game and looked like Colonel Klink as he chased a Pirate drive into the corner, right near our seats in this hot 101 degree summer heat at Shea!

This was the very first Major League game I attended. Toured the city earlier in the day with my Dad. Went to a Horn & Hardart to eat. Then, went to the ballpark. It was a day I'll NEVER forget. Ron Swoboda hit a home run on the roof in left and Richie "Call me Dick" Allen hit one over the left field roof and out of the ball park.

Note from a Phillies fan: I was also at this game at Connie Mack Stadium-- I was 10 years old. The think that made it stick in my memory was that right before Dick Allen hit that mammoth home run, a loud firecracker went off just as the pitch was released!

Andy ... you are absolutely right. After you mentioned it, I too recall the loud firecracker right before Dick Allen hit the home run on the roof in left field.

The Pirates swept a doubleheader from the New York Mets, 10-2 and 9-2, at Forbes Field. It was the Pirates' 49th and 50th victories of the season. Pirates first baseman Willie Stargell went 6 for 8 in both games, including two home runs and two doubles. His homers were the 20th and 21st of the year.

Roberto Clemente went 3 for 8 in both games. He scored three times and drove in a run in the first game.

The Pirates (51-33) won their third consecutive game with a 6-3 victory over the New York Mets at Forbes Field. The San Francisco Giants (54-32) had a two-game lead over the Pirates in the National League.

Pirates pitcher Woody Fryman had his scoreless streak of more than three games snapped but raised his record to 8-3.

Roberto Clemente went 1 for 4 to extend his hitting streak to five games. He was batting .327 (108 of 330) and had at least one hit in 20 of his past 21 games.

Clemente was one of my favorite players of all time and in some respect underated. He would have topped 400 home runs had he played in a normal ball park.

Rookie Fryman was awesome as a young lefty. At the time he appeared to be on his way to a ROY award and 15 win season. As it turned out, he did go 12-12 but the rookie hurler of the year was Don Sutton. Oh, fyi, Tommy Helms started at 3b for the Redlegs, hit .284 and was awarded top rookie. Cleon Jones had to finish second or third in the voting, one would guess.

Sandy Koufax beats the Mets. Lou Johnson hits a homer for LA and Eddie Bressoud hits one for the Mets off of Koufax. I remember Sandy after the game on Kiners Korner.

My dad and I went to this game and I was so excited to see Sandy Koufax pitch. Being a Met fan I had mixed emotions, wanting to see a no-hitter and the Mets beating Koo.

Got neither. Lou Johnson hits a three-run homer of Bob Shaw in the first, Ron Hunt leads off bottom half with a single to left and scores when Ron Swoboda just beats the throw at first on a two-out infield single.

Also remember the fan sitting next to us complaining about Bob Murphy, Ralph Kiner and Lindsey Nelson advising people to buy their tickets early when the upper deck was only half filled.

Reading the book 'Koufax' right now, on loan from a friend... remembering when Dad brought me to see this game, just 13 years old, and not knowing it would be Koufax' last year. I do remember Dad chiding Swoboda's infield single, which was a dribbler near the plate mostly based on Ron's inability to hit Koufax, as if that singled him out! Thanks, Dad, and thanks, Sandy, for great Shea memories.

A Saturday night game. I went with my father, sister and firend. The Mets got a couple of runs off of Don Drysdale, but then Johnny Roseboro homered for LA. The Mets tied it up in the 9th on a wild pitch by Phil the Vulture Regan. LA won it though in extra innings (we left after 8 innings and I saw the end of the game on TV). The stadium was electric that night and there were as many Dodger fans there as there were Mets fans.

Don Sutton pitches a complete game victory for an Dodger sweep of the 3 game series. The only Mets run was on a Ken Boyer 9th inning sacrifice fly. Johnny Roseboro hit another HR for LA.

I believe this was the first game I ever attended-- I hope someone can verify (maybe by looking at a 1966 yearbook?) if this was batting helmet day. I just remember sitting in the left field corner in the upper deck, and being overwhelmed by the size of the (sold out) crowd.

