Skip to content
— CH. 1 · ORIGINS AND CONSTRUCTION —

Shea Stadium

~3 min read · Ch. 1 of 5
5 sections
  • William A. Shea Municipal Stadium opened on the 17th of April 1964, after twenty-nine months of construction and $28.5 million in spending. The stadium was built to replace the Polo Grounds for the New York Mets following the departure of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants to California in 1957. Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. personally wired all National League owners to assure them that the city would build a new facility. This political maneuvering was necessary because state law at the time did not allow cities to borrow money for stadiums without proving they could pay for themselves. Moses and Shea proposed that the team pay substantial rent to cover thirty-year bonds. Rent for what was originally budgeted as a nine-million-dollar facility was set at four hundred fifty thousand dollars annually. This financial arrangement would later become an albatross around the team for years. The stadium was barely finished in time for its home opener due to severe winter weather and labor issues. Telephone and telegraph wiring remained unfinished until opening day because of a jurisdictional dispute between two electrical unions. The venue opened five days before the 1964, 65 New York World's Fair across Roosevelt Avenue.

  • Shea Stadium hosted the only All-Star Game held in Queens during its first year, with Johnny Callison hitting a walk-off home run in the ninth inning. Tommie Agee became the only player to hit a fair ball into the upper deck in left field on the 10th of April 1969. Dave Kingman once smashed a home run off the windshield of the Giants' team bus parked behind the left field bullpen. The Mets won their first World Series title there in 1969 after defying one-hundred-to-one odds. Fans stormed the field in celebration after winning the decisive Game 5 of that series. The stadium hosted postseason baseball in 1969, 1973, 1986, 1988, 1999, 2000, and 2006. It hosted four World Series games including victories for the Mets in 1969 and 1986. The last game played at Shea was a four-two loss to the Florida Marlins on the 28th of September 2008. Tom Seaver threw a final pitch to Mike Piazza before the Beatles song In My Life played over the speakers.

  • The New York Jets played at Shea Stadium for twenty seasons from 1964 through 1983. They were burdened by lease terms that prevented them from playing home games until the Mets season ended. In 1969, the defending Super Bowl champion Jets opened with five consecutive road games due to the Mets advancing to the World Series. O.J. Simpson became the first running back to gain two thousand yards in a single season at Shea on the 16th of December 1973. Eric Dickerson ran an eighty-five-yard touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams during the 1983 season. A brawl broke out between Jackie Slater and Mark Gastineau after Slater blindsided Gastineau following the Sack Dance. The stadium hosted three playoff games for the Jets including the AFL Championship in 1968. The football field extended from around home plate to centerfield with baseline seating rotating to fill left and right fields. The Jets moved to Giants Stadium for the 1984 season enticed by fifteen-thousand additional seats there.

  • The Beatles opened their 1965 North American tour at Shea Stadium to a record audience of fifty-five thousand six hundred people. Crowd noise was so deafening that none of the band members could hear what they were playing. Security guards covered their ears as the group entered the field. The concert set records for attendance and revenue generation demonstrating that large-scale outdoor concerts could be profitable. Billy Joel closed the stadium's history with a two-night engagement called The Last Play at Shea on July 16 and 18, 2008. Paul McCartney joined Joel on stage to perform Let It Be during the second show. Pete Flynn drove the Beatles from the stage to a centerfield gate in 1965 then later drove Paul McCartney from the rear entrance to the stage in 2008. The Rolling Stones performed a six-night run in October 1989 while Bruce Springsteen ended his Rising Tour with three concerts in early October 2003. Grand Funk Railroad broke the Beatles' ticket sales record in 1971.

Common questions

When did Shea Stadium open and how much did it cost to build?

William A. Shea Municipal Stadium opened on the 17th of April 1964 after twenty-nine months of construction and $28.5 million in spending.

Who was the mayor that helped secure funding for Shea Stadium?

Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. personally wired all National League owners to assure them that the city would build a new facility.

What year did Shea Stadium host its first World Series victory for the New York Mets?

The stadium hosted postseason baseball in 1969 when the Mets won their first World Series title there after defying one-hundred-to-one odds.

Which football team played at Shea Stadium from 1964 through 1983?

The New York Jets played at Shea Stadium for twenty seasons from 1964 through 1983 before moving to Giants Stadium for the 1984 season.

How many people attended The Beatles concert at Shea Stadium in 1965?

The Beatles opened their 1965 North American tour at Shea Stadium to a record audience of fifty-five thousand six hundred people.

