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1959-1971
1959 July 27, 1959 - New York attorney William Shea announces the
formation of a third major league, the Continental League, to begin
play in 1961. One of the charter teams for the league would be placed
in New York.
1960 August 2, 1960 - The Continental league disbands on promises
that four of its franchises would be accepted to the NL and AL as
expansion franchises.
1961 March 6, 1961 - The New York Metropolitan Baseball Club Inc.,
formally receives a certificate of membership from National League
President Warren Giles. The name was judged by club owner Joan Payson
as the one that best met five basic criteria: 1) It met public and
press acceptance;
2) It was closely related to the team's corporate name (Metropolitan
Baseball Club, Inc);
3) It was descriptive of the metropolitan area;
4) It had a brevity that delighted copy readers everywhere;
5) It had historical background referring to the Metropolitans of
the 19th century American Association. Other names considered included
Rebels, Skyliners, NYBs, Burros (for the five boroughs), Continentals,
Avengers... As well as Jets and Islanders, names that would eventually
find their way into the New York sports scene.
1961 May 8,1961 - New York's National League club announces that
the team nickname will be "Mets," a natural shortening of the corporate
name ("New York Metropolitan Baseball Club, Inc.")
1961 October 10, 1961 - In the first expansion draft in National
League history, the Mets spend $1.8 million to draft 22 players
at the Netherland-Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati.
1961 October 28, 1961 - Ground is broken for Flushing Meadows Stadium.
1961 November 16, 1961 - The circular Mets logo, designed by sports
cartoonist Ray Gatto was unveiled. It has gone virtually unchanged
throughout the history of the club. The shape of the insignia, with
its orange stitching, represents a baseball, and the bridge in the
foreground symbolizes that the Mets, in bringing back the National
League to New York, represent all five boroughs. It's not just a
skyline in the background, but has a special meaning. At the left
is a church spire, symbolic of Brooklyn, the borough of churches.
The second building from the left is the Williamsburg Savings Bank,
the tallest building in Brooklyn. Next is the Woolworth Building.
After a general skyline view of midtown comes the Empire State Building.
At the far right is the United Nations Building. The Mets' colors
are Dodger blue and Giant orange, symbolic of the return of National
League baseball to New York after the Dodgers and Giants moved to
California. Blue and Orange are also the official colors of New
York State.
1962 April 11, 1962 - The Mets play the first official game in franchise
history, an 11-4 loss to the Cardinals in St. Louis.
1962 April 13, 1962 - The Mets play the first home game in franchise
history, a 4-3 Pirate victory at the Polo Grounds.
1962 April 23, 1962 - The Mets secure the first victory in franchise
history with a 9-1 victory in Pittsburgh.
1964 April 17, 1964 - The Mets play their first game at Shea Stadium,
a 4-3 loss to the Pirates. The game was the culmination of a project
that cost $28.5 million and took 29 months to build. It was originally
to be called Flushing Meadow Park, but a movement was launched to
name it in honor of William A. Shea, the man that brought National
League Baseball back to New York. It was also the first stadium
capable of being converted from baseball to football and back using
two motor-operated stands that moved on underground tracks. Shea
is best known for the noise from airplanes taking off from LaGuardia
Airport.
1966 April 2, 1966 - The Mets win a special lottery for the rights
to USC pitcher Tom Seaver. Even given the pitching rich history
of the New York Mets, one name stands alone as the best of them
all. The man known as "The Franchise", Tom Seaver, was just that.
Seaver helped turn Casey Stengal's lovable lossing Mets of the early
1960's into World Champions almost overnight upon his acquisition.
His acquisiton was as big to the Mets as winning the lottery, and
in fact that's what happened. Seaver was originally signed by the
Atlanta Braves in February 1966 out of the University of Southern
California, but his contract was voided by Commissioner William
D. Eckert on the basis that the USC season had already started when
Seaver signed. Eckert ruled that clubs wishing to match the Braves'
bid for Seaver, could bid themselves. The Mets, the Phillies and
the Indians were all willing to match, so their names were thrown
in a hat, and when the winner was picked, the Mets had their future
ace. In 12 seasons for the Mets, Seaver compiled a record of 198-124
with a 2.57 ERA. Along the way, he lead them to a World Championship
and 2 National League Pennants. He holds the Mets' career marks
for Wins, ERA, starts, complete games, strikeouts and shutouts amongst
other categories. For his career, Seaver won 311 games, compiling
a 2.86 ERA. He was elected to the Hall-Of-Fame in his first year
of eligibility in 1992. He entered the Mets Hall-Of-Fame in 1988.
