October 28, 1981: The Last Night of My Yankee Dynasty

October 28, 1981: A dark day in my life. One might even say a blue day... Dodger Blue.

No two franchises have played each other in the World Series as often as the New York Yankees and the Dodgers. They played each other in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955 and 1956, when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. The Dodgers won in 1955, but the Yankees won all the rest.

After the 1957 season, the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. They beat the Yankees in 1963. They didn't play each other again until 1977, and the Yankees won. The Yankees beat them again in 1978.

By this point, I was old enough to watch baseball on television, and these were the Yankees of Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Catfish Hunter, Ron Guidry, Graig Nettles and Goose Gossage. And these were the Dodgers of Steve Garvey and Don Sutton, with a young Dusty Baker in left field. And while the Yankees had replaced their managers periodically -- Billy Martin managed the 1977 title, Bob Lemon the one in 1978 -- Tommy Lasorda had been their manager since late in 1976.

This Dodger team had also won the National League Pennant in 1974, while still managed by the man who'd led them since 1954, Walter Alston. They lost that World Series to the Oakland Athletics, then including Jackson, Hunter, and Ken Holtzman, who would also pitch for the Yankees in 1977, but was traded in 1978. The Yankees had also won the American League Pennant in 1976, losing the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds.

Pretty much everybody outside each team's market hated both teams. The Yankees were seen as New York gangsters, rough and nasty, ready to run over your grandmother if she got in their way; the Dodgers as L.A. nice guys, All-American Boys, a little too clean, too good to be true (which turned out to be the case). No longer the beloved underdogs, a.k.a. "Dem Bums," as they were in Brooklyn, the Los Angeles Dodgers were popular from the Pacific Ocean to Las Vegas, but not east of there.

But when they played each other in the World Series, even people who hated the Dodgers rooted for them, because they hated the Yankees more.

In 1978, the Dodgers had won the 1st 2 games of the Series in Los Angeles. Then the Yankees took the next 4, 3 at Yankee Stadium and Game 6 at Dodger Stadium, to win the title.

Both teams had done a little retooling. In 1979, neither made the Playoffs, and Munson, the Yankees' catcher and Captain, was killed in a plane crash. Hunter retired due to a shoulder injury. Roy White also retired. Sparky Lyle (a season earlier), Ed Figueroa, Mickey Rivers and Chris Chambliss were traded. Lemon, Oscar Gamble and Rudy May had left, and returned. Bobby Murcer, the popular center fielder traded after the 1974 season, had also returned. The Yankees signed pitcher Tommy John away from the Dodgers, and brought in Bob Watson, Jerry Mumphrey and Rick Cerone.

In 1980, the Yankees won the AL Eastern Division again, but lost the AL Championship Series to the Kansas City Royals, whom they had beaten in the ALCS in 1976, '77 and '78. The Dodgers finished in a tie with the Houston Astros for the NL Western Division title, but lost a Playoff game to the Astros.

The Dodgers traded Sutton, but benefited from the arrival in 1981 of Fernando Valenzuela, a chubby Mexican lefthander with a sensational screwball that allowed him to win his 1st 8 decisions. Even people who didn't like the Dodgers were gripped by "Fernandomania," and, for the first time, the huge Mexican-American community in Southern California found a reason to root for the Dodgers instead of a team from Mexico. Valenzuela finished 13-7, and was named the NL's Rookie of the Year, just as their reliever Steve Howe had been in 1980, and their starting pitcher Rick Sutcliffe in 1979.

The Yankees signed San Diego Padres star Dave Winfield to their 1st contract worth more than $1 million a year. Remembering how he wasn't exactly welcomed as the big free agent signing 4 years earlier, Reggie showed Dave the courtesy he'd wanted.

The strike that interrupted the 1981 season meant that a team had to finish 1st in either half of the season to qualify for the Playoffs. The Yankees won the AL East in the 1st half; beat the 2nd-half winners, the Milwaukee Brewers; and finally the A's for the Pennant. The Dodgers won the NL West in the 1st half, beat the Astros, and then beat the Montreal Expos for the Pennant.

*

October 20, 1981: Game 1 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. A banner is hung from the upper deck: "DON'T THE DODGERS EVER LEARN"?

Not yet, they don't, as Watson's 1st-inning homer and the pitching of Guidry and Gossage shut the Bums down, 5-3.

October 21, 1981: The Yankees take a 2-0 lead, as John and Gossage combine on a 3-0 shutout. Watson has 2 hits and an RBI.

