Leading off for the Mets to start the season will be-
I've been very surprised at most of the Met opening day line-ups.
CREDITS:
Mr. Rothenberg, again. Thank you sir, you initials are on a bench way behind Dick Stuart.
Showing posts with label Ron Hunt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ron Hunt. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
1966 Met Fantazy Card Opening Day Line-up
Leading off for the Mets to start the season will be-
I've been very surprised at most of the Met opening day line-ups.
CREDITS:
Mr. Rothenberg, again. Thank you sir, you initials are on a bench way behind Dick Stuart.
Monday, September 16, 2013
64 Mets Leaders / 65 Fantazy Cards
__________The New York Mets 1964 Team Leaders_____________
Joe Christopher had a very excellent Cleon Jonesy kinda year at the plate in '64.
.300 Average, 161 hits, 16 KaBOOMS and 76 ribbys. Thats sweet.
And I didn't know til recently that Charlie Smith launched 20 longballs to lead the team. He had 106 hits in '64 and 20 of them were homers. I thought WOW! and then I saw he also struck out 101 times. YOUCH!
Joe Christopher had a very excellent Cleon Jonesy kinda year at the plate in '64.
.300 Average, 161 hits, 16 KaBOOMS and 76 ribbys. Thats sweet.
And I didn't know til recently that Charlie Smith launched 20 longballs to lead the team. He had 106 hits in '64 and 20 of them were homers. I thought WOW! and then I saw he also struck out 101 times. YOUCH!
1964 Met Fantazy Card Opening Day Line-up
An interesting note: In 1964, even though the New York Yankees went to the World Series, the basement-dwelling Mets drew 1,732,597 to brand-new Shea Stadium, far more then the Bronx Bombers.
__________________________________________________
"Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Mets baseball. Today, opening day of the 1964 season, the Mets will take on the Philadelphia Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium.
The Phillies are taking the field and the Mets are coming to bat. The starting line-up for the New York Mets:
Batting in the lead-off spot, playing first base,-
__________________________________________________
Batting second, the second baseman,-
Batting third and playing third-
Batting cleanup for the Mets,-
Hitting fifth and playing center field-
The sixth batter will be the catcher-
Batting seventh right fielder-
CREDITS & THANKS:
Again, David Rothenberg for the awesome Met photos he shares on facebook. That Joe Christopher is from Dave and what a great hi rez pic. To me that's like gold. Look for your initials in the tree Dave.
The Ron Hunt picture is from Steves Baseball Photography
I colorized the Amado Samuel picture for his card. His backround is a shot from Forbes Field circa 1960.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
_____Shea Stadium History Part Three ______The Tale Of The 1964 All Star Game:___A very exciting mid summer classic.
This next set of fantazy cards is what this blog is really all about. My goal is to make cards depicting moments and events concerning the New York Mets for old Met fans to reminisce and new Met fans looking to learn about the teams rich history. This post salutes the only all star game ever played at Shea Stadium.
A little backround : From 1935 to 1946 the manager of each All-Star squad selected the entire team. In 1947 fans were given the opportunity to vote on the eight starting position players. In 1957 fans of the Cincinnati Reds stuffed the ballot box and elected a Red to every position except first base. Commissioner Ford Frick stepped in and as a response to this unfairness fan voting was discontinued. Players, coaches, and managers were given the sole authority to elect starting position players, and this is how selection was throughout the 1960's.
The American League for some time had dominated the all star game, winning 12 of the first 16 mid season classics starting in 1933 (from 1959 to 1962 M.L.B. held two all star games each season). The National League slowly crept back into contention and from 1950 to 1963 had won 13 of the last 18 contests. The all star game, long thought to be a simple exhibition showcase of the games best (in which they did not give their all), was starting to matter to the players themselves. As both leagues all star game record began to even out it started to become a contest for bragging rights. It was in this atmosphere that the 1964 All Star Game took place.
The article below was selected for use above others because of the way it singled out Ron Hunt and wild eyed Met fans. And this was from a Milwaukee newspaper.
___________________(Click to enlarge)
New York produced six all stars for the '64 exhibition. Five were Yankees and one was a Metropolitan. Ron Hunt was the sole Met selected by his fellow players. He also had the distinction of being the first Met ever to start an all star game. Here he is before the game with The Mick.
As I've said before, I liked Ron Hunt the Met and wish I got to see him play for the team (I would have a chance at an old timers game years later). There is a real nice article by Anthony McCarron of the Daily News about Ron Hunt here:Ron Hunt, the first Mets player to start an All-Star game, recalls the day he shined brightest
So it is in this setting that the 1964 M.L.B. All Star Game came to the new three month old Shea Stadium. L.B.J. was a new president following J.F.K.'s assassination. The Ford Motor Company had just introduced a new model car called a Mustang. A new band called the Beatles had just taken America by storm. And New York City was host of the Worlds Fair.
Okay, enough with the pre-game banter. Lets get on with the game! If you view and read these fantazy cards in order they will tell you the tale of the 1964 All Star Game at Shea. It was quite an amazin' game.
Complete game stats at BASEBALL REFERENCE
________________________
Fun Facts:
>>Phils outfielder Callison, whose equipment didn't arrive for the 2:20 game, did not have his Phillie batting helmet at the game and wore a N.Y. Met one when he smashed the walk-off.
