April 26, 1974: The Yankees' Friday Night Massacre

Chris Chambliss

April 26, 1974: The New York Yankees trade 4 pitchers away: Fritz Peterson, Steve Kline, Fred Beene and Tom Buskey. They are sent to the Cleveland Indians. Just 6 months after President Richard Nixon initiated what became known as the Saturday Night Massacre, the New York media calls this the Friday Night Massacre.

The Yankees traded 1/3rd of their pitching staff for 1st baseman Chris Chambliss, the 1971 American League Rookie of the Year, and 2 pitchers that nobody in New York had ever heard of. This trade was very unpopular at the time, both in the clubhouse and in the stands.

The night before, 3 of the pitchers had played in the Yankees' 6-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals at Shea Stadium, where the Yankees were groundsharing with the Mets while Yankee Stadium was being renovated, that season and the next. Kline started, and didn't get out of the 6th inning, which Beene finished. Peterson pitched the last 3 innings, allowing the last run.

In a little over 8 seasons with the Yankees, Peterson had gone 109-106 with a 3.10 ERA, including a 20-win season in 1970. Kline had gone 40-37 and 3.26 in a shade over 4 seasons. Beene was 7-3 with 5 saves and a 1.99 ERA in a little over 2 seasons. Buskey had appeared in only 12 games, all in relief, going 0-2 with 2 saves and a 5.64 ERA. Mainly, it was the trade of Peterson that upset Yankee fans, with whom he was still popular, in spite of his "wife swap" the season before with fellow pitcher Mike Kekich, who was traded soon thereafter.

But it turned out to be a great trade for the Yankees. As one observer wrote, it "broke up the country club." Upshaw never did much for them, but Tidrow became a key pitcher, both starting and relieving, on the team that would win 3 straight Pennants from 1976 to 1978. And Chambliss had both a Gold Glove and a power bat, hitting the home run that clinched the 1976 Pennant. Once the fans poured onto the field at the renovated Yankee Stadium following Chambliss' homer, Peterson had become "Fritz Who?"

Peterson went 14-8 for the Indians in 1975, but pitched only 1 more season and change in the majors, due to a shoulder injury. He would finish his career at 133-131. The other pitchers were not missed.

Heart attacks took the lives of Cecil Upshaw when he was only 52 in 1995, and Tom Buskey when he was only 51 in 1998. Steve Kline died in 2018, Dick Tidrow in 2021. As of April 26, 2022, Chris Chambliss and Fred Beene are still alive. So is Fritz Peterson. However, in 2018, he publicly revealed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and stepped away from public life.

(UPDATE: He died on October 19, 2023, although it wasn't publicly announced for another 6 months, until April 12, 2024.)

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April 26, 1974 was, as the title suggests, a Friday. Football was out of season. The NBA and the ABA were both between rounds of the Playoffs. The Stanley Cup and WHA Playoffs were underway, but no games were scheduled for either.

But these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The Yankees beat the Texas Rangers, 4-3 at Shea Stadium. Mel Stottlemyre went the distance for his 162nd career win, all in a Yankee uniform. But he would only win 2 more before an injury ended his career on August 16. So, before the season was out, the Yankees were without 5 of the pitchers with whom they started the season.

* The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-0 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Tom Seaver pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics, 6-5 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Andy Etchebarren brought Don Baylor home with a sacrifice fly to win it in the bottom of the 15th inning. Grant Jackson won the game, in relief of Jim Palmer. Paul Lindblad lost it, in relief of Vida Blue. Brooks Robinson went 1-for-6 with a walk and an RBI. Reggie Jackson went 4-for-7 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. Brooks and Reggie shared a birthday, May 18. (Brooks was about to turn 37; Reggie, 28.)

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 9-3 at Atlanta Stadium. (It was renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium the next season.) The Braves scored 8 runs in the 7th inning. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs, but did not hit a home run.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 4-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the California Angels, 4-3 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. For the Angels, Frank Robinson went 0-for-2 with 2 walks, and had an RBI when Bob Johnson of the Indians hit him with a pitch with the bases loaded. But the Indians scored 4 runs in the 7th inning to chase Nolan Ryan, and make a winning pitcher out of Tom Timmerman. In his last game as an Indian, Chris Chambliss went 1-for-4 with 3 RBIs.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Al Kaline, in his last season, went 2-for-4.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-3. Rod Carew went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Robin Yount went 0-for-4.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Pete Rose went 0-for-5. Johnny Bench went 0-for-4. Lou Brock went 2-for-4, and stole his 12th base of the season, en route to a major league record 118. But the Reds won the game.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-2 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-1 with 2 walks and an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

* The San Diego Padres beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-2 at San Diego Stadium (later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Dave Freiselben outpitched Steve Carlton. Dave Winfield hit a home run. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-3.

* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 7-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

April 15, 1976: The Renovated Yankee Stadium Opens

April 15, 1976: Yankee Stadium opens, after a renovation of two and a half years. Much of the original 1923 structure remains, but much of it is new. Some old-time Yankee Fans are relieved and thrilled. Others are appalled at the changes.

The support poles, and the obstructions they provided, were removed, while the upper deck was "cantilevered" and extended upward, so it no longer needed the poles' support. Seats and aisles were widened, dropping the Stadium's capacity from 65,010 (from a peak of 67,224) to 57,545.

The back wall of the Bleachers was raised to twice its height. No longer could a fan stand on the platform of the 161st Street Station of the Number 4 Train and watch the game for the price of a Subway token. And the "façade," actually a frieze, that wrapped around the roof of the Stadium was removed, as was the roof itself. A copy of the frieze was placed atop the Bleacher wall.

Robert Merrill sings the National Anthem. Bob Shawkey, the starting and winning pitcher from the 1st game there in 1923, throws out the ceremonial first ball. Among the guests with a connection to the Stadium's history are Babe's widow Claire Ruth, Lou's widow Eleanor Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, New York Giants legend Frank Gifford, and Joe Louis, who successfully defended the Heavyweight Championship of the World at Yankee Stadium 7 times.

A photograph of "the four great Yankee catchers" in uniform is taken: Bill Dickey as a special guest, Yogi Berra and Elston Howard as current Yankee coaches, and Thurman Munson as the current Yankee catcher, who has been named the team's 1st Captain since Lou Gehrig.

And, yes, there was a game. The opponent was the Minnesota Twins. While Babe Ruth had hit the 1st home run in the Stadium, the 1st home run in the renovated Stadium was hit by the Twins' Dan Ford, off Yankee starter Rudy May. And the Twins led 4-0 going to the bottom of the 3rd inning.

A groundout by Roy White got the Yankees on the board in the 3rd. They put it together in the 4th: With 1 out, Graig Nettles drew a walk. (Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you.) Oscar Gamble tripled him home, and was singled home by Willie Randolph. Randolph stole 2nd, and was singled home by Lou Piniella to tie the game. A wild pitch by Vic Albury got Piniella to 2nd, and Otto Vélez singled him home, and the Yankees had the lead.

The Yankees scored 6 more runs in the 8th, thanks to walks by White, Piniella and Fred Stanley; singles by Nettles, Randolph, Mickey Rivers and Chris Chambliss; and a double by Gamble.

Yankees 11, Twins 4. Dick Tidrow, in relief, was the winning pitcher. Two days later, Munson would have the 1st Yankee homer in the "New Stadium."

The Yankees won the 1st of 3 straight American League Pennants that season. From the Stadium's reopening until its closing in 2008, they won 15 AL Eastern Division titles, 10 Pennants, and 6 World Championships -- more than most teams, to this day, have won in their entire history.

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April 15, 1976 was a Thursday. There were 6 other MLB games played that day:

* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 10-8 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 8-5 at Jarry Park in Montreal. For the Phillies, Mike Schmidt went 1-for-4, and Greg Luzinski hit a home run. Mike Jorgensen hit one for the Expos.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-4 at Fenway Park in Boston. For the Red Sox, Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-2 with 2 walks.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 9-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell hit a home run for the Pirates, while Lou Brock did not play for the Cardinals.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 10-5 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. For the Reds, Pete Rose went 1-for-4, and Johnny Bench went 0-for-4.

* And the California Angels beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-1 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City. (It was renamed Kauffman Stadium in 1993.) Nolan Ryan went the distance for the win, striking out 9, a pedestrian performance by his standards.

There were 4 games played in the NBA that day:

* The Buffalo Braves beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 95-89 at The Spectrum. Bob McAdoo had 36 points and 21 rebounds.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Washington Bullets, 80-79 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 126-123 at Cobo Hall in Detroit. (It's now named Huntington Place.) Bob Lanier scored 35 points for the Pistons.

* And the Phoenix Suns beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 116-111 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. Fred Brown had 45 for the Sonics, but it wasn't enough.

And there was 1 game played in the American Basketball Association, entering its last few weeks of existence: The Denver Nuggets beat the Kentucky Colonels, 110-107 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

In the NHL, the Stanley Cup Quarterfinals were underway, with all of these games being Game 3 of their respective series:

* The New York Islanders beat the Buffalo Sabres, 5-3 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1 at the Chicago Stadium. Guy Lafleur scored the winning goal with 13 seconds left in regulation.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the Boston Bruins, 6-4 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

And there was 1 game played in the World Hockey Association: The San Diego Mariners beat the Phoenix Roadrunners, 5-1 at the San Diego Sports Arena. (It's now named the Pechanga Arena.)