If you look 4 rows up to the left on the aisle, there's a man in a light-colored jacket and baseball cap. That's my dad. Sitting next to him is a young guy with a mop of dark hair wearing sunglasses. That's my brother, Billy! R.I.P. both. 👆⚾👆
I was 13 years old when I witnessed this game in my dad's bedroom on a bright sunny day in October 1978.... My dad went completely nuts when Dent hit that blast...Wow the good old days!!! Gone forever...
@@fuktrumpanzeeskum 1970's were conservatively around 50 times better than anything you see resembling baseball today. In 2024, that Dent home run would have been hit at around 11:30 at night, in 35-degree weather, called by some frathole clown who was still doing beer bongs last year, and who would have breathlessly described Yastrzemski's last out of the game as a "walk-off pop up". This after referencing some made-up nonsense statistic like WAR, while the pitch would have been thrown by Boston's sixth pitcher of the game. Not to mention Dent would have three ugly-ass ads on his uniform. Then we'd go to the 2-hour post-game show at 1:30 in the morning, where three studio knuckle-draggers would talk about the home run's effect on the fantasy dorks. You can have that crap if you want it.
I was at that game -- a Yankee fan (one of about six in the stadium that day). Had bought my ticket from a scalper for $10. Still one of the most exciting memories of my life.
I was there with my late father. We need to find the remaining 3 NYY fans. We(he) scalped two tickets from a couple of college kids around 8 that morning. Hung around the Boston Sheraton until game time. Saw the NYYs - including Dent.- getting ready to head over to the park. The Toronto Blue Jays were still in the hotel that AM too- having played and lost to the Sox the day before. Big John Mayberry had a friendly chat with Reggie in the lobby as Reggie was about to walk over to Fenway. Magical. A memory of a lifetime for a young boy (me )
The voice of Frank Messer. Classic. And I'm a Mets fan. Saw him in person on the platform of the Amityville train station for a personal appearance. Ron Klimkowski was there and a rookie catcher who wore his uniform. Yep...Thurman Munson.
My son was 2 yrs old; Bucky was his favorite player. BEFORE the game that day, James woke up from a nap & announced to me, “ Bucky Dent hit a homerun.” And sure enough, he did later on in that game!❤️ 😊
@@arkady714 still stunning to this day, but the luckiest play of the game was the ball getting stuck in Lou's glove when he lost it in the sun. But you can say that Boston got its revenge when the ball went over the fence for a ground rule double that killed the yankee rally that scored only two runs instead of three runs had the ball stayed inside the field. If the Yankees had scored that extra run, there will be no comeback for the 2004 0-3 Red Sox. That single play decided the ALCS. And who knows, the curse of the bambino would still be going on to this day. In my opinion, the Yankees should have won at least three more world series, they had no business being eliminated by that Boston team, and elimination by the tigers, indians and twice by the angels. So once upon a time, the last Yankee dynasty was started not by the players, but by a fan named Jeffrey Maier. And right now, the Yankees might be the team above the law, because they might be paying the judge. 😂😂Sorry, I could not resist.
It also seemed very unlikely besides the fact that he hurt his foot pretty bad (Gene Monahan is one of the best trainers in the sport and needs to be in some category of the Hall of Fame), was up in the batters box, and was choking up on a bat that look pretty heavy for him
I was sitting in the local bowling alley bar with a 7up rep and the buyer for our company. I remember Bucky hitting a foul off his foot and being a ball player myself I know how that pain feels. I commented that he’d probably swing at the next pitch just to get out of the batters box. Well, the next pitch is part of baseball history.👍👍👍
I remember watching this game. A lot of day games back in the 70’s/80’s. Sitting there rooting for the yanks while my grandpa was rooting for the Sox. He wasn’t very happy after this homer.
