1986 Mets celebrate 40th anniversary of World Series title at Citi Field

Members of the 1986 Mets gathered at Citi Field on Saturday, Aug. 1, for the club’s 1986 World Series Reunion & Celebration, presented by Ford, as the franchise marked 40 years since its last championship. The day put Darryl Strawberry, Mookie Wilson, Keith Hernandez, Roger McDowell, Sid Fernandez and Bobby Ojeda back in the same orbit as manager Davey Johnson, underscoring how completely that team still frames the Mets’ identity.

The timing mattered because the 1986 club remains the last Mets team to win it all, beating the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 on Oct. 27, 1986, after one of baseball’s most famous collapses-and-comebacks. In New York, where the calendar is rarely kind to championship droughts, 40 years without another title has turned the 1986 team from a memory into a measuring stick. The reunion was built to let fans set aside the present and remember “Game 6, Game 7 and the whole magical run.”

Roger McDowell opened that memory bank by recalling the football helmets in equipment manager Charlie Samuels’ office after he pitched the seventh and eighth innings of Game 6. That detail fit the tone of the day, which blended clubhouse storytelling with public celebration. Mookie Wilson spoke during the event, Keith Hernandez acknowledged the crowd beside him, and members of the 1986 team and their family members posed for a group photo at the ballpark.

The gathering also showed how long the bonds from that season have lasted. Some members of the team still see one another every year or two, a sign that the 1986 Mets remain more than a nostalgic roster picture. They are still a working part of the franchise’s memory, especially for fans who grew up on highlights, family stories and the mythology of that October run.

The anniversary year has stretched beyond the reunion itself. The Mets scheduled additional 2026 celebrations honoring former outfielder Lee Mazzilli and former manager Bobby Valentine, using the season to spotlight different parts of the organization’s history. Throwback imagery and related promotions around the reunion weekend reinforced the same point from another angle: four decades later, the 1986 Mets still carry the weight of what the franchise has been trying to match ever since.