April 27, 1982: The New York Yankees play the California Angels at Yankee Stadium. Team owner George Steinbrenner had refused to sign Reggie Jackson to a new contract, and this is Reggie’s first game back since.
Reggie leads off the top of the 7th, as rain begins to fall. The fans are chanting, “Reg-gie! Reg-gie! Reg-gie!” Against Yankee ace Ron Guidry, Reggie hits a home run. By the time he gets back to the dugout, the chant has become “Steinbrenner sucks!” At the end of the 7th inning, with the Angels up 3-1, the umpires call the game for rain.
It wasn't just baseball's answer to hockey's "Eddie Giacomin Game" at Madison Square Garden in 1975. It was a symbolic message that the dynasty of 1976 to 1981 was over.
Steinbrenner will later admit that letting Reggie go was his biggest mistake as Yankee owner, and the men would reconcile.
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April 27, 1982 was a Tuesday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball that night:
* The New York Mets lost to the San Diego Padres, 8-5 at San Diego Stadium.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-5 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Atlanta Braves, 10-4 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Texas Rangers, 8-4 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.
* The Seattle Mariners beat the Cleveland Indians, 7-4 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Dave Henderson and Todd Cruz hit home runs in the top of the 11th inning.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 11-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
* The Houston Astros beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
* And the Montreal Expos beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-2 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
Game 1 of the NBA's Western Conference Semifinals was played. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns, 115-96 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 95-93 at the Kingdome in Seattle.
Game 1 of the NHL's respective Conference Finals were both played. The New York Islanders beat the Quebec Nordiques, 4-1 at the Nassau Coliseum. And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 2-1 at the Chicago Stadium. James Nill scored the winning goal for the Canucks at 8:50 of the 2nd overtime.
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