There's no doubt the late Frank Messer was an excellent Yankee broadcaster that is often overlook. He is truly missed by die-hard Yankee fans. The reason why the Rizzuto-White-Messer were not fully appreciated during the 1970s is that they were in competition with the popular Mets' broadcaster team of Lindsey Nelson-Ralph Kliner-Bob Murphy. Despite the fact the Mets had fallen on hard times in the late 1970s (1975-79), they always seem to out draw the Yankees in the ratings which was stupid despite the World Series victories the Yankees won in 1977-1978. I should know because I was born in New York. and witnessed this. The local newspapers didn't help either because they were bias.
The Bill White call belongs with this video. Messer was a horrible announcer. Trite, unable to speak adequately and moronic, to be kind. Must have known where the bodies were buried. When Cliff Johnson ran over the home plate umpire who had to be carted off the field Messer said said he was that the ump would receive ‘adequate’ medical attention….. you can’t make this shit up.
Didn't they have a big newspaper strike sometime back then too? Today's folk have small idea how important newspapers were back then. Of course schools were really something in those days. Teachers actually taught things important. Like reading and comprehension.
@@LesterMoore Yes, but the strike happened in the early 1980s. I believe the strike happened at the New York Daily News and were losing money as the other two newspapers (New York Times and New York Post) managed took advantage of the situation. In addition, by the 1980s, the New York City educational system was extremely slow in obtaining computers, and many schools across the country were moving in that direction. And, you're right, there was no such thing as "social media" or "bloggers".
That day I came home from college and turned the game on precisely when Dent stepped into the batter's box. I was living in New Jersey at the time and I had no idea what the score was...
I really, REEEALLY miss this era of MLB. It was so much fun, the games didnt drag and the teams had so much character. The players in general were just a much different breed. The game we have today has changed so much that its almost a different game. Maybe its nostalgia but I just miss this era...before it was there was the era of the hero, almost super hero all american ball player and the era we are in now is the buttoned down era of ball players treating it like business men...but the 70's through about 85ish was just a blue collar style of player who were gritty and passionate. It was an extremely fun era, especially here in Baltimore at old Memorial Stadium.
In a way, you're correct. Also, in the 1970s was really the last decade Major League Baseball used to have double-headers; some even started twilight double-headers (starting at 5:45pm EST). However, the 1980s (thanks in large part to the 1981 first MLB strike), double-headers began to be eased out. In addition, that nitwit of a commissioner, Bowie Kuhn, let television networks dictate the start time of play-offs and World Series begin. This explains why they lost a lot of young viewers who are now adults and became fans of professional football than baseball.
Totally agree with you. I miss baseball uniforms looking like baseball uniforms. The idiots today wearing their damned pants over their shoes look positively stupid.
What a moment that was. I was in college and watching that game in the dormitory lounge room, which was divided into Yankee and Red Sox fans, and the guys who rooted for the Yanks busted out cheering when Dent homered. That was quite a thing.
Despite his 18 years of solid, outstanding work in the Yankee booth from 1968 to 1985, Frank was always underappreciated and it was also his misfortune to never see any of his calls of big moments gain a long-term immortality the way White's TV call of this has. Similarly, Frank called the final out of Righetti's no-hitter on radio in 1983, but it's always Mel Allen's call on cable that gets used.
+epaddon Indeed!! And the 1983 Rags' no-hitter slight is really galling. Mel Allen delivered an AWFUL, hysterical call of that great moment. Nothing classic at all. Frank's call on WABC, on the other hand, was letter-perfect, to-the-point, excited but not hysterical, and very professional. RIP Frank Messer.
Back then ( no cable or cell phones) playoff games were played during the day, had to have a radio if at school or work to know the score, main channels either 2, 4 or channel 7 carried the games, or all three had the game on
Of all the comments yours is the best, You're right, It was 1978, no internet, no TH-cam, Google, no ESPN, no checking your phone for the score, This game was aired in my area (Washington DC) on WJLA channel 7 an ABC affiliate, I remember it well, If the Yankees ever deserved a championship more it was '78 coming from 14 games back to force a one game playoff against Boston then defeating KC and repeat as world champions against LA.
Happy Anniversary ! 38 years ago today. I was 8 years old watching at my babysitter's house. For some reason I had no school that day and was able to watch.
i was in college sr. year, and was so nervous i locked myself in my room.; i can still remember that feeling in the 9th inning when Gossage faced Yaz, and got him to pop up to Nettles to end the game; i'll never forget it.
Justice would have been Yaz hitting a homer and getting him and the Red Sox into the WS. I also remember Yaz popping out,my heart was broken. Baseball a joke today...greedy players and stupid childish rules.
I knew Mike Torrez. I enjoyed seeing Dent hit that home run. Torrez and I were both in the Marine Corps in 1966 stationed at Camp Pendleton. Bob Watson was also there with us. It was a Friday afternoon and I was already in civilian clothes ready to go with my buddies to LA. We actually were going to visit Disneyland, among other things on weekend liberty. We already had a rented Volkswagen "beetle". Into the barracks where I was housed comes Torrez. He tells me to take my civies off and put on my utilities, that I was going to be cleaning guns at the armory. I said "F.... you, I'm going to LA". I turned around from Torrez and walked out of the barracks with my buddies. The following Sunday I came into the barracks, having had a great visit to LA and Disneyland. Some other Marines said, "Chapman, Torrez turned you in. You have to have 'coffee' with the Captain Monday morning". That Monday morning, I was waiting in the Captain's reception area outside his office. I was filled with dread. The Captain's door was closed. Then the door opened and Torrez and Bob Watson came walking out. Watson told me he had put in a good word for me with the Captain and wished me luck. Torrez didn't say anything. The Captain called me into his office at that moment and then proceeded to chew me out. He let me slide, after he warned me, because I was scheduled to take a bus two days later out of Pendleton to the LA airport (I was flying to my hometown --- San Antonio) to be on reserve status with the 4th Recon Battalion. So, yes, I loved that Dent home run. Nevertheless, both Torrez and Watson were great MLB players and Torrez was right and I was wrong. Anyway, thank you, Bob Watson!
Torrez was actually a mainstay of the Yankee pitching staff in '77 so he contributed to back to back World Series wins for the Yankees. The 2nd one quite unintentional.
I was at Parris Island and running in and out of the Captain’s office as he was a Yankees fan too. In ‘78 they lost the first 2 games of the WS to the Dodgers. My SGT bet me double or nothing. He was shocked when the Yanks won 4 straight to win the 1978 WS
That's a pleasant memory. My dad took me to see Death Wish at 9 yo and my brothers took me to see The Exorcist. While those were upsetting, they later took me to see the 1st Star Trek film. That's when I learned to my shock that Kirk wore a wig.
It’s pretty crazy as well when you realize Torres caught the final out in the 77 WS on a bunt attempt by Dusty Baker only to go to Sox and give up this the following year. Torres has said he was walking back to dugout thinking it was the final out of inning. Has also said the wind was blowing in all game until the 6th. No doubt the shift in wind helped that ball go out.
Great call great video great moment. I can hear the Scooter Phil Rizzuto screaming in the radio booth right next to Frank Messer who was making the TV call on the dramatic home run. Baseball was so much better back then.
Thank you that’s a good, edit, and Healy was Reggie Jackson’s only friend when he was a Yankee, they said he was so arrogant nobody wanted to be around him, especially Billy Martin, of course all I knew was what a great player he was and I watched him all the way back to Kansas City, when the As were always in the seller, they moved to Oakland and win three World Series in a row. Unbelievable. Bucky Dent seemed to be loved by everyone.
Bucky's HR actually was the game winner if I'm correct since it gave the Yankees a lead they never relinquished. They went up 3-2 after this then 4-2 and 5-2 after Reggie's HR in the 8th, so the Yankees were always ahead after Bucky hit this even though the Red Sox cut it to 5-4. Reggie's HR of course was the marginal run but Dent had the GW RBI
I went to Bucky Dent’s Del Ray Beach baseball camp in the 2000s when I was a little leaguer. He came at the end of the week and signed our gear. My grandpa, who always took me to the camp, came up to him and said: “Bucky Dent, you broke my heart in 1978 when you hit that ball over the green monster. All said, you are one heck of a ball player.”
