Regular readers of this column may know that I am a fan of the New York Mets. I watched their first game back in 1963 in living black and white on WOR via my hometown’s brand new cable system. The Mets lost to the St Louis Cardinals beginning a losing streak that extend to 9 loses before Jay Hook threw a five hitter on April 23 to beat the Pirates 9 – 1. They would go on to win 39 more games that season while setting a record for the most losses by a team in the 20th Century.

This season, despite high expectations, the Mets have managed an eleven game losing streak. Being a Mets fan is like being a Dodger fan back in the early years of the last century when the fan’s late September lament was always “Wait till next year.” The Mets history is one filled with long periods of ineptitude sandwiched between years of bright hope that sometimes became reality or went down in flames punctuated by events like the “Midnight Massacre” of June 15, 1977, when Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver (AKA “The Franchise”) was traded to the Cincinnati Reds.

However the Mets have led the league and all of baseball in one area, mascots. Here is the story of how that happened that I found in an obscure place on the Mets website. True or not, It goes like this:

“On a spring morning of 1963, with the dew still dampening Coogan’s Bluff, Casey Stengel, the old skipper of the young Mets, saw a figure in the distance. Deep in the Polo Grounds center field stood a fan like no other — a fan clearly born to root for the New York Mets. During the 1963 season, the mysterious fan only appeared in cartoon form on the team’s yearbook, tickets, and programs, but Casey so took to the big guy, he invited him to join the Amazin’s the next year at their new park, Shea Stadium. In 1964, Mr. Met was home, becoming the first mascot to appear in-person in Major League Baseball.”

Here is some “Old MLB baseball stadium trivia”‘ Coogan’s Bluff was the name of the hill that the Polo Grounds were nestled against and named for the family who owned the land the stadium was built on. If you entered the stadium behind home plate you walked down to your seats even if they were in the upper deck. The day Casey first spotted Mr. Met he must have been wearing his glasses because center field at the Polo Grounds, where Willie Mays made his famous over the shoulder catch of Vic Wert’s hit in game I of the 1954 World Series, was 483 feet from home plate.

That first season at Shea Mr. Met was portrayed by Dan Reilly, a ticket office employee. He later wrote of his experiences in the book “The Original Mr. Met Remembers.” In the 90’s AJ Mass took over the role from 1994 to 1997. He recounted his experiences as Mr. Met and describes the grueling physical demands of the job and the strict rules of mascot “omertà” (silence), in his book “Yes, It’s Hot in Here.”

Some of Mr. Mets portrayers remain anonymous with good reason. For instance one Mr. Met after a Mets loss in May of 2017 was heading for the clubhouse when he became in

involved in a heated argument with an opposing fan. Unfortunately he was caught on video making an obscene gesture at the fan. The Mets quickly switched performers the next day.

Here are some vital statistics on Mr. Met helpfully supplied by the Mets. His Major League debut was on April 17, 1964. His hometown is Flushing, N.Y. In full regalia he stands 6 feet 10 inches tall and his weight, noting the size of his baseball head, is Top Heavy. The story goes that his silence came about because he lost his voice early in his career when root, root, rooting for the home team. The Mets assure us that he can gesture in 12 languages.

Mr. Met has always been a family man, and he was provided with a mate in the mid 1960’s first called “Lady Met.” However to allay fears she might be English and a cricket fan this was later changed to Mrs. Met. She became his companion and help mate on and off the diamond.

Mrs. Met’s Major League debut was on April 8, 1975. Like her husband she claims Flushing as her hometown. Her favorite song is “Meet the METS”, and her favorite movie is “A League of Their Own.” Her favorite sports hero is the late Joan Whitney Payson, the original owner of the Mets and the first woman to buy a baseball franchise with her own money.

During the late 1970s the Mets, in a move that echoed the infamous “Midnight massacre,” discontinued featuring Mr. and Mrs. Met. While a story was published in the New York Daily News that Mr. and Mrs. Met had quit in reaction to Tom Seaver’s trade, the sad truth was that it was just the loping off of two large baseball shaped heads to save money.

Mr. and Mrs. Met were replaced by the dumbest mascot ever created by a major sports team, a mule named “Mettle the mule” who paraded around the bases prior to games, hopefully followed by a groundskeeper armed with a shovel.

In 1993 a longtime fan named Lois Kaufmann wrote a moving appeal to resurrect and reinstate Mr. MET and Mrs. MET. In 1994 the Mets listened and Mr. and Mrs. Met were reinstated. Now 32 years later they remain beloved members of the Mets family.

Thomas Kirkpatrick is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com