Shea Stadium, ca. 1964.

Once a three-team city, New York’s sole baseball representative between 1958-1962 was the Yankees. In 1962, the expansion New York Mets joined the National League, playing their first two seasons at the Polo Grounds, the Giants’ former stadium in upper Manhattan.

Erected during the building boom preceding the 1964 New York World's Fair, Shea Stadium was constructed, at a cost of $28.5 million, with motorized stands to allow it to be converted from a baseball diamond in the spring to a football gridiron in the fall. It was the home to the New York Jets (1964-84) and the New York Giants (1973-75) until each left New York City for Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

On April 17, 1964, the Mets played their first game at their new permanent home, Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens.