Shea Stadium seat timeline

[nyjetsfan14]

Hello, if there are any Shea Stadium guys out there that might be so kind as to assist me with dating my pair of green seats I recently received it would be sincerely appreciated. I was told by S & S seating that the metal stands are original and were there since the opening in 64 but the plastic seat back and bottoms were replaced/added? sometime in the early 80's. Does anyone know the exact year/month the green seats were put in or replaced and if it was the same for all color seats? Thanks in advance for the time and effort on my behalf and happy collecting.

Matthew

[metsbats]

Matthew,

This is from the press release regarding the Shea Seat sale:

Shea Stadium seat sale begins Monday, Aug. 25 at 9 a.m. exclusively on Mets.com/Shea08/05/2008 1:13 PM ET
MLB.com

FLUSHING -- The New York Mets and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced that the sale of Shea Stadium seat pairs will begin Monday, Aug. 25 at 9 a.m. exclusively online at Mets.com/Shea. Fans and collectors worldwide will be able to purchase orange, blue, green, and red seats for $869 per pair. The limited inventory of seats will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Each seat pair will be authenticated by Major League Baseball's Authentication Program and affixed with a tamper-proof hologram displaying a unique identification number.
Mets season ticket holders will have the opportunity to purchase their particular seats before the Aug. 25 general public sale. The sale of other Shea memorabilia on Mets.com/Shea will expand to include seat backs and 45-inch sections of bench seating from Shea's Left Field Picnic Area. Details regarding the sale of additional memorabilia will be announced later this season.
"Citi Field will serve as a fantastic new home for the Mets for decades to come, but fans will always remember Shea Stadium and its magical moments - from the Amazins' World Series triumph in 1969 to Game 6 in '86 to, hopefully, a long, sweet October in 2008," said Mayor Bloomberg. "The Beatles played the first concert at Shea in 1965 and what better way to close it out than with Billy Joel and Paul McCartney on stage together 43 years later? The seat sale and subsequent memorabilia sale will provide fans a chance to own a part of that Shea Stadium lore."
Shea Stadium seats are owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation; other stadium memorabilia is owned by the Mets, including clubhouse items such as player lockers. Through an agreement between the City and the team, the City will receive a majority of the proceeds of the sale of the entire collection of memorabilia. The Mets will donate their portion of proceeds to the Mets Foundation, which will distribute the funds to various charities. The City's proceeds from the sale will be deposited into the City's general fund.
The removal of Shea Stadium seating will take place within weeks of the Mets' final home game, with the demolition of the stadium soon to follow. The metal seat frames date back to Shea's opening season in 1964. The original 55,300 wooden seats and seat backs were removed prior to the 1980 season, when they were replaced with the seats in use today.

[metsbats]

I did a little more research and the actual renovation as one one would think was performed during the off season leading up to the start of the 1980 season. (Sept 1979-April 1980)

[nyjetsfan14]

I did a little more research and the actual renovation as one one would think was performed during the off season leading up to the start of the 1980 season. (Sept 1979-April 1980)

Thank you very much for that information David, it is sincerely appreciated and very helpful. When I originally purchased the seats, very much an impulse buy done without research, I thought I was getting seats that would have been in place during the Namath era. From how I read the press release no Seats in the recent Shea sale were in place prior to the early 80's renovation. I had no idea that Shea was all wood seats prior to that? Have you ever seen any of the wooden seats (parts), which would be minus the metal frames I assume, for sale? Those would be impossible to authenticate I would think and in the early 80's there was much less desire for and fanfare about stadium items.

Immediately after I purchased the seats I was thinking to myself why in the heck would I do that (it was/is a LOT of money for me)?! Than having to wait until mid January for them also added to my guilt. However, after receiving the seats I am very excited as they'll make a great display. Despite the backs and bottoms not being from the Namath era at least the frames are and the seats were in place to watch my fav teams growing up during the Richard Todd and Sack Exchange era. David, do you own or have you read the Shea Stadium Image book? If so is it worth the purchase and have good info. on the Jets role in the stadium?

Again, thanks for the communication and assistance David. Enjoy the weekend and happy collecting.

Matthew

[metsbats]

Matthew,

I remember attending Jet and Met games in the early 70's as a kid at Shea so I had the opportunity to sit in one of those original wooden seats.

Given that the wooden seats were removed and the original frames in place my guess is they are a rarity to find.

There was an article on the web that I found which reported that the Beatles museum in London purchased a pair of Shea seats so they too don't even have the original seat bottom and backs that were present at the Stadium during the Beatles concert!

I've actually never hear of the book Shea Stadium Images so really can't comment on it.

I was not going to purchase the Shea seats since I already had an old orange field level single but could not pass up the opportunity. I don't regret buying the additional double blue loges I have too.

Enjoy the seats!

[metsbats]

Just when I thought we could'nt add any more to this thread here's a photo of Joe Namath signing a Shea Stadium plastic seat!

This was taken at the Dec 08 Magic Monikers show sponsored by promoters MAB Celebrity.

[nyjetsfan14]

Just when I thought we could'nt add any more to this thread here's a photo of Joe Namath signing a Shea Stadium plastic seat!

This was taken at the Dec 08 Magic Monikers show sponsored by promoters MAB Celebrity.

Great pic David. I haven't seen those Namath auto seat backs pop up on e-Bay as of yet. That makes me wonder how many seat backs/bottoms were removed from the frames and sold separately? I know the Mets Shea site sells/sold them and than I would imagine Joe Willie isn't the only player signing them...must be several Mets players as well i.e. Tom Seaver. Personally I don't see the appeal of owning just a seat back or bottom but they would be more space friendly and auto'd by a fav player would also be a plus. Funny thing is Namath is signing seats that were not in place when he played at Shea. Speaking of space friendly, check out this e-Bay auction, now this is a real way to get a piece of Shea and save space:

http://cgi.ebay.com/JOE-NAMATH-2009-TOPPS-AMERICAN-HERITAGE-RELIC_W0QQitemZ350157832709QQihZ022QQcategoryZ1667 57QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[nyjetsfan14]

Just a few of the old Jets at Shea pics I have. Obviously I am not enamored with the Jets having spent the last 2 1/2 decades as tenants in anothers teams stadium and than get a new stadium deal with the same arrangement.

[metsbats]

Looking at these old Jets Shea photos makes one glad they don't play football at baseball stadiums anymore. Funny how the goal posts line up exactly where home plate is!