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Shea Stadium (NY) (Images of Baseball) | 
 enlarge | Author: Jason D. Antos
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $13.59
You Save: $6.40 (32%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 97589
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.3 x 0.5
ISBN: 0738554561
Dewey Decimal Number: 974
EAN: 9780738554563
ASIN: 0738554561
Publication Date: September 19, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Rising among the factories and body shops off Roosevelt Avenue in Queens, Shea Stadium became the home of the New York Mets in 1964. Named after William A. Shea, the New York attorney responsible for bringing baseball back to the Big Apple after the departure of the Giants and the Dodgers, Shea Stadium has been the setting for many of the games greatest moments. Able to be converted from a baseball diamond into a football fi eld, the ballpark was home to the New York Jets from 1964 until 1983. From its opening in 1964 for the worlds fair to the unforgettable Beatles concert to the 1969 Miracle Mets, this book covers the history of Shea Stadium through its inception and up to the creation of the new modern-day Citi Field, which the
Mets will call home in 2009.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great pictures...major problems with text June 21, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I thumbed through this book in a bookstore, riveted by the pictures. As a long-time Met fan, I have nearly every yearbook and many other books about the Mets. Yet, I saw many pictures of Shea I had never seen before, from its construction and earlier. I decided to buy the book, as it would become a great resource years from now when Shea is gone. By page 20 out of 126 though, I realized how poorly written and edited it is. An early picture of Gil Hodges calls him "Miracle Worker" but fails to directly credit him with managing the Mets to an improbable 1969 Series win...it oddly calls Ebbets Field "the most fabled ballpark in history"...its description of William Shea's effort to bring an NL team back to NYC is disjointed and hard to follow...and it sloppily refers to Marv Throneberry as "Thorneberry" four times. It also fails to mention that on its opening day in 1964, workers were still painting and many people left the game with paint on their clothes. Later on, it erroneously credits Tom Seaver with the 1967 Cy Young Award, mistakenly puts Dave Kingman on the 1973 Mets and says Davey Johnson became manager in 1985 (really 1984). It states that Doc Gooden was traded to the Mets in 1984 (he actually came through the Mets farm system) and Mike Piazza was traded from LA (actually Florida). It calls Mike's unforgettable 9/21/01 HR off the Braves a walk-off, when in fact it was in the eighth inning. If you can live with tons of embarrassing mistakes, omissions and questionable statements, the pictures alone still make the book worth considering.
 INFORMATIVE YET...FASCINATING! June 2, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful reference and remembrance for those of us who have grown up with the magic of Shea Stadium in Queens. For those of you who did not, this tome will serve as an introduction and full course of study on the history of the Stadium, its colorful intricacies, the incredible richness of its surroundings and the memorable characters who pre-dated it and those who were its contemporaries.
After having spoken to its author Mr. Jason Antos at one of his book signings, I realized why this anthem to Shea is as enlightening and readable as it is!! Simply put, Jason, armed with a life-long fascination with his Queens borough embarked on a quest to create the first (which it is!) all-encompassing tale of the Stadium which has many of its own tales to reveal to the curious.
Enriched with hundreds of photographs, many from the author's private collection, and his personal reflections and recollections, this book serves as a fitting and comprehensive memorial to a Stadium which shall cease to exist in a very short time. Mr Antos, I salute you for this masterful oeuvre and invite you to begin work on some volumes dedicated to my home borough of the Bronx!!
Antos Hits One Out of the Ballpark May 14, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
With all that's written on the "House that Ruth Built" Jason Antos presents perhaps the first but nonetheless a timely chronicle on the rise of Shea Stadium. A Queens resident, Antos combines local history and passion for Mets baseball for a nostalgic account of Flushing's first ballpark. He naturally segues into the evolution of the franchise itself, from "lovable losers" (the term he coined) to World Champions. What's in store is a real treat for history buffs and baseball fans alike.
Queens is still a place where the concept of local pride matters a great deal to its inhabitants. Despite how Shea was designed with suburbanites in mind, that it's aloof from its immediate surroundings (due in large part to its expansive parking fields and that highways run adjacent to it) local residents still embrace it as their field of dreams. Its magic lies its ability to forge the spirit of the entire borough. By doing so it bears the hallmark of New York City's great open air sports venues much like the Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium, and even Ebbets Field before it. This is one of the many fine impressions that Antos' book leaves you.
What's more, the author ties in the mission of the 1964 World's Fair with the expectations placed on the fledgling ball club. Having opened its gates the same year Shea's period architecture served as a metaphor. While its completion meant closure for beleaguered national league fans mourning the departure of both the Dodgers and Giants, Shea's aesthetics, particularly the unobstructed view of the playing field fans were now afforded to, couldn't help but rekindle their dreams of a World Series. All they had to do was believe. And they did.
Filled with eye-catching photographs, Antos' finished work is an informative and delightful piece of Queens history. Its all the more compelling since Shea's corporate-sponsored successor, Citi Field--designed to resemble Ebbets Field, ironically enough--is poised to take its place as the Mets' new home within a year. And Shea, and all that it represented, will be but a memory.
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