All sources

93 references cited across the entry

  1. 1webShea StadiumBallparks.com
  2. 3webCiti Field Side-by-Side ComparisonMajor League Baseball Advanced Media
  3. 7webNew York Mets team ownership historyLeslie Heaphy — Society for American Baseball Research — 2017
  4. 8citationMets Lease New ParkOctober 7, 1961
  5. 10newsGround breaking for new stadiumOctober 31, 1961
  6. 12newsHome of the MetsApril 17, 1964
  7. 13newsPirates spoil Met openerApril 18, 1964
  8. 14newsBob Friend continues mastery over MetsLester J. Biederman — April 18, 1964
  9. 18newsYou Can't Just Blow Up HistoryRichard Sandomir — March 30, 2008
  10. 20newsDemolition Takes Shea Stadium Piece by PieceRichard Sandomir — October 23, 2008
  11. 23newsShea Stadium's Demolition Is CompleteJim Baumbach — February 18, 2009
  12. 24newsShea Stadium Demolition EndsBridget J. Wentworth — February 18, 2009
  13. 25newsSigns of Glory Rise at Citi Field, From 1969, 1986 and 2000Ken Belson et al. — August 15, 2009
  14. 29webPark proposed for site where Cohen has pitched casinoRyan Schwach — Queens Public Media — February 6, 2024
  15. 30webJessica Ramos nearing decision on Steve Cohen’s Queens casinoEthan Geringer-Sameth — February 8, 2024
  16. 31newsBunning Pitches a Perfect Game; Mets Are Perfect Victims, 6 to 0Gordon S. Jr. White — June 22, 1964
  17. 33newsRecalling a Meeting With the Pied Piper of SheaGlenn Collins — February 1, 2010
  18. 34newsZeile Exits on High Note, Spoiling Expos' FarewellDave Caldwell — October 4, 2004
  19. 36newsBitter Repeat on Stadium's Final DayBen Shpigel — September 28, 2008
  20. 37newsImmersed in Gloom, a Farewell to Shea Still EnchantsJoshua Robinson — September 28, 2008
  21. 38newsWhen Mets, Yankees Called Shea Stadium HomeDavid Russell — August 20, 2014
  22. 40webThe New York Yankees Greatest HitsAlbert Lin — 1999
  23. 41newsOne Stadium, Four Teams, No ProblemN. R. Kleinfield — April 16, 1998
  24. 42newsStrawberry Gets The Apple to RiseMurray Chass — April 16, 1998
  25. 43newsMets Take An Opener For the AgesGeorge Vecsey — April 1, 1998
  26. 44newsFor Openers, Zilch Phils Fall in 14th Without a RunJim Salisbury — April 1, 1998
  27. 45newsA Midsummer Classic in March as Mets Nip PhilliesJason Diamos — April 1, 1998
  28. 46webGreat Moments at Shea StadiumMarty Noble — Major League Baseball Advanced Media — September 22, 2008
  29. 47newsMets Finish Two-Month Loss to CubsParton Keese — September 17, 1977
  30. 48webRemembering Shea stadiumRobert Cassidy — August 9, 2008
  31. 49newsUnruly Fans Mar Shea Farewell As Jets Lose, 34–7Gerald Eskenazi — December 11, 1983
  32. 51newsSimpson Breaks Mark as Bills Rout JetsMurray Chass — December 17, 1973
  33. 52newsPortuguesa Upsets West Ham In Soccer at Shea Stadium, 6–3William J. Briordy — June 18, 1965
  34. 53webCosmos Homes Away From HomeDavid Kilpatrick — April 28, 2015
  35. 54newsSoccer Team to Call Shea Stadium HomeAlex Yannis — February 21, 1980
  36. 56newsCosmos Win, 2–0, At SheaAugust 18, 1976
  37. 57bookThe Beatles Off The RecordKeith Badman — Omnibus — 2000
  38. 58magazineWhy Beatles' Shea Show Was Even Greater Than You KnewColin Fleming — August 14, 2015
  39. 60news'Last Play at Shea' Documentary Tells Stadium's StoryGlenn Gamboa — April 20, 2010
  40. 62newsAt Shea, A Moving GoodbyeAnna Quindlen — October 4, 1979
  41. 64webCape League All-Star Gamecapecodbaseball.org
  42. 66newsThe 10 rock comediesMark Kermode — February 1, 2004
  43. 68newsSpider-Man to Wed ModelMichael Gross — June 2, 1987
  44. 69webHistory of Shea StadiumMajor League Baseball Advanced Media
  45. 71webOne Last Trip HomeJ. R. Moehringer — ESPN — September 29, 2008
  46. 73webThe Ballparks: Shea StadiumJuly 28, 2020
  47. 74bookStoried StadiumsCurt Smith — Carroll & Graf — 2001
  48. 75newsDome Is Proposed for Shea StadiumCharles G. Bennett — March 18, 1965
  49. 77webBe It Ever So Humble, There's No Place Like SheaPaul Lukas — ESPN — September 26, 2008
  50. 78newsFor Mets Fans, a Menu Beyond Peanuts and Cracker JackGlenn Collins — March 24, 2009
  51. 79newsMets' Home Run Apple Loved to CoreAnthony McCarron — April 21, 2008
  52. 80newsHome Run Apple A Core Value for Mets FansLaura Albanese — March 26, 2010
  53. 81newsShea Stadium Opens With Big Traffic JamLeonard Koppett — April 18, 1964
  54. 82newsSports of the Times; An Empty Patch in Right FieldIra Berkow — November 13, 1990
  55. 85bookThe Scouting Notebook 2005Thom Henninger et al. — Sporting News — January 10, 2005
  56. 86bookThe ESPN Baseball EncyclopediaPete Palmer et al. — Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. — 2006
  57. 87webBig, Bigger, Biggest of the Big LeaguesMark Newman — Major League Baseball Advanced Media — March 30, 2006
  58. 88newsJets Get City Offer On SheaMaurice Carroll — April 21, 1983
  59. 89webJones Has 17 Home Runs at Shea StadiumESPN — August 31, 2004
  60. 93webKevin James named his daughter Shea, as in stadiumNeil Best — January 9, 2009