April 11, 1962: Beginnings

The New York Mets played their first-ever regular season game on April 11, 1962 against the St. Louis Cardinals.

On the eve of the New York Mets first game in franchise history, general manager George Weiss was asked what his goal was for the fledgling franchise.

“We are aiming for .500 and we will be pleasantly surprised if we go above .500,” he told the media. “(Casey) Stengel will not let the men coast and he will get some good from our young pitchers with good arms who never had real opportunities to pitch regularly before.”