How Long It's Been: Tottenham Hotspur Won the FA Cup

May 18, 1991, 30 years ago: The Football Association (FA Cup) Final is held at the old Wembley Stadium in London. Tottenham Hotspur of North London defeats Nottingham Forest of the East Midlands, 2-1.

"Spurs" needed this win, as they were more than £20 million in debt, and finished 10th in the Football League Division One. To make matters worse, their local arch-rivals, Arsenal, won the League, for the 2nd time in the last 3 years.

But they had one asset, midfielder Paul Gascoigne. The chubby Newcastle native had caught the world's attention at the 1990 World Cup, helping England reach the Semifinals. In the Semifinals of the FA Cup, he scored on a free kick that helped beat Arsenal. What the soccer world did not yet know is that -- in this era before the establishment of the Summer and January transfer windows -- Spurs had already agreed to sell "Gazza" to Lazio of Rome, Italy.

Early in the Final, Gascoigne tried to win the ball, and kicked Forest's Garry Parker in the chest. Referee Roger Milford gave him a warning, when he should have given him at least a yellow card. In the 15th minute, Gazza struck again, tackling Gary Charles near Spurs' penalty area.

A midfielder tackling a right back? Usually, it works the other way around. A tackle like that sometimes injures the player being tackled. But this also worked the other way around: Gazza tore up his knee, and had to leave the game, despite the fact that he didn't receive the straight red card he should have gotten, or even a yellow card.

But Milford did award Forest a free kick, and Stuart Pearce, Forest's Captain and left back, known as "Psycho," drilled it past Spurs' Norwegian goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt, giving Forest a 1-0 lead. To make matters worse for Spurs, in the 25th minute, Gary Lineker seemed to have scored, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Five minutes later, Lineker was brought down in the box by Forest's Welsh keeper Mark Crossley, and was awarded a penalty. But Crossley saved it, and the game was still 1-0 to Forest at the half.

In the 55th minute, Paul Stewart scored an equalizer. It remained 1-1 at the end of normal time. In the 94th minute, Mohamed Ali Amar, the Spanish midfielder of Turkish descent known as Nayim, took a corner. Stewart met it, and set it up for Spurs' Captain, centreback Gary Mabbutt, to head it in.

In the 1987 FA Cup Final, Mabbutt had scored an own goal to give Coventry City the Cup over Spurs. Now, he was on the other side of it: He was beaten to the header by Forest centreback Des Walker, who headed it in. Spurs held their 2-1 lead for the rest of extra time.

Three times, the FA Cup has been decided on an own goal, and Mabbutt was involved in the last 2. The other was in 1960, when Mick McGrath hurt his Blackburn Rovers team, giving the Cup to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Terry Venables had starred as a player for Chelsea and Tottenham, winning the 1967 FA Cup with the latter. He had managed Barcelona to the La Liga title in 1984. Now, he had managed Spurs to the FA Cup.

Brian Clough had starred as a player for Middlesbrough and Sunderland, before a knee injury ended his career early. He had managed Derby County to the League title in 1972, flopped at Leeds United, then moved to Derby's East Midlands arch-rivals, Nottingham Forest, and managed them to the League title in 1978, and to the European Cup in 1979 and 1980. He had won the League Cup as Forest manager 4 times, including the 2 seasons before this.

But in his long and storied career, as both a player and a manager, the FA Cup eluded him. This was as close as Cloughie would ever get to the Cup, and "El Tel" had beaten him.

Although Prince Charles and Princess Diana were on hand, it was Katharine, Duchess of Kent, who handed the Cup to Mabbutt.

As often happens, the Spurs players had recorded a "Cup Final song," in anticipation of an expected victory. It was titled "When the Year Ends in One" and they had help from musical duo Charles Hodges and Dave Peacock, a.k.a. Chas & Dave. Spurs have won the FA Cup in 1901, 1921, 1961, 1981 and 1991; the League in 1951 and 1961 (winning both in 1961, the 1st "Double" in the 20th Century); and the League Cup in 1971.

And so, when every subsequent year ending in 1 came around, the song was brought back, as Spurs fans were sure that another trophy would arrive. It hasn't: They lost the FA Cup Semifinal to Arsenal in 2001, came no closer to a trophy in 2011 than the Quarterfinal of the UEFA Champions League, and, this year, 2021, lost the League Cup Final and got no closer in any other trophy push.

Historically, Spurs' record in the Cup was a decent one. From 1901 to 1991 -- 90 years, but, due to the tournament's cancellation during both World Wars, 80 tournaments -- they won it 8 times, an average of once every 10 tries: 1901, 1921, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1981, 1982 and 1991. From 1961 to 1991, 31 tries, once every 5 years.

But since 1991, they haven't even reach the Final. They've reached the Semifinal 8 times, and lost all 8: 1993 and 2001 to Arsenal, 1995 to Liverpool team Everton, 1999 to Newcastle United, 2010 to Portsmouth, 2012 and 2017 to Chelsea, and 2018 to Manchester United.

Losing to Arsenal was humiliating enough. But the 2010 loss was particularly galling: Harry Redknapp had won the 2008 FA Cup with Portsmouth, then left them for Tottenham, leaving them bankrupt, and they were already guaranteed relegation in 2010, but got to the Semifinal again, and beat Tottenham in extra time, before losing the Final to Chelsea.

Anyway, after the 1991 Final, they did indeed sell Gascoigne to Lazio, for £5.5 million. Only 24 years old at the time, he missed the entire 1991-92 season. Injuries meant that he was never the same again, although there was still the occasional flash of his former talent, including a goal for England against Scotland in Euro 96.

Mental illness and alcoholism have plagued him ever since, and he hasn't worked in the sport at all since 2005. He's about to turn 54, and hasn't been to rehab since 2017. It's hard to tell whether he's clean at the moment, but, at least, he looks healthier than in recent years.

But, despite big spending and big talk, especially over the last 10 years, Spurs' record has been pathetic. They reached the Champions League Final in 2019, losing to Liverpool. But, since the 1991 FA Cup, their only trophies have been the League Cup in 1999 and 2008. And if you still consider the League Cup a "major trophy," then perhaps no one should consider your team a "big club."

Spurs haven't won the FA Cup since May 18, 1991. That's exactly 30 years. How long has that been?

*

The 1990-91 season came on the heels of the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster and the subsequent Taylor Report, which mandated, among other things, all-seater stadiums. Of the 20 teams then in Division One:

* Tottenham, Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Liverpool, Crsytal Palace, Leeds United, Manchester City, Manchester United, Everton, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield United, Norwich City, Aston Villa and Luton Town were able to reconfigure the stadiums they then had.

* Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City have since ended up building new stadiums anyway.

* Southampton, Coventry City, Sunderland and Derby County built new stadiums instead of reworking the ones they had.

* Wimbledon moved, to become Milton Keynes Dons.

In the time since Spurs last won the FA Cup, it's been won by Arsenal 10 times, Chelsea 7 times, Manchester United 5 times, Liverpool 3 times, Manchester City twice, and once each by Everton, Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic and Leicester City.

Ronaldo (the real one) was 14 years old. Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, Gianluigi Buffon, Didier Drogba and Carles Puyol were 13. Tim Howard was 12. Andrea Pirlo turned 12 the next day. Ronaldinho was 11. Steven Gerrard and John Terry were 10. Iker Casillas turned 10 just 2 days later. Hope Solo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Landon Donovan were 9. Carli Lloyd, Clint Dempsey and Franck Ribery were 8. Wayne Rooney, Heather O’Reilly, Cristiano Ronald and Bradley Wright-Phillips were 6. 

Megan Rapinoe, Manuel Neuer and Vincent Kompany were 5. Olivier Giroud, Jamie Vardy, Luis Suarez and Dax McCarty were 4. Lionel Messi was 3. Sergio Aguero, Robert Lewandowski and Mesut Ozil were 2. Alex Morgan and Gareth Bale were a year and a half. Toni Kroos was 1. Jordan Henderson was 11 months. Aaron Ramsey and Eden Hazard were 4 months. Antoine Griezmann was 2 months. And Virgil van Dijk, Jack Wilshere, Neymar, Mario Gotze, Mohamed Salah, Alisson, Paul Pogba and Harry Kane weren't born yet. Nor was current Spurs manager Ryan Mason, born on June 13, 1991.

Red Star Belgrade won the European Cup, the tournament which, a little more than a year later, would be rebranded as the UEFA Champions League. And, as stated, Arsenal, the real team in North London, won the Football League.

The Chicago Bulls were about to win their 1st NBA Championship, and the Pittsburgh Penguins their 1st Stanley Cup. The Cincinnati Reds were the holder of baseball's World Championship, and the New York Giants of American football's. The Heavyweight Champion of the World was Evander Holyfield.

