October 18, 1977: It was 44 years ago today that Number 44 made the New York Yankees Number 1 again.
The man that Sports Illustrated called a "Superduperstar" in Oakland becomes a legend in New York. He becomes "Mister October." Reggie Jackson hits 3 home runs, the last a tremendous blast into the center field bleachers at the original Yankee Stadium, blacked out as a hitter's background, and Mike Torrez goes the distance. The Yankees beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-4 at the original Yankee Stadium, and win Game 6 to take their 21st World Series -- but their 1st in 15 years.
I only saw the 1st 2 of Reggie's home runs. I was about to turn 8, and my parents figured the game was in the bag, and that I didn't need to stay up past 11 to see the last out, especially on a school night. (It was a Tuesday -- don't bet me. And you know what? The game ended at 10:53, so I didn't have to stay up past 11!) So I missed Reggie's mammoth 3rd blast. I have seen the clip a few times since. (Ya think, DiNozzo?)
As he had jokingly predicted, a candy bar was named after him. I loved the Reggie Bar. Oddly enough, it was peanuts and caramel, surrounded by chocolate -- pretty much the same combination as the Baby Ruth bar, which, as we now know, was named after the Bambino, the 1st man to hit 3 homers in a World Series game. That feat has since been matched by Albert Pujols (not a big surprise) and Pablo Sandoval (a very big surprise).
Because of what he was able to do, and where, and when, Reginald Martinez Jackson remains my favorite athlete of all time. Yeah, he's flawed -- so are we all, and so what?
There are 19 members of the 1977 World Champion New York Yankees still alive, 44 years later: Reggie Jackson, Ron Guidry, Willie Randolph, Roy White, Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss, Lou Piniella, Mickey Rivers, Bucky Dent, Ed Figueroa, Sparky Lyle, Cliff Johnson, Fred Stanley, Don Gullett, Mike Torrez, Fran Healy, Ken Clay, Dell Alston & George Zeber. Coach Bobby Cox is also still alive.
Thurman Munson, Catfish Hunter, Paul Blair, Dick Tidrow, manager Billy Martin, and coaches Elston Howard, Dick Howser, Art Fowler, Cloyd Boyer and Yogi Berra have died.
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October 18, 1977 was a Tuesday. It was midweek, so no football games were played. There were 5 games played in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks beat the Kansas City Kings, 120-113 at Madison Square Garden. Earl "the Pearl" Monroe led the Knickerbockers with 27 points.
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Detroit Pistons, 110-93 at Cobo Hall in Detroit.
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 91-88 the Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio. Artis Gilmore scored 34 points for the Bulls.
* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 117-112 at the Milwaukee Exposition and Convention Center Arena, a.k.a. The MECCA. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was injured, and only played 2 minutes against his former team. That enabled the Bucks to win behind 26 points from Brian Winters.
* And the Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors, 100-83 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
There were 2 games played in the NHL:
* The New York Islanders played the Los Angeles Kings to a 0-0 tie at the Nassau Coliseum. For this one night, Glenn "Chico" Resch was as good as Billy Smith, good enough to be the equal of another Hall-of-Famer, the Kings' Rogie Vachon.
* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.
And there were 2 games played in the World Hockey Association:
* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Cincinnati Stingers, 5-1 at the Colisee de Quebec.
* The New England Whalers and the Indianapolis Racers played to a 2-2 tie at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.