The Yankees are 2 wins away from their 23rd World Championship. No one can imagine it now, but the team will not win another competitive game until April 12, 1982 (the next season opened later than it should have, due to a late snowstorm postponing a week's worth of games), and it will take them 15 more years to get that 23rd title.

The Yankees also make a trade on this day, sending 22-year-old outfielder Willie McGee to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Bob Sykes. It will be one of the worst trades in Yankee history, as Sykes, a native of nearby Neptune, New Jersey, is already damaged goods, and never appears in another big-league game, finished at 27. McGee helps the Cards win the next year’s World Series and 3 of the next 6 NL Pennants.

October 23, 1981: Despite an uncharacteristically poor performance (9 hits‚ 7 walks), Valenzuela goes the distance in the Dodgers' 5-4 come-from-behind win in Game 3. The deciding run scores on a double play.

Yankee starter Dave Righetti lasts just 2 innings‚ walking 2 and allowing 5 hits‚ but it is reliever George Frazier who takes the loss. Ron Cey hits a 3-run homer for the Dodgers. Starters Valenzuela and Righetti are the 1st 2 Rookies of the Year, of any position, to oppose each other in the World Series since Willie Mays and Gil McDougald in 1951.

October 24, 1981: The Dodgers tie the World Series up at 2 games apiece, 8-7, thanks to some poor Yankee fielding. Jackson and Willie Randolph hit home runs for the Bronx Bombers -- Reggie's last in a Yankee uniform, as it turned out -- but Jay Johnstone, who'd helped the Yankees beat the Dodgers in the 1978 World Series, returns the favor for the Dodgers.

Johnstone would later write, in his memoir Temporary Insanity (a title based on his quirky personality), that George Steinbrenner stormed into the locker room and demanded that Ron Davis (Yankee reliever and future Met player Ike's father) tell him why he threw Johnstone a fastball.

October 25, 1981: The Dodgers win Game 5, as back-to-back homers by Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager off Guidry give the Dodgers their 3rd consecutive win, 2-1. Winfield singled in the 5th, but that turned out to be his only hit in the Series. Even then, he didn't score, as he was eliminated when Reggie grounded into a double play.

After this game, George said he'd scuffled with 2 Dodger fans in a hotel elevator, and that explained his fat lip and his broken hand.

*

October 28, 1981: Game 6 of the World Series is played at Yankee Stadium, having been postponed a day due to rain. John started for the Yankees, Burt Hooton for the Dodgers, and both of them got through the 2nd inning without allowing a run.

The Yankees, needing to win to force a Game 7, got on the board first: With 2 out in the bottom of the 3rd, Randolph hit a home run. They got 2 more men on, and that brought up Mr. October. But Reggie flied to left. The Dodgers tied it in the top of the 4th, on singles by Baker, Rick Monday and Yeager.

With 1 out in the bottom of the 4th, Nettles doubled, and Cerone struck out. Lasorda ordered the weak-hitting shortstop, Larry Milbourne, walked intentionally, to bring the pitcher's spot in the order up. Lemon gambled, and sent Bobby Murcer up to pinch-hit for a pitcher who'd allowed only 1 run in 4 innings. Having made his major league debut 16 years earlier, this was the biggest plate appearance that Murcer would ever have. He nearly hit it out to right field, but not quite long enough.

Lemon, himself a Hall of Fame pitcher and a pitching coach before becoming a manager, might have been justified in pinch-hitting for John. But he couldn't get the pitching right afterward. He sent Frazier out for the 5th, and he had nothing, allowing an RBI single by Cey and an RBI triple by Guerrero, giving the Dodgers a 4-1 lead.

It got worse in the 6th, as Davis walked Hooton, walked Davey Lopes, and allowed an RBI single to Bill Russell. Lemon replaced him with Rick Reuschel. When Lopes and Russell advanced on a double steal, Lemon ordered Garvey walked to set up the double play. It didn't work: Derrel Thomas hit a grounder to 3rd that got Lopes home. Baker reached on an error, and Guerrero singled home 2 runs. It was 8-1 Los Angeles.

Lou Piniella singled home a run in the bottom of the 6th, but that would be it for the Bronx Bombers, no further bombing. In the top of the 8th, Guerrero hit a home run. In the bottom of the 9th, Howe walked Randolph, struck Mumphrey out, and got Winfield to fly to left.

