December 7, 1973: The Piniella-McDaniel Trade

December 7, 1973: The Yankees trade pitcher Lyndall "Lindy" McDaniel to the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Lou Piniella.

This was a rarity in baseball: A great trade for both teams. With Sparky Lyle now the main man out of the Yankee bullpen, McDaniel, then approaching his 38th birthday, had become surplus to requirements in Pinstripedom. In Kansas City, he only pitched 2 more seasons, but he mentored their young pitchers, including Dennis Leonard, Paul Splittorff, Doug Bird and Steve Mingori. Without that tutelage, the Royals never would have made the postseason 6 times in 10 years between 1976 and 1985.

As for Lou: When he reported to Spring Training at Fort Lauderdale, Florida in March 1974, he was met by team owner George Steinbrenner. George didn't have a crewcut himself, but he hated long hair. And Lou had long hair. George told him to get a haircut.

Lou was no dummy: He told George that many great figures in history had long hair, including Jesus. George was no dummy, either: He had a response ready. He said, "Come with me." They walked over to the hotel pool, and George pointed: "Walk across that pool. If you can, you can keep your long hair."

Lou got a haircut. Well, he may have cited the central figure in the Bible (other than God Himself), but he didn't lose his strength like Samson. For the next 11 seasons, Lou batted .295 as a Yankee -- .291 overall for his career. He peaked at .330 in 1977. He was never a big home run hitter, but 7 times he had at least 68 RBIs in a season.

He always seemed to step up his game late in the season, terrorizing the Boston Red Sox (especially in the comeback year of 1978), the Royals (batting .305 in 5 ALCS) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (batting .319 in 4 World Series). In his 10 full seasons, the Yankees reached the postseason 5 times and nearly did so 2 others; without him, they didn't make it between 1964 and 1995.

He is now best known as a manager. Although he couldn't get the Yankees into the postseason despite close calls in 1986, 1987 and 1988, he managed the Cincinnati Reds to the 1990 World Championship, the Seattle Mariners to their 1st 4 postseason appearances (1995, 1997, 2000 & 2001), and led the Chicago Cubs to back-to-back postseasons (2007-08).

Last week, he missed being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager, by 1 vote. Chosen instead was Jim Leyland, whose postseason success rests on the steroid-boosted shoulders of Gary Sheffield (1997 Florida Marlins) and Iván Rodríguez (2006 Detroit Tigers). Sweet Lou never had to cheat.

*

December 7, 1973 was a Friday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 7 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Buffalo Braves, 113-108 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Dave DeBusschere, in what turned out to be his last season, had maybe his best game, scoring 41 points and grabbing 21 rebounds.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks, 116-112 at the Boston Garden.

* The Kansas City-Omaha Kings beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 113-102 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 96-91 at the Cleveland Arena.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 116-86 at the Milwaukee Exposition & Convention Center Arena, a.k.a. The MECCA.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Capital Bullets (they renamed themselves the Washington Bullets the next season), 114-92 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. Charlie Scott led all pro scorers on the night with 40 points.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 115-111 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

There were 5 games in the American Basketball Association:

* The New York Nets beat the Memphis Tams, 138-102 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Carolina Cougars beat their arch-rivals, the Virginia Squires, 115-110 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

* The Indiana Pacers beat their arch-rivals, the Kentucky Colonels, 105-97 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum (now the Corteva Coliseum) in Indianapolis.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Denver Rockets (they became the Nuggets a year later), 116-94 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio.

* And the Utah Stars beat the San Diego Conquistadors, 121-113 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City.

There were 3 games played in the NHL:

* The Detroit Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues played to a 1-1 tie at the St. Louis Arena.

* The California Golden Seals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

* And the Atlanta Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks, 2-0 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

And there were 2 games in the World Hockey Association. The Minnesota Fighting Saints beat the Vancouver Blazers, 3-1 at the St. Paul Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. And the Winnipeg Jets beat the Toronto Toros, 7-4 at the Winnipeg Arena.