I was a junior in high school in Connecticut, where it’s almost half Yankee fans and almost half Red Sox fans (with a few Mets fans, too). The Yanks-Sox rivalry was local, intense, and not yet overly hyped by ESPN.
I was a young computer programmer in St. Louis out of college a couple years taking a sick day off work with strep throat after working many hours to meet a deadline. I remember being home alone while my wife worked watching TV thinking the Red Sox were actually going to win and then Bucky Dent hit the home run. Pretty exciting to watch during my sick day. Cards fan
This NEVER GETS OLD... it was the underdog story playing out on the big screen... not Ruth, Mantle, Maris, or Gherig... it was a lite-hitting shortstop who created one of the greatest moments in Yankees history... hitting the ball over the Green Monster sucking the air out of Fenway Park on the way to the Fall Classic...
I was there. Still remember it like it just happened. I was seating in the grandstand on the 3rd base side. Dent's home run just made it over the wall and into the net, by the size of a baseball. At the last second it just kinda floated over the wall... without any wind or breeze. It was like a higher power made it happen!
I was at work listening on a radio that I wasn’t supposed to have, I jumped up and hooted like an owl, the whole room looked at me like I had lost my mind, little did they know I did, what a moment!
After Scooter came back on the WPIX TV telecast later, he claimed he was hanging around the press box during the Dent HR and "I let out three 'Holy Cow's and I thought (Red Sox scout) Frank Malzone was going to bite me in the ankles!" But what you couldn't tell from his description was that he went absolutely nuts screaming here. Of course there's the "No cheering in the press box" rule. I'm sure there are various media people who can't help themselves but shout a bit from time to time but the idea is, try to be respectful and restrain yourself as much as possible because all the people around you are trying to do their job. It looks like Scooter kind of committed a serious faux pas and just did not care. The moment was just too big for him to bother restraining himself. And he probably pissed off not just Malzone but the entire Boston press box doing it. Had Rizzuto just stayed in the announcer's booth calling the game, he could have channeled his excitement into the call, been as partisan as he wanted and no one would have minded. Would have been an amazing call we missed out on I'm sure, but White and Messer had his back on both fronts. Then again, fuck Boston.
October 2nd 1978 I was only 5 months old when this happened. I watched this game for the first time in 2002 on Yes Network I was in early 20's at the time and I was really into it. This was a great game although I was way too young to have experienced it for myself when it happened I still loved watching it. One of the greatest moments in the Yankee Red Sox rivalry and definitely one of the greatest games.
Went to Hialeah High with Bucky. We had phys ed together all three years, even dated same girls. He was always a down to earth guy and one hell of an athelete!!!! Class of 1969
Believe it or not this is the first time I have heard the Frank Messer radio version of the Bucky Dent famous 3 run homer. For forty years I have been listening to the WPIX Bill White version a thousand times so this is a refreshing view of the call of Dents home run.
Dent's H.R.goes down as 5 top Homers in Yankees history. But it brings so much sorrow to me. It was the last game my friend Earl saw. We left a bar in Hackensack N.J.after the game and Earl was murdered later that night. l seen that homerun played so many times and in that joy of moment for Bombers fans it's a heartbreaking feeling for me.
Yup. After coming all the way back from a 14-game deficit in July, the Yanks were tied with the Sox after the last game of the regular season, forcing the one-game tie-breaker for the A.L. East title.
Your.are so write..it was a.play oof. For. First place tie in the American leauge. East for the division title and the. Defending. 1977 word champion new York Yankees.