The Olympic Games have since been held in America twice; and once each in France, Spain, Norway, Japan, Australia, Greece, Italy, China, Canada, Britain, Russia, Brazil and Korea. The World Cup has since been held in America, France, Japan, Korea, Germany, South Africa, Brazil and Russia.

The Prime Minister of Britain was John Major, and of Canada, Brian Mulroney. The monarch of both was Queen Elizabeth II -- that hasn't changed.

The President of the United States was George H.W. Bush. His son George W. had recently bought the Texas Rangers baseball team. Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, their wives, and the widows of Lyndon Johnson and Jacqueline Kennedy were still alive. So were Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher, James Callaghan, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath and Alec Douglas-Home.

Bill Clinton had just been sworn in for a 5th term as Governor of Arkansas, and was preparing a run for President. Hillary Clinton, of course, was the State's First Lady. Barack Obama had just begun work at a Chicago law firm. Donald Trump was in the process of divorcing Ivana and marrying his mistress, Marla Maples. Neither of these women, of course, is the current Mrs. Trump. And Joe Biden was a Senator from Delaware, and Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Governor of the State of New York was Mario Cuomo. The Mayor of the City of New York was David Dinkins. The Governor of New Jersey was Jim Florio. The current holders of those offices? Andrew Cuomo, Mario's son, worked for Dinkins as Chair of the New York City Homeless Commission. Bill de Blasio also worked for Dinkins, as a City Hall aide. And Phil Murphy was working for Goldman Sachs in New York.

The Pope was John Paul II. The current Pope, Francis, was teaching theology in Frankfurt, Germany, under his birth name, Jorge Mario Bergoglio. Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev had recently been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. There have since been 5 Presidents of the United States, 6 Prime Ministers of Britain, and 3 Popes.

There were still living veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War. There were still living survivors of the Johnstown Flood, the Galveston Hurricane, the General Slocum disaster and the San Francisco Earthquake.

Douglas Coupland coined the expression that defined people born between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s, myself included, in the title of his novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. Alexandra Ripley published Scarlett, the authorized sequel to Gone With the Wind. 

Tom Clancy published the Jack Ryan novel The Sum of All Fears, John Grisham The Firm, and Bret Easton Ellis American Psycho, later turned into a film in which Christian Bale became the kind of man his later character, Batman, would have pursued and caught. None of the Harry Potter or A Song of Ice and Fire novels had yet been published.

Stephen King published Needful Things, George R.R. Martin was working on his Wild Cards series, and J.K. Rowling hadn't yet published anything. No one had yet heard of Deadpool, Alex Cross, Bridget Jones, Ash Ketchum, Robert Langdon, Master Chief, Rick Grimes, Wynonna Earp, Lisbeth Salander, Bella Swan or Katniss Everdeen.

Major films then in theaters included The Marrying Man, Drop Dead Fred, A Kiss Before Dying, A Rage in Harlem, and What About Bob? Released in the coming days were Backdraft, Hudson Hawk, Thelma & Louise and Soapdish. Major TV shows that had recently premiered included the CBS version of The Flash with John Wesley Shipp, Evening Shade, Dream On, Beverly Hills 90210 (iconically),

Cop Rock (ignominiously), Blossom, Dinosaurs and Sisters. 

Christopher Reeve was the most recent onscreen Superman, Michael Keaton had debuted as Batman, Sylvester McCoy had been the last Doctor Who (or so we then thought), and Timothy Dalton was playing James Bond.

No one had yet heard of The Seinfeld Four, Buffy Summers, Fox Mulder & Dana Scully, Andy Sipowicz, Jay & Silent Bob, Ross Geller & Rachel Greene, Doug Ross, Xena, Austin Powers, Carrie Bradshaw, Tony Soprano, Jed Bartlet, Jack Bauer, Omar Little, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Michael Bluth, Michael Scott, Don Draper, Walter White, Jax Teller, Richard Castle, Leslie Knope, Sarah Manning, Jane "Eleven" Hopper or Maggie Bell.

"I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)" by Hi-Five was the Number 1 song in America. Michael Jackson was recording his album Dangerous. Bob Dylan had released the 1st of his Bootleg Series box sets. Nirvana were about to release Nevermind.

Kourtney Kardashian was 11 years old, Kim was 10, Beyonce was 9, Khloe Kardashian was 6, Lady Gaga was 4, Rob Kardashian and Kevin Jonas were 3, Rihanna was about to turn 3, Joe Jonas was 17 months; and Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, and all of the members of One Direction weren't born yet.

Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $1.76 would buy now. Or, more to the point of the country in question, what £1.00 bought then, £2.29 would buy now.

A U.S. postage stamp cost 25 cents (but would increase to 29 cents in the coming days), and a New York Subway ride $1.15. The average price of a gallon of gas was $1.20, a cup of coffee $1.55, a McDonald's meal (Big Mac, fries, shake) $5.71, a movie ticket $4.20, a new car $15,473, and a new house $151,100. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day before at 2,886.83.

The Sega Genesis was the leading home video game system. There were mobile telephones, but hardly anybody had them. The Internet did exist, but hardly anybody had heard of it. The Hubble Space Telescope had just been launched, but it wasn't working, and another space shuttle mission would be needed to fix it. There were birth control pills, but no Viagra.

In the Spring of 1991, the Soviet Union began pulling troops out of Poland, ending a 52-year occupation of my ancestral homeland. The European Community responded to improvements in South Africa by lifting their longtime economic sanctions. The Italian ferry Moby Prince collided with an oil tanker off the coast of Livorno, killing 140 people. A tropical cyclone killed 138,000 people in Bangladesh. The Angolan Civil War was ended by a cease-fire. Nepal held its 1st multiparty election in 32 years. The people of Croatia voted to secede from Yugoslavia. And former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India was assassinated.

In America, Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and former Senator John Tower of Texas, both Republicans, were killed in separate plane crashes on back-to-back days. A series of tornadoes killed 21 people in the Midwest. Queen Elizabeth II visited America, and addressed a Joint Session of Congress.

David Ruffin, and former Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler, and English soccer legend Stan Mortensen died. Kawhi Leonard, and Alexandre Lacazette, and Thiago Alcantara were born.

May 18, 1991. Tottenham Hotspur won the FA Cup. Unless you count the League Cup, which they won in 1999 and 2008 -- and you shouldn't -- Spurs have not won a major trophy since.

And since it looks like Harry Kane wants out, it seems unlikely they'll win one anytime soon. "It's happened again, it's happened again, Tottenham Hotspur, it's happened again!"

Reggie at 75

 

The man, as I knew of him when I was a boy

May 18, 1946, 75 years ago: Reginald Martinez Jackson is born at Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington, Pennsylvania. He shares his birthday with another member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Baltimore Orioles 3rd base legend Brooks Robinson, who turns 84 today.

Also born on May 18:

* From baseball: Pittsburgh Pirates pitching star Babe Adams in 1882, San Francisco Giants pitcher Jack Sanford in 1929, Texas Rangers catcher Jim Sundberg in 1951, and Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Joakim Soria in 1984.

* From other sports: British tennis star Fred Perry in 1909, sportscaster Jack Whitaker in 1924, English soccer legend Nobby Stiles in 1942, Finnish hockey star Jari Kurri and French tennis star Yannick Noah in 1960, American soccer goalkeeper Brad Friedel in 1971, New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup winner Turner Stevenson in 1972, basketball stars Donyell Marshall in 1973 and Ron Mercer in 1976, Portuguese soccer star Ricardo Carvalho in 1978, football quarterback Vince Young in 1983, and English soccer twins Ryan and Steven Sessegnon in 2000.

* From music: Singer Ezio Pinza in 1892, songwriter Meredith Willson in 1902, blues singer Big Joe Turner in 1911, Big Band singer Perry Como in 1912, jazz trombonist Kai Winding in 1922, guitarist and music producer Albert Hammond in 1944, Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman in 1949, Devo lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh in 1950, country singer George Strait in 1952, and singer Martika in 1969.

* From other arts: Persian poet Omar Khayyam in AD 1048, photographer Mathew Brady in 1822, author Francis Bellamy in 1855, philosopher Bertrand Russell in 1872, Pan Am Building architect Walter Gropius in 1883, director Frank Capra in 1897, ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn in 1919, actor Bill Macy in 1922, actress Priscilla Pointer in 1924, actor Pernell Roberts in 1928, cartoonist Don Martin and actor Robert Morse in 1931, actor Dwayne Hickman in 1934, professional wrestler Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka in 1942, science fiction author Diane Duane in 1952, actor Chow Yun-fat in 1955, and actress and screenwriter Tina Fey in 1970.

* From politics: U.S. Secertary of the Navy Josephus Daniels in 1862, last Czar of Russia Nicholas II in 1868, Senator Jacob Javits of New York in 1904, Pope John Paul II in 1920, Senator Warren Rudman of New Hampshire in 1930, and Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico in 1948.

*

Reggie Jackson's parents split up when he was young, and he grew up with his father in nearby Wyncote, just north of the Philadelphia City Line. Martinez Jackson was already 41 when Reggie was born, and had played 2nd base for the Newark Eagles in the Negro Leagues, before opening a tailor's shop. Eventually, he would print business cards reading, "Marty the Tailor, father of baseball's famous Reggie Jackson."

But baseball would not be the first sport at which Reggie gained attention. He attended Cheltenham High School, and was a 1964 classmate of Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu, who became an Israeli commando, and died during the rain on Entebbe Airport in Uganda on July 4, 1976, America's Bicentennial Day. His brother, Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, Class of '67, became Israel's Prime Minister, and, for the moment, still is.

Other Cheltenham graduates include Ronald Perelman '60, investment banker and former chairman of Revlon; Craig Littlepage '69, former basketball coach at Rutgers and athletic director at the University of Virginia; Mark Levin '75, right-wing radio talk show host; and Brandon Bing '07, a cornerback with the Giants' Super Bowl XLVI winners.

Most of Reggie's classmates were white, and many of them were Jewish. He said it helped him to understand people better, but it didn't prepare him for the prejudice he would later face. He played basketball, ran track, and hit .550 and pitched several no-hitters in baseball. His hometown Philadelphia Phillies gave him a tryout, but weren't impressed by his hitting. The San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins also made offers.

Cheltenham High School, Spring 1963. Looks like a ground ball.

But it was as a fullback in football that got the attention of the universities of Alabama, Georgia and Oklahoma, all of whom seemed to be willing to break their respective color barriers for him. He didn't go to any of those schools: He was too nervous about living in the South; and while Oklahoma is Southern, he was advised that he shouldn't date outside his race, so he turned them down.

Outside his race? Black and Native American on his mother's side, black and Cuban on his father's side? As Reggie himself put it a few years ago, "When I was a boy, I was colored. When I was a teenager, I was a Negro. When I was a young man, I was black. When I was middle-aged, I was African-American. Now that I'm an old man, I'm multicultural."

The coach at Cheltenham knew Frank Kush, the head coach at Arizona State University. Kush was a tough guy. How tough was he? So tough, he scared John Elway away from signing with the Baltimore Colts when Kush drafted him in 1983. But Kush was willing to let Reggie play baseball at ASU, as long as he worked hard in football.

Arizona State won the College World Series for the 1st time in 1965, with Reggie as a sophomore. That team also had Sal Bando, Rick Monday and Duffy Dyer. All 4 of them would go on to play in the 1973 World Series: Dyer with the Mets, the other 3 with the A's.

The Sun Devils have since won the College World Series again in 1967, 1969, 1977 and 1981, and reached it as recently as 2010. In addition to the preceding, notable Arizona State baseball players include Gary Gentry, Lerrin LaGrow, Lenny Randle, Larry Gura, Alan Bannister, Floyd Bannister (no relation), Bump Wills, Craig Swan, Bob Horner, Ken Landreaux, Sal's brother Chris Bando, Hubie Brooks, Alvin Davis, Marty Barrett, Mike Devereaux, Oddibe McDowell, Ken Phelps, Pat Listach, Barry Bonds, Paul Lo Duca, Dustin Pedroia, Ian Kinsler, Jason Kipnis, Ike Davis (no relation to Alvin, but son of Ron Davis), and Bo Bichette.

In the Fall of 1965, Kush wanted to switch Reggie to defensive back. He didn't want to switch, and he had already impressed baseball coach Bobby Winkles, who would later become the 1st college coach to manage in the major leagues, with the Oakland Athletics -- but after Reggie left them.

Tom Greenwade, who had signed Mickey Mantle for the Yankees, got interested in him. The Mets were also interested. So were the Kansas City Athletics.

On June 7, 1966, the Mets had the 1st pick in the MLB Draft, and the A's had the 2nd. The Mets drafted Steve Chilcott, a high school catcher from the suburbs of Los Angeles. The A's, having already taken Monday with the 1st pick in the 1st-ever MLB Draft the year before, drafted Reggie.

Winkles told Reggie that the Mets were concerned that he was a black man with a white girlfriend. In fact, Reggie's girlfriend, Jennie Campos, was a Mexican-American who faced prejudice as well. Reggie and Jennie married, but it didn't last, as Reggie's wandering eye has been as active as his batting eye. But he has managed to keep his private life mostly private. There have been no public stories about him mistreating women. 

And what happened to Steve Chilcott? A baserunning blunder wrecked his throwing shoulder. He never reached the major leagues, and he played his last professional game in 1972, only 24 years old. He moved to Santa Barbara, and became a firefighter and a contractor. He is now 72 years old, and in a 2005 interview, said, "I've had a good life, although, at first, it was hard for me to find things to do, because I had such a desire to be a professional athlete. I had to find my place in the world."

Reggie signed with the A's, receiving a bonus of $95,000 from their owner, insurance executive Charles O. Finley. He reported to the Lewis-Clark Broncs of Lewiston, Idaho, in the Class A Northwest League. He was with them for 12 games, and was then sent to the Modesto Reds of the Class A California League for the rest of the season.

In 1967, he was promoted to Class AA -- but that meant going to the Birmingham A's, in Alabama. (Finley was a friend of University of Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who gave Finley one of his trademark houndstooth hats.) The racism Reggie faced with that team was intense, and he says their manager, John McNamara, helped him get through it.

*

On June 9, 1967, Reggie made his major league debut. He wore Number 31, played right field and batted 2nd for the Kansas City Athletics against the Cleveland Indians at Kansas City Municipal Stadium. Batting against Steve Hargan, he flew out to center field in the 1st inning, struck out in the 4th, grounded to 3rd base in the 6th, and was set to be the 1st batter in the bottom of the 9th. There was none, as Chuck Dobson pitched a shutout, and a home run in the 7th by Jim Gosger gave the A's a 2-0 win.

That was the 1st game of a doubleheader. In the 2nd game, the A's won 6-0, and Reggie got his 1st major league hit, a 5th inning triple against Orlando Peña. He played in 35 major league games that season, including on September 17, at Anaheim Stadium, when he hit his 1st major league home run, off Jim Weaver of the California Angels.

In 1968, angry over being stuck at the 1923-built, 35,020-seat Municipal Stadium, and not getting the city to build him a new ballpark, Finley moved the A's to Oakland, where the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum was less than 2 years old and seated around 50,000, and was considered a huge improvement. (Those of you only old enough to remember the 1995-onward "Mount Davis" version of the Coliseum, stop laughing.)

In his 1st full season, having switched to wearing Number 9, Reggie hit 29 home runs. In 1969, he hit 30 home runs before the All-Star Break. Soon, the sportswriters said he "was dating a lady named Ruth Maris." But he ran out of steam, and finished with 47 -- and didn't even win the American League home run title, as Harmon Killebrew of the Minnesota Twins finished with 49.

A young Reggie Jackson,

at the pre-renovation Yankee Stadium.

A photo dripping with foreshadowing.

He did, however, make the 1st of 14 All-Star Games. In 1971, he made it again, and was 1 of 6 players, all future Hall-of-Famers, to hit a home run in the All-Star Game. Against Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates, he hit a blast that hit the transformer on a light standard on the right-field roof at Tiger Stadium. The American League won, 6-4. The A's won 101 games, to win the AL Western Division title, their 1st 1st-place finish since 1931, when they were in Philadelphia. But they lost the AL Championship Series to the Baltimore Orioles.

Reggie showed up for Spring Training in 1972, in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, Arizona, with a mustache. At that point in baseball history, the only player in the game with a mustache was Dick Allen. Frenchy Bordagaray had briefly had one in 1936. Before that, the last one was Wally Schang in 1914. It was widely believed that Finley would punish Reggie for it.

Instead, Finley told his players, whom he was already greatly underpaying, that he would pay them $300 to grow their own. Most of them did. (With inflation, that's about $1,900 today. This shows how cheap Finley was.)

The A's were Division Champions again, and faced the Detroit Tigers in the ALCS. In Game 5, Reggie scored what turned out to be the Pennant-winning run on a double steal, but tore his hamstring in the process. He would not get to play in the World Series, as the A's beat the Cincinnati Reds, in a Series that was billed as "Hairs vs. Squares."

(Whenever anybody says the Big Red Machine was the best team of the 1970s, remind them that they played the other contender for the title, the A's, in one World Series, and the A's beat them, clinching in Cincinnati, without their best player.)

Not having played in that Series, Reggie seemed to be a man on a mission in 1973, batting a career-high (so far) .293, and leading the AL in home runs (32), runs batted in (117), runs scored and slugging percentage. The A's won the Pennant by beating the Orioles. In the World Series against the Mets, Reggie had an RBI double in Game 6, and a home run in Game 7. He was named the Most Valuable Player of both the AL regular season and the World Series.

Reggie says most of the photos showing him

swinging are actually of him missing.

Reggie led the A's to a 3rd straight World Series win in 1974. In 1975, he hit 36 homers, leading the AL, but the A's lost the ALCS to the Boston Red Sox. But Finley was so cheap! (How cheap was he?) He was so cheap, he wasn't willing to spend what it would take to keep his great team together. He had already defaulted on a clause in the contract of pitcher Jim "Catfish" Hunter, who was declared a free agent, and signed with the Yankees. His absence may have been why the A's lost the 1975 ALCS.

So, with free agency instituted, to take effect after the 1976 season, the Oakland dynasty was broken up. Team Captain and 3rd baseman Sal Bando signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. Relief ace Rollie Fingers and 1st baseman Gene Tenace signed with the San Diego Padres. Left fielder Joe Rudi signed with the California Angels. Shortstop Bert Campaneris signed with the Texas Rangers. All of those guys played out the '76 season, and signed elsewhere. Finley didn't lift a finger to sign any of them.

Before any of that, on April 2, Finley traded Reggie, and starting pitchers Ken Holtzman and Bill VanBommel (the former would join Reggie and Catfish on the Yankees, the latter never reached the major leagues), to the Orioles for Don Baylor, Mike Torrez and Paul Mitchell. (Finley wouldn't keep Baylor or Torrez, either: Baylor would join Rudi on the Angels, and Torrez would join Reggie, Catfish and Holtzman on the Yankees.)

Reggie still wanted more money, and held out the 1st month of the season. Finally, the Orioles caved in. Both his old team, the A's, and his new team, the O's, finished 2nd. Again, Reggie led the AL in slugging percentage. Free agency came, and while he didn't mind playing in Baltimore, the O's didn't try to re-sign him. Nor did the A's.

The New York Yankees did, after having won the AL Pennant, but lost the World Series to the Reds. The San Diego Padres also tried to sign him. So did the Montreal Expos. Reggie was intrigued by the idea of playing in an international city like Montreal, but thought he wouldn't have the endorsement opportunities that he would have in New York.

And Yankee owner George Steinbrenner reminded Reggie of this, when he took him out to the famed 21 Club restaurant at 21 West 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan. When Reggie said that Padres owner Ray Kroc, the chairman of McDonald's, was offering him more money, George said, "Kroc's offering you more salary to come to San Diego. But, Reggie, this is New York. Madison Avenue is a block away."

Reggie took the hint, and, on November 29, 1976, Reggie signed a contract worth $2,960,000 over 5 years, with an option for a 6th year. Reggie's estranged parents joined him at the introductory press conference. He also posed for a picture with the 2 most veteran Yankees, team Captain Thurman Munson and Roy White.

And, 30 years old, already having 3 World Series rings, 6 All-Star berths and 2 home run titles to his name, he said, "I didn't come to New York to be a star. I'm bringing my star with me." He was right: He was the first in-his-prime star to come to the Yankees from elsewhere since Babe Ruth.

*

You never forget your first sports hero. Growing up in a New York suburb in Central New Jersey in the 1970s and 1980s, Reggie Jackson was the right guy, doing the right thing, in the right place, at the right time.

No, he's not perfect. He knew it then, and he knows it now. But he has a better handle on it than a lot of other people do, including most of his critics. And he got the job done. Or, as somebody once put it, "It's funny how these winning teams keep following him around." But the road to get there was twisty and bumpy.

With his usual 9 worn by Graig Nettles, and his next choice, Jackie Robinson's 42, also already taken, Reggie took Number 44 as a tribute to the recently-retired Hank Aaron. This led to a dopey scene in Spike Lee's film about the Summer of '77 in New York, Summer of Sam: One of the white Italian guys in The Bronx suggested that Reggie was the Son of Sam, who, before the letter with that signature, was called "the .44-Caliber Killer" in the press, because of his gun. This moron forgot that the killings began in July 1976, while Reggie was still in Baltimore.

Yankee manager Billy Martin wanted Joe Rudi, not Reggie. But George wanted Reggie because he was a bigger name, who hit big home runs, and would raise attendance. Billy didn't like Reggie's fielding, and thought he didn't hustle enough, and thought he struck out too much. In each case, Billy had a point, but not as much as he thought he did. But George was The Boss, and Reggie was brought in.

During his 1st Spring Training with the Yankees, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, George was the only one welcoming Reggie to the team, except for Catfish. Munson, the previous year's AL MVP, didn't like that Reggie was making more money. Center fielder Mickey Rivers didn't like that a fellow black man was flaunting his wealth. And nobody was crazy about Reggie telling people what a good hitter he was, and how smart he was.

"You got an IQ of 160?" Rivers asked. "Out of what, 1,000?" Mick the Quick didn't understand how IQ ratings worked, and he didn't have a very high one himself, but he had some wit: "Reginald Martinez Jackson. You got a white man's first name, a Spanish man's middle name, and a black man's last name. No wonder you're so mixed up: You don't even know who you are."

Said John Milton Rivers, a man who, as sportswriter Roger Kahn, a student of the classics at NYU, said, was "maybe the only man named John Milton who had never heard of Paradise Lost."

A reporter from SPORT magazine, Robert Ward, wanted to interview him. Reggie had previously been burned by an article in SPORT, but Ward talked him into an interview at the Banana Boat bar in Fort Lauderdale.

When the article came out in May, Ward quoted Reggie as saying,

You know, this team... it all flows from me. I've got to keep it all going. I'm the straw that stirs the drink. Maybe I should say me and Munson... but really he doesn't enter into it. He's being so damned insecure about the whole thing...

Munson thinks he can be the straw that stirs the drink, but he can only stir it bad.

Munson read the article, and could barely contain his fury. He saw other quotes where Reggie "rips me." Lou Piniella tried to calm him down. Lou was an expert on losing one's temper, but he knew this could be bad. He said , "Maybe he was misquoted." Thurman almost bit Lou's head off: "For four fucking pages?"

In 2007, ESPN would produce a film version of Jonathan Mahler's book about New York City in 1977, The Bronx Is Burning. In it, Reggie is played by Daniel Sunjata, and they got Ward to play himself, 30 years later. They filmed it exactly as Ward described it. In addition, Dayn Perry of Fox Sports published a biography of Reggie in 2008, also taking Ward's word for what had happened.

Reggie was furious, and wrote his own memoir, titled Becoming Mr. October. It backed up what he'd said in his previous memoir, in 1984, titled simply Reggie: An Autobiography: He said he hadn't ripped Munson at all, and had described a team as being like a drink, with all its ingredients, and suggesting that he was the last ingredient that the Pennant-winning, but World Series-losing, Yankees needed -- and that it was Ward who suggested the straw analogy, not he.

It's been 44 years. Only those 2 men know what was really said. Both are still alive. Each is sticking to his story.

The night the article came out, everyone gave Reggie the cold shoulder. And they lost to the Red Sox at home. But Reggie hit a home run, with Thurman on base. When he came around to home plate, there was Thurman, offering to shake his hand. Reggie walked past him like he wasn't even there, and sat at the end of the dugout, not looking at any of his teammates.

He didn't like the hypocrisy: It was as if they were saying, "Two hours ago, you were a filthy son of a bitch who talked shit about our friend, our Captain, and we hate you. But now, you're a superstar, and we love you." Reginald Martinez Jackson was not having it. It was totally understandable.

But it may also have been a bigger mistake than granting the interview. If he'd let bygones be bygones, the article might have become a 3-day story, and been forgotten. But the team, with a few exceptions, took Thurman's side. About the only allies Reggie had were aging slugger Jimmy Wynn (black) and catcher Fran Healy (white -- and Munson's backup). Those resentments were still stewing on the afternoon of June 18.

The Yankees were playing the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Sox were leading 7-4 in the bottom of the 6th. Torrez was on the mound. Jim Rice hit a looper to short right. Reggie took too long to get to it, and Fred Lynn, already on 1st base, got to 3rd, and Rice, one of the hardest hitters but also one of the slowest runners in the game, got to 2nd.

Billy came out of the dugout, and called for Sparky Lyle to replace Torrez. Then he yelled back to the dugout, and sent Paul Blair, once a superb defensive outfielder and a decent hitter for Baltimore, now a role player, out to right field.

Reggie saw Blair coming in. Neither one knew why the change was being made. Reggie got back to the dugout -- and did not "come flying at Martin," as one broadcaster said -- and asked why he was being taken out.

Instead of doing the right thing, telling Reggie they would discuss it privately after the game, Billy wanted to chew Reggie out, right there, in the dugout, in front of his teammates. He was also doing this in front of NBC cameras sending this game to a nationwide audience.

Billy accused Reggie of loafing -- a defensible argument, but not one you make in front of the man's teammates. Reggie denied it. Certainly, he wasn't intentionally loafing. According to Reggie, Billy was not only cursing at him, but got so angry he was incoherent. Billy said he would kick Reggie's ass.

Billy was 49 years old, 5-foot-11, maybe 160 pounds soaking wet -- and if he was soaking in anything, it was whiskey. Reggie was 31 years old, 6 feet even, probably around 200 pounds, in as good a shape as any American athlete then was. To put it in football terms, Reggie was built like the fullback he had once been, and Billy was built like a placekicker. If Billy had started a fight with Reggie, and nobody intervened, Reggie would have beaten the hell out of him.

But Reggie also knew that if he got violent, even in self-defense, the media would paint him as the aggressor and the villain -- because he was black and had a big mouth, and Billy was white and a popular authority figure. Reggie says he knew he could win a fight with Billy, but not a popularity contest. But when Billy said he would kick his ass, Reggie called him an old man, and said, "I think all that alcohol you drink has gone to your brain."

"I'll show you who's an old man!" Billy shouted. How many legendary Yankee catchers turned coaches does it take to stop Billy Martin from starting a fight? Apparently, at least 2: Yogi Berra and Elston Howard. Meanwhile, Wynn was standing in front of Reggie, to keep him from charging.

Reggie went back to the clubhouse, flipped a couple of things over, and yelled, to no one in particular, that Billy didn't understand him at all, and that, if he wanted a fight, he'd get one, after the game. By this point, Healy had gotten in there, and told Reggie that was the last thing he wanted, and that the best thing Reggie could do was to just get dressed and go back to the hotel. Reggie calmed down enough to realize that Fran was right, and did so.

The game resumed, and here's the weird part: In spite of Reggie's fielding gaffe (Rice was credited with a double, not a single and Reggie assessed an error), no runs scored in that inning: Sparky got out of the jam. The Red Sox did win the game, 10-4. Blair ended up coming to the plate only once, grounding out to 3rd in the 7th. But neither did he record either a putout or an assist -- although that was mainly due to chance -- so his defense ended up not mattering a damn.

The next day, there was no confrontation between Reggie and Billy. Billy put Reggie in the lineup -- not 4th, as Reggie preferred, but 5th. All season long, Billy had been putting Reggie in 3rd, 5th or 6th, but not 4th. But he did put Reggie in, not suspending him as he did for an incident the next season. The Red Sox won, 11-1, completing a sweep. The Yanks were now 2 1/2 games behind the Sox, 4 in the loss column.

The Yankees flew on to Detroit. The rumor was that George Steinbrenner had seen Saturday's dugout contretemps on TV, and was coming to Detroit to fire Billy in person, because of how Billy had embarrassed the organization on national television. But everyone told him not to fire Billy, because it would create more problems than it would solve. General manager Gabe Paul told him that. Thurman Munson told him that. Even Reggie Jackson himself told him that, saying, "If you fire Billy now, it'll look like I'm running the team. I don't want that, and neither do you."

Things calmed down, but, for the next few weeks, the Yankees remained on the wrong side of a 3-way race for the AL East title with the Red Sox and Orioles. Reggie was hitting, including his 300th career home run in Seattle against the Mariners, but the Yankees just couldn't get back to 1st place.

On August 10 -- mere hours before the New York police finally discovered the real identity of the sSon of Sam, and arrested postal worker David Berkowitz for the 8 shootings that had wounded 13 people, killing 6 of them -- and with the Yankees 5 games behind the Red Sox, 6 in the loss column, with 53 games to play, George called Billy into his office, and, with Gabe also there, gave him an ultimatum: "Billy, bat Reggie 4th, or you're fired. Not just today, but every day, for the rest of the year."

Billy knew this was it: His job now depended on whether he batted Reggie 4th. In the last 53 games of the regular season, Reggie played in 51. He was given the day off in Detroit on August 18, and again at home to Seattle on August 31, but, both times, Billy used him as a pinch-hitter. He was given the day off in Minnesota on September 4, and was held out of the meaningless season finale at home to Detroit on October 2.

Other than that, given 49 chances, he was put into the 4th spot in the lineup 49 times. Usually, in right field, but, a few times, sending Paul Blair out late for defensive purposes. A few times, as the designated hitter. But, from the August 10 ultimatum onward, every time that Billy Martin put Reggie Jackson into the starting lineup, he put Reggie into the 4th position.

In those last 51 games, the Yankees went 38-13. On September 13 and 14 at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees took the 1st 2 of a 3-game series from the Sox, essentially deciding the Division title. The game on the 14th was 0-0 going to the bottom of the 9th, when Reggie Cleveland walked Munson, and Reggie took him deep to win it 2-0. The chant of "Reg-GIE! Reg-GIE! Reg-GIE!" wouldn't stop. The Yankees clinched on October 1. Reggie finished the season with a .286 average, 32 home runs, and 110 RBIs.

In the ALCS against the Kansas City Royals, whom they'd beaten in the previous year's installment on Chris Chambliss' walkoff home run -- with Reggie in the ABC booth with Keith Jackson and Howard Cosell -- the Yanks fell behind 2 games to 1. They took Game 4 in Kansas City. But with lefthander Paul Splitorff going in Game 5, after having handcuffed Reggie in Game 1, Billy decided to bench Reggie, and didn't have the guts to tell Reggie himself, sending Healy to do it.

The Royals led 3-1 in the bottom of the 8th, but the Yankees began to get to Splittorff. Royals manager Whitey Herzog replaced him with righthander Doug Bird. That's what Billy was waiting for, and he sent Reggie up to pinch-hit for righthanded DH Cliff Johnson. Reggie dunked an RBI single into center fielder, cutting the deficit to 3-2. The Yankees took a 5-3 lead in the 9th inning, and won the Pennant.

In the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Reggie hit a home run in Game 4, and the Yankees closed to within 1 game of the title. He hit another home run in Game 5, although the Yankees lost.

October 18, 1977. Game 6 at Yankee Stadium. In the 2nd inning, he drew a walk, and scored on Chambliss' homer off Dodger starter Burt Hooton. In the 4th, Reggie slammed a Hooton pitch into the right field seats, nearly reaching the upper deck. In the 6th, he sent a screaming line drive off Elias Sosa into the stands, just over the fence.

In the 8th, against knuckleballer Charlie Hough, he hit what Cosell termed "a colossal blow," sending it 475 feet into the center field bleachers, blacked out and closed to fans as a hitters' background. The Yankees won, 8-4, and clinched their 1st World Championship in 15 years. The chant of "Reg-GIE! Reg-GIE! Reg-GIE!" still seems to echo.

This is definitely the 3rd homer.

Steve Yeager seems to be saying, "Holy... "

and I don't think the 2nd word is "...cow."

For the 2nd time, and for the 2nd different team, Reggie Jackson was named Most Valuable Player of the World Series. The award is named the Babe Ruth Award, in honor of the 1st true Yankee Legend -- and also the only man before Reggie to have hit 3 home runs in a World Series game. Indeed, of all the human beings who have ever lived, only 1 has more home runs than Reggie and at least as many World Series rings: Babe Ruth.

It earned him the nickname "Mr. October."

*

This was at the height of the CB radio craze, thanks to the song "Convoy" and the film Smokey and the Bandit. Reggie's CB identification, his "handle," could have been Mr. October. Instead, he chose "Candyman."

"If I played in New York, they'd name a candy bar after me." Yes, he actually said that. And he was right: The Reggie! Bar was produced in time for Opening Day 1978. It was peanuts, covered in caramel, covered in chocolate. Ironically, it was pretty much a round version of the Baby Ruth bar -- which, contrary to legend (the company producing it made up a stupid story so they wouldn't have to pay the Bambino royalties), was named for Babe Ruth.

On the Yankees' home Opening Day, Reggie again took a knuckleballer deep, this time Wilbur Wood of the Chicago White Sox. The fans got free Reggie! Bars when they came in, and started throwing the things onto the field. The orange packages really clashed with the green grass. Reggie was confused: He thought it meant that they didn't like the bars. Well, I loved them. Anyway, the Yankees won the game 4-2. Like the song from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory goes, "The Candy Man can, 'cause he mixes it with love, and makes the world taste good."

But things did not go well for the Yankees in the 1st half of the 1978 season. On July 17, down to their last out, Billy wanted Reggie to bunt. After 2 strikes, Billy took the bunt sign off. Reggie bunted anyway, it was a foul ball, and a strikeout. Billy suspended Reggie for 5 games. And the Yankees won all 5.

The Yankees prepared to fly from Chicago to Kansas City. At the gate to the plane at O'Hare International Airport, reporters collared Billy, and asked him about his relationships with Reggie and George, who had made a plea bargain over his campaign contributions to President Richard Nixon in 1972. And Billy, already having visited an airport bar, slurred, "Ya know, they're made for each other. One's a born liar, the other's convicted."

When Billy saw the headlines in Kansas City the next day, he knew he had gone too far. He knew that George would come for him. And so, he resigned. George hired Bob Lemon as the new manager, and he calmed everybody down. On July 20, the Yankees were in 4th place, 14 games behind the Red Sox. On September 7, they were within 4 games. Then they swept the Sox in 4 straight at Fenway, tying for 1st place.

The season came down to a one-game Playoff at Fenway on October 2. While the home run that gave the Yankees the lead that they never relinquished was hit by Bucky Dent, the home run that gave the Yankees the margin of their 5-4 victory was hit by Reggie Jackson. To conclude the regular season, this gave Reggie a .274 average, 27 home runs, and 97 RBIs.

Again, the Yankees played the Royals in the ALCS. The Yankees led 4-1 in the 8th inning of Game 1 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium). And Herzog brought in Al Hrabosky, the intimidating lefthanded reliever known as the Mad Hungarian. Billy would have pinch-hit for Reggie. Lemon left Reggie in. Reggie hit a home run that gave the Royals' outfielders whiplash. The Royals never got off the deck, and, unlike the 2 preceding years, this one didn't go the full 5: The Yankees won the Pennant in 4.

In Game 1 of the World Series against the Dodgers, Reggie hit another home run. But he struck out with the bases loaded to end Game 2, and the Yankees fell behind 2-0. But they took all 3 in Yankee Stadium -- including Game 4, with Reggie's "Sacrifice Thigh" being a key play, and the Dodgers and their idiot fans still think he intentionally interfered, as if that made the difference.

In Game 6, Reggie again faced Bob Welch, who struck him out to end Game 2. Reggie hit a drive that landed in Nevada. The Yankees made it back-to-back World Championships. It was Reggie's 5th title.

Reggie had 4 strong seasons in New York, including sharing the AL lead in home runs, with Ben Oglivie of the Milwaukee Brewers, with 41 in 1980. But the Yankees weren't close to the Playoffs in 1979, lost the ALCS to the Royals in 1980, and lost the World Series to the Dodgers in 1981, after Reggie had a bad year in the worst possible year, the last year on his contract. Steinbrenner chose not to sign Reggie to a new contract.

*

Reggie went to the California Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels), and enjoyed working for the tea's owner, broadcast executive and former music and film star Gene Autry. Like Steinbenner, Autry was willing to spend big bucks, if he thought it would get him big results. He'd already tried it after 1976 with Rudi (by this point, gone) and Bobby Grich. Now, he'd added Reggie, Baylor, Lynn and Rod Carew -- 2 guys that Finley wouldn't pay to keep, 1 that Red Sox owner Jean Yawkey wouldn't pay to keep, and 1 that Minnesota Twins owner Calvin Griffith not only wouldn't pay to keep, but had pissed off with blatant racism.

Left to right: Lynn, Baylor, Jackson, Carew.

4 men, 8,732 career hits, 1,098 home runs, 24 All-Star berths,

4 AL MVP awards, and 5 World Series rings -- all of those Reggie's.

On April 27, 1982, Reggie returned to The Bronx with the Angels. He'd gotten off to a lousy start, but on a rainy night, against Ron Guidry (a lefthander, one of the best of that era), he hit a home run. The Angels won the game, 3-1.

When Reggie swung, the fans were chanting, "Reg-GIE! Reg-GIE! Reg-GIE!" By the time he made his way around the bases and touched home plate, the chant had become, "Steinbrenner sucks!"

Reggie hit 39 homers in 1982, giving him his 4th AL home run title. He helped the Angels win the AL Western Division title in 1982 and 1986, although they lost the ALCS to the Brewers in '82 and the Red Sox in '86.

And George would later admit that letting Reggie go was his biggest mistake. They would eventually patch things up, and, from 1993 to 2019, Reggie worked in the Yankees' front office and been a uniformed spring training instructor.

On May 12, 1984, playing for the Angels against the Tigers on an NBC Game of the Week, Reggie finally hit one over the right-field roof at Tiger Stadium.  And on September 17, at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim), 17 years to the day after he hit his 1st major league home run, at the same ballpark, he hit his 500th career home run, off Bud Black of the Kansas City Royals.

Reggie returned to the A's for a final season in 1987, and they let him wear Number 44, although they would later retire 9 for him, as the Yankees would retire 44 for him.

His last game was at Comiskey Park, against the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox won, 5-2. His last at-bat wasn't very Reggielike, but it was productive: Against ChiSox reliever Bobby Thigpen, he hit a broken-bat single up the middle.

His final totals: A .262 batting average, .356 on-base percentage, .490 slugging percentage, 139 OPS+, 2,584 hits, 563 home runs, and 1,702 RBIs. He made 14 All-Star Games and 11 postseasons, winning 6 Pennants and 5 World Championships. Those 563 home runs are the most by any player born between 1936 and 1963, making Reggie the leading home run hitter of his generation. And he never used steroids, either. However, he also holds the all-time record for most strikeouts in a career, with 2,597.

"It's not important that I did it," the man with the supposedly massive ego in an interview after his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993. "What's important is that it was done."

*

Reggie has appeared on several TV shows over the years, including The Love Boat, and a few movies. In 1988, Reggie played a fictionalized version of himself in the film The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! A crime boss (played by Richard Montalban) brainwashed Reggie into attempting an assassination of Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to a ballpark: "I... must kill... the Queen!" (Jeannette Charles, who has made a living playing the Queen, did so again.) Los Angeles Police Lieutenant Frank Drebin (played by Leslie Nielsen) stopped him.

Reggie was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993, in his 1st year of his eligibility. I was not there for the induction ceremony, despite his being my favorite athlete of all time. On August 14 of that year, the Yankees retired his Number 44. I was there. (At the time, my finances were such that I could go to one of those events, but not the other. I chose the one 43 miles away, over the one 219 miles away.)

On July 6, 2002, they dedicated a Plaque for him in Monument Park. I was there again. As he had hit over 500 home runs, and his father had played in the Negro Leagues, he invited to the ceremony the 3 men who had done both of those things: Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Ernie Banks. None had ever played for the Yankees -- indeed, except toward the end of Hank's career with the Brewers, none had ever even played a regular-season game at Yankee Stadium -- but all got a standing ovation from the crowd.

That day was also the first time most of us learned that Reggie had a daughter, named Kimberly, then 13 years old. She held his hand as he walked out of the dugout upon his introduction. As far as I know, he has no connection with Reggie Jackson the basketball player, now with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The caption on this photo says that this is Reggie with

wife Kim, daughter Kimberly and son Kendall.

However, this photo is the only reference I can find

to either Kim or Kendall.

On May 22, 2004, the A's retired his Number 9 at the Oakland Coliseum. I was not there. On September 5, 2018, the A's made him a charter inductee into their team Hall of Fame. I was not there. The Angels have a team Hall of Fame, but they have not yet elected him to it. Nor have they retired Number 44 for him.

In 1999, The Sporting News named its 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and Reggie was ranked 48th. In 2010, he teamed with St. Louis Cardinals legend Bob Gibson to write Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher & a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk About How the Game Is Played. 

He managed to restore his relationship with George Steinbrenner before the Boss died in 2010. He and Thurman Munson might never have become close friends, but they survived their difficult start and developed a very healthy respect for each other than survived Thurman's death in a plane crash in 1979. Only Reggie knows for sure how things ended between him and Billy Martin when Billy died in 1989.

Reggie managed to maintain friendships with just about every other Yankee Legend, including Joe DiMaggio (who had been the A's hitting instructor early in his career), Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Dave Winfield, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez.

While still playing, he learned from the mistakes of many previous athletes, and found guys he could trust to help him invest his money wisely, investing in classic cars, auto dealerships and real estate, eventually moving into the sports collectible industry. He's doing just fine, and it appears his health is good.

Happy Birthday, Reg. May there be many more.

Montgomery Can't Ward Off Orioles

The Yankees are 3-10 this season in series finales, 19-8 in all other games. Sounds to me like they get cocky, or complacent.

Jordan Montgomery started the finale of the 3-game series against at Camden Yards, and Montgomery couldn't ward off the Baltimore Orioles. Not even when he was gifted a 4-0 lead before he even took the mound. That lead included back-to-back home runs by Gary Sanchez and Clint Frazier.

Remember how, for most of the season thus far, the Yankees simply couldn't score in the 1st inning? This time, they got 4 runs, and it wasn't enough. Montgomery gave 2 of them right back in the bottom of the 1st. 

In the 3rd inning, Aaron Judge does what he does best: Hit a home run against the Orioles. It was now 5-2. A lot of people don't realize this, but -- unless you count the Mets, and, as a team in the other League, you shouldn't, nor the Philadelphia Phillies for that matter -- the Orioles are, distance-wise, the Yankees' closest opponent, a few miles nearer in their direction than the Boston Red Sox are in the other.

As Arsenal fans can tell you, when you take a 5-2 lead over your closest rivals, you have to hold it.

Monty didn't. (I tried to work in a pun on his name, but I found nothing satisfying with "Monty Python," "Monty Hall," "Monte Cassino" or "Monte Cristo." So I went with the old department store chain, Montgomery Ward.) He let the Orioles tie the game 5-5 in the bottom of the 3rd. In 3 innings, he allowed 5 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. Sloppy.

Michael King came in to pitch the 4th, and he allowed a run, which eventually made him, officially, the losing pitcher, which fits with the rules, but wasn't really fair to him. Of the 5 pitchers the Yankees used in this game, only Lucas Luetge allowed no runs, and he only pitched 1 inning (the 6th). Wandy Peralta and Luis Cessa each allowed 2 runs.

The Yankees managed to tack on a run in the 9th, but it was too little, too late. Orioles 10, Yankees 6. WP: Bruce Zimmerman (2-3). No save. LP: King (0-1). So, on this roadtrip, that's 2 out of 3 in Tampa Bay, 2 out of 3 in Baltimore, and in each case, it was the last game of the series that the Yankees lost.

*

Overall, about a quarter of the way into the season -- as my junior high school guidance counselor used to say, "Yeah, Mike, the days are long, but the years are short" -- the Yankees are now 22-18, 2 games behind the hated Red Sox in the American League Eastern Division, 1 in the loss column.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a 4-game series away to the Texas Rangers. Due to the way the COVID-forced schedule worked last year, this will be the Yankees' 1st visit to Globe Life Field, the warehouse-looking, retractable-roofed, artificially-turfed stadium the Rangers opened last season.

Despite the Rangers having one of the worst records in baseball, COVID protocols led MLB to select their new stadium as the site of not just National League Playoff games (guaranteeing it as a neutral site), but the World Series (given the Rangers' ineptitude, all but guaranteeing it as a neutral site), which the Los Angeles Dodgers won over the Tampa Bay Rays.

This makes Globe Life Field the 1st American League stadium ever to host a World Series before it hosted the New York Yankees in a regular-season game. Even stadiums that opened in midseason -- the Rogers Centre in Toronto, T-Mobile Park in Seattle -- haven't had that happen.

Late addendum: Prior to tonight’s game, the Yankees placed Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day Injured List, retroactive to May 14, with a left quad strain; and recalled pitcher Albert Abreu (#84) from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Even Tyler Wade Is Helping Yanks Beat O's

The Baltimore Orioles are so bad!

How bad are they? They're so bad, Tyler Wade got 3 hits off of them last night.

Sure, it was at Camden Yards, the bandbox on the Inner Harbor. But if you let Tyler Wade get 3 hits off your team in 1 night, it might be time to consider blowing it all up and starting over.

Cliche Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. DJ LeMahieu led off the game with a walk. Luke Voit singled. Aaron Judge drew a walk, loading the bases with nobody out. Gio Urshela struck out, but Jorge Lopez threw a pitch that catcher Chance Sisco couldn't handle. It was scored as a passed ball, and LeMahieu scored. Gary Sanchez singled home Voit and Judge.

Wade opened the 2nd inning by beating out an infield hit, but was caught stealing 2nd. This is supposedly on the team in the first place: His baserunning ability. He proved once again that he isn't good enough of a baserunner to keep him for that reason.

No matter. LeMahieu followed with a single. Voit struck out. Then Judge hit a home run. 5-0 Yankees.

Brett Gardner led off the top of the 6th with a single. After Clint Frazier flied out, Miguel Andujar singled. Wade singled to load the bases. New Oriole pitcher Tyler Wells committed a balk, moving up the runners, scoring Gardner. He struck LeMahieu out, but Voit singled to bring Andujar and Wade home. 8-0 Yankees.

Domingo German didn't allow a run until the bottom of the 6th, allowing 4 hits and 2 walks, with 6 strikeouts. Lucas Luetge pitched a perfect 7th, Justin Wilson a perfect 8th. Luis Cessa ran into a little trouble in the 9th, allowing a run, but ensuring that Aroldis Chapman will be completely fresh for tomorrow's game.

Yankees 8, Orioles 2. And this was without Giancarlo Stanton (day-to-day), Gleyber Torres (recovering from COVID), or Aaron Hicks (who went on the Injured List). WP: German (3-2). No save. LP: Lopez (1-4). The Orioles are now 16-23, just 5-15 at home, easily the worst home record in the majors.

The series concludes this afternoon, and the Yankees will be going for the sweep. Jordan Montgomery starts against John Means, who pitched a no-hitter 2 starts ago.

FA Cup Winners, 1872-2021

Leicester City wearing maroon because their usual blue

would have clashed with that of opposing Chelsea.

Congratulations to Leicester City, who won the 2021 Football Association Cup by beating Chelsea 1-0 at the new Wembley Stadium in North London today.

This makes the "Foxes" the 1st side from England's Midlands to win the FA Cup since Coventry City in 1987 -- 34 years.

Ties broken by most recent win: 

14: Arsenal, of North London: 1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020.

13: Manchester United, a.k.a. Man United, a.k.a. Man U: 1909, 1948, 1963, 1975, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2016.

8: Chelsea, of West London: 1970, 1997, 2000, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2019.

8: Tottenham Hotspur, a.k.a. Spurs, of North London: 1901, 1921, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1981, 1982, 1991.

7: Liverpool: 1965, 1974, 1986, 1989, 1992, 2001, 2006.

7: Aston Villa, of Birmingham: 1887, 1895, 1897, 1905, 1913, 1920, 1957.

6: Newcastle United, of Tyne and Wear: 1910, 1924, 1932, 1951, 1952, 1955.

6: Blackburn Rovers, of Lancashire: 1884, 1885, 1886, 1890, 1891, 1928.

5: Manchester City, a.k.a. Man City: 1934, 1956, 1969, 2011, 2019.

5: Everton, of Liverpool: 1906, 1933, 1966, 1984, 1995.

5: West Bromwich Albion, a.k.a. West Brom, of the Birmingham area: 1888, 1892, 1931, 1954, 1968.

5: Wanderers, of South London: 1872, 1873, 1876, 1877, 1878.

4: Wolverhampton Wanderers, a.k.a. Wolves, of the Birmingham area: 1893, 1908, 1949, 1960.

4: Bolton Wanderers, of Greater Manchester: 1923, 1926, 1929, 1958.

4: Sheffield United, of Yorkshire: 1899, 1902, 1915 1925.

3: West Ham United, of East London: 1964, 1975, 1980.

3: Sheffield Wednesday, of Yorkshire: 1896, 1907, 1935.

2: Portsmouth, of Hampshire: 1939, 2008.

2: Sunderland, of Tyne and Wear: 1937, 1973.

2: Nottingham Forest, of Nottingham: 1898, 1959.

2: Preston North End, of Lancashire: 1889, 1938.

2: Bury, of Greater Manchester: 1900, 1903.

2: Old Etonians, of Eton, Berkshire: 1879, 1882.

1: Leicester City, of the Midlands: 2021.

1: Wigan Athletic, of Greater Manchester: 2013.

1: Wimbledon, of South London: 1988.

1: Coventry City, of the Midlands: 1987.

1: Ipswich Town, of Suffolk: 1978.

1: Southampton, of Hampshire: 1976.

1: Leeds United, of Yorkshire: 1972.

