At Citi Field this Aug. 15, the Mets will mark six decades since the Beatles rocked Shea Stadium. The night promises music, memories, and baseball against the Seattle Mariners.
Before the first pitch, 1964 The Tribute will play near Shea Bridge at 6:15 p.m. Staff who worked that unforgettable night in '65 will step onto the field to start the game. Their stories live on, passed down through baseball's rich past.
Early birds win big: the first 15,000 fans get tiny Shea Stadium models. When the ninth inning wraps up, the sky will light up as Beatles songs fill the air.
"Now it's quite commonplace for people to play Shea Stadium or Giants Stadium and all those big places, but this was the first time," said Paul McCartney, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. "It seemed like millions of people, but we were ready for it."
That night in '65 changed music forever. No rock band had filled a major stadium before. The crowd's wild screams drowned out the 12-song set, which started with "Twist and Shout." More than 55,000 fans packed the stands that night.
A 50-minute film caught the magic on tape. The show took place where old Shea once stood, right by today's Citi Field. Until 2009, that ground saw both Mets and Jets games, before wrecking balls brought it down.
The band came back in '66 for one more show, their last before quitting the road. Years later, McCartney joined Billy Joel to bid farewell to Shea. They played the stadium's final notes in 2008, just months before its end.