Mr. October came to bat as a Yankee one more time, and grounded to Lopes at 2nd. Lopes had driven the Yankees crazy in all 3 World Series. This time, he bobbled the ball, and Reggie reached base in Pinstripes one last time. It made no difference, as Watson made the last out, flying to Lee Lacy in center.

Dodgers 9, Yankees 2. The L.A. Bums had finally beaten the Yankees in the World Series. For the 1st time, the Series' Most Valuable Player award was split, awarded to 3 players: Guerrero, Cey and Yeager.

Winfield was just 1-for-21‚ while Frazier tied a Series record by losing 3 games. The record was set by the White Sox' Lefty Williams in 1919‚ but Williams‚ one of the 8 "Black Sox‚" was losing on purpose. Frazier was trying to win, and didn't.

The long-term effects on the Yankees were as follows:

* This was the last time that Reggie Jackson suited up as a player for the Yankees, and George Steinbrenner refused to exercise the option for a 6th year on his contract. Reggie happily accepted an offer from Gene Autry to return to the West Coast and play for the California Angels.

* Winfield's performance contrasted so much with Reggie's Mr. October persona that George eventually nicknamed him Mr. May, never gave him the respect he deserved, and ended up chasing Dave out of town – coincidentally, also to the Angels, although Reggie was retired by that point – and getting himself in trouble with how he did it.

While George gave Dave a "Day" after he was elected to the Hall of Fame, to this day, Dave's Number 31 has not been retired, along with those of his Yankee teammates Jackson (44), Ron Guidry (49) and, later, Don Mattingly (23), and his occasional manager Billy Martin (1). Nor has he gotten a Plaque in Monument Park like those 4, and also like teammates Randolph and Gossage.

* George went through various experiments in managers and styles of play (booming bats one year, speed the next, and so on) to get the Yankees back on top, but they wouldn't reach the World Series again for 15 years, giving the new ownership of the Mets the chance to become from 1984 to 1992 what they have not been since '92, New York's first team. (Despite their 2015 Pennant, they still aren't.)

Blowing that lead, to the evil O'Malley Bums and their fat hypocritical slob of a manager, Tommy Lasorda, losing the Series at home, and when I was just 11 going on 12...

More than any other Yankee defeat, this one sticks in my craw. As bad as the 2001 and 2003 World Series losses were (I don't really remember the 1976 sweep loss); or the 1980 and 2012 ALCS sweeps; or the 2010, 2017, 2019 and 2022 ALCS folds; or the ALDS losses of 1995, 1997, 2006, 2011, 2018 and 2020; or the 1985 and 1988 regular-season near-misses; or the complete bottle-jobs in the Wild Card Games of 2015 and 2021. Even the 2004 ALCS collapse doesn't bother me as much as the 1981 World Series.

And, unlike with the 2004 Red Sox and the 2017, '19 and '22 Astros, I can't even rationalize it away by saying the Dodgers cheated! That I know of. There are some people who have alleged that the mound at Dodger Stadium was actually less than 60 feet 6 inches from home plate in the Lasorda era, but I don't think this was ever seriously challenged.

In 1998, the Yankees celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the '77 and '78 World Champions by inviting the Dodgers of that period to Old-Timers' Day. The Old-Timers' Game usually goes 3 innings, but since it was tied, it went to a 4th inning, and Willie Randolph hit a home run off Tommy John to win it for the Yankees. So not only did John pitch on the losing side in all 3 of these Yankee-Dodger World Series, but he lost this Old-Timers' Game as well.

Among the interviews done on WPIX-Channel 11, Bobby Murcer, by then a broadcaster, and wearing a special hookup on his belt so he could announce a game he was playing in, talked to Lasorda. The man who liked to say, "I bleed Dodger Blue," and referred to God as "the Big Dodger in the Sky," talked about the '77 and '78 Series, but brought up '81, Murcer's only World Series in 17 seasons in the major leagues, 13 of them with the Yankees, and said, "We brought that World Championship trophy back to Los Angeles where it belongs!"

The fat bigoted slob forgot: Los Angeles isn't even where the Dodgers belong. Brooklyn is.

Buster Olney titled his book about the 2001 Yankees, with a focus on their loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 7 of the World Series, The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty. Peter Golenbock, in Dynasty: The New York Yankees, 1949-1964; David Halberstam, in October 1964; and Philip Bashe, in Dog Days: The New York Yankees' Fall from Grace and Return to Glory, 1964-1976 have all written about how the Yankees' loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 of the 1964 World Series was the last day of the old Yankee Dynasty.

