Born in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, Shea attended George Washington High School. He began undergraduate work at New York University where he was admitted to the See more

In 1958, one year after the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants left for Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively (which left the city with one major league baseball team, the See more

Shea, a one-time owner of the Boston Yanks and the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL), was on the board of … See more

Shea was also hired by Nassau County to persuade the National Hockey League (NHL) to grant a team to the then new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, resulting in the New York Islanders, who began play in 1972. See more

Shea was integral to bringing the New Jersey Americans of the American Basketball Association to Long Island in 1968 and arranging for them to play as the Nets in the Nassau County (they are now based in Brooklyn), as well as the absorption of four See more

Shea died at age 84 on October 2, 1991, from complications of a stroke he had suffered two years earlier. In 1992, the Mets wore a memorial patch on the left sleeve to honor Shea's memory. See more

• On April 8, 2008, the New York Mets retired the name "Shea" alongside other retired numbers in honor of William Shea and the closing of Shea Stadium.
• On November 21, 2009, the Mets announced that the pedestrian bridge located in the outfield section of See more