Loge 13

All You Need Is BeatleFest

2013-04-10T13:07:50Z

The Kingman family made its now annual trek to BeatleFest. We first attended two years ago and got to meet Met great Art Shamsky, who was there signing his book.

As always, Shea Stadium was well represented amongst the Beatle memorabilia. We spoke with the collector who owns the jacket Paul wore at Shea Stadium. Those threads are valued at $300,000. Apparently, George's estate owns his coat and Ringo may have his. Not sure where John's is.

The all-day Beatle jams are a highlight. Here is a sample from this year, featuring a puppet singalong as well:

Shea Stadium -- Intellectual Property

2013-04-05T12:57:16Z

Among the few items not auctioned off by the Wilpons when Shea was demolished...the patent on Shea Stadium's innovative "Convertible Stadium."

This cutting edge technology patent covered the movable seats that let Shea host both baseball and football games. Sadly, this patent did not ensure the teams you watched from your movable seat would be good.

In honor of opening day, the good folks at The Essential Patent Blog have published the Convertible Stadium patent. If you are keeping score at home, that's patent # 3,002,234. Enjoy the details here.

The drawings, filed 53 years ago, are especially interesting.

Mets 2-0; Yanks 0-2; What Else To Say?

2013-04-04T13:08:44Z

Kingman http://www.depressedfan.com/tom
]]>

Mets Opening Day 2013

2013-04-02T00:13:59Z

The Kingman Klan was at Citi Field for Opening Day. And what a day we had. The Mets took apart the woeful San Diego Padres 11-2. Among the highlights:

* Collin Cowgill made his Met debut memorable with a grand slam in the 7th

* John Buck earned fan respect calling a great game and going 2-3 with a walk. Most impressive, Buck chugged 1st to home on a Tejada triple in the second.

* Jon Niese pitched like an Ace, going 6.2 innings and even cranking out two hits...

...which is two more than Ike Davis hit. In fact, Ike went 0-5 with FOUR strikeouts. Lets hope that's just a case of 24-hour cactus fever.

Missed the game? Here is the Opening Day lineup. Kingman is a realistic but i honestly think this team could go 162-0 if they play like this all year:

The Greatest Opening Day Lineup In Mets History?

2013-04-02T00:06:41Z

Kingman http://www.depressedfan.com/tom
]]>

Shea Cheese

2013-03-30T17:20:29Z

I read the news today oh boy.

About Marc Weinstein, an amateur photographer who snuck into into Snea Stadium in 1965 and managed to snag the best photos of a relatively unknown band called The Beatles, who were closing for Cannibal & the Headhunters.

Max just sold some previously unseen pictures for $45,000. Now all the buyer has is a photograph and I realize Shea's not coming back anymore.

Full story here:

In 1965, amateur photographer Marc Weinstein used a fake press pass to get police to escort him stage-side at the historic Beatles concert in Shea Stadium. Now, almost 50 years later, he has sold all 61 of the images he captured there for a whopping £30,000 (or about $45,500). The story involves a little bit of bravery, a little bit of trickery, and a lot of luck.

The Beatles' 1965 concert at Shea Stadium would go down in history as the biggest concert the band would ever play. Taking place at the height of their fame, McCartney, Lenon, Star and Harrison played for a then record-breaking crowd of over 55,000 people that day. One of those people was Marc Weinstein and his fake press pass. He tells Examiner.com,

"I just blended with everybody there. I had a method of operation; I just acted like I belonged. Anybody in authority, I would look the other way."

The method seemed to work for him, because he was ultimately able to trick police men into escorting him right to the front of the stage. That's where, as luck would have it, the only other photographer present happen to run out of film, which is probably why the photos sold a few days ago through Omega Auctions for about £10,000 more than anticipated.

The winner of the auction was Paul Fairweatherm, a "huge collector of Beatles memorabilia" who currently resides in Washington with 61 new black and white photos of his favorite band and about 45,500 fewer dollars to his name.

