Remembering the Great Rusty Staub (1944-2018)
Although it is Opening Day, it is a sad day in Mets history as Rusty Staub has passed away. As a life long Mets fan, obsessed with the 1973 Mets NL Championship team, I know how important Rusty Staub is in Mets history. Not only one of the best players to wear the orange & blue but one of the proudest New Yorkers who did a bunch of things for the City he adopted & loved. For many years he ran a Restaurant in Manhattan on the Upper East Side, displaying his love for food. Rusty with his legendary reddish hair, was known as "Le Grande Orange" from his days in Montreal. He would play with the Mets on two different tours, both during winning era's. The younger Staub was brought over in a major trade in 1972. He was the clubs steady right fielder & although just 29 years old, he brought leadership with a veteran presence, as he already had ten years in the league. Staub would be the face of the offense, the hitting star of a star studded pitching dominate