October 28, 1981 was the last day of my Yankee Dynasty. That wasn't apparent at the time. But the team's collapse in 1982 made it clear.

The Yankees were now 8-3 in World Series against the Dodgers, 2-2 in their Los Angeles period. In the 41 years since, the teams have never played each other in another World Series. In Interleague Play, yes; in the World Series, no.

They've both made the Playoffs in 1995, 1996, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. They've both reached their respective League Championship Series in 2009, 2017 and 2019. But, since 1981, they've never again met in the World Series.

And at the rate Brian Cashman is going, it looks like it won't happen again for years to come, through no fault of the Dodgers and their management.

UPDATE: They did face each other in the 2024 World Series. The Dodgers won in 5 games.

*

October 28, 1981 was a Wednesday. The baseball season was over. It was midweek for football. The NBA season started 2 days later. There were 7 games played that night in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Edmonton Oilers, 5-3 at Madison Square Garden. The Broadway Blueshirts blew leads of 2-0 and 3-1, as Wayne Gretzky had 2 goals and 2 assists.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Black Hawks beat the Winnipeg Jets, 7-6 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the Calgary Flames, 6-1 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-1 at the McNichols Arena in Denver. The Rockies became the New Jersey Devils the next season.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Washington Capitals, 3-0 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.

Also, Milan Baroš, a Czech soccer player who helped Liverpool FC win the 2005 UEFA Champions League, was born on this day. 

October 14, 1978: Reggie Jackson's "Sacrifice Thigh"

October 14, 1978: It's Game 4 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, and there's another allegation of interference, 3 years to the day after the Ed Armbrister Game.

The New York Yankees trail the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1 with 1 out in the bottom of the 6th. The Dodgers are 11 outs away from taking a 3-games-to-1 lead in the Series. But Reggie Jackson singles home a run, and Thurman Munson takes 2nd base on the play. Then Lou Piniella comes to bat. Sweet Lou hits a low line drive toward shortstop Bill Russell.

The ball was very low. If it had been any higher, the umpires would probably have invoked the infield-fly rule, which would automatically have declared the batter, Piniella, out for the 2nd out of the inning, and forced Munson to stay at 2nd and Jackson at 1st. But there is no time for the IFR to be called, and Russell… drops the ball. Thurman sees this and heads for 3rd. Russell recovers the ball, and steps on 2nd to force out Reggie, who's stuck just off of 1st, seemingly frozen. Russell throws to 1st, and…

And the ball hits Reggie on the leg and caroms away into foul territory. Lou gets to 1st safely. Thurman rounds 3rd and scores. The Yanks now trail 3-2, with Lou on 1st and 2 outs.

Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda storms out of the dugout, and furiously argues with the umpires' crew chief, AL ump Marty Springstead, that Lou should be called out due to Reggie's "intentional interference."

Springstead decides that he cannot determine Reggie's intent, and he lets the result of the play stand. Lasorda would later say he was impressed with Reggie's presence of mind to attempt the "tactic," which becomes known as "the Sacrifice Thigh," but he still thought it was an illegal play.

The Yankees tie the game in the 8th when Munson doubles home Paul Blair. The score remains tied until the bottom of the 10th, when Piniella singles home Roy White with the winning run, tying the Series at 2 games apiece.

This game still ticks off Dodger fans, but so what? They're rooting for a team that belongs in Brooklyn.

Dodger fans claim they can see Reggie sticking his hip out to deflect the ball on the replay. They need to get their vision checked. Umpires from both Leagues determined that there was no intentional interference. So we can also rule out AL bias.

Russell dropped the ball. If he'd caught it, he could have stepped on 2nd and thrown Piniella out at 1st, and the inning would have been over before anybody had realized what happened.

The Dodgers were still winning. After the run scored, it was Dodgers 3, Yankees 2. What's more, the Dodgers were up 2 games to 1. The Dodger bullpen could have held that lead, and they would then have had 3 chances to get 1 win. Even after losing the game, the Series was still tied. They had 3 chances to get 2 wins, with Game 6 and, if necessary, Game 7 at Dodger Stadium. Instead, they blew a 2-0 lead in games. The Dodgers flat-out choked, and the Yankees happily took advantage of this.

You could also blame Lasorda for losing the Series, for losing his cool. I don't blame him for arguing the call, because a manager needs to stand up for his team when he believes they're being wronged. But, as they say in English soccer, he lost the plot, and his team followed his lead.