October 20, 1990: The Not-So-Big Red Machine Upsets the Bash Brothers

October 20, 1990: One of the most stunning upsets in World Series history is completed. The Cincinnati Reds beat the Oakland Athletics, 2-1 at the Oakland Coliseum, completing a 4-game sweep of the World Series, a tremendous upset.

The teams had faced each other in the Series in 1972, when, despite losing their best player, Reggie Jackson, to injury, the A's beat the "Big Red Machine" in 7 games. But with an offense led by the "Bash Brothers," Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, and a pitching staff led by ace Dave Stewart and reliever Dennis Eckersley, the A's had won their 3rd straight American League Pennant. They had lost the 1988 World Series in an upset by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but beaten their cross-Bay neighbors, the San Francisco Giants, in the earthquake-interrupted 1989 edition.

The Reds had won the NL Western Division 6 times in the 1970s, winning 4 Pennants and 2 World Series. But the team was broken up. From 1985 to 1988, with team legend Pete Rose returning as manager, they finished 2nd 4 straight seasons. No Central Division at the time, and no Wild Card berths. Rose was permanently banned the next season, for betting on baseball games, and was replaced by former New York Yankees player and manager Lou Piniella.

The Reds won their 1st 9 games in 1990, and held the lead in the NL West the entire way. The horse racing expression "led wire-to-wire" was frequently used. Nevertheless, they were considered underdogs in the NL Championship Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. They won in 6 games, anyway.

In the AL Championship Series, the A's swept the Boston Red Sox in 4 straight. They were the easy betting favorites for this World Series, and some people were predicting a 4-game sweep. They got one, but not in the direction they expected. They didn't count on the hitting of Reds shortstop Barry Larkin, of 3rd baseman Chris Sabo, and of outfielders Eric Davis and Billy Hatcher. They didn't count on the starting pitching of José Rijo. And they didn't count on the three-headed monster of the Cincinnati bullpen, known as the Nasty Boys: Rob Dibble, Randy Myers and Norm Charlton.

In Game 1, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Rijo pitched 7 shutout innings, outpitching Stewart, and was backed by a home run from Davis. The Reds won, 7-0. Game 2 went to extra innings, and, in the bottom of the 10th, Eckersley gave off 3 straight singles to lose it, to Billy Bates, Chris Sabo and Joe Oliver.

The action moved to Oakland for Game 3, and the same observers who had predicted an A's sweep now predicted that the A's would use home field to their advantage, and take control of the Series. They should have predicted that Chris Sabo would hit 2 home runs, in support Tom Browning, whose wife had a baby in between the games. The Reds scored 7 runs in the 3rd inning, and won, 8-3.

Game 4 was a rematch of Game 1, and while Stewart was considerably better than he was then, Rijo was strong again. The A's led 1-0 after 7 innings, and both Davis and Hatcher were injured. In the top of the 8th, Larkin singled, Herm Winningham beat out a bunt for a hit, and Stewart made a throwing error to allow Paul O'Neill to reach, loading the bases. A groundout by Glenn Braggs and a sacrifice fly by Hal Morris scored the runs the Reds would need to win the game. They had gotten 2 runs on only 2 hits. Myers saved the game for Rijo, who was named the Series' Most Valuable Player.

Neither team has reached the World Series since. The Reds have won 9 National League Pennants, while the A's, in Philadelphia and Oakland combined, have won 15 American League Pennants. But neither has won any from 1991 to 2022.

UPDATE: The Cincinnati Reds have won Division titles in 1995, 2010, 2012; and Wild Card berths in 2013, 2020 and 2025; but haven't won so much as a postseason series since the 1995 NL Division Series. But at least they still exist: After so many threats to move out of the San Francisco Bay Area, the Athletics moved to Sacramento in 2025, with the intent of using that only as a stopgap home until their domed stadium in Las Vegas is ready in 2028.

