The View From The Rear View Mirror - Al Jackson

The View From The Rear View Mirror - Al Jackson

by Michael Jawitz, AKA: Grubby Glove

Al Jackson. I cannot imagine what it must have felt like to pitch for the 1962 New York Mets, but I’ll wager it wasn’t easy or reassuring.  Between dropped pop-ups, colliding outfielders, balls thrown to the wrong bases and sloppy play in general, the team’s defense was a disaster. If a pitcher was talented and smart, and a Met, he quickly realized that if he was to win a game, he pretty much had to do it on his own by throwing a shutout. That’s exactly what Alvin Neill Jackson, better known as “Al,” did on several key occasions for the franchise during its infancy.

The crafty left hander threw the Mets first shutout in their brief history, an 8 to 0 drubbing of the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday, April 29, 1962, at the Polo Grounds. He pitched a complete game (see what I mean?) that day, allowing eight hits, walking one and striking out four. It was a close game, with the Mets winning 1 to 0, until they broke loose for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth. I wonder if Jackson pinched himself when he took the mound in the top of the fifth with an eight run lead. In all fairness, I also have to say that the Mets infield pulled off three double plays that day.

Not quite two years later, on Sunday, April 19, 1964, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Al Jackson threw another shutout, the first ever at Shea Stadium. In this complete-game (I told you so) win, Jackson surrendered six hits, walked two and struck out six. This was a significant accomplishment back then, because the Pirates were loaded, boasting such great hitters as Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Donn Clendenen and Bob Bailey. I’m sure the crowd of 30,185 was delighted on what must have been a great day at the Big Shea.

The irony here is that I missed attending that game by one day. Earlier that month there was a great deal of chatter in my house about which Mets game my Dad and I would see first that season. Friday was Opening Day, which sounded pretty good to me. However, it was a school day, and my Mom, who still held out hope, wouldn’t have it. That left Saturday and Sunday, but why would anyone wait for Sunday when Saturday was available? So on Saturday, April 18, 1964, Dad and I were among the 31,480 fans that saw the Pirates get fifteen hits to pummel the Mets 9 to 5. Jackson’s gem was the following day.

All told, Al Jackson threw ten shutouts for the Metropolitans while pitching for them from 1962 to 1965. His 1965 Topps card appears below. His ten-year, major league career included stints with three other teams, and a second, albeit brief tour of duty, with the Mets in the early stages of the 1969 season. He served as pitching coach for the Boston Red Sox (1977-79) and the Baltimore Orioles (1989-91), and has been a pitching instructor for the Mets, working with their minor league prospects, for many years.