Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
Download the book in PDF, ePub, Kindle for a complete version.
Damn Yankees
Page 147
Stadium. Stengel played to win; the Yankees under Houk possibly less so, and the Mets beat the Yankees, 6–2.
“It has 57 bathrooms, and I need one now.” - Casey Stengel, on Shea Stadium.
In 1964, the Mets left the Polo Grounds and moved into the new Shea Stadium. Stengel commented that "the park is lovelier than my team." The Mets finished 53–109, again in last place. By this time, some fans were starting to get a bit impatient with the predictable losing, though for others the “cuteness” had not yet worn off. Stengel was given a contract for 1965.
“And we have this fine young catcher named Goossen, who is only twenty years old, who in ten years, has a chance to be thirty.”- Casey Stengel.
The early part of the 1965 season saw similar futility. On July 25, the Mets had a party at Toots Shor's for the invitees to the following day's Old Timers' Game. Sometime during that evening, Stengel fell off a barstool and broke his hip. The circumstances of his fall are not known with certainty, as he did not realize he had been severely injured until the following day. Stengel spent his 75th birthday in the hospital. Recognizing that considerable rehabilitation would be required, he retired as