>>The fielding glove Mets outfielder Tommie Agee used to make his legendary catches in the 1969 World Series was a Johnny Callison model.
>>Before Callison only Ted Williams and Stan Musial won an All-Star Game with a walkoff home run. No one has since.(* see clips below)
>>The bat that Billy Williams hit his 4th inning homer was the same one that Callison used to crush his!
>>The '64 ASG had a total of 18 future hall of famers selected to play.
>>The National league went on an all star tear over the next two decades, winning 18 of the next 20 matches during that time. It was the golden age of the National League. At least that's the way I felt about those days growing up. Still do. The N.L. is the real deal
I wasn't aware of this helmet business and only found out during the recent publicity due to the 2013 ASG being played at Citi Field. As a matter of fact I colorized a picture for the set of digital cards I made in 2002 and I had no idea. I put Callison in a red Phils helmet.
Paul Lukas of the superkool website UniWatch writes all about it >here<, with a list of all helmet snafus in ASG history. Uni Watch says: this was the earliest example of a player wearing another team's helmet in an All-Star Game.
_________________________________________________________________
In 1964 the players were given this nifty little tote bag and a bowl, courtesy of Chrysler.
____________________________________________________________
You can view bits of 1964 All Star Game action below.
Some real neat details about the game in this article by Richard Sandomir of the Times>All-Stars of 1964 Recall a Wild Show at Shea
For a nice article by Marty Noble and more All Star Game footage >>here<<
Steve Wulf wrote a beautiful article on the life of Johnny Callison. You can read it here>A Hard-Knock Life:
Johnny Callison's walk-off home run won the last All-Star Game hosted by the Mets. His fortunes elsewhere were even more dramatic.
^Johnny Callisons '64 all star game home run ball^
_________________________________
*Here are some clips of the other two MLB All Star Game walk-off homers by Ted Williams and Stan Musial
Thanks the invaluable Baseball Reference, The Ultimate Met Database, Google Search, Centerfieldmaz, Corbis, Getty Images, and the Crane Pool Forum for info and photos.
Sept1/Sept4 2013Z / Updated Sept8/ Updated card Sept 21- Aces
UPDATED AUG 14 2014 -additional video clip and images
A little backround : From 1935 to 1946 the manager of each All-Star squad selected the entire team. In 1947 fans were given the opportunity to vote on the eight starting position players. In 1957 fans of the Cincinnati Reds stuffed the ballot box and elected a Red to every position except first base. Commissioner Ford Frick stepped in and as a response to this unfairness fan voting was discontinued. Players, coaches, and managers were given the sole authority to elect starting position players, and this is how selection was throughout the 1960's.
The article below was selected for use above others because of the way it singled out Ron Hunt and wild eyed Met fans. And this was from a Milwaukee newspaper.
___________________(Click to enlarge)
New York produced six all stars for the '64 exhibition. Five were Yankees and one was a Metropolitan. Ron Hunt was the sole Met selected by his fellow players. He also had the distinction of being the first Met ever to start an all star game. Here he is before the game with The Mick.
________________________
Fun Facts:
>>Phils outfielder Callison, whose equipment didn't arrive for the 2:20 game, did not have his Phillie batting helmet at the game and wore a N.Y. Met one when he smashed the walk-off.
>>The fielding glove Mets outfielder Tommie Agee used to make his legendary catches in the 1969 World Series was a Johnny Callison model.
>>Before Callison only Ted Williams and Stan Musial won an All-Star Game with a walkoff home run. No one has since.(* see clips below)
>>The bat that Billy Williams hit his 4th inning homer was the same one that Callison used to crush his!
>>The '64 ASG had a total of 18 future hall of famers selected to play.
>>The National league went on an all star tear over the next two decades, winning 18 of the next 20 matches during that time. It was the golden age of the National League. At least that's the way I felt about those days growing up. Still do. The N.L. is the real deal
I wasn't aware of this helmet business and only found out during the recent publicity due to the 2013 ASG being played at Citi Field. As a matter of fact I colorized a picture for the set of digital cards I made in 2002 and I had no idea. I put Callison in a red Phils helmet.Paul Lukas of the superkool website UniWatch writes all about it >here<, with a list of all helmet snafus in ASG history. Uni Watch says: this was the earliest example of a player wearing another team's helmet in an All-Star Game.
In 1964 the players were given this nifty little tote bag and a bowl, courtesy of Chrysler.
____________________________________________________________
You can view bits of 1964 All Star Game action below.
Some real neat details about the game in this article by Richard Sandomir of the Times>All-Stars of 1964 Recall a Wild Show at Shea
For a nice article by Marty Noble and more All Star Game footage >>here<<
Steve Wulf wrote a beautiful article on the life of Johnny Callison. You can read it here>A Hard-Knock Life:
Johnny Callison's walk-off home run won the last All-Star Game hosted by the Mets. His fortunes elsewhere were even more dramatic.
_________________________________
*Here are some clips of the other two MLB All Star Game walk-off homers by Ted Williams and Stan Musial
Thanks the invaluable Baseball Reference, The Ultimate Met Database, Google Search, Centerfieldmaz, Corbis, Getty Images, and the Crane Pool Forum for info and photos.
UPDATED AUG 14 2014 -additional video clip and images
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