Ultimate Mets Database - Memories of Rob Gardner

THE ULTIMATE METS DATABASE IS NOT AFFILIATED IN ANY WAY WITH THE NEW YORK METS OR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.

- All-Time Roster Every Met player... EVER!
- Mug Shots The pretty ones and the ugly ones -- we have them all!
- Player Awards Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Hall of Fame, and more.
- Transactions Over a thousand player transactions -- in chronological order!
- Managers & Coaches The men who have led the Mets, and the men who helped them.
- Mets Staff Executives, General Managers, Broadcasters, and more. (And Jane Jarvis too!)
- Birth Places Perfect for planning your Mets pilgrimages!
- Oldest Living Mets See which Mets players have spent the most time walking the Earth.
- Necrology Mets players and personnel who are no longer with us.

- Game Results
  All the wins, all the losses. Includes box scores and score cards!
- Opening Day
  The first day of each season! See the starting lineups, who started at each position year-by-year, and leaders by position.
- Walkoff Wins & Losses
  Interactively search for the happiest and saddest endings to Mets games.
- Postseason Games How the Mets have fared in the games that count the most!
- No-Hitters & One-Hitters See a list of every no-hitter and one-hitter pitched by the Mets, or against them. One of these categories was frustratingly empty for over fifty years, but not anymore!
- All-Star Games Mets who have appeared in baseball's Mid-Summer Classic
- Opponents & Ballparks See the Mets won-lost record against every team, and in every ballpark in which they've played!
- Daily Standings What was the Mets' pennant outlook on any given day in past seasons?
- Yearly Finishes The heights and the depths: the Mets won-lost record at the end of each season.
- Mayor's Trophy Games A look back at the long-ago annual series between the Mets and their Bronx rivals.

- Leaderboards Career, season, and individual game leaders at your fingertips!
- Team Leaders Players who led the Mets in various categories, from season to season.
- Decade Leaders Mets history broken down into ten-year chunks!
- Post-Season Leaders Mets leaders, by category, in post-season games

- Ultimate Mets Scrapbook The history of the Mets, as it was reported when it happened!
- Forum Visit the Crane Pool Forum to discuss the Mets and just about anything else!
- Fan Memories Insightful. Poignant. Thrilling. Somber. Nutty. Our visitors have submitted thousands of thoughts and memories of the Mets and the games they've played.
- Mets Uniforms It's more than just laundry! Trace the evolution of the Mets official uniform over the years.
- Uniform Numbers In association with Mets By the Numbers, we present a full history of who wore what number, and when!/li>
- Baseball Cards Our collection of home-made baseball cards, in the style of the classic Topps cards of the 1970's.
- This Date in Mets History Births, Deaths, Transactions, Newspaper Covers

- Contact Us
- FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

Mets
Statistics

Situational
Statistics

Rob Gardner
vs. the Mets

Rob Gardner
vs. Other Teams

Memories of
Rob Gardner

Rob Gardner
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 393 of 1252 players

Richard Frank Gardner
Born: December 19, 1944 at Binghamton, N.Y.
Died: October 21, 2023 at Binghamton, N.Y.
Throws: Left Bats: Right
Height: 6.01 Weight: 180

Rob Gardner was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on December 4, 2011, September 28, 2021, and October 26, 2023.

First Mets game: September 1, 1965
Last Mets game: October 2, 1966

Share your memories of Rob Gardner

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Pauly Steelman
December 15, 2001
Rob Gardner was one of the very best special friends I ever had. He was always willing to come help out at our home with our disadvantaged children. Truly a great and remarkable man, he was the first of the Mets to help us out and started a tradition which we will forever be grateful.

Feats Fan
April 24, 2002
Think it was the very last game of the '65 season, another dismal 100+ loss year. The prospects were Dick Selma, Rob Gardner, Gregg Goosen and Cleon Jones. Gardner pitched the nightcap of a twin bill vs Philly on a chilly Sunday. Bunning shut out the Amazin's in game one, Chris Short and Gardner threw in the cap. If memory serves me well, 18 innings later and a 0-0 tie when the game was called. Gardner went 10 or so and Short fanned 18 in 15 innings of work. Something like 27 fruitless innings on the same day!
Gardner had a decent '72 across the river going 9-5 but never quited lived up to his billed potential. Seemed like a good guy and had a classy southpaw delivery.

Buzz
August 27, 2005
In what has to be one of the greatest games pitched in Mets history Gardner pitches 15 shutout innings on October 2, 1965 giving up only 5 hits, striking out 7 and walking only 2 in an 18 inning game against the Phillies that ends in a 0 - 0 tie. The game was the nightcap of what was probably a twi-night doubleheader (remember those?) played on the second to last day of the year then the Mets promptly lost a doubleheader to the Phils the next day. For some reason the 0 - 0 game was not continued the next day though--it was just "called" due to curfew. I did some checking and over that weekend the Mets scored a whopping 2 runs in 49 innings against Phillies pitching. It should also be noted that at the time of Gardner's "no-decision gem" he was only 20 years old having just been called up a month earlier on September first. After probably not living up to his potential after this magnificent performance Gardner would up having a credible journeyman's career.

David Brownstein
December 1, 2005
I was almost 9 years old in 1965 when I saw one of the greatest pitching performances in Met history by Rob Gardner. It was the nightcap of a twinight double dipper against the Phils when Gardner hooked up with Chris Short in what became one of the first of many extra-long, extra-inning games in Met history as it went 18 innings and ended due to a curfew at 0-0. Gardner went 15 innings, still a Met record for a starting pitcher. What's best of all is that I waited patiently with my Dad where the players came out of the clubhouse and got Rob Gardner to sign my scorecard. I'll bet I'm the only Met fan who's got that on the scorecard!

Tom Ryan
February 21, 2011
Rob and I are the same age. I attended St Pat's academy just down the street from Binghamton Central where Rob graduated from.
I remember playing "whiffleball" against Rob's ridiculously trick pitches behind the grammar school off of Helen St.
I played basketball (6th - man- no talent) on a St Pat's CYO team. Rob could have played any sport that existed in Binghamton, with superb talent (including hockey if it had arrived in time).
I "hit" against Rob's mid to high '80's moving fastball, and a curiosity that I later learned was known as a "curve ball," which I'm told defied the laws of physics. I was good field-no hit at Marquette where I ended up going. With Rob it was "good field-no chance!!"
I was in grad school in '72 at GWU in DC when Rob had a 9-5, 3.20 season with the hapless Yanks. I have no idea how much he made, but in today's game, he would have done extremely well as a lefty. In the '70's, a sore arm (which plagued Rob) would have been better diagnosed and treated by a doc like Dr James Andrews, and I have no doubt that he would have retired with a ton of money in the bank.
If Rob ever reads this----I'm not just a dumb ass fan from Binghamton. He remembers catcher Lou Howell: Lou told me and my Uncle Bud Sheehan (who Rob knows) that his curve ball was the best he's ever seen. (Can we all say Cliff Lee?!)
Best to Rob and his family. A fan, Tom Ryan.

Bruce Maddy-Weitzman
April 28, 2014
Rob Gardner's 1970 season in Triple A Syracuse (Yankees, sorry) was just out of this world - 16-5 in the regular season, and four playoff wins - giving the Chiefs the International League Championship, Governor's Cup and Little World Series Championship. He had great control, and a great mix of pitches, very Glavine-like, also with the same calm demeanor. I always thought that he could have had a longer big league career. (I did see him beat Nolan Ryan on Old Timer's Day in 1972). I'm glad to read about his assistance to disabled children, but certainly not surprised. He always seemed like a very nice, and modest man.