The Reds have a team Hall of Fame. Elected from this 1990 World Championship team have been 2nd baseman Ron Oester, shortstop Barry Larkin, 3rd baseman Chris Sabo, left fielder George Foster, center fielder Eric Davis; pitchers Tom Browning, José Rijo; manager Lou Piniella, and broadcasters Joe Nuxhall and Marty Brennaman.

From their 1979 NL Western Division title, but no other titles, their Hall has inducted pitchers Tom Seaver and Mario Soto. From their 4 straight 2nd-place finishes from 1985 to 1988, but not the 1979 or the 1990 postseason appearances, they have inducted right fielder Dave Parker.

From their 1995 Division Champions, they have inducted Larkin, Rijo, and outfielder Reggie Sanders. From the 2000s, but not either the 1995 or the 2010 postseason appearances, they have inducted center fielder Ken Griffey Jr., 1st baseman Sean Casey, left fielder Adam Dunn, and pitcher Danny Graves. From their 2010 Division title, they have inducted 2nd baseman Brandon Phillips and pitchers Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo.

*

October 20, 1990 was a Saturday. The NBA season wouldn't begin for another 13 days. There were 8 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Washington Capitals, 4-0 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Detroit Red Wings, 5-3 at the Colisée de Québec.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-3 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Minnesota North Stars and the St. Louis Blues played to a tie, 2-2 at the St. Louis Arena.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Boston Bruins, 8-1 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

And there were college football games, including the following:

* Number 1 Virginia beat Wake Forest, 49-14 at Groves Stadium in Wake Forest, North Carolina. The next week, Virginia began an awful collapse, losing 4 of their last 5 games, and blowing the Atlantic Coast Conference title. They were still invited to the Sugar Bowl.

* Number 2 Miami were upset by Number 6 Notre Dame, 29-20 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The Fighting Irish later lost to Penn State, but were still Number 5 when they played Colorado in the Orange Bowl. Had they won that game, they wouldn't have been awarded the National Championship -- then again, it's Notre Dame, so you never know -- but Colorado certainly wouldn't have, being 8-2-1.

* Number 3 Tennessee lost to Alabama, 9-6 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee still won the Southeastern Conference title, and beat Virginia in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama went to the Fiesta Bowl, losing to the University of Louisville.

* Number 4 Nebraska beat Oklahoma State, 31-3 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Two weeks later, Nebraska lost to Colorado, to knock them out of the Big 8, and national, title picture.

* Number 5 Auburn beat Number 7 Florida State, 20-17 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. But the Tigers blew their chance by losing 3 games the rest of the way.

* Number 10 Michigan were upset by Number 22 Iowa, 24-23 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Iowa went on to win the Big Ten Conference title.

* Number 11 Georgia Tech were tied by North Carolina, 13-13 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This would turn out to be the only blemish on Tech's record, as they won the Atlantic Coast Conference title, and beat Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl, finishing 11-0-1.

* Number 13 Washington beat Stanford, 52-16 at the old Stanford Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Palo Alto, California. Washington won the Pacific-Ten Conference title, and beat Iowa in the Rose Bowl.

* Number 14 Colorado beat Kansas, 41-10 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas. Colorado had already had their "Fifth Down" win over Missouri, and went on to win the Big Eight title, and beat Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, to win one of the more dubious National Championships in college football history.

Why weren't Georgia Tech, at 11-0-1, the only undefeated team in the country, and a school with a considerably better historical legacy than Colorado, given the National Championship over Colorado, who were 11-1-1 and should've been 10-2-1?

The only thing I can think of is, the ACC, while probably the most-respected league when it comes to college basketball, were not as respected in college football as the Big 8 (Colorado's league), the Big 10, the Pac-10, the SEC and the SWC. Then again, in 1984, Brigham Young (BYU) won the Western Athletic Conference title and were the only undefeated team, and were selected over Washington (11-1 and the only team with 1 blemish, but not Pac-10 Champions).