Sutton blows the METS out fanning 11. Ribant touched up early. We saved up a bunch of milk carton coupons ( Dellwood?) to get in. Chuck Hiller led off at 3b, Ken Boyer played 1b.

This was a great game for Gerry Arrigo. He pitched seven innings for the win and drove in three runs with two doubles to help his own cause. These were Arrigo's only three RBIs of the season. In addition to the pair of two-base hits, Gerry also had three singles for a total of five hits in his ten at-bats as a Met. That's a .500 batting average, which matched his winning percentage (three wins and three losses) for the year.

Bob Friend hurls a complete game allowing 11 hits, 5 runs and fanning five. Ed Kranepool hits a Met home run in the win, Felix Mantilla belts one out against his former mates.

Bill Hepler works the first 7 yielding a run, Roy McMillan goes 3-3 in the win.

First time the Mets ever swept back-to-back doubleheaders. An indication that things were starting to get better.

What a game for Rob Gardner! In the sixth inning, he takes the mound with two runners on base and none out and halts the Astros with a strikeout and a double play. Rob then gave up only a walk in facing the minimum nine batters from the seventh to the ninth for a rare four-inning save. It was the first of two saves that Gardner would have during his career.

I went to this game as an 8-year-old, with my mother, my 10-year-old brother, and an adult male family friend. We sat in the "blue seats" (Mezzanine level, under the original color scheme). I had been to one game the year before, also at Shea, and understood absolutely nothing. On this, the night of my second baseball game ever, I remotely understood some of what was going on. Only very remotely, though. I don't remember doing this, but at one point early in the game I turned to our family friend and shouted out loud, "WHERE'S HOME PLATE?" Apparently that got a lot of attention! My brother and our family friend teased me about that for years afterward!

A few things stay in my mind, whatever is left!

Bob Shaw tosses a gem, cg 5 hitter and the Mets pull off a double steal, Jones and Luplow I THINK!

Was a big Adolpho Phillips fan back in those days and remember he screwed up all over the place!

An oddball game this one. As already pointed out, Adolfo Phillips was a big star in this game—for the Mets! First play in the game, we get to hear (on the surviving radio broadcast) Phillips ground into an unusual 7-4-3 out at first base. He hit what Lindsey Nelson described as a routine fly ball, which Larry Elliott proceeded to drop. I'm guessing that Phillips ended up on second base, though this wasn't made clear in the broadcast. Elliot then threw the ball to Chuck Hiller at second base and Hiller relayed it to Ed Kranepool. Kranepool stepped on first on the appeal play and Phillips was called out for missing first. Later on in the game, Kranepool hit a long fly that Phillips lost in the sun, ducked out of the way to avoid getting hit by the ball, and Kranepool ended up with a triple, scored on a Cleon Jones base hit for the game winning run, LOL.

With Phillips and Byron Browne in the line up, the Cubs were featuring two of the all-time strikeout artists in the same game. That would be good if they were pitchers, but they weren't. I only saw them later in their careers when Phillips was with the Expos and Browne was with the Phillies.

A couple of interesting tidbits from the announcers in this game. This July was the first winning month in Mets' history, as Bob Murphy mentioned several times. Ralph Kiner did add that the Mets had one previous month where they had a .500 record, pointing out that in 1963 they won two games and lost two games in October. Maybe that was better left unsaid. Also, in giving the out-of-town scores, they mentioned that Dick Stuart hit a home run for the Dodgers. So I guess his Mets career was already over. That didn't last long. Last, I think it was Bob Murphy that pointed out that the Mets, in ninth place, were closer to first place than last place. They were 14 games out of first place, but 14.5 games ahead of the 10th place Cubs. How bad were the Cubs that year! And how mediocre was the entire National League. Phew!

I was seated in Box 28A Seat 2 and during the top of the 4th inning caught a foul ball hit by Willie Mays. I still have the ball...

