It was 1969, and I was sitting high up in the right-field seats, in line with the foul pole and home plate. Tom Terrific was pitching that night in the middle of a pennant race with the Chicago Cubs. The date was July 9, and it was the birthday of my yet unmet wife.
As gazed over the huge expanse of outfield grass I noticed
all the Met outfielders in position, set in defensive anticipation of the final
three outs.
The great hall of Famer Tom Seaver was two outs away from
pitching the first no-hitter in New York Mets history when Chicago Cub Jim
Qualls broke up the bid with a single in the 9th inning.
When the first out of recorded, the crowd went into a frenzy
of applauds and cheers and for the first time in my life, I felt afraid for my
life. The stadium shook, literally making me feel that we were in danger of it
coming down. I was to the point that I dreaded the second out coming, and like
the first, once again the Shea faithful roared with their approval, and I
prayed I wasn’t going to be in the newspapers tomorrow over a tragic demise
with 55,000 others!
Seaver recorded a terrific outing: 11 strikeouts, no walks,
1 hit and a 4-0 Mets win at home.
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