* Number 16 Oklahoma lost to Iowa State, 33-31 at Owen Field in Norman, Oklahoma.

* Number 17 Florida beat Akron, 59-0 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.

* Number 19 Texas beat Arkansas, 49-17 at Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. They got up to Number 3 before losing to then-Number 4 Miami in the Cotton Bowl. And they'd already lost to Colorado on September 22. So even if they'd won the Cotton Bowl, they probably wouldn't have been ranked any higher than 3rd in the last poll.

This was also the day that a game in English soccer's football league got nasty and launched a rivalry, with North London team Arsenal beating Manchester United, 1-0 at United's home, Old Trafford. I have a separate entry for that event. 

September 9, 1978: The Boston Massacre, Game 3

September 9, 1978: Despite the New York Yankees having closed to within 2 games of the Boston Red Sox with 15-3 and 13-2 wins, Sox fans weren't shaken up yet. They were up for this Saturday NBC Game of the Week. They were excited about the pitching matchup between the two leading winners in the American League that season, Ron Guidry (who came into the game with a record of 20-2) and Dennis Eckersley (16-6). As Nathan Salant put it in his book This Date In New York Yankees History:

The talk in Boston was that all the Sox had to do was win the next two, and the Yankees would have wasted all those runs and hits for nothing. Besides, today the "Eck" was on the mound, 3-0 against the Yankees in 1978. Sure, Guidry was tough, but he was a lefthander about to get his first start in Fenway, with that nice, close leftfield wall. And, the Sox were due to wake up with the bats, weren't they?

Well, for the 1st 3 innings, the game lived up to its billing: No runs. Then came the top of the 4th, and that might have been the decisive inning of the entire season, the one that showed the Sox and their fans that the 1st 2 games of the series were no fluke, and that there was no longer any reason for the Yankees to be afraid of the Sox, not even of their ace.

Thurman Munson led off with a single. Then Reggie Jackson flew to left, and Carl Yastrzemski threw back to the infield, and doubled Munson off. It seemed as though the threat was over.

It wasn't. Chris Chambliss doubled. With 1st base open and 2 outs, Sox manager Don Zimmer ordered that Graig Nettles be intentionally walked. As Salant put it, "That made no sense, because the next batter was the Red Sox killer himself, Lou Piniella." Sweet Lou had already proven himself a big clutch hitter in the previous season, against the Sox in September, the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series, and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

Now, he delivered the sequel. He took advantage of that big space in Fenway's right field, and of Jim Rice's lead feet and his inexperience out there. (Rice was the usual left fielder, while the aging Yaz and George Scott had platooned between 1st base and designated hitter. But, here, he was subbing for the injured Dwight Evans). Piniella smacked one that Rice could only hold to a double, scoring Chambliss.

With 1st base again open, Roy White was intentionally walked. As Salant put it, "A good move because White is second to Piniella as a Sox-smasher." And because the next man up was the Yankees' good-fielding, but barely-slap-hitting shortstop, Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent. Surely, he wouldn't cause trouble at Fenway Park. Little did they know...

Dent singled to left, scoring Nettles and Piniella, making it 3-0 New York. Given the emotional impact that this game had, this might have been the Yankees' most important hit of the season, never mind Dent's most important RBI hit of the season at Fenway Park. And Dent got to 2nd on an error. Mickey Rivers singled home White and Dent. 5-0. With Willie Randolph up, Eckersley threw a wild pitch that advanced the runners. Randolph drew a walk. The Yankees had batted around. Munson singled Rivers home.

Finally, Zimmer took Eckersley out of the game. One of the best starters in baseball at the time -- he had gone 14-13, including a no-hitter, for an awful Cleveland Indians team the year before, but had to be traded, for reasons that I won't get into here -- he had already developed a drinking problem that would nearly ruin him. Eventually, he would be turned into one of the best relief pitchers ever, finishing a Hall of Fame career with 197 wins and 390 saves. But now, he had to be removed.