He wasn't the 1st manager to do this in a postseason game, and he certainly hasn't been the last: Witness Whitey Herzog of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1985 World Series, Davey Johnson of the Baltimore Orioles in the 1996 AL Championship Series (also against the Yankees), and Mike Scioscia (a Lasorda disciple) of the Los Angeles Angels in the 2005 ALCS. And those are just examples from baseball in the last 40 years.

On top of everything else, the Yankees were simply better. They were the defending World Champions, having beaten the Dodgers the year before. They had won 100 games to the Dodgers' 97, and in a tougher Division, too. They had a better lineup, a better defense, a better starting rotation, a better bullpen, and a calmer manager in Bob Lemon.

Even if Reggie had been called out, and the inning ended, there's no guarantee that the Yankees still wouldn't have come from behind to win. This was a team that did what it had to do to win. The Dodgers wouldn't do that until 1981.

*

October 14, 1978 was a Saturday. Singer Usher Raymond IV, who uses only his first name, was born.

Among the college football games played that day were these:

* Number 1 Oklahoma beat Kansas, 17-16 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

* Number 2 Southern California were upset by Arizona State, 20-7 at Sun Devil Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona. USC would still win the Pacific-10 Conference title, but this loss would cost them the National Championship.

* Number 3 Arkansas had the week off, but lost their next 2 games, away to Texas and away to Houston.

* Number 4 Penn State had the week off. They finished the regular season undefeated and ranked Number 1.

* Number 5 Michigan were upset by in-State rivals Michigan State, 24-15 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Among the heroes for Michigan State that day was a receiver who would make his mark playing pro ball in Michigan -- not for the Lions, but the Tigers: Kirk Gibson.

The 2 schools finished in a tie for the Big Ten title. With the head-to-head tiebreaker, Michigan State should have gone to the Rose Bowl. However, they were on probation, so the bid went to Michigan, who lost to USC, on future Heisman Trophy winner Charles White's "phantom touchdown." (He fumbled the ball as he went over the goal line. This may have stuck in some poll voters' minds as a reason why they should vote for Alabama over USC.)

* Number 6 Texas A&M were upset by Number 17 Houston, 33-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. UH went on to win the Southwest Conference title.

* Number 7 Alabama beat Florida, 23-12 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 'Bama rebounded from an earlier non-conference loss to USC, and went on to win the Southeastern Conference title. The Sugar Bowl would be a true National Championship game, as Number 2 Alabama beat Number 1 Penn State. That was the 1st college football game I can ever remember seeing on television.

* Number 8 Nebraska beat Kansas State, 48-14 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska later beat Oklahoma, knocking them out of the Number 1 ranking. But Nebraska then lost to Missouri, forging a tie for the Big Eight Conference title. The head-to-head tiebreaker should have given the title, and the accompanying bid to the Orange Bowl, to Nebraska. But the Orange Bowl committee decided to invite both teams, setting up the 1st-ever bowl rematch of a regular-season game, and Oklahoma won it.

* Number 9 Pittsburgh were upset by Notre Dame, 26-17 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. With Joe Montana at quarterback, Notre Dame accepted a bid to the Cotton Bowl, and Montana led the first of his famed comebacks to beat Houston.

* Number 10 Maryland beat Syracuse, 24-9 at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York.

* Number 11 Louisiana State were upset by Georgia, 24-17 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

* Number 13 Colorado were upset by Oklahoma State, 24-20 at Lewis Field (now Boone Pickens Stadium) in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

* Number 15 Florida State were upset by Mississippi State, 55-27 at Scott Field (now Davis-Wade Stadium) in Starkville, Mississippi.

* Number 16 Ohio State were upset by Purdue, 27-16 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. Ohio State ended up going to the Gator Bowl, where they lost to Atlantic Coast Conference Champion Clemson, and head coach Woody Hayes punched a Clemson player, costing him his job after 28 seasons in Columbus.

* Number 18 Stanford were upset by Washington, 34-31 at the old Stanford Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Palo Alto, California.

* Number 19 Missouri beat Number 20 Iowa State, 26-13 at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri. Missouri ended up beating LSU in the Liberty Bowl.

* Navy were the only service academy to win, beating Duke, 31-8 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. Army lost to Holy Cross, 31-0 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York. And Air Force lost to Colorado State, 31-13 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs.

* As for New Jersey's teams, Rutgers beat Connecticut, 10-0 at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey; while Princeton lost to Columbia, 14-10 at Baker Field in Manhattan.