@@americangiant1003 you write they didn't do they research. I saw. The game on wjzt. Chanel 13. ,3pm.in the evening. And Reggie. Jackson hit a home run .and. Ron guidry and. Mike tores.the pitcher. And .Carl yestripskey. Was the last out. For the Yankees victory
I grew up in New Jersey and became a die hard yankee fan. The rivalry between those two teams was just awesome to experience. Your sis and dad had the best view out of all of us from us above. The enjoyed 2004!
Messer is calling the game as it should be called even as, in this case, a Yankee announcer. The fans know the importance of what's going on; the announcer need not scream at them to emphasize that. Vin Scully said announcers need to see with their eyes and not with their hearts, as fans do.
I recently obtained a CD of Game 6 of the 1996 World Series. It is the national radio version with Vin Scully. It's the best call of that game that I've ever heard.
I noticed that too he was doing his holy cow routine. I guess Frank was on the TV and Phil was on the radio. Incredible memories. The phenomenal comeback season and the Red Sox were loaded that year.
@@rsb512 So if Messer was on TV and Rizzuto was on radio, then where was Bill White, who was the one who had the iconic, "Deep to left! Yastrzemskiiiii ... can't get it, it's a home run!!"? I think Messer was on radio because the call here is more descriptive than necessary (teammates out of the dugout), and White was TV. Rizzuto was... I dunno. Maybe the ol' WW (wasn't watching) j/k!
I went to my one and only game at Fenway with several friends from the law school we attended in MA. I am a lifelong Yankees fan and they knew it (they were of course all Red Sox fans). We got to the stadium and they let us in, but then the clouds just started dumping buckets of rain. We waited nice and dry in the concourse near our seats and watched it pour. It was obvious that the game was going to get rained out. So I started walking out from the concourse to go stand by our seats. Not one of my Massachusetts friends said a word to me as I did this. I got to my seat and looked up at the Green Monster for a moment, and then turned around and walked back toward my friends and the concourse. I was soaked, but I had a few tears, and a small smile too. Every single one of my friends looked at me and they all started telling me to go X myself. I never said a word, just kept that little smile. They knew exactly what I was looking at. I was 8 years old and watched this game sitting in a chair with my grandmother, who is the only person I have ever known that was an even bigger Yankee fan than I am. What a great memory. Miss you Grandma! Bonus memory: When our boy was very little, he used to love watching war documentaries with me on The History Channel. We lived in a diverse area, and I was nervous one day he might say something to one of the Asian or German students (you know how kids can be) without understanding the weight of what he was asking or saying. So, whenever he asked who we were fighting, no matter who it was, I told him the Red Sox. Several times he asked me why the Red Sox always caused so much trouble. I would just tell him because the Red Sox are just really nasty people. Even my friends in Mass thought it was pretty funny.
I was a sophomore in H. S. in 78. I was playing a soccer game and all the parents were sitting in their cars listening to the radio broadcast. When bucky hit that home run they all hit the car horns. Never forget it!
The sad thing about MLB today is that they've now made the one-game playoff commonplace with the so-called "wild card game". Before this, these were rare birds and always memorable, even if they weren't nail-biters like this one was.
As much as I liked this as a kid in 78, the last two days have been pretty exciting with the two division ties and the following 2 win and you are in wild card games
Not understanding you tonight! This game was a wild card game; a sudden death one game playoff which the Yankees won. I watched this game live on TV. It was great!
I always think of this series as a the playoffs, but it was still the regular season. This whole series felt like the playoffs. Had same gravity and historical significance to it. Was actually bigger then the AL playoffs at that time.
I saw Frank Messer, Ron Klimkowski and a rookie catcher named Thurman Munson at the Amityville train station in 1969. It was a prize giveaway appearance. Not overly crowded either. Munson was in full uniform (no mustache) and Frank spoke on some tinny audio set-up. Very cool.
I haven't seen this since 1978. Me and my dad were pissed, of all the times to hit a home run. Would anyone even remember Bucky Dent if it wasn't for this home run?
