Leftovers from a Mets series in Houston 26 years ago
Back in 1986, the Mets celebrated their 25th anniversary. Yeah, it was really their 25th year, not their 25th anniversary year, but they weren’t the only ones who had trouble figuring out those details. Their fellow 1962 expansion team in Houston (originally the Colt .45s, now the Astros) also celebrated their 25th anniversary a bit early in 1986. For the first time since the 1986 NLCS, both teams are celebrating a major anniversary in Houston this week. They even got the year right this time.
Two days after hosting the 1986 All-Star Game, the Astros opened a four-game series against the Mets at the Astrodome. This would be my first time seeing the Mets play in person, though I don’t know which game it was. It could have been the 13-2 blowout against former Met Nolan Ryan or any of the three losses that followed (I’m hoping for the former, not that it matters now). In the days before we externalized all of our memories with Facebook and Twitter and cell phone cameras, the details of our past are shrouded in faded memories.
Quickly discarded memories of seeing the Mets play from way down the right field line (Ooh, gift shop!) weren’t the only thing I left that game with. As luck would have it, there was a free 25th anniversary hat given out as a promotional item that day. I don’t know if this was a one-time giveaway or what, but I left Houston that year up two hats (this and one from the All-Star Roundup, sponsored prominently by Chevrolet). And for those of you following on Twitter, this is the hat I was looking for when I found that other hat we shall not speak of.
Still looking for whitening tips...
This was quite the classy hat in its day, with the full cloth back and metal rings around the holes. It’s a one-size-fits-all plastic snapback, as were most hats back then. It hasn’t aged particularly well; there’s a lot of discoloration and the foam liner started breaking down about 20 years ago. It’s clear that these hats weren’t made to last for the team’s next 25 years.
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