There were 5 games played in the NBA:

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 102-100 at the Rutgers Athletic Center (now the Jersey Mike's Arena) in Piscataway, New Jersey.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Boston Celtics, 114-108 at the Boston Garden. Calvin Murphy scored 35 points.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Detroit Pistons, 122-114 at The Omni in Atlanta.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 153-111 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio. George Gervin led all scorers on the night with 37.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the San Diego Clippers, 117-89 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

There were 7 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 10-7 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Although a defenseman, Isles Captain Denis Potvin scored 3 goals, while Mike Bossy scored 2. For the Leafs, Darryl Sittler had a hat trick, and Dave "Tiger" Williams scored 2.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Colorado Rockies, 5-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Atlanta Flames beat the Washington Capitals, 6-3 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins played to a tie, 4-4 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Minnesota North Stars, 5-2 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-2 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* And the New York Rangers, the Chicago Black Hawks and the Vancouver Canucks were not scheduled.

There was 1 game played in the World Hockey Association: The Winnipeg Jets beat the Indianapolis Racers 6-3 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

In New Jersey high school football, the school that would become my Alma Mater, East Brunswick, beat Woodbridge, 14-6 at Nicholas A. Priscoe Stadium in Woodbridge.

And in English soccer, Birmingham-area team Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. Wolves, beat North London's Arsenal, 1-0 at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton.

October 2, 1977: The Ballad of Glenn Burke

October 2, 1977: On the last day of baseball's regular season, Dusty Baker of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits a home run off J.R. Richard of the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. This makes the Dodgers, who have already clinched the NL West, the 1st team in MLB history with 4 players hitting 30 or more home runs in the same season: Baker, Steve Garvey, Ron Cey and Reggie Smith.

When Baker approaches home plate, on-deck hitter Glenn Burke is waiting for him. Instead of offering his hand for a handshake, or holding it out to slap Baker on the back or the rear end (both common post-homer gestures), he holds it high over his head. Baker reaches up and slaps Burke's hand with his own. "It seemed like the thing to do," Baker said. And so, the high five is born. Burke then hits his 1st major league home run. The game is meaningless as far as the standings were concerned, and the Astros won it, 6-3.

Burke was the 1st MLB player known to be gay. He said, "By 1978, I think everybody knew," and he was "sure his teammates didn't care." Dodger 2nd baseman and Captain Davey Lopes said, "No one cared about his lifestyle." But Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda did care: He was an old-school Catholic, and was militantly anti-gay, even refusing to accept that his son Tommy Jr. was gay. He traded Burke early in 1978, to the Oakland Athletics, allegedly because Tommy Jr. frequently visited the clubhouse, and Tommy Sr. wanted to keep Burke away from him.

Despite the fact that Oakland was across San Francisco Bay from San Francisco, the American city best known for gay culture, his new teammates did not accept him as well as the Dodgers did. When Billy Martin became A's manager in 1980, he was every bit as homophobic as Lasorda, and treated Burke badly in Spring Training. Something had to give, and what gave was Burke's knee. The injury gave Martin the chance to send him down to the minor leagues, and he never played another major league game. He was through at 28, and he fell victim to cocaine addiction.

In 1991, Tommy Lasorda Jr. died of AIDS. Glenn Burke also died of AIDS, in 1995. To the day he died at age 93 in 2021, Tommy Sr. insisted that Tommy Jr. was straight and died of pneumonia. In pregame ceremonies before the 2014 All-Star Game in Minneapolis, Major League Baseball honored Burke. On June 17, 2015, the A's honored Burke as part of Athletics Pride Night. Starting in 2021, they have named the annual event Glenn Burke Pride Night.

By that point, every MLB team had held a Pride Night and established it as an annual event. The New York Yankees were among the last teams to do so, starting in 2019, but once they went in, they did what they usually do and went all in, dedicating a Plaque in Monument Park to honor the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising in New York. It includes the words, "Acceptance forms the bedrock of our community, and let it be known that Yankee Stadium welcomes everyone as a gathering place for all." 

*

October 2, 1977 was a Sunday. These other MLB games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers 8-7 at the old Yankee Stadium. They had score 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th to do it, including 2 on a double by Dell Alston. Earlier, they got a home run from Mickey Klutts. Alston and Klutts were both hot prospects who never made it.