No-Han Indeed

2013-03-29T12:52:44Z

So Kingman took a few months off to make some career changes, fight a hurricane and such. I promised I would start writing again when there was some positive Met news to dish.

So I waited.

And I waited.

Then I woke up today and saw Johan all over the news. Great, this can only be good news right? Right?

And so it goes.

First Johan pitched a no-hitter. Now we have no-pitcher. His Met career...possibly is entire career, is over. He will forever be remembered for his nine innings of glory in 2012. But for Kingman, he will be cherished for the penultimate game of the 2008 season, when he held off the Marlins and brought the Mets into a wild-card tie and a final Shea Showdown. For a moment, our beautiful old relic of a ballpark had a stay of execution, thanks to Governor Santana's call to glory.

But like all things Mets, our dreams were torn, just like Johan's shoulder this morning is a ripped mass of muscle, headed for the surgeon's scalpel.

Thanks for the memories.

R.A. Dickey Day At Last Citi Field Game for 2012

2012-09-28T00:21:13Z

Loge13 took a bit of a break for a few weeks while we dealt with some professional matters. But today we were able to honor a cherished tradition - attending the last home game of the Mets season.

Usually the finale is a melancholy milestone - the end of summer and the official crushing conclusion of another Mets season. Last year, we had a bit of an excitement when old what's his name bunted his way to the NL batting title.

And 2012's Citi sendoff promised even greater history - R.A. Dickey's quest for win #20. And he did not disappoint, pitching 7.1 solid innings, striking out 12 and allowing only 3 runs in the Mets' 6-5 victory.

Here is Dickey after the game:

When Shea Stadium Was Invaded By Cannibal And The Headhunters

2012-09-11T15:40:33Z

When The Beatles played Shea Stadium August 15th, 1965, most people don't realize there were quite a few opening acts, specifically, Killer Joe Piro and His Discothèque Dancers, Motown star Brenda Holloway, King Curtis and Sounds Incorporated. These groups all got some face time in "The Beatles Play Shea Stadium" documentary.

However, there was another opening act that did not make the film's final cut - Cannibal & the Headhunters. Instead of this gig being the band's breakthrough to the big time, sadly the Headhunters were lost in the jungles of history.

This is particularly surprising for two notable reasons. Firstly, the band made a small but critical contribution to rock & roll history with their recording of "Land of 1,000 Dances." You know, that song that goes "Na. Na Na Na Na. Na Na Na Na Na-na-na na-na-na." Legend has it that Cannibal forgot the words when they cut their version and started na-na-ing. The producer loved the improv and made it part of the song. Later on, Wilson Pickett cut his version, which most folks recognize as the definitive version. But Pickett used the Na-Na opening as well, stolen directly from Cannibal's faulty memory. Here is the band doing their thing:

Secondly, Paul McCartney specifically asked manager Brian Epstein for the "Na Na boys" to open for The Beatles on their tour. One wonders if the Beatles and the Headhunters ever talked shop backstage at Shea or anywhere on that tour. And did Paul steal Cannibal's lyrics for the ending of Hey Jude? Is the band entitled to any royalties?

Thirdly, Cannibal & the Headhunters are part of a rich yet little appreciated part of music history - latin rock bands. The North Hollywood arts blog just published a fascinating history of Chicano rock, from which Kingman just learned of C & the H's contribution to Shea and rock & roll history. Please take a moment to read the entire article. Meanwhile, here is the excerpt about my new favorite band, at least for today:

On August 15, 1965, while their hometown, Los Angeles, was in the midst of its worst-ever race riot, four Mexican-American performers in their late teens prepared to take the stage at Shea Stadium in New York. Outside their makeshift dressing room, some 55,000 fans were arriving to the biggest stadium concert in the 10-year history of rock and roll. They bought tickets not to see this band, Cannibal and the Headhunters, but the Beatles, who would perform later.

