A Notable Mets Opener

On the day the Mets held their final opener at Shea, it's only fitting to flash back to the first season opener I ever attended. It's April 8th, 1969, and the Mets, who'd never won an opening day game, seemed to have a strong chance to notch one -- their opponent was the newly minted expansion team, the Montreal Expos. The day started bright, if a bit cool. Just five years old, Shea was still considered modern and streamlined.

For Montreal, long home to a Dodgers farm club, this was a momentus day, with more than a few fans coming down to New York for the Expos' debut.

$1.30 for an upper deck non-reserved ticket, and seats available the day of the game. Perfect timing, too -- it was school vacation week.
The pomp and circumstance of opening day meant a marching band on the field to perform the national anthem.
This is it -- the first pitch ever thrown in a game played by the Montreal Expos. Maury Wills was the batter. Tom Seaver struck him out.
The game was a see-saw affair. The Expos jumped on Seaver for a pair of runs in the top of the 1st inning. The Mets took command with three-run rallies in the 2nd and 4th.
The Expos, thanks to a 4-run 8th, held an 11-6 lead and were just three outs from victory.
Daylight Savings Time hadn't yet been extended in 1969. This long game started at 2 and by 5:30, the sun began setting and, as a cold front hit New York, it felt more like football weather. Only the heartiest souls stayed till the end.

The Mets caught fire in the bottom of the 9th, pulling to within a run. What was left of a near-sellout crowd hoped to see something Amazin'.
But the Mets, even after a home run from rookie backup catcher Duffy Dyer,fell a run short. The final -- an 11-10 Expos victory.
What was the first season opener you attended? What made the game stand out? Post your comment below and make that game come alive again for all of us.

A detailed scoring of this game is available online at:
www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN196904080.shtml

Comments

VP81955 said…
Maury Wills, the first batter in Montreal Expos history? What an irony...he's from Washington, D.C.

And I was at the Expos' final game in October of 2004, also at Shea.
July 2, 2008 at 1:10 PM
Unknown said…
I lived on 95th Street, and was 14 and went to the Expos first game ever, with a few friends. I loved the Canadiens hockey team, and became an Expos fan instantly. I remember the game, as we started drinking HOT CHOCOLATE as the place got cold, and by the fifth inning, the consessions were sold out of cocoa. We stayed until the final pitch, as the Mets made a comeback, which fell a run short. Later that year, Your team would win something more significant, the World Series.
July 23, 2008 at 12:29 AM
Dave Wexler said…
I was at opening day last year, which, despite being a painful year in the end, was a really nice opening day game. It was against the Phillies, and this was just after Jimmy Rolllins made his "Phillies are the team to beat" comments. The Mets are losing in the 8th inning, when all of a sudden Rollins boots a routine ground ball to Short, which eventually gives way to a Mets comeback victory. The entire crowd was cheering "Jimmy Rollins" after the error...man, would I have hated to be him on that day. Sadly, he got the last laugh...but we won't talk about that...
August 17, 2008 at 3:50 AM
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