VFW: Woodstock Wasn't the Only Thing Happening 40 Years Ago

Thanks for the memory. As a boy growing up in Central NJ, I was a Mets fan from ‘62, and endured no end of teasing from my friends about how bad “my” team was (and they were). The ‘69 season was a sweet comeuppance. Of course, like the kids they were, they all got on the bandwagon. After that loss in Game 1, I remember my teachers all saying, well, it’s gonna be four straight games. It turned out that way, it was just a different set of four games.

Thanks for the memory. As a boy growing up in Central NJ, I was a Mets fan from ‘62, and endured no end of teasing from my friends about how bad “my” team was (and they were). The ‘69 season was a sweet comeuppance. Of course, like the kids they were, they all got on the bandwagon. After that loss in Game 1, I remember my teachers all saying, well, it’s gonna be four straight games. It turned out that way, it was just a different set of four games.

There is also an excellent book chronicling the Chicago Cubs' side of that thriller of a pennant race, sparing no one, not even Leo Durocher (who may have burnt out both his veterans and his bullpens when crunch time really arrived, the Mets reheated, and a couple of critical series between the two teams ended up showing the Cubs the Mets weren't kidding around after all---to say nothing of just how severely Durocher's resurrected penchant for ump-baiting ended up turning National League umpires well enough against the Cubs if the decisions were close enough): Durocher's Cubs.

It really was a magical time. To post that kind of record closing the season was an amazing run. They just went out and took games away from their opponents. Sometimes you get the bounces.

I know it was a bummer for the Cubs fans, but I think the Mets just went out and played with passion and enthusiasm and happened to catch lightning in a bottle for one glorious season. They don't come along very often. I will check on that book in the library.

I didn't notice Woodstock at the time. I was busy in Air Force Sea Survival School, preparing for duty in Vietnam. However, I did notice this, which hasn't been mentioned:

Hurricane Camille

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