Recently I had the chance to attend a tribute to Howie Rose at CitiField, honoring his almost four decades as the iconic voice of the Mets. Rosemary and I have enjoyed a friendship with Rose and his wife, Barbara, over the years, and Howie invited us to the ceremony. Being a loving grandmother, Rosemary deferred to our grandson Jack, who’s a dedicated Mets — and Howie Rose — fan.
Rose is a great guy who represents the very best of what New York baseball should be all about. Baseball games have always been a great outlet for me, a place to relax and enjoy rooting for my favorite team, in good years and bad. When I was a kid growing up in Queens, that team was the Brooklyn Dodgers, and those seasons were all good, until they weren’t. When team owner Walter O’Malley hijacked the Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1957, it left a glaring void among many New York neighborhood-type fans who could never identify with the pinstriped Yankees.
That void was filled beyond expectations when the Mets came into being in 1962, and quickly developed a devoted fan base. I attended countless games at Shea Stadium, and Rose personified that new breed of fan, who lived and died with the Mets.
His dream was to be an announcer for the Mets. When he achieved that goal, first as a pregame broadcaster and then as a knowledgeable, highly skilled play-by-play announcer, he was still very much the neighborhood guy, the enthusiastic fan from the upper deck. He truly was the voice of the Mets.
Rose’s declaration “Put it in the books!” after every Mets win has become part of New York baseball lore. He was also a longtime announcer for the NHL’s Rangers and Islanders. His cry “Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!” after Stephane Matteau’s double-overtime, sudden-death goal against the Philadelphia Flyers won the Eastern Conference Championship for the Rangers in 1994, is also part of New York sports history.
After all his years behind the microphone and his successful recovery from major cancer surgery, Rose announced that he would retire at the end of this season. To pay tribute to him, the Mets designated Sept. 20 Howie Rose Day at CitiField, and planned to honor him in a pregame ceremony on the field. It turned out to be the Mets’ last home game, and the final Mets game Rose would announce.
Unfortunately, the day was dark and rainy, which forced the cancellation of the pregame festivities. The Mets decided to reschedule the ceremony on next season’s Opening Day weekend, but went ahead with an indoor celebration for Rose and his invited guests in the owner’s suite on the 20th. That was a win-win for Howie, Barbara and their two very accomplished daughters, Alyssa and Chelsea, because so many friends and notable people attended to show their strong friendship for him.
Among the many in attendance were Art Shamsky and Cleon Jones, from the 1969 World Series champion Miracle Mets; Ron Darling, Lee Mazzilli and Howard Johnson, from the 1986 championship team; John Franco, from the 2000 National League champion squad; Terry Collins, from the 2015 National League champs; former New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, now the Mets’ senior vice president for security; and Mets owner Steve Cohen.
It was baseball and New York at its best. No one spoke about themselves. It was all about Rose, his love of baseball and the fans and how he is such a lasting part of baseball, and New York. It was an honor to be there.
What has always impressed me the most about Rose is his genuineness. Whenever Rosemary and I went to dinner with Howie and Barbara, we had no advance thought of what we would discuss that evening, but we would end up talking into the night, being among the last to leave wherever we were. Thank you, Howie and Barbara. You’re great friends.
Put it in the books!
Peter King is a former congressman, and a former chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security. Comments? pking@ liherald.com.
