METS FANS SHARE THEIR MEMORIES OF THE MAY 8, 1973 GAME:
Peter C.
October 13, 2005
This is the game in which Marty Perez lined one back through the box and fractured Jon Matlack's skull. I had just turned 9 and have memories of watching on TV. Looking at retrosheet they have it listed as "Perez doubled to center." However I have a recollection on the ball ricocheting off Matlack and into the Met dugout. Anybody else recall this? I remember Matlack lying face up on the mound and being alert. Then when I heard he had a fractured skull I thought it meant that he might die. He actually returned to the mound 11 days later. Also, 2 batters later, Davey Johnson hit a grand slam to put the game away for Atlanta.
Ed S.
December 13, 2010
I also remember this game and the chilling/sobering replays shown on WOR-TV of the ball ricocheting off Matlack's forehead, and yes, into the Mets dugout. Also remember that the crowd had diminished noticeably in both size and "sound" after the incident. The Knicks, as I recall were in the playoffs that year and I remember hearing someone's very prominent radio in the stand, and the owner was giving scoring updates; again, it was easy to hear because the crowd had diminished and those who remained were eerily subdued. There was little information on Matlack's condition throughout the remainder of the game, only that he was conscious, and I remember that he was visited the next day by Marty Perez in either Roosevelt (?) or Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. Definitely a scary moment.
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