In his book Temporary Insanity, Jay Johnstone tells about the time Reggie offered him some help with his connections with car rental people at the airports. Jay thanked him and Reggie said "I don't have many friends but I can do wonders for them." Jay initially thought Reggie was kidding but afterwards he realized Reggie was being sincere while finding some sadness and loneliness in those words.
I just finished watching the Bronx is burning ... and if DiMaggio gave him that speech and he did that that’s amazing .... I’m usually the type to like most my players fr their actual drafted teams but Reggie has became a new fave for me
Love him or hate him. He was the first black Yankees superstar. He is the reason why a lotta black people are Yankees fans. Yankees was the symbol of hip hop for decades because of Reggie Jackson.
Get off the crack pipe have you ever heard of Elston Howard he was a black Superstar on the Yankees happened to win the 1963 American League Most Valuable Player award so you're wrong dumbass
I never realized how Reggie grew up, rejected by his mother and all the racism... plus his dad was a bootlegger. That helps explain the bravado but beneath all that was a thoughtful, intelligent man. And he was such a gifted athlete.
The only thing that sucks about this segment of sports century, is that they took a ton of time before showing him in an oakland uniform. Except for the quick shot of him sitting with his back facing on the dugout steps. He was a superstar before playing for NY. Before coming to the yankees, he was a 3 time world series champion, an allstar, an mvp, a world series mvp, all playing for oakland.
what a story... from very difficult beginnings! I grew up in the 70's and Reggie Jackson was probably the first ball player I ever admired. I can remember that 77 World Series when I was 8 years old and just really starting to be able to understand and follow sports. Reggie was one of the great personalities that made that era what it was, not only in sports but in life.
I look back at those 3 home runs in the 77 WS when I was a 12 years old in awe and so privileged that I witnessed it and he (and Billy Martin) were on my team i once loved.
I remember as a 13 year old kid watching that battle that seemed to go on forever between my then hero Reggie & Bob Welch in the 78 WS. I loved the entire series but that strikeout is the one thing that's never left my memory.
@@sketchyold he had great speed; so many people only know Reggie from his NY time; Reggie was a center fielder his first couple of seasons with above average arm and fielding talent. He hit for average (above .300) his first 5 seasons. He ran the bases with his hair on fire. And he was fast. He used to hit a ton of doubles his first 5 or 6 seasons. And had plenty of triples. He's one of the greatest all-around players I ever saw. Unfortunately, his body couldn't keep up and by the time he got to NY he had to sacrifice average for power. His strike-outs virtually doubled. But the clutch qualities remained as 1977 heroics attest.
The play in the Yankees /Dodgers WS where Reggie was caught between first and second base and was hit by the throw and then advanced to second base was one of the greatest wtf moments in baseball. It was hilarious seeing Tommy Lasorda yelling at the umpire saying "He's gotta get outta the way!!" And the umpire countering with "Where do you want him to go??"
i was raised a Bears, Bulls and White Sox Fan. i was 10 when they won the 1st of 3 in a row. hated seeing the White Sox get beat by the A's, but by the 2nd World Series i started to like them, not just Reggie. I remember Charlie Finley doin' all those goofy promotional gimmicks and then almost the entire team growing mustaches. 3 in a row and the rest of MLB started pilfering the A's players....but Reggie was the best player they had. yeah, as a White Sox Fan that was raised to hate the Yankees, i cheered for Reggie that year too.
Is it true that Reggie got the moniker "Mr. October" because a reporter asked Thurman Munson about a game or a play and Munson replied "go ask Mr. October over there, he's the guy who you should be asking"...
The WS was a gathering of teenage friends, a must watch event. Reggie was the most clutch hitter of his time. What I didn’t know until recently is that he had the best 5 minutes of BP before game 6 1977 WS which he hit 22 of 25 (might be off on exact count) into the right center seats. He was dialed in. I thought he was the best in my time.
Charlie Finley was ahead of his time in many respects. Night baseball. The orange baseball. But he had two major faults which ended the A's dynasty before its time. He was a cheapskate, #1 and would not reward his best players. #2, he didn't how to market the team. He thought if a team won it would draw fans. During the A's 3 straight Championships and 5 straight division titles, they averaged only 10k fans a night, which is embarrassing. As the Levi-Strauss family showed in 1980, when they took over the A's, marketing is what drives attendance. That 1980 team had over 2 million fans, which is 25k fans per home game, and that was a .500 team. They had great commercials with Billy Martin and crew. Look up Billy Ball commercials on RU-vid. They are hilarious.
Reggie started and ended his career in Oakland, yet he went into the HOF as a Yankee. He did have a great 5 years there, but I would have thought he’d go in a an A.
I always thought Reggie Jackson was a much taller man until I saw the picture of him standing next to Shohei Ohtani in a photo. I think his larger than life personality has something to do with it. Even though I grew up as a Dodgers fan, he was one of my favorite players. I also never realized the hardships he went through. I wish him peace and happiness in his retirement.
Nobody will ever do what reggie did. 3 straight home runs on 3 straight swings in the world series to 3 different parts of the park. Clutch city baby. Mr October legend brash but could back it up .
I had the misfortune of only being 9 when Reggie retired. But I seem to recall how popular he was. Same with Mike Schmidt and Hank Aaron. Was too young to enjoy.
It is patently moronic for anyone to claim Reggie isn't a true HOFER, a first ballot HOFer. It's clear he didn't see the man play. So many people forget that when Reggie came to NY he was already a 8-yr veteran with 3 rings and 5 division titles, a league MVP and a WS MVP in his pocket. Go watch Reggie play in those first playoff seasons with the A's. He had above average arm talent (and played center field originally). He ran the bases like Pete Rose, with his hair on fire. Against DET in the Division Series, 1972, he stole, 2nd, 3rd, and home. He had great speed in those early years. Way above average speed. He could get you 30 steals a season. He hit for power (he averaged 35 homers his first 6 seasons) AND average (above .300 his first full 5 seasons). He drove-in ribbies. He was badly injured (severe right hammy tear) in the '72 playoffs against DET, which impacted his speed eventually. Reggie couldn't bring all those early tools to NY. So he sacrificed average for power, which is exactly what the Yankees needed. All I'm saying is that if you saw Reggie play early in his career, you'd understand how prolific he was as a ballplayer. He could literally do it all. Those first 10 seasons, however, took a toll on his body. The pace was too grueling and he had to sacrifice some things to remain a superstar in the game, and I think he made the right sacrifices. I grew up watching Reggie play in Oakland. He's one of the greatest all-around players to have ever played the game, and those swingin' A's ('72-'74) were one of the greatest teams in baseball history. The skill they possessed was off the charts. They played great defensive ball. Before games they would play hand-eye-coordination games to keep themselves sharp. It was an amazing team with which to grow up.
I never "liked" the Yankees especially George Steinbrenner, however, he said the greatest quote about Reggie Jackson; Steinbrenner said 'There isn't enough mustard in the world to 'cover' that 'hot dog.' "
I think Reggie's peak as an all-around player was during the Oakland A's dynasty years of the early-mid 70's. (When he got to the Yankees he was honestly an average defensive player at best--often a liability in the OF.)
Reggie signed for 2.96 million when he came to NY. That breaks down to a little under 600k per year. Now I know that amount was worth a lot more in 1976, but even with inflation it's nowhere near what they pay even average or less players today...it's seems almost quaint by comparison.
40:10 Reggie was a 14 time all star, an MVP, he won 5 world series rings with 2 WS MVP awards.. And this guy has a problem with him being in the hall? Jesus SMH..
@@dbreiden83080 Let me guess, the only name that you use as a curse word is Jesus....your Creator. You will meet Him, and you will regret taking His name in vain.
Further evidence here of the staggering stupidity and turpitude of journalists. Reggie had more talent than every journalist in the world combined. ESPN makes me want to vomit, but Reggie was great. Billy was a drunk and a hothead. Reggie had more talent in one finger than Martin ever had. Saw Reggie play many times. What was “unforgivable” in Reggie was how smart he was. He made the Yanks champs, and when he left, the Yanks reverted without him to mediocrity.
I was in Kansas City when Reggie and all those great players came there and they were always in the cellar until they moved to Oakland and then won three World Series in a row lol. They fought like hell but you could tell they were great they just didn’t show it together until Oakland. But I don’t like to watch documentaries anymore on black players because they’re going to spend all the time talking about Jim Crow and feeling sorry for themselves as if nobody has ever had it tough. I don’t even bother to tell anyone the troubles I’ve seen in wars and cancer killing people and molestations. I look in the bright side.
Reggie was not insecure or lonely. How do you think a great ballplayer that he was, a Black man would feel and seem when White ballplayers and White writers would criticize him on every chance they would get.
“He's BLACK and he is in NY.” WTF does that mean? Fkg It's the mid 70s, NYC was completely integrated. He is not playing in AL or MS. The media is the problem with everything. Sport. Politics. Entertainment.
Sport Magazine Wrote Some B.S. About Reggie B 4 He Got To Yankee"s, That Sneaky F**k Robert Ward Does Not Say The Story About The Straw That Stir"s The Drink Was Interviewed In A Bar WELL INTO THE NIGHT !!!! & Ward Was Famous For Getting These Krazy Interview"s While Ward Himself & Alot Of Player"s Had 1 To Many, & That Don"t Say Much About Ward, WHO CONSTANTLY Had 1 To Many & Alot Of His Interview"s Were Done 1 -2 - 3 a.m. On A Bar !!!! If Ya Really Know,...Not Good Resamay For Sports Writer !!!!
Too bad he had to deal with the racism bs the league had back in the 70s. Today he would be on every commercial but America didn’t want that back then. Busch league!!
