National League Standings, April 29, 1962
METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE APRIL 29, 1962 GAME:
Walter Pullis
May 3, 2002
Great site. I was at this game 40 years ago. I saw something I have never seen since. Met pitcher Al Jackson picked off a runner at second base. The second base umpire didn't make the call even though he was only a few feet away. He must have fell asleep! The first base umpire made the correct call.
Joseph Dubin
May 8, 2002
My dad took me to the doubleheader when I was 11 years old. We lived on Sedgwick Avenue so dad parked the car along Kingsbride Road and we took the D train to the Polo Grounds. We sat in the upper deck grandstand behind home plate and I remember Al Jackson pitching that 8-0 shutout. We moved to the first base side for game two and while the Mets took an early lead I remember them being bombed and we left during the middle of the nightcap. Dad was a softee so I ate plenty of ice cream and popcorn, a lot more than I would have if mom had been with us!
We got back on the train and I remember dad taking me to a toy store near the Kingsbridge Armory before going home. It was already dark and I think he bought me a picture puzzle.
My dad is now 87 years old and I'll turn 51 in June but it's little memories like these that make me smile and cry at the same time.
Bob P
February 1, 2004
In the first game of this doubleheader at the Polo Grounds, Al Jackson pitches a shutout and Frank Thomas is hit by a pitch twice in the fourth inning as the Mets score seven times.
Phils starter Art Mahaffey hit Frank the first time up in the inning. The second pitcher to hit him was Frank Sullivan, probably best known for giving up a twelfth inning game-winning HR to Stan Musial in the 1955 All-Star Game.
Larry M
April 20, 2004
I was in fifth grade, less than a month away from my 11th birthday, when my Dad took me to my first Mets game at the Polo Grounds. It was a double header against Philadelphia. We saw the entire opener, which the Mets won 8-0 over the Phillies behind the pitching of little Al Jackson, and left midway through the nightcap. We sat out in right field, near the foul pole, and I remember one of the fans leading the rest of us in what was a brand new chant for me, "Let's Go Mets."
About three weeks ago, my 24 year old son, Josh, and I went down to Port St. Lucie to see a couple of spring training games. Gary Carter was there, along with Tim Teufel, Lenny Dykstra, Howard Johnson and Mookie Wilson, but the biggest thrill for me was seeing Al Jackson, nearly 42 years after that game at the Polo Grounds, still wearing a Mets uniform.
Ed K
November 23, 2005
This was actually the first game of the first Met doubleheader in history. Jackson pitched the first Met shutout in history and it was his first win as a Met.
Ed K
January 15, 2006
Also, as mentioned above, Frank Thomas got hit by a pitch twice in an inning which was only the second time in MLB history that had happened.
RICK FISHER
April 8, 2014
I was 11 years old and living near Monticello, NY (100 mi from NYC.) Four of my friends and I were allowed by our parents to take a bus to Port Authority in New York and then get a bus to the Polo Grounds. (Imagine five 11-year-olds being allowed unescorted on a bus to NYC TODAY!) We were able to see the first shoutout in Mets history by Li'l Al Jackson. What a thrill. Couldn't see the whole second game of DH because we had to catch the bus back to Monticello. Just an aside...last year I found the program for that game on eBay and of course HAD to win it. Getting it was almost as thrilling as the game. Then last month I went to Mets exhibition game in Florida and got "Li'l" Al to sign a baseball for me after telling him the story. (He is a special coach and was told he still can throw great at 78 years old.) The circle of life is complete!
Flitgun Frankie
June 18, 2020
Jean Shepherd, the famous WOR radio raconteur, attended this double-header and did a very extended and humorous take on his observations of the proceedings on his program the next day. The recording of this program survives and is great listening for Mets fans and anyone interested in very early Mets history and the atmosphere of a Mets game at the Polo Grounds in the first weeks of the team's existence. He has some great vignettes of the incompetence of two very bad ball clubs fighting it out, and of Roadblock Jones and some very funny comments about Don Zimmer. I don't know if you can post direct links here, but if you type "jean shepherd a day at the Mets april 30 1962" into google, a link will come up. I highly recommend it.
Now it's your turn! Tell us what you remember of this game:
Please note:
We're looking for your comments about this specific
game. We've had people use this space to share their thoughts on how the
current season is going, or on ways that the Mets can improve the team.
Such comments, unless in the context of
this particular game,
will be considered off-topic and will be removed.
Example One
The Mets suck! They need to trade Smith and get somebody like
Jones.
This comment is off-topic and will be removed. It has nothing to do with
any specific game. But here's an acceptable alternative:
Example Two
The Mets suck! Smith made three errors in this game, and hit into a
double play, and the Mets blew a 5-0 lead. They need to get rid of Smith
and get somebody like Jones.
See the difference? Here you're getting the same point across, but it's in
the proper context. We wouldn't consider this message to be off-topic, and
we would let it remain.
We do appreciate anybody who takes the time to share their thoughts on our
site, and we hate to remove anybody's postings. But if we didn't take
steps to ensure that only on-topic messages were retained, The Ultimate
Mets Database would become a confusing jumble of unrelated comments,
and would thus be less enjoyable to visitors like you.
Thank you!
