As the days dwindle for our noble Shea Stadium, the guitar man plays us out into an uncertain night. Soon there will just be darkness where once we enjoyed the light. Shea will be reduced to dust under a parking lot, its hallowed ground serving a new master. I Got The Blues for you, Shea:
Over
the years, I've taken some random photos around Shea. Some of these
things you may have seen hundreds of times. Lets test your memory.
Where is this located:
The Franchise still resides at Shea. Do you know where?
Here's an easy one. Bonus points for naming the section:
Finally, what gate are we looking at here:
Time is running out to check your answers.
Note: Kingman is still parked at the beach for a few more days.
Every Met fan has their list of what they will miss from Shea. The Home Run Apple. The giant scoreboard. Walking down the ramps after a big win.
My favorite comment: someone told me they will miss the airplanes flying overhead once Shea Stadium is gone. Um, excuse me dude, they're not tearing down La Guardia.
Here's what I will miss. It's where I spent my high school years in the 80's with Ross Jones and Ron Hunt, talking baseball and the Stones with Dave (RIP). It's where I spent a couple decades getting to know my Dad much better during a few good years and an awful lot of bad years for the Mets. It's where I was with my parents in 2000 the night the Mets clinched the division. It's where we were for Todd Hundley night and Bob Murphy night. It's where I got to know the Bayside boys and the Loge13 guys who moved to Texas and still flew up for games (they worked for the airlines). It's where Ron Hunt caught a foul ball in his armpit and where The Wave came to die in the 1980's. Davey Johnson, Bud, Mike Cubbage, Jeff Torborg, Dallas Green, Bobby Valentine, Art Howe, Willie Randolph, Jerry Manuel. We sat through all their reigns.
Too many great memories to adequately stick in one post, much less one blog. Trust me, it's been great and it all happened right here, what I will miss most about Shea Stadium:
Nice post Kingman! Brings back some nice old memories. Also, I've never thought about it until now, but part of my (and my fellow Loge13ers) memories of Dave, my old college roommate, will be gone when Shea is gone too. While he died very young, I enjoyed keeping him in my and our collective minds by referring to him and the famous "dead man's seat". It keep him in our thoughts and it's too bad that will end. Now more than ever I MUST have two blue Loge seats numbered 7 & 8 in my backyard when Shea is gone. Dave lives on!
Note: Here is some required Shea summer reading/watching while Kingman is off on summer holiday...
Baseball. Football. Boxing. Billy Graham Crusades. Spider Man's wedding. Shea Stadium has seen it all.
Of course, that includes professional wrestling.
Shea Stadium hosted three major WWF matches between 1972 - and 1980.
At the 1976 event, Andre the Giant squared off against boxer
Chuck Wepner, the inspiration for the Rocky
movies. Also during the same match from Tokyo, Muhammad Ali, the reigning boxing heavyweight champion of the
world, took on Antnio Inoki, Japan's top wrestler. The bout was shown
on closed circuit TV to the Shea wrestling faithful and across the
country.
The big "Wrestling Spectacular" happened August 9, 1980 at Shea Stadium. Among the highlights: Andre the Giant went up against the undefeated necomer Hulk Hogan. And Living Legend Bruno Sammartino defeated Larry Zbyszko. Here's some footage of that match.
And here is the TV promo for the Spectacular. Hulk Hogan was still perfecting his act:
Nice post Kingman! Brings back some nice old memories. Also, I've never thought about it until now, but part of my (and my fellow Loge13ers) memories of Dave, my old college roommate, will be gone when Shea is gone too. While he died very young, I enjoyed keeping him in my and our collective minds by referring to him and the famous "dead man's seat". It keep him in our thoughts and it's too bad that will end. Now more than ever I MUST have two blue Loge seats numbered 7 & 8 in my backyard when Shea is gone. Dave lives on!