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Pete Flynn has been working as a groundskeeper at Shea Stadium, home to the New York Mets, since it opened in 1964. Thirty-five years later, he was raking and scooping on the infield for the team’s final game at the ballpark in September. The team is moving to a new stadium in 2009.
He was the longtime head groundskeeper who repaired the field after fans celebrated Mets titles by tearing it up. When he had a chance to retire, he went back to being one of the crew. After his usual winter with the grandchildren in Connecticut, he plans to work at Citi Field next year.
“I’m here all my life; I’m here 45 years,” the 70-year-old said. His work life and his real life have been mostly the same. “It’s tough to leave.”
Flynn wouldn’t trade a minute of his time with the team, not even 1974-75, when the Mets, Jets, Yankees and Giants all played there. After that, there was almost no grass on the field and no gas in Flynn’s tank. “They put me in the hospital a couple weeks,” he said. “I was run down. My blood count was down to zero.”
At the final game, he was honored on the field he has so carefully and tirelessly tended for decades. This time, though, he was an honored guest, introduced with a number of Mets legends during the farewell ceremony. “I never expected that,” Flynn said. |
