what year did the new york mets start?
1962
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 New York started playing home games at the Polo Grounds in 1913 as tenants of the Giants . Before the 1913 season , the team gained an official nickname for the first time . Either " Yankees " or " Yanks " had been used frequently since 1904 in newspapers such as the New York Evening Journal , since " Highlanders " was hard to fit in headlines . Such unofficial nicknames were common during that era , but thereafter the official name took hold — the New York Yankees . 

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 New York City had proposed to build a new stadium for its franchise in baseball 's stillborn Continental League . When that league dissolved and the city was awarded a franchise , dubbed the New York Mets , in the National League , plans for a stadium continued . Wismer had hoped the Titans could play in the new stadium , to be built at Flushing Meadows in Queens , beginning with the 1961 season , but funding difficulties and legal problems delayed construction . Wismer signed a memorandum of understanding in late 1961 , although he was unhappy about the terms , which gave the Mets exclusive use of the stadium until they completed their season , and gave the Titans no revenue from parking . According to team doctor James Nicholas , " The lease that Harry signed cost the team quite a lot . It led to [ later team owner ] Leon Hess going to the Meadowlands . " Shea Stadium , as it came to be known , did not open until 1964 . 

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 The New York Knickerbockers were the first baseball team to use uniforms , taking the field on April 4 , 1849 , in pants made of blue wool , white flannel shirts ( jerseys ) and straw hats . Caps and other types of headgear have been a part of baseball uniforms from the beginning . Baseball teams often wore full @-@ brimmed straw hats or no cap at all since there was no official rule regarding headgear . Under the 1882 uniform rules , players on the same team wore uniforms of different colors and patterns that indicated which position they played . 

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 In the 1860s , aided by the Civil War , " New York " -style baseball expanded into a national game and spawned baseball 's first governing body , The National Association of Base Ball Players . The NABBP existed as an amateur league for 12 years . By 1867 , more than 400 clubs were members . Most of the strongest clubs remained those based in the northeastern U.S. For professional baseball 's founding year , MLB uses the year 1869 — when the first professional team , the Cincinnati Red Stockings , was established . 

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 With America 's entry into World War II , many professional players had left to serve in the armed forces . A large number of minor league teams disbanded as a result and the major league game seemed under threat as well . Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley led the formation of a new professional league with women players to help keep the game in the public eye – the All @-@ American Girls Professional Baseball League existed from 1943 to 1954 . The inaugural College World Series was held in 1947 , and the Babe Ruth League youth program was founded . This program soon became another important organizing body for children 's baseball . The first crack in the unwritten agreement barring blacks from white @-@ controlled professional ball occurred the previous year : Jackie Robinson was signed by the National League 's Brooklyn Dodgers — where Branch Rickey had become general manager — and began playing for their minor league team in Montreal . In 1947 , Robinson broke the major leagues ' color barrier when he debuted with the Dodgers . Larry Doby debuted with the American League 's Cleveland Indians the same year . Latin American players , largely overlooked before , also started entering the majors in greater numbers . In 1951 , two Chicago White Sox , Venezuelan @-@ born Chico Carrasquel and black Cuban @-@ born Minnie Miñoso , became the first Hispanic All @-@ Stars . 