The story is that Paul McCartney had told the manager of the Beatles, Brian Epstein, he wanted the "Na Na boys" to open for the British group on the August portion of its 1965 American tour. Earlier that year, Cannibal and the Headhunters had released a cover of a song originally recorded in 1961 by Chris Kenner, a black performer from New Orleans, entitled "Land of a Thousand Dances" that featured the lead singer, Frankie Garcia (Cannibal), chanting "na, na, na, na, na" in a slow, sexy sequence for the opening 15-20 seconds. "Land of a Thousand Dances" became a national hit, partly because listeners were intrigued by that unusual opening, which legend has it occurred when Garcia forget the actual lyrics. Rather than have the band start over, producer Billy Cardenas has said he signaled from the recording booth for them to keep going, hearing in that spontaneous introduction a brilliant hook.

Perhaps McCartney had the song in his head a few years later, when he wrote "Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da," with its inclusion of the nonsensical sounds "bra," "la" and "da." A year after Cannibal and the Headhunters released "Land of a Thousand Dances," the great soul singer Wilson Pickett recorded his own version that included the same opening. As a consequence of the Pickett recording, which reached # 6 on the Billboard Top 40, black civil rights marchers in the late summer of 1966 chanted "na na na na..." as they walked across dusty southern back roads, probably unaware that the phrase had originated with a charismatic Mexican-American singer from East Los Angeles.

For Cannibal and the Headhunters and their manager, a white man in his 30s named Eddie Davis, who loved watching young Mexican-American groups perform rhythm and blues songs in their unique style, the offer to open for the Beatles on a tour that included a stop at the Hollywood Bowl was both exhilarating and daunting. The opportunity couldn't be surpassed -- an audience of 50,000+, national media coverage, the possibility of trading on a connection to the most popular rock and roll band in the world -- but delirious Beatle fans, especially girls between the ages of 12 and 17, were not known for their patience and understanding.

Ever since the Beatles first came to the United States, in February 1964, their concerts had included fans - most of them female -- who behaved with rudeness and disdain toward the hapless opening acts, which the kids regarded as useless diversions preventing them from hearing and seeing the kings of rock and roll. Since many of these performers looked like the Beatles, what chance did four brown-skin youths who played black-based r'n'b have in keeping the audience engaged?

But the Beatles and especially their manager Brian Epstein made a wise choice. Cannibal and the Headhunters had already endured the pressure of performing on stage for black audiences who until the rising of the curtain assumed the group looked like them. They had been fooled by "Land of a Thousand Dances," specifically its hard, bass-driven funk sound and one-chord structure, ideal for an extended soul jam at a live performance. Further circumstantial evidence of the group's blackness could be gleaned from the calm confidence of the lead singer that he has mastered all the latest dances steps, and its name, suggestive of Africa, though hardly in a flattering way. Members of the group in subsequent interviews recounted with amusement the puzzled looks on the faces of black patrons at East Coast urban venues when they discovered the true identity of Cannibal and the Headhunters. But when the song started, propelled by the familiar beat, and the group performed their tight, self-choreographed dance routines, including the rowboat, which involved them sitting on the stage, a few feet apart, moving their hips in unison, black audiences went wild. Forgotten was the curious ethnic makeup of the group; all that mattered was that they sounded and looked as genuine as anything in the Motown stable of stars.

After that experience, what did the guys have to fear from suburban teens in a state of hysteria counting down the seconds before the announcer proclaimed "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Beatles"!!? Looking back decades later, the members of Cannibal and the Headhunters recalled the surreal quality of the performances, including Shea Stadium; massive audiences, many of whom appeared to be miles from the stage, alternately bored, indifferent or excited while the group tore into "Land of a Thousand Dances." Some residents of Ramona Gardens, the housing projects east of downtown LA where the four were raised, and surrounding Mexican-American neighborhoods managed to score tickets to the Beatles concert at the Hollywood Bowl, which took place two weeks after the Shea Stadium performance. For these concertgoers, a minority in more ways than one, the British group was great, but the opening act was special. Around Ramona, the headline in late August of '65 was not "Beatles come to Los Angeles," but "local boys make good."

