Who is Shea Stadium named after?
Shea Stadium is named after William Shea, an attorney largely credited with bringing National League baseball back to New York. He was given that goal by mayor Robert Wagner. Shea’s committee first tried to bring an existing team to New York, then requested that the league expand, and finally announced that he and Branch Rickey were forming the Continental League, a rival league that would begin play in 1961. The threat of the new league was enough to convince the two existing leagues to each expand by two teams. The National League added the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s (now the Astros). The American League added the Los Angeles Angels (later the California Angels, the Anaheim Angels, and finally the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) and a new Washington Senators franchise to replace the one that was moving to the twin cities of Minneapolis – St. Paul and being renamed the Minnesota Twins.