Having clinched the American League Eastern Division the day before, while sitting in a rain delay of a game they would lose while Baltimore's defeat of Boston eliminated the Red Sox, they avoid accusations of "backing in" and win their 100th game, a milestone the club reaches for the 1st time in 14 years.

* The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. A rough year for the Mets, which included the trading of Tom Seaver, ends with one of the players obtained for Seaver, Pat Zachry, as the winning pitcher. Joel Youngblood went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Keith Hernandez, not yet a Met, went 0-for-3 with a walk. Lou Brock went 1-for-2 before leaving the game.

* The Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles got rained out at Fenway Park in Boston. Since they'd already been eliminated by the Yankees, the game is never made up. They both finished 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Montreal Expos, 5-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt got the day off.

* A doubleheader was split at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. The Toronto Blue Jays won the opener, 2-1. The Cleveland Indians won the nightcap, 5-4. The Jays finish their expansion season with 107 losses.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, 5-1 and 3-2.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 1-for-3, and Johnny Bench went 0-for-3.

* The Seattle Mariners beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. The Mariners finished their expansion season 64-98, much better than the Jays.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Rod Carew went 3-for-4 with an RBI, to finish his best season with a .388 batting average, 14 home runs and an even 100 RBIs.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 2-0 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. Dennis Leonard pitched a 6-hit shutout, and George Brett hit a home run.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics, 8-7 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. The A's truly did collapse, finishing 63-98, finishing half a game behind the Mariners for last in the American League West.

* And the San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants, 3-1 at Candlestick Park. Dave Winfield went 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

These NFL games were played:

* The New York Giants lost to the Atlanta Falcons, 17-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The New York Jets beat the New England Patriots, 30-27 at Shea Stadium.

* The Baltimore Colts beat the Buffalo Bills, 17-14 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

* The Washington Redskins beat the football version of the St. Louis Cardinals, 24-14 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

* The Miami Dolphins beat the Houston Oilers, 27-7 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 23-7 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 28-14 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 17-13 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Chicago Bears, 42-24 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat their arch-rivals, the Green Bay Packers, 19-7 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The San Diego Chargers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 24-3 at San Diego Stadium (later Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium).

* The Los Angeles Rams beat their arch-rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, 34-14 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Seattle Seahawks, 24-13 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* And on ABC Monday Night Football, the Oakland Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 37-28 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

August 23, 1980: "The Baseball Bunch" Premieres

August 23, 1980: The Baseball Bunch premieres on NBC. Cincinnati Reds superstar (and eventual Hall-of-Famer) Johnny Bench hosts this series, a baseball instructional video that airs before the Saturday NBC Game of the Week.

The series featured several kids being taught in various tactics of the game by Bench and guest players, including future Hall-of-Famers George Brett, Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Joe Morgan, Phil Niekro, Jim Rice, Cal Ripken Jr., Mike Schmidt, Tom Seaver, Ted Simmons, Ozzie Smith, Willie Stargell, Bruce Sutter and Don Sutton.

Other guests included retired Hall-of-Famers Ted Williams and Frank Robinson; major league managers Sparky Anderson (eventually elected to the Hall) and Chuck Tanner (not); former catcher and Hall of Fame broadcaster Joe Garagiola; eventual all-time hits leader, but also eventual lifetime banee, Pete Rose; noted umpire Ron Luciano; and New York 1st basemen Keith Hernandez and Don Mattingly.

The episodes were taped in Tucson, Arizona, during Spring Training, meaning easy access for the guest players. Erik Lee, who played one of the kids, using the name Rick, recalled, "Each 30-minute episode took basically a day, so we would start early in the morning and just go all day... We would film for a couple weeks at a time, and (while filming) we would get out of school for a couple weeks at a time. It was glorious."

"Working" along with the kids was Ted Giannoulas, in costume as the San Diego Chicken (billed here as simply "The Chicken"). Late in every episode, appearing by video -- because his team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, then trained in Florida, specifically at Vero Beach -- was Tommy Lasorda, the Hall of Fame manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, as "The Dugout Wizard," complete with wizard costume.

The series ran until 1985, beyond Bench's retirement as a player in 1983. In his 2007 interview with JustMyShow.com, Giannoulas recalled Major League players also secretly enjoying the show, saying "That was a real highlight, being on that program... During the show's existence, I had professional baseball players tell me that they would sneak a peek at the show and pick up tips, because the information that Johnny and our guests would put on the show was very, very good inside baseball information... So I took that as a real compliment, because it signified how credible and good the advice that Johnny and the players were giving, and that not only were kids picking up good advice, but I can attest that professional ballplayers were also tuned in as well."