1969 September 10, 1969 - The Mets reach first place for the first
time in franchise history when combined with a Cubs loss, they sweep
a pair from the Expos at Shea.
1969 September 24, 1969 - The Mets clinch the first National League
East Championship in franchise history with a 6-0 victory over the
Cardinals at Shea.
1969 October 4, 1969 - The Mets play the first postseason game in
their history, a 9-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Atlanta.
It is also the first division playoff game in National League history.
1969 October 6, 1969 - The Mets win the first National League Championship
in their history, defeating the Braves at Shea 7-4, to complete
a three-game sweep.
1969 October 11, 1969 - The Mets play in the first World Series
game in their history, a 4-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore.
1969 October 12, 1969 - The Mets win a World Series game for the
first time in their history, a 2-1 victory over the Orioles in Baltimore.
1969 October 14, 1969 - The Mets play the first ever World Series
home game in their history, a 5-0 victory over the Orioles at Shea.
1969 October 16, 1969 - Donn Clendenon and Al Weis power home runs
while Jerry Koosman tosses a five-hitter as the Mets win their first
World Championship with a 5-3 victory over the Orioles before 57,397
delirious fans at Shea.
1972-1981
1972 May 11, 1972 - The Mets acquire outfielder Willie Mays from
the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitcher Charlie Williams.
1973 October 1, 1973 - The Mets head to the postseason for the second
time in franchise history, clinching the National League East with
a 6-4 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
1973 October 10, 1973 - Before a Shea crowd of 50,323, Tom Seaver
and Tug McGraw combine on a seven-hitter as the Mets win their second
NL Pennant with a 7-2 victory over Cincinnati in the deciding game
of the series.
1977 June 15, 1977 - The Mets trade pitcher Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati
Reds in exchange for pitcher Pat Zachary, infielder Doug Flynn,
and outfielders Steve Henderson and Dan Norman.
1980 January 24, 1980 - The Mets are sold to a group headed by Nelson
Doubleday and Fred Wilpon. The purchase price is estimated at $21.1
million - the highest amount ever paid for an American professional
sports franchise.
1982-1991
1982 June, 1982 - The Mets select pitcher Dwight Gooden with the
fifth pick of the 1982 Draft.
1983 June 15, 1983 - The Mets acquire first baseman Keith Hernandez
from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitcher Neil Allen
and catcher Rick Ownbey
1984 December 12, 1984 - The Mets acquire catcher Gary Carter from
the Montreal Expos in exchange for infielder Hubie Brooks, catcher
Mike Fitzgerald, outfielder Herm Winningham and pitcher Floyd Youmans.
1986 September 17, 1986 - The Mets clinch the National League East
with a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Shea.
1986 October 15, 1986 - In one of the greatest games in postseason
history, the Mets defeat the Houston Astros 7-6 in 16 innings for
the third National League Championship in franchise history.
1986 October 25, 1986 - In Game Six of the World Series, the Mets
complete a miracle, two-out comeback from 2 runs down in the bottom
of the 10th, when Mookie Wilson dribbles a ground ball through Boston
first baseman Bill Buckner's legs to score Ray Knight for a 6-5
victory.
1986 October 27, 1986 - Delayed a day by rain, the Mets defeat the
Boston Red Sox 8-5 in Game Seven of the World Series to become World
Champions for the second time in franchise history.
1988 September 22, 1988 - The Mets clinch the National League East
with a 3-1 victory ove the Phillies at Shea.
1992-2001
1995 May 5, 1995 - Edgardo Alfonzo becomes the Mets 100th third-baseman
in a 9-6 loss in Montreal. A total of 121 players, starting with
Don Zimmer in 1962, have appeared at third base for the Mets since
1962. Of those 121 players, only ten have appeared in as many as
200 games at third for the Mets. The most prominent of these third
baseman was Met great Howard Johnson who played a total of 835 games
at third for the Mets over a span of 8 years. Edgardo Alfonzo played
more games at third than all but 3 past Mets, Johnson, '69 World
Championship third baseman Wayne Garrett and Hubie Brooks. Current
golden-glove third-baseman, Robin Ventura has played 297 games at
the position through the 2000 season.
