Ed Glynn: Former Shea Stadium Hot Dog Vendor & Mets Pitcher (1979-1980)

Edward Paul Glynn was born June 3rd in Flushing, Queens New York. He is one of few Mets players to actually be born in Flushing. 

At the time, the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn, the Giants were still at the Polo Grounds, both playing in the National League. The Mets would not come into existence until he was ten years old & Shea Stadum opened while he was just 12.

Glenn attended Francis Lewis High School, in Fresh Meadows Queens. He would get himself a job at Shea Stadium for nights & weekends.

Shea Stadium- Hot Dog Vendor: In the late sixties & start of the seventies, Glynn was a hot dog vendor at Shea. He got to see the Amazing Mets & watch greats like Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan & Jerry Koosman pitch. 

The hometown Mets did not sign the blonde, six-foot two left hander, but the Detroit Tigers did right out of high school at age 18.

Glynn would go from selling hot dogs to the Shea pitcher's mound just a decade later, not bad for the kid from Queens. 

Trivia: The Mets honored Glynn when he became a Mets pitcher, awarding him with a hot dog vendor box with his name & number painted on it. He also became known as the Flushing Flash.

Minor Leagues: He pitched through A ball in 1972 moving up to A ball Clinton in 1973 as the hometown Mets were winning the NL Pennant. 

He jumped through AA in 1974 going 9-8 with 135 strike outs in 163 innings. By 1975 he was at AAA Evansville winning eleven games (11-7) with a 2.96 ERA. It earned him a September call up.

MLB Career: Glynn made his MLB debut, on September 19th 1975 at Tiger Stadium, allowing two runs in 2.2 innings to that years AL pennant winning Boston Red Sox. He took the loss and went 0-2 that month in three appearances.

In the next two years, he got September call ups each time. In 1978 he made it to the big-league team by July & was now a full time reliever.

He would pitch in only 26 games (eight starts) for Detroit from 1975-1978 going 3-6 with a 4.93 ERA. In 1979, Glynn was traded to the New York Mets during Spring Training, in exchange for right-handed pitcher Mardie Cornejo, who had gone 4-2 with three saves and a 2.45 ERA for the 1978 Mets.

Mets Career: Glynn began the season at AAA Tidewater going 0-1 in 17 appearances. He was brought up at the start of June, and was thrilled to be pitching in the neighborhood he grew up in at the major league level.

Ed Glynn debuted as a Met on June 1st, 1979, earning a save at Atlanta as the Mets beat the Braves 5-4. Although the next day the Braves beat him, getting a run in the seventh inning for the win. On June 6th he pitched a scoreless 9th in Cincinnati to earn his second save.  

On June 10th, he pitched in Queens as a Met for the first time, with big cheering section of family & friends. Glynn pitched the 7th & 8th innings of a 5-3 loss against the Houston Astros.

He earned four saves with a 1.69 ERA in a dozen appearances during his first month. 

In July he blew a save to the Padres then took a loss to the Dodgers in L.A. He would collect three holds that month, them earn two more saves, at the end of the month. On September 6th he earned his first Mets win, a 5-3 Mets victory in the first game of a double header at Philadelphia against the Phillies. In that game he faced off against former Met, Tug McGraw.

On the season he was third best out of the Mets bullpen with seven saves (behind Skip Lockwood – nine saves & Neil Allen- eight saves). Glynn's 3.00 ERA was second best on the entire staff (in more than 60 innings) as well. Overall he was 1-4 striking out 32 batters while walking 40, pitching 60 innings over 46 games.

1980: He would make three appearances in April, taking a loss at Houston while earning credit for a hold in Philadelphia. On May 4th he got the win, pitching 2.2 scoreless, in a 6-2 Mets victory over the San Diego Padres.

On June 26th he earned a win at Wrigley Field & a week later earned another win on the Fourth of July. That victory came at Shea against the Montreal Expos as Jose Cardenal, Steve Henderson & Lee Mazzilli all drove in late inning runs. Overall it was his last win in New York, he went 3-3 with a save on the year, He posted a 4.13 ERA, striking out 32 batters lowering his walks to 23 in 52 innings of work.

Post Mets career: Just as the 1981 season was to start he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Dominick Bullinger who never suited up in a Mets uniform. Glynn spent three season with the Indians, having his best year in 1982, going 5-2 with four saves, posting a 4.17 ERA in 47 appearances. 

Glynn’s contract was purchased by the Mets once again in 1984. He would spend the Mets glory years of the 1980’s at AAA Tidewater, playing with some of those Mets stars from the Championship team. There he went 7-10 from 1984 through 1987. 

In 1985 he made three appearances for the Montreal Expos.

In 1990 at age 37, he made another return to the Met organization in an attempted comeback, pitching his final game at AAA Tidewater. 

Retirement: Glynn pitched in the short-lived Senior League for the St. Lucie team.

In his ten year career Glynn was 12-17 with 12 save, 184 strike outs 151 walks s and a 4.25 ERA in 265 innings pitched over 175 games played.

Quotes: Ron Darling said on a Mets broadcast that when he played with Ed Glynn in the minor leagues " I thought he was the text book New York, Queens guy".