1: Blackpool, of Lancashire: 1953.

1: Charlton Athletic, of South London: 1947.

1: Derby County, of the Midlands: 1946.

1: Cardiff City, of Wales: 1927.

1: Huddersfield Town, of Yorkshire: 1922.

1: Burnley, of Lancashire: 1914.

1: Barnsley, of Yorkshire: 1912.

1: Bradford City, of Yorkshire: 1911.

1: Notts County, of Nottingham: 1894.

1: Blackburn Olympic, of Lancashire: 1883.

1: Old Carthusians, of Godalming, Surrey: 1881.

1: Clapham Rovers, of South London: 1880.

1: Royal Engineers, of Chatham, Kent: 1875.

1: Oxford University, of the Midlands: 1874.

Reached 2 Finals without winning: Watford, of Hertfordshire, in 1984 and 2019; Crystal Palace, of South London, in 1990 and 2016; Birmingham City in 1931 and 1956; and Queen's Park of Glasgow, Scotland in 1884 and 1885. Although teams from Wales are permitted to enter England's FA Cup, the Scottish Football Association denied their teams the right to enter it in 1887.

Reached 1 Final without winning: Hull City, of Yorkshire, in 2014; Stoke City, of Staffordshire, in the Midlands, in 2011; Millwall, of South London, in 2004; Middlesbrough, of Yorkshire, in 1997; Brighton & Hove Albion, of Sussex, in 1983; Queens Park Rangers, a.k.a. QPR, of West London, in 1982; Fulham, of West London, in 1975; Luton Town, of Bedfordshire, in 1959; and Bristol City, of Gloucestershire, in 1909.

*

North London 22

West London 8

South London 8

East London 3

London Total 41

Hampshire 3

Berkshire 2

Surrey 1

Kent 1

East Anglia 1

Wales 1

South Outside London 9

South Total 50

Birmingham 16

Nottingham 2

Midlands Other 4

Midlands Total 22

Greater Manchester 25

Liverpool 12

Lancashire 11

Yorkshire 11

Tyne and Wear 8

North Total 67

North 67

South 50

Midlands 22

*

Venues:

Wembley Stadium (old version), West London, 72: 1923-39, 1946-2000, plus 1981, 1982, 1983, 1990 and 1993 Replays.

Kennington Oval, South London, 22: 1872, 1874-92.

Crystal Palace Stadium, South London, 21: 1895-1914, plus 1902 Replay.

Wembley Stadium (new version), West London, 17: 2007-21.

Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, 6: 2001-06.

Stamford Bridge, West London (home of Chelsea), 3: 1920-22.

Goodison Park, Liverpool (home of Everton), 2: 1894, plus 1910 Replay.

Old Trafford, Salford, Greater Manchester, 2: 1911 and 1970 Replays.

Fallowfield Stadium, Manchester, 1: 1893.

Lillie Bridge Grounds, West London, 1: 1873.

Bramall Lane, Sheffield, Yorkshire, 1: 1912 Replay.

Burnden Park, Bolton, Greater Manchester, 1: 1901 Replay.

Derby County Cricket Ground, Derby, Midlands, 1: 1886 Replay.

London: 136

Cardiff: 6

Manchester: 4

Liverpool: 2

Yorkshire: 1

Midlands: 1

Injury Crisis Back, Yanks Beat O's Anyway

Things were not looking good for the Yankees in the opener of their weekend series at Camden Yards. They would have to face the Baltimore Orioles without Gleyber Torres (COVID), Giancarlo Stanton (quad tightness), Aaron Hicks (wrist, could need season-ending surgery), Rougned Odor (knee) or, at least to start the game, Gio Urshela (knee).

That meant a starting lineup with Luke Voit (who hadn't yet gotten a hit since coming off the Injured List) at 1st base, Tyler Wade (batting .200) at shortstop, Miguel Andujar (.059) at 3rd base, Clint Frazier (.146) in left field, Brett Gardner (.171) in center field, and both catchers in the lineup: Kyle Higashioka (seriously cooled off at .196) behind the plate and Gary Sanchez (.188) as the DH.

With the apparent return of the Yankees' annual injury crisis, they would need Corey Kluber to be at his best. He wasn't. He only went 6 innings, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, with 6 strikeouts.

Fortunately, the makeshift lineup had Aaron Judge in right field, and he hit home runs in the 1st and 4th innings. But that was all the Yankees got for the 1st 6, trailing 4-2.

Then, with 1 out in the 7th, Miggy and Higgy set up a biggie. Andujar singled and Higashioka drew a walk. Aaron Boone realized that Wade would be useless, and took a chance that Urshela would be ready. He was, drilling a home run to center field. We're nearly a quarter of the way into the season, and that was the Yankees' 1st pinch-hit home run in it.

Chad Green pitched the 7th. Wandy Peralta cruised through the 8th, but allowed a leadoff single in the 9th. Knowing he could need Aroldis Chapman the next 2 games, Boone called on Jonathan Loaisiga to close the game, and he did.

Yankees 5, Orioles 4. WP: Kluber (3-2). SV: Loaisiga (2). LP: Travis Lakins (1-4).

The series continues tonight. Urshela should be available. Stanton might be. Odor is eligible to come off the Injured List, but probably won't. Domingo German starts against Jorge Lopez.

COVID 19, Yankees 1

Ordinarily, taking 2 out of 3 on the road is considered a good thing, especially against a contemptible organization like the Tampa Bay Rays. Especially when you take the 1st 2 games, as the Yankees did this time. It takes a lot of the pressure off the 3rd game, which sometimes works against you.

But yesterday was not a good day for the Yankees. We already knew that 7 people traveling with the team, including 2 coaches, had tested positive for COVID-19. Then, yesterday, we found out that Gleyber Torres had also tested positive.

He already got it in the off-season. And pretty much everybody in the Yankee organization has been vaccinated. So, in these cases, the vaccine failed.

The Yankees were given the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the one for which you only need one administration. For the Pfizer and the Moderna, you need two. The J&J vaccine has, thus far, proven about 66 percent (2/3rds) effective, while the other 2 are around 95 percent effective. I'm glad I got the Moderna. (The 1st one, anyway. I will have the 2nd in 2 weeks.)

For those of you who look to sports for omens, good and bad, let the record show that the Johnson family that owns and operates J&J also owns and operates the New York Jets.

*

So the Yankees went into the series finale at Tropicana Field with  lineup of DJ LeMahieu at 2nd base, Giancarlo Stanton as DH, Aaron Judge in right field, Gio Urshela at shortstop, Gary Sanchez catching, Mike Ford at 1st base, Clint Frazier in left field, Miguel Andujar at 3rd base, and Brett Gardner in center field, with Jameson Taillon pitching.

5th in the order: Sanchez is batting .197, on-base percentage .351, slugging percentage .382. 6th: Ford, .095/.240/.238. 7th: Frazier, .141/.282/.283.

How did Sanchez and Ford respond to this confidence? How did Frazier respond to this insult? Each of the 3 drew a walk, and Sanchez got 2 hits, 1 of them a double. Other than that, the only Yankee baserunners were Judge with a double, Stanton and Urshela with singles, and Gardner with a walk. The team scored just 1 run, in the top of the 9th, when, with the bases loaded and nobody out, Frazier grounded into a double play. You don't get credit for a run batted in when you ground into a double play and a runner scores anyway.

The pitching didn't get the job done, either: Taillon allowed 4 runs, and didn't get out of the 5th inning. Michael King allowed 3 runs, Justin Wilson 2. The Yankees did strike out 16 batters, thought: Taillon 9, King 6, Wilson 1.

That doesn't matter. Getting outs matters, how doesn't. The Yankees didn't get outs quickly enough, and made them in the wrong places. Rays 9, Yankees 1. WP: Rich Hill (2-1). No save. LP: Taillon (1-3).

One bit of humor: I discovered that Rays fans like to call Rich Hill "Dick Mountain." Some mountain: His career record is 69-45, with a 3.81 ERA. At the age of 41, a starting pitcher should have more than 69 wins. (This is his 17th season: He's been mostly or entirely a starter in 9, a reliever in 8. He has more career shutouts, 2, than saves, 0.) He's also a former Yankee, pitching 14 times, all in relief, in 2014, with no decisions and a 1.69 ERA.

The Yankees now move on to Baltimore, a good place to get your hitting groove back. Here are the projected starting pitchers:

* Tonight, 7:05: Corey Kluber for the Yankees, Dean Kremer for the Orioles.

* Tomorrow, 7:05: Domingo German vs. Jorge Lopez.

* Sunday, 1:05: Jordan Montgomery vs. recent no-hitter tosser John Means.