With the death of Willie Mays this past week it got me to look up this game. My older brother took me to this game - I was 10 years old. It was my first Major League game. My brother is a Mets fan - I'm a Yankee fan. He refused to take me to a Yankee game so this was it. I remember a grand slam home run being hit and thought it was Willie Mays. Looking at the box score it turns out it was Jim Ray Hart. Anyway it was my first game and I got to see Willie Mays, Wille McCovey, Gaylord Perry etc. Great memories.

My first-ever Mets game, and it was a beaut! My dad bought tickets for the two of us and we sat in the mezzanine section along the first base line.

It was a Thursday afternoon game, Mets vs. the San Francisco Giants. Willie McCovey launched a majestic home run beyond the Mets bullpen in right field (it may have just landed).

However, the real fireworks were saved for the bottom of the ninth inning, when Ron Swoboda hit a three-run, pinch-hit homer over the left centerfield fence to win it in dramatic fashion for the Mets.

I still have the pennant that my dad bought me from that game and it's up above the doorway to my study at home.

At 15, I thought this was the greatest game ever played! The Mets trailed 6-0 after 6 innings to the great Juan Marichal, whom up to that point had never been beaten by the good guys (I think it would be another 2 years before they finally put an "L" next to his name.

But John Stephenson and (I think) Al Luplow each hit 2-run homers in the 7th & 8th to make it a game. An exciting rally in the 9th against the Giants bullpen, ending with Swoboda's blast off of Bill Henry.

I saw the game winner from the standing room area in the right field corner. That 15-year old knew that he had to hustle to catch the subway back to Brooklyn!

Not only do I remember the pinch hit home runs by Rocky Swoboda and *49, John Stephenson but even more important was the horrible Beatle haircut and Nehru jacket my mother made me suffer through on this hot August day!

Yes, I said Nehru jackets!

My first game and what a beauty!! I was 10 and I still remember Swoboda's homer sailing over the left field fence to win the game. It was a great day...Thanks Dad.

Herman Franks brought in the crafty left-hander Bill Henry to face Chuck Hiller. Wes Westrum called Hiller back and put up Ron Swoboda who hit a 3-run game-winning homer.

I was 9 years old and this is the day I became a Mets fan. I sat with my dad and brother on the 3rd base mezzanine and just remember the home run and crowd excitement as we left the stadium.

Ron Swoboda's walkoff home run is featured in the opening sequence of "Mets Yearbook 1966" on SNY.

I was 12 years old and my dad took me to this game. With Marichal pitching it looked like another Met loss on that hot midweek afternoon. The roar of the crowd as Swoboda connected still gives me chills up my spine. Up there with all the games I have attended as pure excitement.

My father took me to one game a year starting in 1963 when I was 9. This year it was my father, myself and my best friend who was a huge Giants fan. I was quite disappointed when my favorite player Ron Swoboda was not in the starting lineup. Things got even worse as my friend kept reminding me how great Marichal was as he retired the 1st 17 batters of the game. Down 6-1 in the middle of the 8th with Marichal on the mound there was no reason to have even a glimmer of hope. I have always believed that what happened from the point on was a gift to me from God. It still ranks as one the greatest days of my life and for me the greatest baseball game of all time.

Hot Saturday afternoon. Bob Friend gets the start and the early exit. Tito Francona rips his only triple of the year, long balls by Smith and Bressoud and Don Dennis gets in for the Cards. Now ask me what I had for diner last night!

My first game at Shea. The weather was warm and sunny. I was hooked, and haven't stopped coming.

Was my first game at Shea. I was 7 years old. Went with my Dad and brother. We only had a black and white TV so I was shocked when I saw the green of the field. I also remember a lot of home runs being hit.

The Pirates' 10-4 victory celebration over the New York Mets at Forbes Field was subdued after shortstop Gene Alley was hit by a pitch on the side of the head in the fourth inning. Alley needed nine stitches but was expected to be out only a couple of days. The Pirates had a 6-0 lead when Alley was hit and extended that advantage to 9-0 by the fifth.

Roberto Clemente went 3 for 5, drove in two runs and scored once. He threw out Mets left fielder Ron Swoboda at the plate after Swoboda tried to score from first on a double.

The Pirates (66-46) raised their lead to 1 1/2 games over the second-place San Francisco Giants (66-49).

