When I heard the news of George’s passing I started pondering what I would write about, and my brain went back to the late 70’s and the rivalry between the Yankees and the Mets.
The Yankees were scary to this little boy. I don’t mean just on field, but everything about them. I still remember my dad taking me to the Bronx for my first game up there. A night game. We drove along River Avenue looking for parking. Scary. And so many people! And this Stadium it seems so cramped yet so new.
Even at 7 I knew the name of the owner.
You kids might be wondering what possible rivalry there could have been between Joel Youngblood and friends and Reggie and the Zoo but there sure was.
Before interleague play, the two would only meet in spring training games and the Mayor’s Trophy game which was a one game midseason exhibition game which alternated between Shea and Yankee. It was notable to see the teams on the field together.
Our team had nothing to lose. Of course the Yankees should win. You guys just spent millions of dollars on all these players and we have….Lee Mazzilli!
Some times in the spring the Mets would win and George would lose it. There would be actual March 16th pressure on Billy Martin or whoever was managing the Yankees on any given day (George was crazy and went through a ton of managers be fire hiring the manager of the loser Mets, Joe Torre – boy that’s ironic).
George’s Yankees were everything our Mets weren’t. They had a “new” Stadium and they went to the World Series every year.
Eventually the Mets got new owners (this Wilpon fellow seems like he wants to win!) and by 1986 man oh man it was fun to be a Mets fan and watch the Yankees trip over themselves with their crazy leader making bonehead trade after bonehead trade and firing two or three managers a year.
Yep, the Mets had become the winning team and had the better ownership. As the 80’s became the 90’s surely this was to be a Mets town.
