Shea Stadium
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Shea Stadium was home to the Mets mainly as well as the Jets, Giants, and Yankees at times. The stadium is best remembered for being a meca for New York sport in the 1970s. Shea was known for much more than sport, however, as it hosted numerous concerts and events over the years before it's demolition in 2009. The stadium hosted everything from the Pope to the Beatles but forever will live on in Mets fan's minds.
Images
Shea stadium was the site of many important historic events. The Mets used the stadium up until 2008.
The stadium was built as modern as possible in 1961. As well as hosting baseball, it was also very important to the music industry.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
In the early 60's, the Mets wanted to move out of the Polo Grounds so they established Shea Stadium in Queens, New York. Named after Bill Shea, the stadium was constructed for bringing in a new National League team to New York. Although slightly living in the shadow of hallowed Yankee Stadium, Shea would go on to become a center for New York sports for many years to come.
When building Shea, designers had ideas of the most modern baseball stadium ever. Shea boasted elevators, 54 restrooms, restaurants, and the largest scoreboard in baseball at the time. The stadium also contained the first "light ring" around the top of the stadium to illuminate night games. These features spring-boarded Shea into the future of baseball as well as leading it to host some of the most important events in history.
Although mainly for baseball Shea also hosted football along with the Pope and the Beatles. In 1965, Shea held a concert for the Beatles in the first arena rock concert in history. The stadium packed in 60,000 people to capacity levels to spurn on the new age of concerts in America. In 1979, the Pope graced Shea seating around the same amount of people in only the second ever papal visit to the United States. The stadium also hosted Notre Dame, the Jets, boxing matches, World Cup games and many artists such as the Rolling Stones.
Baseball in the big apple also began to boom around Shea's opening. The stadium hosted the 1964 All-star game as well as multiple World Series championships. Willie Mays even graced the Mets uniform in 1972. Shea had two of the most memorable series's in baseball history. In 1986, Bill Buckner let a ground ball roll through his legs in what would be an epic collapse for the Boston Red Sox to keep their "curse" alive. Also, in 2000 the Mets hosted the Yankees in what would be known as the "Subway Series". The Yankees would go on to win but Shea was the site of many important moments in the series.
When building Shea, designers had ideas of the most modern baseball stadium ever. Shea boasted elevators, 54 restrooms, restaurants, and the largest scoreboard in baseball at the time. The stadium also contained the first "light ring" around the top of the stadium to illuminate night games. These features spring-boarded Shea into the future of baseball as well as leading it to host some of the most important events in history.
Although mainly for baseball Shea also hosted football along with the Pope and the Beatles. In 1965, Shea held a concert for the Beatles in the first arena rock concert in history. The stadium packed in 60,000 people to capacity levels to spurn on the new age of concerts in America. In 1979, the Pope graced Shea seating around the same amount of people in only the second ever papal visit to the United States. The stadium also hosted Notre Dame, the Jets, boxing matches, World Cup games and many artists such as the Rolling Stones.
Baseball in the big apple also began to boom around Shea's opening. The stadium hosted the 1964 All-star game as well as multiple World Series championships. Willie Mays even graced the Mets uniform in 1972. Shea had two of the most memorable series's in baseball history. In 1986, Bill Buckner let a ground ball roll through his legs in what would be an epic collapse for the Boston Red Sox to keep their "curse" alive. Also, in 2000 the Mets hosted the Yankees in what would be known as the "Subway Series". The Yankees would go on to win but Shea was the site of many important moments in the series.
Sources
1. "Shea Stadium (New York)", http://sabr.org/bioproj/park/476675, last visited March 1, 2015.
2. "History of Shea Stadium", http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/nym/ballpark/history.jsp, last visited March 1, 2015.
3. "Shea Stadium", http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/past/SheaStadium.htm, last visited March 1, 2015.