On July 13th, 1977, New York City experienced a blackout while the Mets were playing the Chicago Cubs.
The 1977 season was tumultuous for the Mets.
For starters, the team traded their most iconic star, Tom Seaver, on June 15th. That signaled the start of a multi-year rebuild.
Many thought the lights figuratively went out on the franchise that day.
On July 13th, they literally did.
The night began as a typical one for the post-trade deadline Mets.
They put this lineup on the Shea Stadium field to begin their tilt with the Cubs, in front of just over 14,000 fans.
Lenny Randle 3B
Mike Vail RF
Lee Mazzilli CF
Doug Flynn 2B
Randle stepped in the box against Ray Burris in the bottom of the sixth, when all of the sudden, the lights went out.
You can hear Ralph Kiner and Lindsey Nelson describe the situation in the audio clip below.
The giant scoreboard in right field went dark, yet the PA system and organ remained functional.
The auxiliary lights came on underneath the stands, as fans sat patiently, thinking the lights would come on and play would resume.
During the wait, a few Mets players drove their cars onto the outfield grass, then played catch and hit fungos to entertain the fans.
The lights did not come back on that night. New York City was plunged into darkness for 25 hours.
Years after the blackout, Randle said he initially thought the blackout was the end of times.
The Cubs, who were staying at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan, had to walk up flights of stairs to get to their non-air conditioned rooms on a hot and steamy night.
The 1977 Mets finished 64-98. They would ultimately lose the July 13th game by the score of 5-2.
John Stearns, Steve Henderson, and John Milner shared the team lead in home runs with 12.
Nino Espinosa led the starters with 10 wins. Jerry Koosman lost 20 games.
You get the point, 1977 was a rough year for the Mets.
And to make matters worse, the lights went out on July 13th.