Willie Stargell hit a two-run homer with Roberto Clemente aboard as the Pirates (67-46) came from behind to defeat the New York Mets, 7-5, at Forbes Field. The Pirates were down 3-0 and 5-1 early in the game.

Stargell, who hit his 26th home run, had one called back in the first inning after it was determined the ball he hit off the rightfield screen landed below the home-run line.

Clemente went 2 for 4, including a double, scored twice and drove in a run.

The start went to recently acquired Ralph Terry, the loss to rookie southpaw Rob Gardner.

Both Gardner and Terry worked for both the METS and the YANKEES during their careers. The difference however, Terry was shot when he got here but Gardner (9-5) turned in a decent 1972 season in the Bronx playing for a Yankee team that had the likes of Ron Swoboda, John Callison, Hal Lanier in the mix.

This was Ralph Terry's first game as a National League pitcher. It came at none other than Forbes Field, the same place where he gave up a home run to Bill Mazeroski that ended the World Series six years earlier. Mazeroski went one-for-three against Terry on this night with a run-scoring single in the third inning.

Entering the bottom of the ninth, the Mets were ahead and Terry was in line to get the win. His bad luck at Forbes returned when the Pirates pulled it out with three runs against reliever Rob Gardner. Just like the finale of the 1960 Series, a walk-off homer (this one by Willie Stargell) won it for the Bucs. These were the only two games in Pittsburgh that Terry ever pitched.

The Pirates blew a six-run lead and lost to the New York Mets, 8-7, at Shea Stadium. The loss enabled the San Francisco Giants (71-50) to move a 1/2-game behind the Pirates (70-48) in the National League.

Bob "Hawk" Taylor hit his first career grand slam for the Mets in the five-run fourth inning. Taylor, who was a pinch-hitter, was benched because of a .185 average.

Roberto Clemente went 1 for 5 for the Pirates, who got homers from Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski and Donn Clendenon

I was at this game. If my memory serves me right, Mazeroski's home run came off of Ralph Terry. It was their first encounter since the home run that won the 1960 World Series.

I believe Hawk's pinch grand slam was the first ever by a Met. Amazingly, Westrum later in the game sent up Al Luplow to pinch hit for Hawk!

In reply to Alan Budick's post in May of 2005, Mazeroski's homer in this game came off Jack Fisher, not Ralph Terry. Terry did not pitch in this game.

The first Maz-Terry faceoff since the 1960 World Series was six days earlier--August 11, at Forbes Field, in Terry's first game as a Met. Maz did not homer in that game but did have an RBI single off Terry.

Hawk Taylor hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in Mets history in this game. An interesting note is that Taylor was batting for Ed Kranepool, who had no grand slams among his 118 career home runs. It was the second of two Mets slams during the season, both of which came against the Pirates' Bob Veale at Shea Stadium. The other was by Ed Bressoud on July 3rd.

Pireates' 3B Jose Pagan tied a record by making three errors in one inning in this game.

The Pirates hit four home runs but lost to the New York Mets, 9-5. The Pirates trailed, 6-2, in the fourth and gave up six unearned runs.

Third baseman Jose Pagan committed four errors, three in one inning, as the Pirates lost their second in a row.

San Francisco (71-50, .587), which had the day off, moved a percentage point behind the first- place Pirates (70-49, .588) in the National League.

Roberto Clemente, who turned 32 on this date, went 0 for 4.

My first Mets game! A Saturday afternoon, in enemy territory. I remember a long home run over the high right field wall by Larry Elliot, and a sensational catch by Billy Murphy as he crashed against the wall in left-center. He was hurt on the play and wound up out of action for a while. Mets had the lead late, but couldn't hold on, and lost in 11.

I attended this doubleheader at Connie Mack Stadium when I was 16. In this second game I believe Tug threw a 2-hitter or so for one of his 5 complete games of his Met career.

No two or so-hitter can ever be bad, but this was possibly one of the worst in major league history. Line shot after ungodly shot by the Phillies, but always at someone. Tug packed 6 starts worth of sighs of relief into this one.

