After an embarrassing sweep by baseball's newest dynasty, the Cincinnati Reds, the American League champion New York Yankees returned to the Fall Classic determined to make amends for the previous year's disappointing finale. The bruised egos and mounting stress had taken its toll on the Yankees organization during the regular season as Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson erupted into a huge argument at Boston's Fenway Park for what the manager termed as "lack of hustle". The fight that followed in the dugout was caught on national-television cameras broadcasting the Saturday afternoon game and both men were blasted in the papers. Both managed to settle their differences, but the damage to their reputations had already been done. The Los Angeles Dodgers, guided by rookie Manager Tommy Lasorda, dethroned the defending champion Reds in the Natioanl League West and steamrolled over the Philadelphia Phillies in the Championship Series. Like the Yankees, Los Angeles featured a potent line-up that included Steve Garvey (thirty-three home runs), Reggie Smith (thirty-two), Ron Cey (thirty) and Dusty Baker (thirty) who set the record as the first ballclub to boast four players who hit thirty or more home runs in the same season.
As the West Coast and East Coast remained locked in a bitter 3-3 tie going into the twelfth inning of Game 1, Paul Blair checkmated the Dodgers with a clutch single that scored Willie Randolph for the opening victory. Los Angeles had revenge the following day after Cey, Smith and Steve Yeager all cracked early inning homers off Catfish Hunter. Burt Hooton faired much better on the mound and tossed a five hitter that evened the Series with a 6-1 triumph. However, New York would jump ahead to a three-game lead as the "Pinstripes" bested Tommy John for a 5-3 decision in the third outing and lefthander Ron Guidry added a 4-2 win in the fourth. Pitching remained a key factor in Game 5, as the hopes and dreams of the Dodger faithful were extended with a masterful, 10-4 complete game performance by Los Angeles ace Don Sutton. All contests up to this point would pale in comparison though to the legendary finale that was about to take place.
Game 6 was certainly the most memorable in the 1977 World Series thanks a spectacular performance at the plate by Reggie Jackson. The Yankees newest "Bomber" was making his eighteenth appearance and it proved to be his greatest as he became only the second player in history to smash three home runs in a single Series game (Babe Ruth did it in 1926 and 1928). In addition, the five home runs in one Series and four consecutive blasts over a two Series-game period was unprecedented.
As Thurman Munson stood on first, Jackson nailed Hooton on his first pitch sending the Yanks ahead with a 4-3 lead. Later in the fifth with two outs and Willie Randolph on first, Reggie launched another rocket off of Elias Sosa that landed in the right-field seats. Finally, he electrified the home team crowd of 56,407 by leading off the eighth with the historic blast into the center-field bleachers. "Mr. October" indeed. Riding on the five RBIs of their slugging champion, the Yanks showed a glimpse of what was "Yankee baseball" and held on for the 8-4 victory that earned their twenty-first World Series title. It was the first crown for the "Bronx Bombers" since 1962.
Jackson's MVP performance against the Dodgers tallied a staggering .450 average with five home runs and eight runs batted in. His offense was the key to the Yankees win as their rotation (minus Torrez who finished 2-0, 2.50 ERA) lacked "the hustle" that Martin liked. Don Gullett and Hunter both went 0-1 and allowed a combined fourteen earned-runs in seventeen innings. Research by Baseball Almanac.
"Jackson with four runs batted in, sends a fly ball to center field and deep! That's going to be way back! And that's going to be gone! Reggie Jackson has hit his third home run of the game!" - Announcer Ross Porter (October 18, 1977)
1977 World Series1977 World Series Official Program ← 1976 | New York Yankees (4) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (2) | 1978 → |
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1977 World Series Fast Facts | |||
Game 1 | Date | Box Score | 10-11-1977 | |
Location | Yankee Stadium | ||
1st Pitch | From: | Whitey Ford | |
To: | Thurman Munson | ||
Attendance | 56,668 | ||
National Anthem | Pearl Bailey (American Actress and Singer) | ||
Game 2 | Date | Box Score | 10-12-1977 | |
1st Pitch | From: | Jose Fernandez (Local Bronx Boy) | |
To: | Thurman Munson | ||
Location | Yankee Stadium | ||
Attendance | 56,691 | ||
Game 3 | Date | Box Score | 10-14-1977 | |
Location | Dodger Stadium | ||
1st Pitch | From: | Roy Campanella | |
To: | Steve Yeager | ||
Attendance | 45,992 | ||
National Anthem | Linda Ronstadt (Grammy Award Winning Singer) | ||
Game 4 | Date | Box Score | 10-15-1977 | |
Location | Dodger Stadium | ||
1st Pitch | From: | Mrs. B. Lillian Gordy-Carter (President Carter's Mom) | |
To: | Steve Yeager | ||
Attendance | 55,995 | ||
National Anthem | Glen Campbell (Country Singer, Guitarist, Songwriter, Actor) | ||
Game 5 | Date | Box Score | 10-16-1977 | |
Location | Dodger Stadium | ||
Attendance | 55,955 | ||
Game 6 | Date | Box Score | 10-18-1977 | |
Location | Yankee Stadium | ||
1st Pitch | From: | Joe DiMaggio | |
To: | Thurman Munson | ||
Attendance | 56,407 | ||
National Anthem | Robert Merrill (Opera Singer) | ||
1977 World Series | |||
1977 World Series History | Research by Baseball Almanac |
Game 1 of the 1977 World SeriesLine Score | Box Score |
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1977 World Series Game 1 Capsule | |||||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | R | H | E |
Los Angeles | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
New York | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
Los Angeles Pitcher(s) | New York Pitcher(s) | ||||||||||||||
Don Sutton Lance Rautzhan (8th) Elias Sosa (8th) Mike Garman (9th) Rick Rhoden (L, 12th) |
Don Gullett Sparky Lyle (W, 9th) - - - |
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Los Angeles Home Runs | New York Home Runs | ||||||||||||||
None | Willie Randolph (6th) |
Game 2 of the 1977 World SeriesLine Score | Box Score |
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1977 World Series Game 2 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Los Angeles | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Los Angeles Pitcher(s) | New York Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Burt Hooton (W) - - - |
Catfish Hunter (L) Dick Tidrow (3rd) Ken Clay (6th) Sparky Lyle (9th) |
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Los Angeles Home Runs | New York Home Runs | |||||||||||
Ron Cey (1st) Steve Yeager (2nd) Reggie Smith (3rd) Steve Garvey (9th) |
None - - - |
Game 3 of the 1977 World SeriesLine Score | Box Score |
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1977 World Series Game 3 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
New York | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
New York Pitcher(s) | Los Angeles Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Mike Torrez (W) - |
Tommy John (L) Charlie Hough (7th) |
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New York Home Runs | Los Angeles Home Runs | |||||||||||
None | Dusty Baker (3rd) |
Game 4 of the 1977 World SeriesLine Score | Box Score |
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1977 World Series Game 4 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
New York | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
Los Angeles | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
New York Pitcher(s) | Los Angeles Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Ron Guidry (W) - - |
Doug Rau (L) Rick Rhoden (2nd) Mike Garman (9th) |
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New York Home Runs | Los Angeles Home Runs | |||||||||||
Reggie Jackson (6th) | Davey Lopes (3rd) |
Game 5 of the 1977 World SeriesLine Score | Box Score |
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1977 World Series Game 5 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
Los Angeles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | x | 10 | 13 | 0 |
New York Pitcher(s) | Los Angeles Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Don Gullett (L) Ken Clay (5th) Dick Tidrow (6th) Catfish Hunter (7th) |
Don Sutton (W) - - - |
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New York Home Runs | Los Angeles Home Runs | |||||||||||
Thurman Munson (8th) Reggie Jackson (8th) |
Steve Yeager (4th) Reggie Smith (6th) |
Game 6 of the 1977 World SeriesLine Score | Box Score |
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1977 World Series Game 6 Capsule | ||||||||||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
Los Angeles | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
New York | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | x | 8 | 8 | 1 |
Los Angeles Pitcher(s) | New York Pitcher(s) | |||||||||||
Burt Hooton (L) Elias Sosa (4th) Doug Rau (5th) Charlie Hough (7th) |
Mike Torrez (W) - - - |
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Los Angeles Home Runs | New York Home Runs | |||||||||||
Reggie Smith (3rd) - - - |
Chris Chambliss (2nd) Reggie Jackson (4th) Reggie Jackson (5th) Reggie Jackson (8th) |
1977 World SeriesNew York Yankees 1977 World Series Composite Hitting Statistics |
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Name | Pos | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | Avg | BB | SO | SB |
Paul Blair Chris Chambliss Ken Clay Bucky Dent Ron Guidry Don Gullett Catfish Hunter Reggie Jackson Cliff Johnson Sparky Lyle Thurman Munson Graig Nettles Lou Piniella Willie Randolph Mickey Rivers Fred Stanley Dick Tidrow Mike Torrez Roy White George Zeber |
of-3 1b p ss p p p of c-1 p c 3b of 2b of ss p p ph ph |
4 6 2 6 1 2 2 6 2 2 6 6 6 6 6 1 2 2 2 2 |
4 24 0 19 2 2 0 20 1 2 25 21 22 25 27 0 1 6 2 2 |
1 7 0 5 0 0 0 9 0 0 8 4 6 4 6 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 4 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 4 1 1 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 |
1 4 0 2 0 0 0 8 0 0 3 2 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 |
.250 .292 .000 .263 .000 .000 .000 .450 .000 .000 .320 .190 .273 .160 .222 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 |
0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 2 0 1 1 2 0 4 0 2 8 3 3 2 2 0 1 4 0 2 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 |
Totals | 205 | 50 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 26 | 25 | .244 | 11 | 37 | 1 | ||
1977 World SeriesLos Angeles Dodgers 1977 World Series Composite Hitting Statistics |
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Name | Pos | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | Avg | BB | SO | SB |
Dusty Baker Glenn Burke Ron Cey Vic Davalillo Mike Garman Steve Garvey Ed Goodson Jerry Grote Burt Hooton Charlie Hough Tommy John Lee Lacy Rafael Landestoy Davey Lopes Rick Monday Manny Mota Johnny Oates Doug Rau Lance Rautzhan Rick Rhoden Bill Russell Reggie Smith Elias Sosa Don Sutton Steve Yeager |
of of 3b ph p 1b ph c p p p of-2 pr 2b of ph c p p p ss of p p c |
6 3 6 3 2 6 1 1 2 2 1 4 1 4 3 1 2 1 2 6 6 2 2 6 |
24 5 21 3 0 24 1 1 5 0 2 7 0 24 12 3 1 0 0 2 26 22 0 6 19 |
7 1 4 1 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 1 4 6 0 0 6 |
0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 |
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 |
1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 |
4 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 7 0 0 2 |
5 0 3 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 5 |
.292 .200 .190 .333 .000 .375 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000 .429 .000 .167 .167 .000 .000 .000 .000 .500 .154 .273 .000 .000 .316 |
0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 1 1 |
2 1 5 0 0 4 1 0 2 0 2 1 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 4 1 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
Totals | 208 | 48 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 28 | 28 | .231 | 16 | 36 | 2 | ||
1977 World Series Composite Batting Statistics | Bold = World Series MVP |
1977 World SeriesNew York Yankees 1977 World Series Composite Pitching Statistics |
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Name | W | L | G | GS | CG | S | Sh | IP | ERA | H | SO | ER | BB |
Ken Clay Ron Guidry Don Gullett Catfish Hunter Sparky Lyle Dick Tidrow Mike Torrez |
0 1 0 0 1 0 2 |
0 0 1 1 0 0 0 |
2 1 2 2 2 2 2 |
0 1 2 1 0 0 2 |
0 1 0 0 0 0 2 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
3.2 9.0 12.2 4.1 4.2 3.2 18.0 |
2.45 2.00 6.39 10.38 1.93 4.91 2.50 |
2 4 13 6 2 5 16 |
0 7 10 1 2 1 15 |
1 2 9 5 1 2 5 |
1 3 7 0 0 0 5 |
Totals | 4 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 56.0 | 4.02 | 48 | 36 | 25 | 16 |
1977 World SeriesLos Angeles Dodgers 1977 World Series Composite Hitting Statistics |
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Name | W | L | G | GS | CG | S | Sh | IP | ERA | H | SO | ER | BB |
Mike Garman Burt Hooton Charlie Hough Tommy John Doug Rau Lance Rautzhan Rick Rhoden Elias Sosa Don Sutton |
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 |
0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 |
2 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 |
0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 |
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
4.0 12.0 5.0 6.0 2.1 0.1 7.0 2.1 16.0 |
0.00 3.75 1.80 6.00 11.57 0.00 2.57 11.57 3.94 |
2 8 3 9 4 0 4 3 17 |
3 9 5 7 1 0 5 1 6 |
0 5 1 4 3 0 2 3 7 |
1 2 0 3 0 2 1 1 1 |
Totals | 2 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 55.0 | 4.09 | 50 | 37 | 25 | 11 |
1977 World Series Composite Pitching Statistics | Bold = World Series MVP |
During the Game 6 BP (batting practice), Reggie Jackson hit eighteen (18) balls over the Yankee Stadium fence. Teammate Willie Randolph told Jackson, "save some of those for the game." Jackson cooly said, "There are more where those came from."
Did you know that Kodak, in association with The Sporting News, held a contest to rank Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments (All of which are found in detail on Baseball Almanac.) and this is how they finished:
Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments | |
25. | Cookie Lavagetto beats Bill Bevens |
24. | Dave Henderson's Home Run |
23. | Owen and the Dropped Third Strike |
22. | George Brett's Home Run |
21. | Chris Chambliss' Home Run |
20. | Pete Rose gets hit No. 4,192 |
19. | Haddix's Perfect Loss |
18. | Brooklyn wins the World Series |
17. | Cal Ripken breaks Gehrig's Streak |
16. | Joe Carter's Home Run |
15. | Roger Maris hits No. 61 |
14. | Bucky Dent's Home Run |
13. | Willie McCovey Lines Out |
12. | Reggie Jackson's Three Homers |
11. | The "Luckiest Man Alive" Speech |
10. | Enos Slaughter's Mad Dash |
9. | Willie Mays' Catch |
8. | E-3 on Bill Buckner |
7. | Mark McGwire Hits No. 62 |
6. | Kirk Gibson's Home Run |
5. | Hank Aaron's 715th Home Run |
4. | Carlton Fisk Waves It Fair |
3. | Don Larsen's Perfect Game |
2. | Bill Mazeroski's Home Run |
1. | The Shot Heard 'Round the World' |
In an interview years later, Reggie Jackson said this about Game 6, "It is the happiest moment of my career. I had been on a ball and chain all year, at least in my mind. I had heard so many negatives about Reggie Jackson. I had been the villain. Couldn't do this. Couldn't do that. And now suddenly I didn't care what the manager or my teammates had said or what the media had written."