On this day back in 1963, the Mets and Yankees met for the very first time in The Mayor’s Trophy Game. Interleague play was not implemented yet, so the two teams played in this exhibition game in front of 50,742 fans. The stands were filled mostly with the new Mets fans, who had their banners confiscated when they entered Yankee Stadium. The game was originally scheduled for June 3, but rain postponed it until June 20.
The Mayor’s Trophy Game dates back to 1946, when the New York Giants and Yankees agreed to play a three game exhibition series during the season to benefit sandlot baseball programs. Proceeds went to the city’s Amateur Baseball Federation, and the winner received a trophy from Mayor William O’Dwyer. The game would switch to a single game format a year later, and each season the Yankees would face either the Giants or Brooklyn Dodgers.
After the 1957 season, the Dodgers and Giants relocated from New York to California to become the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. This left New York with no National League franchise, and only one Major League team. In 1961, The New York Metropolitan Baseball Club Inc. formally received a certificate of membership from National League President Warren Giles. Thus, the Mets were born.
The first manager of the New York Mets? None other than former Yankees’ skipper Casey Stengel. Stengel was with the Bombers from 1949-1960 and won 10 AL Pennants and seven World Series titles. After losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1960 World Series, he was involuntarily retired from the Yankees because he was thought to be too old to manage. He said that he had been fired for turning 70, and that he’d gotten the sense he would have been forced out even if the Yankees had won the World Series.
In ’63, the Bombers were coming off their 13th World Series appearance in 16 years and 20th championship since 1923. The Mets were in their second year of existence, and Stengel came back to The House that Ruth Built looking for revenge. Jay Hook pitched the first five innings and then Stengel, wanting to beat his former team, went to his best pitcher, Carl Willey, for the last four innings. The Mets would win 6-2.
After diminishing interest and public bickering between the owners of both teams, the Mayor’s Trophy Game was discontinued following the 1983 season. The two teams would meet every year in the Subway Series once interleague play was introduced in 1997.