I remember his game like it was yesterday. I couldn't sleep the night before and couldn't wait for the game. Our ace, Denis Ribant, was pitching. He was 4 games over .500 (unheard of previously). We had a chance to NOT finish last (gasp!). The Braves were starting some unknown rookie (which turned out to be Pat Jarvis, who had some success over the next few years). It didn't get better than this. (Well, I was 12.) Our ace got his clock cleaned early and another disappointing game was behind us.

The ace got traded the next year as did our only true hero, Ron Hunt. I was 12 and I needed a favorite player. It certainly wasn't going to be Tommy Davis or Ken Boyer, so I went with some rookie who pitched fairly well at Jacksonville in '66. That rookie went on to win 311 games and rarely disappointed us.

My first Mets game. It was a Friday night, Shea was packed. Wes Parker homered for L.A. while we were still in the parking lot. Later, Wes Covington drilled a pinch HR for them. But Mets smacked Koufax around -- one of only two career losses he suffered to N.Y. I think it may have been Tug McGraw's birthday and I believe he started for the Mets that night.

As a Met fan from back in the day this was my favorite Met victory until the 1969 season. If my memory is accurate it was the first time the Mets defeated Sandy Koufax after some 20 odd tries. I believe it was the 2nd earliest Koufax had been knocked out of the box (I believe 1 1/3 innings). That was my first recollection of (Frank) Tug McGraw!

I remember the game well. It was billed as a rematch between Koufax and Tug McGraw -- the only Met to have beaten him. Shea was packed. It was the last time Koufax was knocked out of the box in a regular season game. As he walked back to the dugout, he gave a shrug, saying, "I just didn't have it today."

The early Mets were an amazingly weak hitting club. Choo Choo Coleman had a career total of 26 RBIs. Opposing pitchers like Gibson, Carlton, Marichal would routinely throw 2-3 hit shutouts at Shea. One time that year my friend Eddie & I took the #7 train to Shea. We arrive for the bottom of the 1st, score: 2-0 Phillies. Final score: 2-0 Phillies. What a miserable ride back on the #7 train.

We rode the #7 that night to see young Tug McGraw face Koufax. Since the Mets were so dismally absent talent, we were drawn to the 'colorful.' Tug McGraw breathed some life into a team that was otherwise abysmal. Eddie & I were thrilled. The bats came alive, the Met pitching was decent. It felt like for once youth and inspiration could overcome strength and power, which was heartening for skrawny 11-year-old like us.

I recall my Dad taking my brother, Charlie, and me to this game when I was nine. Though a Mets fan, I was distraught because my hero Sandy Koufax was knocked out early. If I remember right, Don Drysdale, of course a good hitter as well as a terrific pitcher, pinch hit into a double play to end the game.

I was at this game too. Sat in the box seats 3rd base side. I love the Dodgers. I figured out the rotation so that we could see Koufax pitch. I was at the other game that Tug won too. I think that was 4-2 and the Dodger 3rd baseman made 2 errors to cost Koufax the win.When I was old enough I moved out west, following the Dodgers. But I will always have great memories of being "grown up" enough for my best friend and I to take the bus from NJ and the subway from the Port Authority to Shea.The Worlds Fair and Sunday double headers.

My dad was from Brooklyn and so I became a Dodger fan though we lived in northern Connecticut and the Dodgers had moved just as I was becoming of baseball fan age. I got my dad to take me to this game because Koufax would be pitching -- and he got knocked out of the game in the third inning! Well, of course the poor old Mets had a win coming but in was not a happy night for a 16-year-old who had taken a three-hour road trip down and back home for this game.

Ahh, the good old days. Today if a pitcher gets knocked out after 1 1/3 innings, it would take AT LEAST five pitchers to finish the game. When was the last time a Met reliever pitched 7+ innings?

I was only 7 years old, but I remember it well. Traffic was awful because of the huge crowd. My Dad and I made it to our seats in the second inning and got to see the Mets pound Koufax. Only a few years ago did I learn that he was 17-2 lifetime against the Mets and my Dad and I were there for this one!

Sat in the upper deck for this night game. Marichal vs. Fat Jack Fisher. 1-1 top of 9th, Mays leading off third, Grote tries to pick him off. need I say more other than the final score was 2-1 Giants.

My first ballgame. A few recollections: Mays triples and scores winning run. Mays makes a diving catch to save the game. Marichal loses his balance and falls during warm-ups from one of his big leg kicks. Oh...and the beginning of lifelong Mets fandom.

I remember this game was like it was yesterday! It was the first game that I ever attended. My dad took me. I was 10 years old, and a huge Ron Hunt fan. I'll never forget how huge Shea looked, and how green the grass was, and how white the ball looked. The only disappointment of the day was that Hunt didn't play. Chuck Hiller played second that day. The Giants pitched 20 game winner Gaylord Perry, but Ribant outdueled him. (From then on, he became my second favorite Met!) It was quite a thrill that day...not only did I get to see my Mets win, but got to see 3 future HOFer's for the Giants. Perry, Mays, and McCovey! I'll never forget it!

Jim Bunning makes his eighth career start against the Mets. When the game ends, he has his eighth complete game against the Mets, with five of them being shutouts including the 1964 Father's Day perfect game.

At this point the Mets have scored four runs off Bunning in 72 innings.

This was the first Mets game I ever attended. I was 8 years old. I'd love to see a box score to confirm my 37-year old memories, but I recall Bob Shaw started and took a tumble at some point in the game that dirtied his uniform. I think I recall Rob Gardner pitching in relief, and Ed Kranepool hitting a home run.

William Ortenberg, if you are still out there....Bob Shaw did indeed start this game for the Mets. Rob Gardner relieved him in the seventh with the Mets down 3-2 and gave up two walks and a single, plus a batter reached on an error by Ed Bressoud. Kranepool's homer came in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and a runner on and made the score 8-4.

Sitting behind third base watching Chuck Hiller struggle in LF. Asked my dad what his problem was and he said, IRONHANDS! Chuck did hit .280 that year and I think Milt Pappas started one of the games in this, a Labor Day doubleheader!

It was Milt Pappas vs Jack Fisher in game one, and Jim O'Toole vs Dick Selma in game two.

This doubleheader was actually fan appreciation day. Between games the Mets and Reds competed in some friendly feats of throwing skills. They gave some stuff away too.

My first ever game at Shea! An eternally memorable day, even if the Mets did get clobbered!

Braves scored five in first off Ribant...Johnny Lewis made an over the wall catch in right field off Joe Torre(?) to prevent further damage...then- unknown Nolan Ryan made his major league debut in middle relief...I just missed catching a foul ball off the bat of Henry Aaron...ballpark looked gigantic to a very happy 7-year-old.

One of the longest and most extraordinary careers began when a 19-year-old fireballer stood on a major league mound for the first time. Nolan Ryan struck out Pat Jarvis for his first career strikeout and he went on to leave batters wetting their pants for another 26 seasons.

He struck out 5,714 batters, threw seven no- hitters and won 324 games. He also pitched in seven presidential administrations -- Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton -- before retiring at age 46 in 1993.

Of course, the METS felt that a washed up Jim Fregosi would better fit their needs!

Ryan was really facing it in his first game. OK, first batter he faced was the pitcher, Pat Jarvis, but then it was Alou, Aaron, Matthews and Joe Torre. Three HOF'ers and Felipe Alou having his best year in the majors (led the NL in runs, hits & total bases). Then Rico Carty, a good hitter, if nothing else. Torre hit a home run, but Ryan did OK against the rest of them. On the broadcast, Bob Murphy was gushing about his amazing minor league statistics that year.

Earlier in the game, on the recording of the broadcast, Lindsey Nelson mentioned that Dennis Ribant was the Mets' all time leader in wins by a right handed pitcher. He must have meant for one season, because Ribant won 11 in 1966 while Roger Craig won 10 in 1962. Anyway, a guy would come along the next year that would soon render these unimpressive "all-time records" moot, meaning Tom Seaver. Not even to mention Nolan Ryan himself, who was also right handed, and whose Mets career statistics weren't fantastic, but they were better than Dennis Ribant's. (BTW, in this game, Ribant was gone after 1/3rd of an inning, giving up 5 runs. He never would get that 12th win.)