I had a jv football game that day. The game announcers yelled down to stop play so they could play the replay call of the home run. You should have seen us all on the field. All the players from both teams jumping up and down and high fiving each other. It was awesome.
I was 8 when I watched this with my grandparents….I grew up in Rhode Island so 3/4 of the street Red Sox Fans a 1/4 Yankees after this game you could hear cheers or swears up and down the street…
If you look 4 rows up to the left on the aisle, there's a man in a light-colored jacket and baseball cap. That's my dad. Sitting next to him is a young guy with a mop of dark hair wearing sunglasses.
That's my brother, Billy!
R.I.P. both. 👆⚾👆
rest in peace your beloved dad... classic
Hope theyre resting in peace !!! As long as theyre Yankees fans
just kidding, Boston fans deserve a peaceful afterlife as well....
some of them
@@GavinOCo
Mighty big of ya.
@@davidbirks7166 sorry :/ just a joke. Of course, RIP to your father and Billy, I'm sure they were great men
I was 13 years old when I witnessed this game in my dad's bedroom on a bright sunny day in October 1978.... My dad went completely nuts when Dent hit that blast...Wow the good old days!!!
Gone forever...
There was nothing all that great about the 70's.
@@fuktrumpanzeeskumsays the douche bag commenting 😅😅
Nuts because he was a Yankees fan and was so excited or went nuts and ended up in a psych ward cause he's a Sox fan
@@fuktrumpanzeeskumYou poor pathetic soul
@@fuktrumpanzeeskum 1970's were conservatively around 50 times better than anything you see resembling baseball today. In 2024, that Dent home run would have been hit at around 11:30 at night, in 35-degree weather, called by some frathole clown who was still doing beer bongs last year, and who would have breathlessly described Yastrzemski's last out of the game as a "walk-off pop up". This after referencing some made-up nonsense statistic like WAR, while the pitch would have been thrown by Boston's sixth pitcher of the game. Not to mention Dent would have three ugly-ass ads on his uniform. Then we'd go to the 2-hour post-game show at 1:30 in the morning, where three studio knuckle-draggers would talk about the home run's effect on the fantasy dorks. You can have that crap if you want it.
I was at that game -- a Yankee fan (one of about six in the stadium that day). Had bought my ticket from a scalper for $10. Still one of the most exciting memories of my life.
TEN DOLLARS ! ?
That's great.
You were at history. Congratulations. What a beautiful Monday that was in early October.
Good for you patricia
I was there with my late father. We need to find the remaining 3 NYY fans. We(he) scalped two tickets from a couple of college kids around 8 that morning. Hung around the Boston Sheraton until game time. Saw the NYYs - including Dent.- getting ready to head over to the park. The Toronto Blue Jays were still in the hotel that AM too- having played and lost to the Sox the day before. Big John Mayberry had a friendly chat with Reggie in the lobby as Reggie was about to walk over to Fenway. Magical. A memory of a lifetime for a young boy (me )
The voice of Frank Messer. Classic. And I'm a Mets fan. Saw him in person on the platform of the Amityville train station for a personal appearance. Ron Klimkowski was there and a rookie catcher who wore his uniform. Yep...Thurman Munson.
I watched this whole game on WPIX 11
I kid you not. Today it's Jan 20, 2024 at 8:05pm. I just left the Amityville station on the Suffolk 4 bus headed north.
@@Mo-yd8xc The immortal Ron Klimkowski, whom the Yankees acquired for Elston Howard. That must have been quite a thrill.
@@johnschaffer4100 I don't even know who that is.
Sorry, replied to the wrong person. I meant it for the OP. My bad.
Best day of my life up until then! I was speechless. I could only scream in front of our living room TV!
My son was 2 yrs old; Bucky was his favorite player. BEFORE the game that day, James woke up from a nap & announced to me, “ Bucky Dent hit a homerun.” And sure enough, he did later on in that game!❤️ 😊
Queue the track "Tubular Bells!"
