The Mets History of Spring Training in St. Petersburg Florida (1962 - 1987)

Before the New York Mets made their Spring Training home on the East Coast of Florida in Port St. Lucie, they called St. Petersburg on the West Coast their home. They opened up camp in their inaugural season of 1962 & played 25 Spring Trainings there through 1987. AL Lang was a businessman, turned politician & Mayor of St. Petersburg from 1916 to 1920. He was the first to see the potential the area had to have baseball teams from the cold Northeast winters, prepare for their seasons in sunny Florida. Al Lang was instrumental for making Florida the home of Spring Training & forming the Grapefruit League. In 1916 the St. Louis Browns practiced there for Spring Training. Eventually the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals & A.L. New York club all came to St. Petersburg. Over the next decade he was able to lure in nine of the then, twelve MLB teams. In 1947 the City of St. Petersburg opened up Al Lang Stadium named in his honor, The St. Louis C...