Eric, Do you have or have you seen a DVD called Yankee Stadium: Baseball's Cathedral? I am trying to see if it's still around in circulation and if it's any good. MaxB
I still see it in Borders but have delayed getting it. I may rectify that soon.
Thanks for those images! Fascinating to see the change in the ballpark during the renovation. I'm not quite as sentimental about the renovation in the mid-70s because since 76 was my first season, the renovated Stadium has always been the only one I've known all these years but I wish there was one pristine color telecast of a game at the old Stadium in existence that could showcase more of it in the old days. Sadly, none exist (there are partial game telecasts of Giants football at the Old Stadium in circulation so at least those offer some good views of the place, and the 30 minute Mickey Mantle retirement ceremony in 1969 also offers some glimpses).
That's the Scooter surveying the renovation process in the bottom picture.
I am always fascinated with the construction period of stadiums - especially the YS renovation in the mid-1970's. I remember going to the old YS in 1972 when I was 5 years old. It seemed much bigger to me back then, than the finished product after the reconstruction.
As for the b&w photo of the people lugging away the original wooden seats from Yankee Stadium during the 70's renovation, those were the real McCoy with tons of repaintings on them.
Those were the seats that were part of the the real history of the Stadium.
Anyone who came in and got them back then in the early 70's probably paid next to nothing for them. There was no collectors market back then.
Just look at the prices for what the replacement bolted in plastic seats are going for for both NY ballparks now on Ebay and elsewhere.
The only thing that's missing are the monuments in dead center field.
What I meant was the 3 monuments that were IN PLAY in centerfield at the time in the old Yankee Stadium (Pre 1974) as seen above.
Not only did a player have to concentrate on going back on a ball hit to deep center, he had to also be aware of those three big looming granite monuments that were in the field of play back then.
And just look at those dimensions.
If you hit one out of here, it really was an accomplishment.
The second rare treasure that MLB Network will be airing takes place on February 22 when they will bring from the vaults this game from September 2, 1970 between Pittsburgh and Montreal.
Oh and Anz, you will also want your recorder fired up on February 14 at 11:30 AM when they will air a great game in Mets history, Gary Cater's opening day HR win from 1985.
Gary Carter was vital part of the Mets regaining respectability in the mid 1980's.
He came to the Mets from Montreal at age 32, an age when most major league catchers begin a rapid decline due to the various stresses on the body over many years of being a starting catcher.
Well,
Carter did not decline in 1985 when he became a Met. He took charge of a very young pitching staff behind the plate and lead by example with his bat and his actions both on and off the field.
He helped lead the Mets to a World Championship the next season in 1986 once again rock solid behind home plate and once again adding his years of experience providing direction for the young Mets pitching staff.
He was one of the best hitting and defensive catchers of his time, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.
Two former catchers who both wore #8 for the Mets. One as manager, and one as a player. The great Yogi Berra and Gary Carter share a moment during the closing ceremonies for Shea Stadium last September.
If I'm able to, I will catch the rebroadcast of that game from 1985 when Carter, in his first game for the Mets hit a walk off home run against reliever Neil Allen of St. Louis .
Ironically, Allen was traded away by the Mets in 1983 to the Cardinals for yet another vital part of that 1986 Championship team.
This is the full MLB Network schedule of classic games for February. Some of these have gotten the ESPN Classic treatment in the past but this time they'll be shown uncut as far as game action goes.
February 7
9:30 AM All-Time Games 10/6/91 NY Mets @ Philadelphia - David Cone Strikes Out 19 Batters
February 8
12:00 PM All-Time Games 5/8/01 Cincinnati @ Arizona - Randy Johnson Strikes Out 20 Batters 3:30 PM All-Time Games 4/29/86 Seattle @ Boston - Roger Clemens Strikes Out 20 Batters 6:30 PM All-Time Games 9/18/96 Boston @ Detroit - Roger Clemens Strikes Out 20 Batters 9:30 PM All-Time Games 5/6/98 Houston @ Chicago - Kerry Wood Strikes Out 20 Batters 12:00 AM All-Time Games 8/8/97 Chicago White Sox @ Seattle - Randy Johnson Strikes Out 19 Batters
February 14
11:30 AM All-Time Games 4/9/85 St. Louis @ NY Mets - Gary Carter Game-Winning Home Run 3:00 PM All-Time Games 5/6/82 NY Yankees @ Seattle - Gaylord Perry Records his 300th Victory 5:30 PM All-Time Games 9/17/83 Houston @ Cincinnati - Johnny Bench Night 9:00 PM All-Time Games 4/10/81 Chicago White Sox @ Boston - Carlton Fisk Hits Game-Winning Home Run in Fenway Return
February 15
9:30 AM All-Time Games 7/6/86 Montreal @ Atlanta - Bob Horner Smacks 4 Home Runs 12:30 PM All-Time Games 9/7/93 St. Louis @ Cincinnati - Mark Whiten Swats 4 Home Runs 3:00 PM All-Time Games 5/2/02 Seattle @ Chicago White Sox - Mike Cameron Hits 4 Home Runs 6:00 PM All-Time Games 5/23/02 L.A. Dodgers @ Milwaukee - Shawn Green Clubs 4 Home Runs 9:00 PM All-Time Games 9/25/03 Tampa Bay @ Toronto - Carlos Delgado Smashes 4 Home Runs
February 22
11:30 AM All-Time Games 9/23/83 Philadelphia @ St. Louis - Steve Carlton`s 300th Win 2:00 PM All-Time Games 6/28/76 NY Yankees @ Detroit - Mark The Bird Fidrych Tosses a Complete Game 4:00 PM All-Time Games 6/23/84 St. Louis @ Chicago Cubs - Ryne Sandberg Delivers Game-Tying and Game-Winning HR 9:00 PM All-Time Games 9/2/70 Pittsburgh @ Montreal - Roberto Clemente
The David Cone while with the Mets 19 batter strikeout performance vs. Philadelphia from '91 was shown recently on SNY, but there are quite a few other games on that list that I will be tuning in for.
It's amazing looking back on this stuff even from the early and mid '90's .
These are games that are now reaching the point of being 20 years old.
Talk about time passing quickly..
I'd love to see a complete game or two of the 1973 World Series between the New York Mets and the Oakland A's.
It probably will never happen.
That '73 series is so shrouded to me as a Mets fan because practically no extended footage of the series coverage seems to even exist anymore.
I'd love to see a complete game or two of the 1973 World Series between the New York Mets and the Oakland A's.
Unfortunately the reason why there are many gaps in the extant record for that WS is because it occurs at a point when kinescopes were no longer done and is also two to three years before the earliest days of home taping. Thus, you had to hope that the videotape reels which would be several to a game would survive in full and that's unfortunately not the case. This is the breakdown on what exists of that WS (I have all of this incidentally from trades as they were pried out of the vault).
Game 1-The only game of the WS that exists complete and uncut with pregame.
Game 2-The last inning and a half is missing, and that includes the key inning of the Mets scoring four runs to go ahead. I did locate a separate clip reel which has the two Mike Andrews errors in their telecast version, which is missing from the MLB archive version.
Game 3-The last inning is missing with Oakland winning in extra innings.
Game 4-Only the pregame to Top 4th exists.
Game 5-Only the last two innings exist.
Game 6-Nothing exists. Not even a fragment.
Game 7-It's complete up to one out in the Top 9th and then cuts off. I found the last out on the same clip reels with the two Andrews plays from Game 2.