*

August 23, 1980 was a Saturday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the California Angels, 5-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Rudy May outpitched Dave LaRoche. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-3 with 2 walks, but Bob Watson hit a home run. Rod Carew singled as a pinch-hitter.

* The New York Mets lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2 at Shea Stadium.

* The Montreal Expos beat the San Diego Padres, 2-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Bill Gullickson pitched a shutout, allowing 7 hits, and Willie Montañez had 3 of them. Dave Winfield went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-2 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt went 1-for-4. Pete Rose went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-2 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Willie Stargell did not play. With some irony, given the day, neither did Johnny Bench.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-2 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-5 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Robin Yount went 1-for-5, and Paul Molitor did not play.

* The Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs, 1-0 at the Astrodome in Houston. The game went through 16 scoreless innings. Enos Cabell led off the bottom of the 17th with a single. Terry Puhl bunted him over to 2nd. With 1st base open, José Cruz was intentionally walked to set up the double play, but the Cubs could only get a foreeout when Denny Walling grounded to 2nd. Joe Niekro, who had come in to pitch for the 16th inning, made himself the winning pitcher by singling Cabell home.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Dan Graham hit 2 home runs for the O's. Eddie Murray went 0-for-2 with 2 walks. So did rookie Rickey Henderson, and he also stole a base.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Boston Red Sox, 3-1 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-3 with a walk.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal went to the Midlands, and lost 3-1 to Coventry City.

Also, Rex Grossman, who quarterbacked the Chicago Bears into Super Bowl XLI (but lost it), was born.

August 10, 1995: Major League Baseball's Most Recent Forfeit

August 10, 1995: The Los Angeles Dodgers host the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Cardinals lead, 2-1 in the bottom of the 9th, thanks to solo home runs by Brian Jordan and Mark Sweeney.

The Dodger players had been angry with the balls and strikes called by home plate umpire Jim Quick. When Raul Mondesi struck out, he yelled at Quick, and Quick threw him out of the game. Manager Tommy Lasorda went out to argue, and Quick tossed him, too.

It was Ball Day at Dodger Stadium, and fans objected by throwing their gift balls -- real, hard, leather-covered baseball -- onto the field. Quick cleared the field, and decided to forfeit the game to the Cardinals. As of August 10, 2022, it remains the last forfeit in Major League Baseball history.

*

August 10, 1995 was a Thursday. These other MLB games were played:

* The New York Yankees were swept in a doubleheader by the Cleveland Indians, 10-9 and 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Mariano Rivera, not yet converted into a reliever, started the opener, and was shaky. But the Yankees led 9-5 going into the 9th, when closer John Wetteland melted down. Paul Sorrento went 4-for-4 with an RBI, and then didn't play in the nightcap. In that game, Chad Ogea outpitched Sterling Hitchcock.

Over the 2 games, Kenny Lofton went 3-for-9 with 4 RBIs, and Albert Belle went 3-for-9 with a walk and an RBI. For the Yankees, Don Mattingly went 2-for-9 with an RBI. Their catchers had the most production: Mike Stanley was 3-for-4 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs in the 1st game, and Jim Leyritz went 2-for-3 with a walk in the 2nd game.

* The New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-1 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Phils reliever Heathcliff Slocumb melted down in the top of the 11th inning.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 11-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. John Valentin hit 2 home runs, José Canseco and Mike Macfarlane 1 each. The Orioles' only run came on a home run by Cal Ripken.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Javy López singled Fred McGriff home in the bottom of the 9th, making Mark Wohlers a winning pitcher in relief of Tom Glavine.

* The Florida Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-2 at The Ballpark (now Choctaw Stadium) in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Houston Astros, 6-2 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* A doubleheader was split at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The San Diego Padres won the 1st game, 3-2. The Chicago Cubs won the 2nd game, 12-5. Tony Gwynn was injured, and did not play in either game.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 8-4 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the California Angels, 5-0 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. Jason Jacome pitched 7 innings of 4-hit shutout ball. Hipólito Pachardo pitched the 8th, and Jeff Montgomery the 9th, completing the 7-hit shutout, to outpitch Mark Langston.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 8-7 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. J.R. Phillips hit 2 home runs for the Giants. Barry Bonds went 2-for-2 with 2 walks and 3 RBIs.

* And the Chicago White Sox, the Minnesota Twins, the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners were not scheduled.