I saw this live on TV. It was one of the greatest moments of my baseball fan life. The final game of The Boston Massacre.
This is no regular season game, it is the one game playoff between NY Boston of the 1978 season.
@@hubertsang7418 Fair enough. I still lost it when that ball went over…. Stunned in utter disbelief…😦
@@arkady714 still stunning to this day, but the luckiest play of the game was the ball getting stuck in Lou's glove when he lost it in the sun. But you can say that Boston got its revenge when the ball went over the fence for a ground rule double that killed the yankee rally that scored only two runs instead of three runs had the ball stayed inside the field. If the Yankees had scored that extra run, there will be no comeback for the 2004 0-3 Red Sox. That single play decided the ALCS. And who knows, the curse of the bambino would still be going on to this day. In my opinion, the Yankees should have won at least three more world series, they had no business being eliminated by that Boston team, and elimination by the tigers, indians and twice by the angels. So once upon a time, the last Yankee dynasty was started not by the players, but by a fan named Jeffrey Maier. And right now, the Yankees might be the team above the law, because they might be paying the judge. 😂😂Sorry, I could not resist.
@@hubertsang7418
It's a regular season game boss. It counted in the regular season standings. Look it up
@@hubertsang7418
Skipped the whole bloviating blowfest.
I remember watching this live and it really was an improbable home run...I was shocked by it, because Dent almost never hit home runs.
I was screaming for a pinch hitter!
I don't think a guy who chokes up on the bat expects to hit home runs.
It also seemed very unlikely besides the fact that he hurt his foot pretty bad (Gene Monahan is one of the best trainers in the sport and needs to be in some category of the Hall of Fame), was up in the batters box, and was choking up on a bat that look pretty heavy for him
@@melD0217c i’ll be sure to discuss that with Barry Bonds
Can you believe how much he choked up on that bat? Now, that's old school.
40 years ago today! Happy anniversary, Bucky!
I was sitting in the local bowling alley bar with a 7up rep and the buyer for our company. I remember Bucky hitting a foul off his foot and being a ball player myself I know how that pain feels. I commented that he’d probably swing at the next pitch just to get out of the batters box. Well, the next pitch is part of baseball history.👍👍👍
Fascinating story.😮
I remember watching this game. A lot of day games back in the 70’s/80’s. Sitting there rooting for the yanks while my grandpa was rooting for the Sox. He wasn’t very happy after this homer.
The greatest game I ever saw
I remember this game very vividly! It was a sudden death playoff game and Bucky came through. The Yankees went on to win the World Series!
You have to love Messer mentioning the late great Dick Howser and his move to Florida State University. What a great clip!
Great how, FSU sucks balls?!!??
There's no doubt the late Frank Messer was an excellent Yankee broadcaster that is often overlook. He is truly missed by die-hard Yankee fans. The reason why the Rizzuto-White-Messer were not fully appreciated during the 1970s is that they were in competition with the popular Mets' broadcaster team of Lindsey Nelson-Ralph Kliner-Bob Murphy. Despite the fact the Mets had fallen on hard times in the late 1970s (1975-79), they always seem to out draw the Yankees in the ratings which was stupid despite the World Series victories the Yankees won in 1977-1978. I should know because I was born in New York. and witnessed this. The local newspapers didn't help either because they were bias.
The Bill White call belongs with this video.
Messer was a horrible announcer. Trite, unable to speak adequately and moronic, to be kind. Must have known where the bodies were buried.
When Cliff Johnson ran over the home plate umpire who had to be carted off the field Messer said said he was that the ump would receive ‘adequate’ medical attention….. you can’t make this shit up.
Didn't they have a big newspaper strike sometime back then too?
Today's folk have small idea how important newspapers were back then. Of course schools were really something in those days. Teachers actually taught things important. Like reading and comprehension.