Mets and MLB Not Haggling Over Hats

2012-09-10T16:31:47Z

The Mets have been told in the past by Major League baseball that they could not wear any first responder hats during games on September 11.

This year, the Mets apparently were not appealing this decision. They may wear alternate caps during warmups but will switch to regular caps for the game.

Loge13 reader Paul posted this Sunday:

Dear Kingman,

Hearing the Mets would not be allowed by MLB to wear first responder caps during the game of 9-11, I sent an E-Mail to the Mets expressing my disgust and for them to defy MLB and any and all repercussions it may cause and WEAR THE CAPS in game.

I was answered with a voice mail from Senior Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Mr. David Newman. He told me he would be in his office, tomorrow (Monday) afternoon to discuss my concerns. I'm telling you this so that if any other LOGE 13'ers feel the same way, they too can express their concerns. His number is 718-565-4305....Paul

So there you have it. Feel free to weigh in on the eve of the 11th anniversary of the attacks. Let me know what feedback you get. And thanks Paul for the update.

Jonesing For Shea

2012-09-09T12:12:37Z

As mentioned the other day, the Mets are honoring Chipper Jones all weekend. Loge13 does not condone this behavior but we are pleased to see any references to Shea Stadium in the news.

Here is the Chipper/Shea tribute painting the Mets commissioned for Jones in recognition of his relentless torment of Met fans:

At a press conference, Chipper was asked about his eight-year-old son Shea and whether it was difficult for the boy to understand why he was named after a demolished stadium for a one-time hated rival team:

"It wasn't very hard for him, because his room has been decorated in orange and blue from the very get-go. He has murals on the wall of baseball players and Shea Stadium. I've given him replicas of Shea Stadium throughout the years. He had two stadium seats in his closet, bolted to the floor so he can sit in them and get dressed every morning for school. Whenever a stadium flashes up on TV, he goes, 'Is that my stadium dad?'

"He just turned 8, and he's a pretty good athlete. He was hitting a pitched ball before he was 3 years old. So his hand-eye coordination is there. He's one of the best football players on his team. ... He's paid me back for a lot of the bad things that I've done in my life up to this point. He's my one that I have to go get out of the principal's office from time to time. He's a great kid."

At this point, I am wondering if Chipper will go into the Hall of Fame as a Met.

Goodbye Larry

2012-09-07T20:15:23Z

This weekend, the Braves make their last visit this year to Citi Field.

For Chipper Jones, it will be his last visit ever as a Brave. So of course, the Mets plan to pay tribute to one of the great Met killers of all time.

I guess one might consider it a class act by the Mets. Just as Chipper classily acknowledged his affection for New York by naming one of his kids "Shea."

David Wright had only nice things to say about his fellow 3rd baseman:

"I am glad he is leaving, because he kills us," David Wright said. "But I think he will be missed, just because it's funny thinking of the Atlanta Braves without Chipper -- they kind of go hand-in-hand."

For the record, I will not be paying tribute to Chipper this weekend.

Batman At Shea Stadium in 1966

2012-09-04T21:09:29Z

Loge13 has covered all the rock & roll history of Shea Stadium...or at least we thought we had.

Until today.

Because according to the 1966 Batman Message Board, The Caped Crusader himself, along with The Riddler also played a gig at Shea Stadium on June 25, 1966.

Besides Adam West and Frank Gorshin, the show was supposed to feature eight other acts:

The Young Rascals.
The Detroit Sound.
The Batusi Girls
Jr. Walker and The All-Stars.
The Temptations
The Chiffons
Shades of Blue.
Skitch Henderson and his orchestra.

Then Batman himself would ride out of the bullpen to greet the crowd and battle the Riddler, before both villain and hero sang a few numbers. But according to the NY Times coverage of the day, the concert was less than successful, forever relegated to the deepest recesses of Shea's finer musical moments.

