September 18, 1963: Last Game at Polo Grounds
From The Met Wiki
| Date: September 18, 1963 |
| Mets starter: Craig Anderson |
| Mets: 1 |
| Phillies: 5 |
| Winning pitcher: Chris Short |
| Key player(s): Bobby Wine, Chris Short |
| Key play: Wine's two-run triple |
A sparse crowd of 1,752 showed up to see the Mets take on the Phillies in the last game played at the Polo Grounds. They watched the Mets go down to defeat for the 104th time on the season. Chris Short pitched a complete game, leading the Phils to a 5-1 win.
Mets' starter Craig Anderson started out well with three scoreless innings. In the fourth, the Phillies broke out on top with a Roy Sievers single to score Tony Gonzalez. It became a 3-0 Philadelphia lead when Bobby Wine hit a triple to bring home Clay Dalrymple and Cookie Rojas. Anderson was removed from the ballgame, destined for his 17th consecutive loss.
Leading off the bottom of the fourth, Jim Hickman hit a home run off Short, giving the Mets their only run of the game. It was the last homer ever hit at the Polo Grounds.
The Phils scored two more runs in the fifth. Wes Covington got a one-out single off Roger Craig to score Tony Taylor. Covington later scored the Polo Grounds' final run when he came home on a single by Dalrymple.
The Mets made one final Coogan's Bluff bid in the ninth. Rod Kanehl and Chico Fernandez got singles with one out off Short. Ted Schreiber came up to pinch hit for pitcher Larry Bearnarth. Short got Schreiber to hit into a double play to seal the Phils' victory. The game was over and the curtain had fallen on the Polo Grounds.
