Sept. 20, 1962 - The New York Mets lost their 115th game tonight. In doing so, the new club tied the National League record for futility set by the 1935 Boston Braves. Fewer than 200 of the 1,481 fans who had seen the Mets lose No. 114 earlier in the day were on hand at the conclusion of the doubleheader with the Houston Colts. The scores were 7-2 and 5-4. One additional statistic on this long, chilly day was that error-prone first baseman “Marvelous” Marv Throneberry (pictured) made his first public speech. His remarks were succinct: “I would tell a few jokes, but there are already plenty of comedians around.” Throneberry had been presented with a $7,000 cabin cruiser for hitting the Howard Clothes sign in right field more times than any other Met. In the same between-game ceremony, Richie Ashburn received a $5,000 boat as the most valuable Met. Ashburn’s boat was wheeled out onto the field. Throneberry’s was not — perhaps, someone suggested, out of fear he would drop it. One final irony is the fact that Marv lives in Collierville, Tenn., 300 miles from the nearest body of water.
Comments