If you were there, please let us know some more details!

Willets Point's 16 Year Plan

2012-08-28T17:09:56Z

Part of the allure of constructing Citi Field was the assumed revitalization of the surrounding neighborhood, Willets Point.

This summer, after years of back door dealings and voracious opposition, development plans are moving forward. And not surprisingly, there are some surprises baked into the proposals.

Perhaps the biggest surprise relates to housing. Part of the deal was that a mixed-use neighborhI'm nood would be developed on the site of the Iron Triangle businesses. Mixed use means affordable housing, schools and the other stuff that sustains a community for people to live. Housing is still part of the plan. But it is the last part, coming by 2028. I'll be approaching 60 by then, so this may work out great for my retirement plans. But I'm pretty sure this isn't what most people had in mind.

The Times Ledger of Queens did a good job breaking down the five stage proposal that the city accepted in June from Manhattan real estate firm Related Cos. and the Wilpon's own Sterling Equities. It basically comes down to this:

STAGE 1 - Detox. The 23 acres of Willets Point needs to be razed and all the soil replaced. Expect completion date = 2015

STAGE 2 - First round of retail construction. Low-scale retail and restaurant locations along 126th Street across from Citi Field, along with a 200-room hotel. This will certainly benefit the Mets bottom line.
Expected completion date = 2016

STAGE 3 - WILLETS WEST. This is another new wrinkle that is generating lots of opposition. Developers want to essentially build a mall between Citi Field and the Grand Central Parkway, which will host about 200 stores. A few problems here.
- The site is currently a parking lot. Where will fans park?
- More important, developers want to build this mall ON TOP OF THE SITE OF SHEA STADIUM!!! Of course, they claim they will take pains to commemorate the Mets' old home but c'mon. Show some respect.
- Even more important. This proposal is probably illegal. According to the Times Ledger:

"Because it is on park land, the development becomes a legal issue.

A law stipulates that anything built on the property is legal as long as it benefits the Mets, meaning no other development firm could have proposed to build on the land aside from Sterling. The partnership contends the law allows the movie theaters, restaurants and other entertainment venues they would like to build.

But opponents say the development is not only an egregious misuse of parkland but also illegal. The law would only permit something like a souvenir shop, for example."

Of course, the developers say Willets Point West and the other two stages have to happen before they can contemplate building housing and letting regular folk live near the mall.

STAGE 4 - New exit ramps off the Van Wyck.
Expected completion date = 2021

So as Loge13 understands it, the area around Citi Field will get 400 new stores and a hotel AND there will be less parking and no additional access ramps into the area from major highways.

STAGE 5 - construction of market-rate and affordable housing
Expected completion date - Between 2024 and 2028.

There are still many more hurdles to leap before these plans are ratified. We'll keep following the progress. It is also not clear what will come first - housing to Willets Point or a pennant to Citi Field.

Mets May Have Worst 2nd Half In History

2012-08-27T14:04:29Z

We all knew this was going to be a rough year. Fortunately, the Mets surprised with a remarkably strong first half of the season, ending up 46-40 at the All-Star break. David Wright was posting career stats. Dickey made the All-Star squad. Johan exorcised our no-no demons. So if nothing else, at least The Mets wouldn't embarrass themselves in 2012.

Not so fast.

It seems the Mets may be on pace to have the worst second half collapse in baseball history, according to the WSJ. As they see it:

"No team that was more than five games above .500 before the break (the Mets were 46-40) had a second-half record worse than the Mets' 13-29--a .310 winning percentage. If the Mets keep it up, they'll sink even further than the 1983 Angels, who went 42-36 (.538) in the first half, then 28-56 (.333) in the second."

So now The Mets have a goal - play better than .333 baseball so we don't end up like the 1983 Angels.

Here's a helpful chart to put it all in perspective: