July 30, 1966: England Win the World Cup

Captain Bobby Moore raises the Jules Rimet Trophy,

while his teammates raise him

July 30, 1966, 60 years ago: England win the World Cup, beating West Germany 4-2 after extra time, on home soil, at the original Wembley Stadium in London.

England had never done well in past World Cups, but were determined to show the world that the country that had invented the sport (though the Greeks and the Chinese had football-like games 500 years before the birth of Christ) just how it could play the sport, especially on home soil.

England were managed by Alf Ramsey, who had played right back for England at the 1950 World Cup, and on the Tottenham Hotspur team that won the Football League title in 1951; and was hired to manage England after leading Ipswich Town to the League title in 1962. These were the players he selected:

* Goalkeepers: Number 1, Gordon Banks, Leicester City; 12, Ron Springett, Sheffield Wednesday; 13, Peter Bonetti, Chelsea.

* Defenders: 2, George Cohen, Fulham; 3, Ray Wilson, Everton; 5, Jack Charlton, Leeds United; 6, Bobby Moore, West Ham United, England's Captain; 14, Jimmy Armfield, Blackpool; 15, Gerry Byrne, Liverpool; 18, Norman Hunter, Leeds United.

* Midfielders: 4, Norbert "Nobby" Stiles, Manchester United; 7, Alan Ball, Blackpool; 9, Bobby Charlton, Manchester United, younger brother of Jack; 16, Martin Peters, West Ham United; 17, Ron Flowers, Wolverhampton Wanderers; 20, Ian Callaghan, Liverpool; 22, George Eastham, Arsenal.

* Forwards: 8, Jimmy Greaves, Tottenham Hotspur; 10, Geoff Hurst, West Ham United; 11, John Connelly, Manchester United; 19, Terry Paine, Southampton; 21, Roger Hunt, Liverpool.

England played all of their games in Group 1 at the national stadium, the original version of Wembley Stadium in West London. They got off to a slow start with a 0-0 draw against Uruguay, then beat Mexico and France, in each case by a 2-0 score, to win the Group. Uruguay also advanced.

Old Wembley

Group 2 was won by West Germany, with Argentina advancing as well. Group 3 was won by Portugal, with Hungary following. Two-time defending Champions Brazil only finished 3rd in Group 3, because defenders from Portugal and Bulgaria relentlessly fouled Pelé, by this point recognized as the best player in the world. Brazil would be back in 1970, but, for 1966, they were out.

And Group 4 was won by the Soviet Union, with another Communist nation, North Korea, surprising everyone by also advancing. North Korea's 1-0 win over Italy at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, is the most embarrassing defeat in Italy's history. (The most infuriating one was also against Koreans, co-host South Korea, in the 2002 World Cup.)

In the Quarterfinals, West Germany beat Uruguay, 4-0 at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, Yorkshire, home of Sheffield Wednesday. The other games were considerably more dramatic. It took until Hurst's goal in the 78th minute for England to beat Argentina, 1-0 at Wembley. With memories of Soviet tanks crushing the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 still fresh, the Soviet team beat Hungary, 2-1 at Roker Park in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.

And at Goodison Park in Liverpool, home of Everton, North Korea took a 3-0 lead on Portugal, before Eusébio -- one of several players from Mozambique that Portugal fielded before that African colony gained its independence in 1975 -- scored 4 goals, 2 spectacular ones from open play and 2 penalties, to lead Portugal to a 5-3 win. With Pelé literally kicked out of the tournament, Eusébio was its dominant player.

Bobby Charlton scored 2 goals for England in the Semifinal against Portugal at Wembley. A late penalty, converted by Eusébio, briefly put the game in doubt, but England held on for the 2-1 win. The other Semifinal, at Goodison Park, had echoes of both World Wars, but the opposite result of each, as West Germany defeated the Soviet Union, 2-1.

As a crowd of 96,924 filed into Wembley, "The Great War" and "The War" were on Ramsey's mind as he addressed his players before the Final: "Fear not if they shall defeat us at our national game on our soil; for, twice in this century, we have defeated them at their national game, on their soil."

England wore red, and West Germany wore white. Kickoff, as was traditional in England, came at 3:00 PM on a Saturday. In America, NBC aired the Final on a 2-hour film delay, using the black-and-white feed from the BBC. This marked the 1st time that soccer had ever been shown in the United States as a stand-alone television event.

In the 12th minute, disaster struck for England: Siegfried Held of Borussia Dortmund sent a cross into the penalty area. Wilson attempted to head it away, but sent it in the wrong direction, to Helmut Haller, then playing his "club football" for Italian side Bologna. He put the ball past Banks, and it was 1-0 to "Ze Germans."

The lead didn't last long, as Hurst put a header past Hans Tilkowski of Dortmund. The score remained 1-1 until the 78th minute, when England won a corner. Ball took it, and it reached Hurst, whose shot was deflected by Tilkowski, to Hust's West Ham teammate Peters, who scored. It was 2-1 England.

England just had to hang on for another 12 to 15 minutes. They couldn't: Jack Charlton fouled Uwe Seeler of Hamburg, West Germamy's Captain and best scorer, in the 89th minute. The ensuing free kick caused a scramble, where Wolfgang Weber of Köln took it, and shot. It deflected off Karl-Heinz Schnellinger of Italian team AC Milan, and went in past Banks. Banks claimed that the ball hit Schnellinger's arm, which would make the play, however unintentional, handball. But replays showed that the ball hit him on the back. And so, it was 2-2, and there would be extra time.

In the 95th minute, Bobby Charlton hit the post, took the rebound, and shot wide. Then, in the 101st minute, came the most controversial shot in the history of soccer. Ball put in a cross, Hurst took it, and fired. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced down, and was cleared.

The referee was Gottlieb Dienst -- in spite of his German-sounding name, he was from Switzerland: Had he actually been from Germany, he would have been ineligible to officiate. He wasn't sure if the ball had gone in. He asked a linesman, Tofiq Bahramov, from Azerbaijan but then representing the Soviet Union: He said the ball crossed the goal line, and Dienst gave the goal. 3-2 England.

Ever since, the Germans have argued that the ball did not fully cross the goal line, and blamed "the Russian judge" for it. Since the coming of Video Assisted Refereeing (VAR), it has been argued more strenuously than ever that the Germans were cheated by a home-team call. And computer analysis has suggested that "only" 97 percent of the ball got over the line, roughly the percentage that cost Liverpool a goal in a game against Manchester City, and thus the Premier League title, in 2019.

Hunt immediately turned to celebrate the goal with Hurst. Hunt went to his grave insisting that, if he thought the ball hadn't gone in, he would have rushed forward to tap it in, which makes sense.

I've seen the play many times. The ball clearly hit the top of the net before it came back down. It was a legitimate goal. You don't believe me? Judge for yourself.

In the 120th and final minute of play -- not counting whatever stoppage time would be added on to the end of extra time -- West German manager Helmut Schön sent his defenders forward in one last desperate attempt. But Moore, got the ball, found an unmarked Hurst, and passed it to him.

Some fans ran onto the field, and got closer to Hurst than any German players did. He completed what remains the only hat trick, the only 3-goal performance, by a man in a World Cup Final, matched only by American Carli Lloyd in the 2015 Women's World Cup Final. And this 4th goal for England ensured that the disputed goal from earlier wouldn't matter.

Geoff Hurst

As Hunt approached his shot, BBC announcer Kenneth Wolstenholme made the most famous call in the history of sportscasting -- yes, more famous than "The Giants win the Pennant!":

And here comes Hurst! He's got... Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over! It is now! It's four!

Kenneth Wolstenholme

There was a minute of stoppage time, but the Germans could do nothing with it. England had won, 4-2. Captain Moore led the England players up the famous Wembley steps, and received the World Cup trophy from his head of state, Queen Elizabeth II.

England have been inconsistent in international tournaments since. They didn't reach another Final until Euro 2020 (delayed until 2021, due to COVID). Their best World Cup performances since have been runs to the Semifinal in 1990 and 2018.

And so, in the 1960s, England, in the midst of Beatlemania, Swinging London and early James Bond, had a moment that brought the whole country together. Old rivalries were put aside for the greatest patriotic moment since the end of The War.

Famously, Denis Law, Manchester United teammate of Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles and John Connelly, was such a Scottish patriot that, instead of watching the Final hosted and won by his arch-rival "country," he played golf.

America would have its great moment in 1969: We went to the Moon. England had theirs in 1966: They won the World Cup. Neither has been able to match it since.

The old Wembley Stadium is 1 of 4 stadiums to have hosted an Olympic Games, a World Cup Final and a UEFA European Cup/Champions League Final. The others are the Olympiastadions in Berlin and Munich, and the Stade de France outside Paris.

*

This was the 3rd year in a row that Moore, Hurst and Peters had won a Final at Wembley. Together, the 3 players had helped East London team West Ham United win the 1964 FA Cup and the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup. Being together on the 1966 England team led Hammers fans to say, "West Ham won the World Cup."

A statue of Hurst, Peters, and Everton’s Wilson hoisting Moore on their shoulders as he lifts the trophy, labeled "Champions," was placed across from the Boleyn Ground, a.k.a. Upton Park, West Ham's stadium at the time. (When the old Wembley was torn down in 2000, and the new one opened on the site in 2007, a statue of Moore, England's only World Cup-winning Captain, was placed outside.

But this cup success did not lead to League honors. Moore played for West Ham from 1958 to 1974, and over that stretch, their best finish was 6th in his rookie year, 1958-59, and again in 1972-73. In their Cup win year of 1963-64, they were 14th; in 1966-67, 16th, barely avoiding relegation. As teammate Harry Redknapp, later a Cup-winning manager, put it, "We had Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, and we finished 17th every year. Which should tell you how crap the rest of us were."

Peters would later move to North London's Tottenham Hotspur, where he won the 1971 and 1973 League Cups and the 1972 UEFA Cup. Earlier, Greaves had played for Tottenham, a.k.a. "Spurs," winning the 1962 and 1967 FA Cups and the 1963 Cup Winners' Cup.

With Manchester United, Bobby Charlton won the 1957 League title; and, having added Stiles, and Scotland’s Denis Law, and Northern Ireland’s George Best, won the 1965 and 1967 League titles; the 1963 FA Cup; and the 1968 European Cup. Connelly won the League with Burnley in 1960 and Man United in 1965.

With Liverpool, Byrne, Callaghan and Hunt won the 1964 and 1966 Football League titles, and the 1965 FA Cup. Callaghan stayed long enough to also win the 1973, 1976 and 1977 League titles; the 1974 FA Cup; the 1973 and 1976 UEFA Cups; and the 197 and 1978 European Cups.

Flowers was the senior player. With Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. "Wolves," he won the 1954, 1959 and 1959 Football League titles, and the 1960 FA Cup. With Leicester City, Banks won the 1964 League Cup. With Stoke City, he and Eastham won the 1972 League Cup. With Chelsea, Bonetti won the 1965 League Cup, the 1970 FA Cup, and the 1971 European Cup Winners' Cup.

With Everton, Wilson won the 1966 FA Cup. They then purchased Ball from Blackpool, and he helped them win the 1970 League title, by which time Wilson had been sold. Oddly, he played for 3 teams in the season after they won the FA Cup: 1966 Everton, 1971 Arsenal, and 1976 Southampton – but never won it himself. He then went to the North American Soccer League, and won the league title in 1979.

With Leeds United, Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter won the 1968 League Cup, the 1968 and 1971 Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, the 1969 League title, and the 1972 FA Cup. Hunter was still there for the 1974 League title.

All of the England players lived to see the 25th Anniversary of the achievement. All lived to see the 30th and the 40th, except for Bonny Moore: He died of colon cancer on February 24, 1993. He was only 51.

Alan Ball, the youngest member of the team, died on April 25, 2007. He was only 61. His father had also died young, in a car crash at age 57. John Connelly died on October 25, 2012, apparently of heart failure. He was 74. Ron Springett died on September 12, 2015, also apparently of heart failure. He was 80. Gerry Byrne died on November 28, 2015, of complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 77.

In addition to Byrne's battle with Alzheimer's, 4 other members of that team had experienced dementia by the time of the 50th Anniversary in 2016. Wilson, Stiles and Peters had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's; and Jack Charlton says, "I haven't got a memory now. I forget things easily." He is no longer allowed to drive, or to go fishing alone. His brother Bobby, the most beloved of living English footballers at the time, would also be diagnosed with dementia.

Stiles also battled cancer, as did Banks and Greaves. Greaves, the Football League's all-time leading goalscorer, had strokes, which left him wheelchair-bound.

Their numbers do not include Jeff Astle, perhaps the English footballer best known for having had football-related dementia. He starred as a forward for West Midlands club West Bromwich Albion, and played for England in the 1970 World Cup. He died in 2002. Nor do they include Gerd Müller, the German star who did not make that World Cup, but would eliminate England from the 1970 edition and win it in 1974, and was diagnosed in 2015, and died in 2021.

Pat Wilson, Ray's wife, said, "There are people he played with at Huddersfield and Everton with Alzheimer's. They are all over. They have talked about heading the leather ball causing it." The balls of that era were heavier than they are today, and, being made of leather, got heavier still when wet.

The surviving players had a golf outing every year, for as long as they could. John Stiles, Nobby's son, said, "It's a real shame he can't go to the get-together anymore, because he loved going. He loved the camaraderie they had. That is what made them so special. But, unfortunately, like so many who played in that era and headed those heavy balls, my father has now got dementia. Many other players have some sort of degenerative brain disease."

When an event like winning a world championship happens, they say the participants and the spectators "will never forget." Sadly, we now know that this is not necessarily true.

In 2018, Jimmy Armfield died of non-Hodgkins lymphoma on January 22; and Ray Wilson died of Alzheimer's disease on May 15. In 2019, Gordon Banks died of cancer on February 12, and Martin Peters died of Alzheimer's disease on December 21.

In 2020, Peter Bonetti died on April 12, of what was only listed as "a long illness"; Norman Hunter died from COVID-19 on April 17; Jack Charlton died of lymphoma on July 10, also having dealt with dementia; and Nobby Stiles died on October 30, from the combined effects of cancer and dementia.

In 2021, Jimmy Greaves died of cancer on September 19; Roger Hunt died on September 27, of what was only listed as "a prolonged illness"; and Ron Flowers died on November 12, of an undisclosed cause. George Cohen died on December 23, 2022. Bobby Charlton died on October 21, 2023. George Eastham died on December 20, 2024.

So, as of July 30, 2026, the following 3 players are still alive: Geoff Hurst, now 84; Terry Paine, 87; and Ian Callaghan, 84 -- and only Hurst among those who played in the Final. All 3 were interviewed on the subject of the 60th Anniversary of their triumph, and appeared to be in good health.

July 29, 1996: The Kent-Baerga Trade

Jeff Kent

July 29, 1996, 30 years ago: The New York Mets trade 2nd baseman Jeff Kent and reserve infielder José Vizcaíno  to the Cleveland Indians for 2nd baseman Carlos Baerga and reserve infielder Alvaro Espinoza.

At the time, this looked like a great trade for the Amazin's: Baerga was considered, along with Roberto Alomar, 1 of the 2 best 2nd basemen in baseball; Kent, the most disappointing player at that position. Espinoza was a good backup shortstop who could also play 2nd base and 3rd base. And Vizcaíno was an old-style good-field-no-hit middle infielder. It seemed like a no-brainer.

It was, but not in the way the Mets or their fans expected: Baerga was a flop in Flushing, while Espinoza was near the end of the line.

Carlos Baerga

The Indians, as has tended to happen to the now-Guardians in their history, didn't benefit much from the trade, either: After the season, they traded Kent and Vizcaíno to the San Francisco Giants for Matt Williams. (Each team also included another player that didn't matter much.) Williams helped the Tribe win a Pennant, while Kent helped the Jints win one, reached the postseason 8 times in his career, won the NL Most Valuable Player in 2000, and finished with 377 home runs, 351 of them while playing 2nd base, still a record. (His personality wasn't much, but he could hit.) In 2026, Kent was elected to the Hall of Fame, and his plaque shows him wearing a Giants cap.

The Mets needed to win 1 of their last 5 games in 1998 to get the National League's Wild Card berth. They won exactly none. They lost the 1999 NL Championship Series to the hated Atlanta Braves. They beat Kent and the Giants in the 2000 NL Division Series, but lost the World Series to the even more hated Yankees. Kent could have made a big difference on those occasions.

Oh yeah, about that 2000 World Series: It was essentially decided in the 12th inning of Game 1, on a game-winning single for the Yankees by... Jose Vizcaíno.

Jose Vizcaíno, October 21, 2000

So this might be an even more damaging trade than Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi in 1971, because it may have made a difference at a time when the Mets were very good, keeping them from reaching true glory. Certainly, it was more damaging than the trade that brought Kent to the Mets, in 1992 for David Cone.

Yanks Do Well In Philly, But Injury Concerns Grow

The Yankees headed down the New Jersey Turnpike, for 3 games against fellow Playoff contenders the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

On Friday night, the Yankees only got 4 baserunners in 7 innings off Phils starter Jesús Luzardo, and nothing off 2 relievers: 3 hits and a walk. But one of them was a home run in the 4th, by Paul Goldschmidt. It was the 388th of his career. He is now 1 behind Johnny Bench, 2 behind Yankee legend Graig Nettles, 4 behind the still-active Manny Machado, 5 behind Jim Edmonds, 8 behind Joe Carter, 10 behind Dale Murphy, 11 behind Al Kaline and Andrés Galarraga, and 12 short of 400.

Fortunately, Cam Schlittler was better than Luzardo: He went 7 1/3rd shutout innings, allowing 3 hits, no walks, and striking out 12. Yankees 1, Phillies 0.

Ryan Weathers started on Saturday night, and went 5 2/3rds, allowing 1 run on 6 hits and 1 walk, striking out 7. The bullpen allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk. The Phillies went with a bullpen game, and it might have worked if Weathers hadn't done even better. Austin Wells hit a home run in the 3rd, Cody Bellinger had an RBI single in the 6th, and Jasson Domínguez hit one out in the 7th.

Yankees 3, Phillies 1. The Bronx Bombers had now won 9 of their last 12. Unfortunately, Bellinger hurt his hamstring, and has been added to an Injured List that still includes Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Spencer Jones has been called back up.

The Sunday night game was awful. Will Warren allowed 6 runs in 3 innings, including 4 in the 3rd. And Ryan Yarbrough allowed 5 runs in the 6th. Despite Ben Rice hitting his 31st homer of the season, the Yankees lost, 11-4.

The Yankees took 2 out of 3, and are lucky MLB doesn't count series wins by aggregate score, or they would have lost, 12-8.

The Yankees are now 59-46, 3 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division. They now head to Chicago for an entire week: Tonight, Tuesday night, Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon at Rate Field against the White Sox; and Friday afternoon, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field in an Interleague series with the Cubs.

The trade deadline is next Monday, at 6:00 PM Eastern Time. An hour after that, the Yankees begin a homestand: 3 against the St. Louis Cardinals (Interleague), 3 against the Atlanta Braves (also Interleague), and 3 against the Seattle Mariners.

Judge and Stanton are accompanying the team to Chicago, but neither is expected to be reactivated during the roadtrip. Nor will Bellinger, who is on the 10-Day IL. Clarke Schmidt has been throwing live batting practice, and could return in early August. Carlos Rodón could soon start throwing BP as well, but will likely take longer.

July 27, 1996: The Olympic Park Bombing

July 27, 1996, 30 years ago: The Olympic Park in Atlanta is bombed during a concert to celebrate the Olympic Games. One person was killed, 111 injured. While the Olympics have had plenty of controversies, rarely have the troubles of the outside world intruded on the Games. The 1972 Summer Games in Munich were touched by terrorism. So were the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.

At first, the FBI investigated Richard Jewell, the security guard who found the backpack containing the 3 pipe bombs. He had also helped to evacuate the area, keeping the deaths and injuries lower than they could have been. But, based on "psychological profiling," the FBI decided that he could have been the bomber, much as some people, including firemen, start fires so they can report them and be heroes.

It took nearly 3 months to clear his name, and he never recovered emotionally. The stress took a toll on his health, and, combined with diabetes and heart disease, led to his death in 2007. He was only 44 years old.

Finally, the FBI determined that this was the work of a man who'd committed 3 other bombings, in protest of America's abortion and gay rights policies. Eric Rudolph, a member of the radical "Christian Identity" movement, was finally caught in 2003, and pled guilty.

As of July 27, 2026, Rudolph is 59 years old, and remains incarcerated at the ADX Florence Supermax prison in Colorado. He is serving 2 consecutive life terms, and will never get out of prison except in a coffin. He has since written a letter from prison saying he now prefers the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche to the Bible.

July 25, 2016: Cashman's Surrender

July 25, 2016, 10 years ago: With the Major League Baseball trading deadline 7 days away, Brian Cashman, the general manager of the New York Yankees, traded his main relief pitcher, Aroldis Chapman, to the Chicago Cubs for infielder Gleyber Torres, outfielders Rashad Crawford and Billy McKinney, and pitcher Adam Warren.

This was only the beginning. 

The re-acquisition of Warren, in particular, angered me, as a Yankee Fan. He had previously pitched for the Yankees from 2012 to 2015, very badly. Cashman seemed to have figured out that he was useless, and traded him away. Now, he had gotten him back.

At the time, the Yankees were 50-48, as bad at that point of the season as they had been in 24 years. They were 7 1/2 games behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Eastern Division, and 4 1/2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the 5th and last Playoff slot in the AL. The 1978 comeback against the Boston Red Sox had shown me that no Division lead is ever safe, although a Wild Card berth seemed considerably more likely.

That day, after the trade was made public, I wrote:

Cashman may have blown the Yankees' chances at either the Division or the Wild Card with this stupid trade he made. He sent Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs, weakening the Yanks' one real strength.

Now, we go back to what we had last year? (Dellin) Betances to pitch the 8th inning, and (Andrew) Miller to pitch the 9th. But who will pitch the 7th? The starting pitcher? Not as long as (Joe) Girardi continues to let his damned binder manage for him! Who? (Chad) Green? He was fine yesterday, but is he a long-term solution? (Chasen) Shreve? Don't make me laugh. Nick Goody? No goody. Richard Bleier? Forget it. Anthony Swarzak? I don't trust him yet. Somebody from the minors?

Luis Severino has been brought back up. Do we put him in the bullpen? Or move (Nathan) Eovaldi or Ivan Nova back there? No, because both Nate and Ivan have pitched well lately. Maybe Severino becomes the 7th inning guy, and the presumptive heir to the closer role?

Face it: Whoever the Yankees got from the Cubs had better be damn good, good enough to help us get through the 7th inning with a lead, because, as long as Girardi is managing, that's going to be an enormous hole in our staff.

So who did the Yankees get?

* Adam Warren. Yes, that Adam Warren, who has already failed as a Yankee relief pitcher. Maybe he's gotten better? No: His ERA this season is 5.91, his ERA+ is 68, and his WHIP is 1.429. That's right, boys and girls: Adam Warren has gotten worse. I don't want him pitching the 7th inning for the Yankees, or any other inning. Let him screw things up for some other team!

* Gleyber Torres, a 19-year-old Venezuelan shortstop. currently in A-ball-plus.

* Rashad Crawford, a 22-year-old outfielder currently in A-ball-plus. He and Torres are both at least 3 years away from being ready for the majors.

* And Billy McKinney, an outfielder about to turn 22, who is currently at Double-A, and missed the last quarter of last season with an injury. The odds of him ever becoming a major league contributor are slim.

Essentially, the Yankees traded the best closer in baseball for a proven failure and 3 hunches.

Even of all 3 eventually pay off, they've essentially thrown away a shot at the Playoffs this season.

Don't tell me they didn't have a shot: They did.

Had the GM made this trade while George Steinbrenner was the team's operational owner, George would have called the Commissioner, and told him to cancel the trade. Then he would have fired Cashman on the spot, for surrendering.

But by 2007, George's cognitive decline meant that his sons Hank and Hal took over. They built the 2009 World Champions. Hank was like his father: He wanted to win, and wasn't afraid to spend big to do it. But Hal wasn't that way: He wanted to make money, and if the team also won, he was okay with it. George died in 2010, and, by that point Hank was already ill with liver trouble, enabling Hal to win a power struggle between them, and his philosophy has ruled the organization ever since. (Hank died in 2020.)

In addition, one of the Steinbrenner daughters, Jennifer Swindal, divorced her cheating husband Steve, forcing him out of not just his role as George's chosen successor, but out of the family business entirely. The other daughter, Jessica, brought her 2nd husband, Joe Molloy, into the organization, and he was the chief operating officer during George's 1990-92 suspension. But he left the organization in 1998, when he and Jessica divorced under far less lurid circumstances. Jennifer's son, Steve Swindal Jr., and Jessica's son, Bob Molloy, now work for the team. Jessica's 3rd husband, Felix Lopez, was involved with the team, but, like Steve Swindal Sr., his wife found out he was cheating on her, and he was excommunicated in 2016.

George admitted to being a chauvinist, so he didn't like Jennifer or Jessica be involved in running the Yankees. Hal has no such qualms, and now his sisters are involved, and, along with Hal's cronies Cashman, Lonn Trost and Randy Levine, make up Hal's inner circle.

Back to 2016: Cashman's trade-deadline-week capitulation got worse. On July 31, he traded Andrew Miller, the team's 2nd-best reliever after Chapman, to the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Clint Frazier, and pitchers Justus Sheffield, J.P. Feyereisen and Ben Heller. Sheffield was 20, Frazier was about to turn 22, Feyereisen was 23, and Heller was about to turn 25. Sheffield and Feyereisen were in Class AA, Frazier and Heller in Class AAA.

On August 1, Cashman sent a good starting pitcher, Iván Nova, to the Pittsburgh Pirates for players to be named later. On August 30, the trade was completed when the Yankees got outfielder Tito Polo and Stephen Tarpley. Polo was about to turn 21, Tarpley was 23, and both were in Class A.

Finally, also on August 1, Cashman traded outfielder Carlos Beltrán to the Texas Rangers for pitchers Erik Swanson, Dillon Tate and Nick Green Swanson was about to turn 23, Tate was 22, Green was 21, and all 3 were in Class A.

So the Yankees traded a Hall-of-Fame slugger who still had something left, a decent starting pitcher, their superstar closer and an additional excellent reliever. Here's what they got for those players:

* Tito Polo was in the Yankee organization less than 1 full year, before being traded to the Chicago White Sox. He never played a game in the major leagues.

* The Yankees released Rashad Crawford after the 2019 season. He never played a game in the major leagues.

* The Yankees released Nick Green after the 2021 season. He never played a game in the major leagues.

* Erik Swanson never appeared for the Yankees. More on him in a moment.

* J.P. Feyereisen was traded in 2019, before ever reaching the Yankees, and debuted in 2020 with the Milwaukee Brewers. He's barely played, and although he was on the roster of the World Champion Dodgers last season, he was released early in the season, and didn't get a World Series share, let alone a ring. He's 33, he hasn't pitched this season, and appears to be done. He's not a has-been, he's a never-was.

* Dillon Tate never appeared for the Yankees, and was traded in 2018 to the Baltimore Orioles, for a package that included Zack Britton, a reliever who gave the Yankees 4 good seasons before injuries struck him down in 2022.

* Billy McKinney debuted with the Yankees in 2018, and played 2 games, and then was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays as part of a package for pitcher J.A. Happ, who gave them good seasons in 2018 and 2019 before injury wrecked him in 2020. In 2023, the Yankees brought McKinney back as a free agent. At the age of 28, he finally developed into a serviceable backup outfielder, but was released after the season.

* Stephen Tarpley was called up for 3 games late in 2018, and did all right. But he was awful in 2019, and was traded to the Miami Marlins for a player who never reached the majors.

* Justus Sheffield appeared in 3 games for the Yankees, all in 2018, and, along with Swanson, was traded to the Seattle Mariners for pitcher James Paxton, who gave the Yankees a good 2019 season before getting hurt in 2020 and being traded. Swanson made his MLB debut for the Mariners in 2019.

* Ben Heller debuted for the Yankees on August 25, 2016, but kept getting hurt, and was released right before Spring Training 2021.

* Aside from some minor power in 2019, Clint Frazier, whom I nicknamed "Can't Miss Clint" due to all the hype about him, didn't do much for the Yankees, and was released after the 2021 season.

* Adam Warren actually pitched reasonably well for the Yankees over the rest of 2016, 2017, and early in 2018, before being traded to the Mariners for "international bonus slot money." (Read: "Increased ability to sign a promising player from Japan," something both the Yankees due to their fame and the Mariners due to their Pacific Coast location have specialized in.)

* As a Yankee, Gleyber Torres showed flashes of brilliance, but also flashes incompetence and laziness. He made 2 All-Star Games, and helped the Yankees reach the postseason in 6 of his 7 seasons with them. In 2024, he helped the Yankees win a Pennant.

With enough plate appearances to amount to 6 full ones, he batted .265, had an OPS+ of 112, hit 138 home runs, 441 RBIs, and 53 stolen bases -- averaging 23 homers, 73 RBIs and 9 steals. He never won a Gold Glove. Not showing up in the stats: His poor attitude.

He turned 28 in December 2024, an age at which he should be at his physical and performative peak. But his contract ran out. Cashman finally accepted that Torres was never going to be "his Jeter," and made no effort to sign him to a new contract. He he signed with the Detroit Tigers, making the All-Star Game in 2025. Was he worth acquiring? Maybe. Was he worth what the Yankees gave up for him? No. Was he worth the hype? No. Are most Yankee fans sorry he's gone? No.

As for all the others, none ever did anything for the Yankees. None.

It is true that Chapman was just a "rental" for the Cubs. Cashman signed him back for 2017. But he ended up falling apart at the worst possible times, including giving up a Pennant-clinching home run to Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros in 2019. When Chapman is pitching, you don't need to cheat: The reason you know what pitch is coming is that Chapman only has a fastball.

Essentially, Cashman traded 3 months of Aroldis Chapman -- August, September and October 2016 -- for 5 good years of Gleyber Torres, 4 good years of Zack Britton, 2 good years of J.A. Happ, 1 good year of James Paxton, and 1 semi-decent year of Clint Frazier.

Those 3 months gave the Cubs something they didn't have for 71 years: A Pennant. And something they didn't have for 108 years: A World Series win.

Throw in the fact that Beltran helped the Astros win the 2017 World Series, and that the team that the Cubs beat in 2016 was the Indians with Miller, and it can be said that, with these trades, Cashman won three Pennants -- for three different teams, none of which was the team he actually works for.

Ironically, if, at the 2016 trading deadline, Cashman had traded Chapman, Miller, Nova and Beltrán for Paxton, Britton (47 saves that season), and especially Happ (20-4), it might have been a great trade. As has so often been the case -- Richie Sexson, Vernon Wells, Jacoby Ellsbury, Kevin Youkilis, Josh Donaldson, to name a few -- Cashman got good players too late.

Since Cashman broke up the team that won the 2009 World Series -- a team built to win one more title before George Steinbrenner died, using his methods, not Cashman's "analytics" -- the Yankees have not won a Pennant. Everything else has changed, including the field manager. The only thing that hasn't changed is the general manager.

As of July 25, 2026, Brian Cashman still has a job.

July 25, 1956: The Andrea Doria Sinks

July 25, 1956, 70 years ago: The Italian cruiseliner SS Andrea Doria sinks off the coast of Nantucket.

Andrea Doria (1466-1560) was an admiral who reformed the Republic of Genoa, and a figure in what became known as the Italian Renaissance. Today, however, he is mainly remembered as the namesake of this ill-fated ship.

The Italian Line, now known as the Italia Line, launched the SS Andrea Doria in 1951, and it became its country's greatest cruise ship, a symbol of the national pride that had to be rebuilt after World War II and the Fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini. It rivaled Britain's RMS Queen Elizabeth, France's SS Île de France, and America's SS United States in transatlantic sea luxury.

On July 17, 1956, at 11:00 AM local time, Andrea Doria left Genoa, Italy's main western port and hometown of the ship's namesake, on its 51st western crossing of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Later that afternoon, it stopped at Cannes, on the French Riviera. Boarding there was Mike Stoller, who had written "Hound Dog" with Jerry Lieber. As recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, it was the top rhythm & blues song of 1953. Also boarding there were Richardson Dilworth, then the Mayor of Philadelphia; and actress Ruth Roman and her 3-year-old son Richard; and actress Betsy Drake, then married to actor Cary Grant.

The ship then sailed southeast, arriving in Naples, Italy the next day, and that's where the majority of her passengers boarded. On July 20, she stopped at the British colony of Gibraltar on the coast of Spain, picked up a few more passengers, and headed across the Atlantic.

At midday on July 25, the MS Stockholm, a passenger liner of the Swedish American Line, left New York, heading for Gothenburg, Sweden. She was about half the size of Andrea Doria, and faster. There was fog off the coast of Nantucket, an island to the south of Massachusetts. Using radar, the 2 ships were aware of each other that night.

But they each made a critical mistake, independent of each other. Andrea Doria turned left, so that the ships would pass each other on their right, or "starboard" sides. But Stockholm turned right, so that they would pass each other on their left, or "port" sides. In other words, each ship was steered into the other's path. At 11:10 PM, Eastern Time, on July 25, both traveling at over 40 miles per hour, they collided.

Andrea Doria's generator room flooded, knocking out electrical power. Within 30 minutes, the decision was made to abandon ship. But the lifeboats were inaccessible due to the ship's listing: Those on the port side were too high in the air, and those on the starboard side were too low.

The crew and passengers did catch one lucky break: The Île de France had left New York the same day, and was only 44 miles away when her crew received the distress signal. She arrived 3 hours after receiving the signal, and, in another lucky break, the fog lifted.

Also having left New York that day, and nearby, were a U.S. Navy transport, the USNS Private William H. Thomas, and a destroyer, the USS Edward H. Allen. The Cape Ann, a freighter owned by the United Fruit Company, was also nearby. Each of these ships participated in the rescue. Even Stockholm, which was determined not to be in danger of sinking, participated in the rescue operations, launching its own lifeboats.

In all, 1,663 passengers and crew were rescued from Andrea Doria, including Stoller, Dilworth, Mrs. Grant and the Romans. But 46 people died. At 10:00 AM on July 26, the ship fell fully beneath the waves.

When the Stollers got back to New York, they were greeted by Lieber, who told them that "Hound Dog" had become a Number 1 hit for Elvis Presley. Having been in Europe most of the year, and unaware of goings-on back home in that pre-satellite TV, pre-social media world, Stoller said, "Elvis who?" Thanks to Elvis releasing that one recording, neither Lieber nor Stoller ever had to work another day in their lives. They went on to write several more hits, some specifically for Elvis, including "Jailhouse Rock"; plus most of The Coasters' hits, and several of The Drifters' hits.

The Captain of the doomed Italian liner was Piero Calamai, who had been decorated by his country in both World Wars. He retired after the rescue. To make matters worse, the following year, his brother Marco, also an Admiral, was lost at sea. Piero Calamai died in 1972, having said, "Before, I used to love the sea. Now, I hate it."

Stockholm underwent repairs, and returned to service. She was renamed several times, and last sailed in 2019, before COVID began shutting everything down, with cruise ships then being a major carrier of it. Her current name is MV Astoria, and, believed to be the oldest cruise ship afloat (launched in 1948), she is currently being retrofitted as a ferry between the Portuguese cities of Lisbon and Funchal.

But COVID hit the cruise industry hard. Stockholm/Astoria never returned to sea, and was scrapped in 2025.

It's not clear how many survivors of the Andrea Doria are still alive, but a few gathered today for a commemoration of the 70th Anniversary.

Yankees Sink Pirates 2 Out of 3

The Yankees closed a homestand with an Interleague series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Bucs' ace, Paul Skenes, had pitched on Sunday, so the Yankees avoided facing him.

Ryan Weathers started on Monday night, but allowed 5 runs, and didn't get out of the 5th inning. The bullpen pitched shutout ball the rest of the way, though, including Angel Chivilli: The Dominican righthander, who turns 24 next week, was picked up in a trade with the Colorado Rockies this past January. Wearing Number 57, he got his 1st win as a Yankee by finishing the 5th inning and pitching a hitless 6th.

Jazz Chisholm had 2 home runs and 5 RBIs. Austin Wells and José Caballero each had 2 hits, and Caballero added 2 RBIs. The Yankees won, 8-5.

The Tuesday game was postponed due to rain. That set up an odd doubleheader for the Yankees, as Gerrit Cole was set to pitch the opener, while Max Fried came off the Injured List to pitch the nightcap. I was concerned that Fried might have been put back in the rotation too soon, as Cole seemed to be.

Over the 1st 6 innings, Cole looked great, taking a perfect game into the 5th inning, while striking out 8 batters. Then he allowed a single and a home run. With 2 out in the 7th, he had allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and no walks, striking out 11. Then he gave up another home run, and was losing, 3-0.

Ben Rice tied the game in the 7th, with his 30th home run of the season. But, after saving the Monday night game, Fernando Cruz fell apart in the 10th inning this time, and the Pirates won, 5-3.

But Fried was brilliant. He was allowed to go only 5 innings, throwing 57 pitches. He allowed a leadoff single in the 1st, and a leadoff walk in the 2nd, and that was it: 1 hit and 1 walk. He struck out 7. The bullpen allowed 2 hits and 2 walks the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, the Yankees scored 2 runs in the 7th inning, on a walk to Cody Bellinger, a double by Jasson Domínguez, and a single by Anthony Volpe. Yankees 2, Pirates 0. Paul Blackburn pitched the 7th and the 8th, and was awarded the win. So the Yankees took 2 out of 3, and were 1 run away from a sweep.

*

With 60 games left in the regular season, the Yankees are 2 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division. Their 15-game winning streak snapped -- but leaving us wondering what their new method of cheating is -- the Boston Red Sox are 7 back. The Baltimore Orioles trail by 10, and the Toronto Blue Jays by 13 1/2.

The Yankees begin a roadtrip tomorrow night, with 3 Interleague games with the Philadelphia Phillies, followed by a week in Chicago: 4 against the White Sox, and 3 Interleague games against the Cubs.