This Day at Shea, 4/17/1964: Shea Opens

Sponsored by Shea Stadium Remembered

Fifty-five years ago Shea Stadium opened to a packed house—and a predictable result. Shea opened with a 4-3 loss to the Pirates, but Shea was everything for the early Mets. The man it was named after—big-shot lawyer Bill Shea—did the legwork and heavy lifting to bring the National League back to New York. And there would have been no team if the city hadn’t ponied up for a stadium. It was used for at least a year by the Mets, Jets, Yankees, and Giants (the football variety). More than 100 million fans would stream for its doors for sports—and their concerts were pretty memorable, too. Want to read more about it? Try Rising Apple for the longer version of this tale. And check out Shea Stadium Remembered for the whole story.