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On October 25th, 1986, I, Bill Lehecka, along with my father, attended Game 6 of the 1986 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets. I was only eight years old at the time, and it was to be the first baseball game I ever attended. My father got the tickets from his then boss Terry Morris. When my dad first showed me these tickets, I was very excited. The Mets were very good that year, winning 108 regular season games and defeating the Houston Astros in the National League Championship series in 6 games. My fingers were crossed that the Mets would actually drag it out to 6 games, and my wish came true once they tied the series against the Red Sox 2-2.

At the time my family lived in upstate New York. Shea Stadium is in Flushing, New York (in the borough of Queens) so our whole family took a road trip the Friday before the game to Long Island to stay with our grandmother. I was really excited, and could barely contain it.

Now as I write, you must remember that the finer details of this trip report won't be crystal clear accurate. I was only 8 years old and it has been so long since it actually happened. I remember some parts extremely well, but not all of it, so please, bear with me.

Mets' 25th Anniversary Logo
worn on their sleeve that year

I remember vividly before the game playing with a kid my age a little baseball before Dad and I left for Shea. We were just tossing a wiffleball around, hitting it with a whiffleball bat. I remember hitting his house with the ball, his parents coming out, and me explaining what I did. Now that I think of it, I wonder what the parents thought after seeing a kid they've never seen before playing with their son. Oh well, I guess it was OK.

At 4:30 PM or around then, Dad and I left for Shea. The game started at 8:30, but we were both very anxious to just get there. I was really excited to see my first Major League ballpark and to see my first Major League game. We arrived at Shea at around 5:00 PM. To an 8 year old kid, it was an impressive structure. We weren't allowed into the ballpark until 5:30, so Dad and I just hung around.

Shea Stadium

I seem to recall before the game my dad bought me a Mets NL Champions Pennant (which I still have), a Mets batting glove, a World Series Program, and a pretzel. The doors of Shea were opened at 5:30PM, and we made our trek up to our seats. As you can tell from our ticket number, we weren't actually close to the action. It didn't matter to me. It was my first baseball game, and it was a World Series game. I was just happy to be there. We finally made it to our seats, and for a kid like myself, it was a dream come true.

I don't remember what happened totally before the game, but I remember watching the Red Sox take batting practice, a band play in the outfield, and the starting lineups. Now let me give you some background on this game: The Mets were down 3 games to 2 and if they lost, they would lose the World Series. I don't think that registered in my brain at the time.

New York Met left fielder Mookie Wilson (1)
hit a grounder up the first base line that went
through first baseman Bill Buckner's (6)legs. This
capped a 3 run 10th inning and won the game for the Mets.

The game turned out to the the most memorable from the series. The Mets and Red Sox went into extra innings tied at 3. The Red Sox went ahead 4-3 on a solo homer by Dave Henderson off of Rick Aguilera. They padded their lead to 5-3 after Wade Boggs doubled in Marty Barrett. The Mets, down by 2 runs and possibly their last at bat of the season, needed to deliver. Wally Backman, the Mets second baseman, flied out to left. One out. Keith Hernandez, the Mets first baseman, flied out to center. Two out. At this point my dad asked if I wanted to leave to beat the traffic. I told him no way. I don't know why, but I was sure the Mets would win tonight.

Met catcher Gary Carter singled to left field. Pinch hitter Kevin Mitchell singled to center. Met third baseman Ray Knight then hit a floater into Right field that scored Gary Carter and let Mitchell go to third. 5-4 Red Sox. The Red Sox took out Calvin Schiraldi and put in Bob Stanley to face left fielder Mookie Wilson. At this point my father said "It's a good time for a past ball right about now!"

The Mets, after their dramatic World
Series win, had this as a commemorative logo.

After a couple of pitches, my father got his wish; a wild pitch. Mookie dived out of the way of the errant pitch that went to the backstop. Mitchell scored, Knight moved to second. 5-5. After a couple of foul tips by Mookie, he hit a little roller up along the first baseline. Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner went to field it, but the ball went through his legs. Knight scores. Mets win, they play on. As I remember, the building was actually shaking at that point.

The Mets would go on and beat the demoralized Red Sox the following Monday, but to me, that didn't matter. The first baseball game I ever witnessed turned out to be a classic. As I write this, I have had a lot of memorable moments, from getting on TV on Letterman, to getting into the green room on Letterman and getting on TV for Conan. At the time of writing, the last Met game I went to, Met catcher Mike Piazza hit the longest home run I've ever been witnessed to, a shot that went 474 feet.

However, no matter what Met game I attend, or what television show I'm able to get on, Game 6 to me was the most memorable experience in my life. Why? Was it because it was my first baseball game? Perhaps. Was it because it was the World Series? Sure. Was it because it was one of the most exciting games ever? To a point. What made this game most memorable, was that it was the first game my father and I attended together. That's why it was so memorable.

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