July 14, 1962: At the Polo Grounds, the New York Mets host their first Old-Timers' Day. The Mets are a 1st-year expansion team, having played a grand total of 84 games. There are, as yet, no "Mets Old-Timers," unless you count the already-departed Bobby Smith, Joe Ginsberg, Clem Labine, Herb Moford, Jim Marshall, Don Zimmer, Hobie Landrith and Harry Chiti, all of whom were still active and unavailable.
The old-timers' game featured former New York Giants (the team now in San Francisco) against former Brooklyn Dodgers (the team now in Los Angeles). The Giants included Bobby Thomson, the man who hit the home run that gave the Giants the 1951 National League Pennant. The Dodgers included Jackie Robinson, the 1st black player in modern baseball; Roy Campanella, appearing in a wheelchair, 4 years after his career-ending, paralyzing car accident; and Ralph Branca, who gave that Thomson home run up.
Duke Snider, still active with the Dodgers, was introduced. Gil Hodges, still active with the Mets, wore a Dodger uniform for the ceremony, before switching into a Met uniform for the regular game. However, neither played in that game.
Branca, who was 36 and arguably should have still been playing, and Thomson, 41, faced each other again. This time, Branca got Thomson out on a fly ball to center field. Alas, it didn't count for anything, and it didn't help Branca's reputation.
In the current-players game, the visiting Dodgers smashed the Mets, 17-3. Dem Erstwhile Bums scored 8 runs in the 2nd inning, and 6 in the 6th. Willie Davis and Maury Wills, neither of them known as sluggers, hit home runs. Even the Dodger pitcher, Stan Williams, hit a home run. Of course, the game was at the Polo Grounds, with its 483-foot center field fence, but its left field pole only 279 feet away, and its right field pole just 257. Richie Ashburn hit one out for the Mets.
The attendance was 37,253 -- which meant that, in spite of the legends we hear about the early, horrible Mets outdrawing the Pennant-winning Yankees, there were over 18,000 empty seats at the Polo Grounds.
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July 14, 1962 was a Saturday. These other games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels, 9-8 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where the Angels were groundsharing until their Anaheim stadium could open. The Yankees blew a 7-3 lead going into the bottom of the 8th. Tom Tresh hit a 2-run home run in the top of the 10th inning. Ed Sadowski hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 10th, but the Halos could get no closer. Marshall Bridges was the winning pitcher, in relief of Bill Stafford.
Elston Howard also hit a home run. Mickey Mantle went 1-for-4 with a walk, Roger Maris went 2-for-4 with 2 walks, and Yogi Berra did not play.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-5 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Bobby Wine singled Jacke Davis home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Juan Marichal started the game for the Giants, but didn't get out of the 4th inning; while Dallas Green started for the Phils, and pitched into the 7th. Despite blowing a save, Jack Baldschun was the winning pitcher, and Stu Miller the losing pitcher. Willie Mays went 1-for-3 with 2 walks.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Cleveland Indians, 4-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Jim Gentile led off the bottom of the 14th inning with a home run off Gary Bell. I guess Bell, later to be current Yankee rookie Jim Bouton's roommate on the 1969 Seattle Pilots in the season of Ball Four, didn't take his own advice to throw him inside fastballs, or "smoke him inside." Brooks Robinson went 2-for-5.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Colt .45's, 4-2 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-3 with an RBI. The Colts became the Houston Astros in 1965.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Ernie Banks went 0-for-3, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Frank Robinson went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Braves, 2-0 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Ernie Broglio pitched a 6-hit shutout. Stan Musial went 2-for-3 with a walk. Hank Aaron went 0-for-4.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 4-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Al Kaline did not play.
* The "new" Washington Senators beat the "old" Washington Senators, now known as the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew drove in all the Twins' runs with a 1st-inning home run off Bennie Daniels, but Jim Kaat couldn't hold the lead.
* And the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Athletics, 4-2 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4.
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