Remembering Mets History (1964) Shea Stadium Christened With Water From Harlem River & Gowanus Canal

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 April 16th 1964: Bill Shea, the man whom Shea Stadium was named, was instrumental in bringing back National League baseball to New York City. When MLB originally denied New York a new NL team, the prominent New York lawyer proposed the start up of a third league, in a newly formed Continental League, which would rival the major leagues.

On the even of the opening of Shea Stadium, Shea christened the ballpark. Using water from the Harlem River, near the Polo Grounds, the former home of the New York Giants & the Mets in their first two seasons, as well as water from the Gowanus canal, which flows near the former Ebbetts Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Shea poured water from two separate bottles onto the field of the new grand ballpark, which was a spectacular new venue in the early sixties. With the elaborate Worlds Fair going on thru the summer near the new ballpark, Flushing Meadows Queens was the place to be.

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