Zimmer brought the lefthanded Tom Burgmeier in, to face the lefty Reggie, and, if he got on base, the lefty Chambliss. A good reliever who would make the All-Star Team in 1980, here he was betrayed by the injury to catcher Carlton Fisk, who allowed a passed ball that scored Randolph. That might have rattled him, because he walked Reggie. But he settled down, and got Chambliss to fly to center.

This inning was the Red Sox' season in a nutshell: Seemingly getting into and out of trouble, and then, after there were already 2 outs, came 7 runs, on 5 hits, 3 walks (not counting the last, to Reggie), an error, a wild pitch, and a passed ball.

Meanwhile, Guidry cruised, pitching as well as he had all year. He allowed 2 singles in the 1st 3 at-bats of the game, to Rick Burleson and Rice, and then allowed no hits and just 4 walks the rest of the way.

Yankees 7, Red Sox 0. The Yankees were now only 1 game back.

Reggie Jackson and Carl Yastrzemski both went 0-for-4, although Reggie did draw a walk.

This game inspired 2 legendary quotes, for both of which I was unable to find a source. Supposedly, a sportswriter wrote, "This was the first time that a first-place team had been eliminated from a pennant race."

And, supposedly, someone stood up in a Boston bar, and said, "They killed our grandfathers, they killed our fathers, and now, the sons of bitches are coming for us." Meaning the Yankees had taken the heart of the 1910s Red Sox champions for their own 1920s champions, they'd broken New England hearts in the 1949 AL Pennant race, and now, it was their own generation's turn.

*

September 9, 1978 was a Saturday. These other games were played in Major League Baseball that day:

* The New York Mets beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1 at Shea Stadium. Kevin Kobel went the distance for the win. The Pirates' lone run came on a solo home run by Willie Stargell.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Montreal Expos, 6-3 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Garry Maddox and Richie Hebner hit home runs. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-3, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-4 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0 at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Scott McGregor pitched a 3-hit shutout. Eddie Murray and Ken Singleton hit home runs.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Johnny Bench went 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 5-2 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-6 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-0 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Diego Padres, 10-4 at the Astrodome in Houston. Dave Winfield went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* The California Angels swept a doubleheader from the Kansas City Royals at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim), 3-2 and 4-2. George Brett went 2-for-8 with an RBI over the 2 games.

* And the Oakland Athletics and the Texas Rangers were rained out at the Oakland Coliseum. It would be made up as part of a doubleheader the next day.

Being a Saturday, there were college football games played. Among them:

* Number 3 Penn State beat Rutgers, 26-10 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania.

* Number 4 Oklahoma beat Stanford, 35-29 at the old Stanford Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Palo Alto, California.

* Missouri upset Number 5 Notre Dame, 3-0 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

* Number 9 USC beat Texas Tech, 17-9 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* Number 10 Nebraska beat the University of California, 36-26 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

* Number 12 UCLA beat Number 11 Washington, 10-7 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

* The University of Illinois and their arch-rivals, Northwestern University, played to a 0-0 tie at a rain-soaked Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.

* In another arch-rivalry game, Southern Methodist beat Texas Christian, 45-14 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

* Number 1 Alabama and Number 2 Arkansas did not play that week.

Also, in English soccer, Arsenal lost to defending Football League Champions Nottingham Forest, 2-1 at the City Ground in Nottingham.

May 20, 1976: The Yanks-Sox '76 Brawl

Left: Lou Piniella and Carlton Fisk. Right: Bill Lee.

May 20, 1976: The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox begin a 4-game series at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx.