Ron Perranoski of the Dodgers struck out the first six batters he faced in relief helping the Dodgers beat the Mets and Tug McGraw.

Rookie SS Bud Harrelson successfully pulled off the hidden ball trick on Dodger OF Lou Johnson in the 6th.

The Mets and Giants tied a major league record by combining for eight pinch-hitters in the ninth inning. The Mets used five in the top of the ninth and the Giants used three in the bottom.

Earlier, Willie McCovey hit a 500-foot homer that was thought to be the longest home run ever hit at Candlestick Park.

Larry Miller had the type of game that ends careers, and this one ended his. His last game for the Mets and last game in the Major Leagues. He takes a one run lead into the 9th inning, gets the first two guys out, then the Giants send up Jim Ray Hart as a pinch hitter. Hart had worn out the Mets' pitching that year, with 8 HR's against them up to then. Well, he hit #9 and tied up the game, sending it into extra innings.

Maybe Wes Westrum should have taken a hint, but he didn't. He kept Miller in for the tenth. Mays got on first with a single and then McCovey hit a HR. Giants win 6-4. Listening to the broadcast first time, I didn't know the result before hand, but I guessed what was going to happen. When McCovey got up, I said, "here it comes". It was McCovey's 3rd HR of the game. This game was like one of their 1962 losses, and, sadly for him, it spelled the end of Larry Miller.

Also, it was probably Al Luplow's best day in the majors. He hit two HR's himself, but all for nought. The Mets had 3 HR's, because Ken Boyer also hit one. The wind must have been blowing out in Candlestick that day. Also, future Met Ken Henderson played in this game. I didn't realize he was playing this early on. He must have been a teenager. He didn't do (or play) much for the Mets, but was a pretty good player for the White Sox for a few years. He's one of those guys you think could have been really good, like all-star quality, if he didn't spend half his career on the DL.

Nolan's first ML start does not go well. He's gone after an inning as Met Killer Bobby Bruce has an easy time of it in Houston.

In his second-to-last appearance as a Met, Dennis Ribant faces Jim Maloney and comes out on the short end. Maloney strikes out thirteen as the Reds shellack the Mets. 7-0.

Ribant finished the 1966 season with an 11-9 record for a team that went 66-95. His ERA was 3.20, almost half a run better than the league average that year.

In December 1966 he was traded to the Pirates along with Gary Kolb in exchange for Don Bosch and Don Cardwell. Ribant won only eleven more games in his career after the trade and pitched his final major league game a week after his 28th birthday in September 1969.

This is the game in which the Mets clinched NOT finishing in last place for the first time. They had finished in last place every year during 1962-65. Completing the 1966 season in 9th place ahead of the Cubs may not sound like much but it was a step up in the world.

Jack Fisher of the Mets pitched a complete game win but only had two plate appearances! This isn't a trick; the Mets beat Larry Dierker in the bottom of the ninth when Ron Hunt, batting for eighth place batter Danny Napoleon, singled to end the game with the Mets having a total of 26 batters.

Fat Jack finished the year at 11-14 with a decent ERA of 3.68 besting 20 year old hardballer Larry Dierker.

Dierker had a perfect game going into the ninth. You can look it up.

This was the best pitched game I ever attended. Dierker was perfect starting the ninth. Bressoud led off with a sinking liner to left which could have been safely played as a single, but with a perfect game on the line Left Fielder Lee Maye tried for a diving catch and the ball got past him for an extra base. A wild pitch and a soft liner that touched the top of the glove of a leaping infielder and just dropped behind him got the winning run home.

My dad took us to Shea for the first time. I was 9 and my brother 7. A great pitchers duel. I think Dierker was 19 and threw a gem. Fat Jack pitched a solid game too. Eddie Bressoud’s double fired everyone up, and he scored for a 1-0 win. Great memories!