1997 June 16, 1997 - In the first ever regular season meeting between
the Mets and Yankees, the Mets score three times in the first inning,
never looking back as Dave Mlicki pitched a complete game shutout
in a 6-0 victory.
1998 May 22, 1998 - Catcher Mike Piazza is aquired from the Florida
Marlins in exchange for minor league outfielder Preston Wilson,
minor league lefthanded pitcher Ed Yarnell and minor league lefthanded
pitcher Geoff Getz.
1999 October 17, 1999 - Down 3-1 in the National League Championship
Series, the Mets battled the Braves in a thrilling 15 inning game.
In the top of the 15th inning, the Braves took a 3-2 lead. In the
bottom of the inning, the Mets rallied to tie the game at three.
Robin Ventura then hit a grand slam home run to win the game. Later,
the hit was ruled as a single after the on-field celebration prevented
Ventura from advancing past third. The final score was 4-3. Mets
would be bumped from the playoffs after losing a thrilling Game
Six, 10-9 despite a five-run comeback effort. The Mets entered the
playoffs as the N.L. Wild Card Winner.
2000 October 8, 2000 - In perhaps what could be considered as the
greatest game ever pitched by the Mets, Bobby J. Jones threw in
complete-game, 4-0 one-hitter to advance the Mets to the NLCS. Jones
retired the side in eight of the nine innings. He walked two and
struck-out five.
2000 October 16, 2000 - The Mets win their fourth National League
Pennant by beating the St. Louis Cardinals, 4 games to 1. Mike Hampton
pitched the 7-0 complete-game. He allowed just three hits and one
walk while striking out eight. He would be named the series MVP.
One night later, the New York Yankees would win the ALCS to set
up the first Subway Series since 1956. The Yankees would win the
series, 4-1.
2002-Present
April 30, 2002 - Al Leiter beats the Arizona Diamondbacks and becomes
the first Major League pitcher to defeat all 30 teams.
August 17, 2002 - The Mets celebrate their 40th anniversary by having
the fans select the "All Amazin' Team". The team, which
was announced prior to the game against the Dodgers, was comprised
of manager Gil Hodges, first baseman Keith Hernandez, second baseman
Edgardo Alfonzo, short stop Buddy Harrelson, third baseman Howard
Johnson, catcher Mike Piazza, outfielders, Mookie Wilson, Lenny
Dykstra and Darryl Strawberry, pinch-hitters Rusty Staub and Ed
Kranepool, righthanded starter Tom Seaver, lefthanded starter Jerry
Koosman, righthanded reliever Roger McDowell and lefthanded reliever
John Franco.
Also on that night, Mike Piazza hits a two-run home run in the seventh
inning that was the 328th of his career, moving him past Johnny
Bench for second place on the all-time list for homers by a catcher.
Piazza's blast also makes him the National League leader for home
runs as a catcher.
August 2002 - The Mets go 0-13 at Shea for the month. They became
the third team in major league history to go winless at home during
a calendar month with a minimum of 10 decisions. The 1969 Seattle
Pilots went 0-13 in August and the 1996 Detroit Tigers were 0-16
in September.
Sept. 3, 2002 - The Mets drop the first game of a doubleheader to
the Marlins, establishing a new National League record with their
15th consecutive home defeat. The Boston Braves held the previous
mark with 14 straight losses at home in 1911.
Sept. 5, 2002 - Armando Benitez earns his 30th save against Florida,
becoming the first Met in franchise history to record three consecutive
seasons with 30 or more saves.
Sept. 7, 2002 - Mets manager Bobby Valentine is named the recipient
of the prestigious Branch Rickey Award, which honor individuals
in baseball who contribute unselfishly to their community and are
strong role models for others. He is the first non-player to be
honored with the award.
Oct. 1, 2002 - After six-plus years as the Mets manager, Bobby Valentine
is fired.
Oct. 28, 2002 - Art Howe is hired as the 17th manager in franchise
history.
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