In 1967, there had been an exchange of beanballs there that led to a bench-clearing brawl. In 1973, at Fenway Park in Boston, a home-plate collision between the teams' All-Star catchers, Carlton Fisk at the plate and baserunner Thurman Munson, led to another big brawl. Now, as the Sox were defending American League Pennant winners, and the Yankees were trying to start a new dynasty, the old rivalry was well and truly back on.

In the bottom of the 6th, with the Yankees leading, 1-0, Lou Piniella on 2nd base and Graig Nettles on 1st base, Otto Vélez singled to right field. Piniella came around to score, but Fisk got the throw from Dwight Evans in right. "Sweet Lou" barreled into "Pudge," hoping to make him drop the ball, but it's no use: Fisk hung on, and Piniella was, unquestionably, out.

In retaliation, Fisk shoved Piniella, and here we go again. This one was even nastier than the brawls of '67 at The Stadium and '73 at Fenway.

The combatants were separated, but Sox reliever Bill Lee -- who may have hated the Yankees more than any Red Sock ever, at least until the Roid Sox of 2003-16 -- started yelling at Nettles, claiming that Nettles had hurt his shoulder. Spewing obscenities like a typical drunken lout Sox fan, "the Spaceman" (may NYPD Detective Sam Tyler of Life On Mars, wherever he is, forgive me) called Nettles out.

Lee was a pretty good pitcher up until this point, but this incident may have been the effect of drugs on his brain. (He has occasionally expressed his liking of marijuana, which usually leaves one much mellower than this.) If you call Graig Nettles out, he's going to clobber you. He did. Yeah, it was a sucker punch, but then, Lee was a sucker.

The Sox went on to win the game, 8-2, but lost the fight, only split that 4-game series, and were well back of the Yankees, who went on to win the Pennant.

Lee later said, "The Yankees fought like hookers swinging their purses." First of all, How would he know how hookers fight? And second of all, What does it say about him that he still lost the fight?

Sox fans like to say that Nettles ruined Lee, a great pitcher until then, but who never recovered. Actually, Lee was only a pretty good pitcher until then, and Lee did recover -- after yet another brilliant Sox trade, sending Lee to the Montreal Expos for Stan Papi. Not the Papi that Sox fans like to remember.

*

May 20, 1976 was a Thursday. These other Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-3 at Shea Stadium. Yes, both New York teams were at home on the same night, and both lost. Despite facing the team in 1st place in the National League Eastern Division, a roadtrip of only 100 miles for their fans, the Mets only drew 16,914 fans. But then, the Yankees, facing their arch-rivals in a key AL East race, only got 28,418.

At any rate, Mike Schmidt hit a home run for the Phils, Dave Kingman for the Mets, and former Red Sox AL Cy Young Award winner Jim Lonborg outpitched reigning NL Cy Young winner Tom Seaver.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Woodie Fryman (7 2/3rds inning) and Dale Murray combined on a 7-hit shutout.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Surprisingly, Rod Carew went 0-for-4.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-1 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Lou Brock went 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Willie Stargell went 1-for-4.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-4 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 2-for-5 with an RIB.

* The California Angels beat the Texas Rangers, 6-3 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Houston Astros beat the San Diego Padres, 5-4 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium). Dave Winfield hit a home run.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-5 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Pete Rose went 2-for-3 with 2 walks. Johnny Bench went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

* And the Baltimore Orioles, the Cleveland Indians, the Detroit Tigers and the Milwaukee Brewers were not scheduled.

The NBA Playoffs were between the Conference Finals and the Finals. The Boston Celtics went on to beat the Phoenix Suns in 6 games. The NHL season ended 4 days earlier. The Montreal Canadiens swept the Philadelphia Flyers in 4 straight in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Game 1 was played in the World Hockey Association Finals. The Winnipeg Jets beat the Houston Aeros, 4-3 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has been converted into the "Central Campus" of televangelist Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church.) The Jets won in 4 straight, to take their 1st title. They would win 3 of the WHA's last 4 titles.