Islanders co-owner and Mets fan Jon Ledecky: 'The summer of '69 was a great memory
Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky at the Tom Seaver street name change on Thursday at Citi Field. Credit: Newsday/Steven Marcus
A big Tom Seaver fan sat basically unnoticed Thursday at the ceremony renaming the address of Citi Field to 41 Seaver Way. He was taking cell phone photos of the event just like everyone else.
Jon Ledecky, co-owner of the Islanders and a friend of Mets ownership, grew up a fan of Seaver and the Mets.
“I watched some of Tom Seaver’s greatest games,’’ he said after the ceremony.
Ledecky, 61, said he went to many games at Shea Stadium. “My brother and I delivered newspapers in the summer,'' he said. "We lived in Bayside, Queens. We came to doubleheaders. The Mets had something like nine or 10 doubleheaders. If you were a kid growing up it, it was the greatest thing. For three bucks you could watch two great games.’’
Two games stood out. “We were there when Seaver struck out 19,’’ he said of Seaver’s club record against the Padres on April 22, 1970.
The other game memory did not involve Seaver. “We were sitting in leftfield in 1969 when Gil Hodges walked out and pulled Cleon Jones from the game,’’ he said. “The summer of ‘69 was a great memory.’’
Ledecky later relocated to Greenwich, Connecticut, where Seaver resided. "He was very active in the community, he was a wonderful citizen in the town,’’ Ledecky said. “I didn’t get to know him personally, but I got to see him like a fan would. He and his wife, Nancy, were very much a part of the fabric of Greenwich. It’s great that they are honoring him this way. It’s a super day.’’
