The Yankees’ Reggie Jackson: Mr. October, Mr. Controversy
As a member of the Oakland A’s, Jackson often feuded with owner Charley Finley over his salary, and with manager Dick Williams over his style of managing the team. He got into physical altercations with his A’s teammates. His fight with Billy North during the 1974 season in Detroit caused not only an injury to his shoulder, but peace maker and catcher Ray Fosse injured his neck, leaving Fosse on the sidelines for weeks. Reggie was quoted as saying in 1973, “If I was playing in New York, they’d name a candy bar after me.” A few years later, those prophetic words would come to pass.
Reggie’s mouth would cause problems after he signed a big-money contract with the New York Yankees (five years for about three million dollars, which was a lot back then). Before the 1977 season even began, Reggie was interviewed for an article by Sport Magazine, where Jackson was quoted as saying, “I’m the straw that stirs the drink.” Yankees’ Team Captain, catcher Thurman Munson, felt very disrespected over this remark when the issue came out early in the season. As the season progressed, it only got worse for Jackson. In a June ballgame at Fenway Park, Jackson didn’t hustle out a play in the outfield, and was replaced. When he got into the dugout, Reggie and manager Billy Martin got into a bad argument and had to be separated as millions of fans watched on television. This would be just one of many feuds with the volatile Martin during his stint in New York.
But Jackson’s bat would have the last laugh for that season. In Game Six of the 1977 World Series, he knocked three home runs (on three consecutive pitches thrown to him) into the Yankee Stadium stands en route to the Bronx Bombers’ Series clinching 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, solidifying him as “Mr. October”. That nickname was initially given to him by Thurman Munson. In the five World Series “Mr. October” played in, his batting average was almost 100 points higher than his regular career season average (.357 as opposed to .262).
As a Yankee, Jackson’s ego was fed quite well off the field. He had a candy bar named for him, which debuted in 1978 for a short spell. Called the REGGIE! Bar, it consisted of 2.5 ounces of “chocolaty caramel and peanuts”. This writer remembers eating some when they came out and enjoyed them immensely! Yet one of Reggie’s critics on the Yankees, relief pitcher Sparky Lyle, referred to eating a REGGIE! bar with an expletive via his best-selling book about the Yankees’ 1978 season, called The Bronx Zoo. Jackson also made commercials for the Panasonic Omnivision Video Recording System, in which he ultimately deemed the contraption as “Reggie-Vision” in print and tv ads.
Some of Reggie’s other attributed comments which raised eyebrows are the following:
“I didn’t come to New York to be a star, I brought my star with me.”
“Hitting is better than sex.”
“I am the best in baseball.”
“I couldn’t quit, because of all the kids, and the blacks, and the little people pulling for me. I represent both the underdog and the overdog in our society.”
Jackson smacked 563 regular season home runs over his 21 year baseball career (1967-87), and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993. He was the only player elected that year, which gave him the spotlight he so loved to shine in all by himself!
I will say that despite all his strikeouts at the plate (2597) and controversial statements, he is my favorite player of all time, because he rose to the occasion so many times for the New York Yankees, my favorite team since the late 1970’s.