@@LesterMoore Yes, but the strike happened in the early 1980s. I believe the strike happened at the New York Daily News and were losing money as the other two newspapers (New York Times and New York Post) managed took advantage of the situation. In addition, by the 1980s, the New York City educational system was extremely slow in obtaining computers, and many schools across the country were moving in that direction. And, you're right, there was no such thing as "social media" or "bloggers".
Bucky Effing Dent Cheers from Massachusetts.
I remember this. Back in the day when I would pitch a ball against a large wall, pretending I was Ron Guidry pitching in a game.
That day I came home from college and turned the game on precisely when Dent stepped into the batter's box. I was living in New Jersey at the time and I had no idea what the score was...
Did the same exact thing freshman year at UNC. Bucky f’n Dent. Haha…..Go Yankees
I saw the game... a great moment in Yankee history! And we beat a very talented team!!
NEVER HEARD THIS!!!! Been wondering if this existed. Thanks for posting. Messer was the pro's pro.
I really, REEEALLY miss this era of MLB. It was so much fun, the games didnt drag and the teams had so much character. The players in general were just a much different breed. The game we have today has changed so much that its almost a different game. Maybe its nostalgia but I just miss this era...before it was there was the era of the hero, almost super hero all american ball player and the era we are in now is the buttoned down era of ball players treating it like business men...but the 70's through about 85ish was just a blue collar style of player who were gritty and passionate. It was an extremely fun era, especially here in Baltimore at old Memorial Stadium.
In a way, you're correct. Also, in the 1970s was really the last decade Major League Baseball used to have double-headers; some even started twilight double-headers (starting at 5:45pm EST). However, the 1980s (thanks in large part to the 1981 first MLB strike), double-headers began to be eased out. In addition, that nitwit of a commissioner, Bowie Kuhn, let television networks dictate the start time of play-offs and World Series begin. This explains why they lost a lot of young viewers who are now adults and became fans of professional football than baseball.
Today the complete game thrown by a pitcher hardly exsists. i miss those days too.
Totally agree with you. I miss baseball uniforms looking like baseball uniforms. The idiots today wearing their damned pants over their shoes look positively stupid.
But you still have to beat the Yankees or why the Yankees stunk.
The modern era of baseball is if you took the wild and crazy Bronx Zoo atmosphere of the 1970s yankees and applied it to all teams
What a moment that was. I was in college and watching that game in the dormitory lounge room, which was divided into Yankee and Red Sox fans, and the guys who rooted for the Yanks busted out cheering when Dent homered. That was quite a thing.
I find it amazing that Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone had the same middle name.
Funny thing people always forget; it was Jackson's 8th inning HR that ended up being the game winner.
And Lou Piniella's great sun-field catch in the 6th kept it close.
Reggie homer indeed turn out to be the game winner.
Reggie was a force of nature. A show to watch. Who today comes close? Shudder to think of the damage he'd do today. 600'+?
@@bernieudo4399 Reggie had the flair for the dramatic and shined thru in the big spotlight. I compared him to be the black version of Babe Ruth.
Well thats just what Reggie did. Lol. But really Bucky fu kin Dent
Despite his 18 years of solid, outstanding work in the Yankee booth from 1968 to 1985, Frank was always underappreciated and it was also his misfortune to never see any of his calls of big moments gain a long-term immortality the way White's TV call of this has. Similarly, Frank called the final out of Righetti's no-hitter on radio in 1983, but it's always Mel Allen's call on cable that gets used.
+epaddon Indeed!! And the 1983 Rags' no-hitter slight is really galling. Mel Allen delivered an AWFUL, hysterical call of that great moment. Nothing classic at all. Frank's call on WABC, on the other hand, was letter-perfect, to-the-point, excited but not hysterical, and very professional. RIP Frank Messer.
+epaddon I could not agree with you more. He was a FANTASTIC announcer.
Frank also played second fiddle to Bill O'donnell and Chuck Thompson of the orioles in 1966.
He was a good play by play man though.
sad but true.
I REMEMBER WATCHING THAT IN THE ELECTRONICS DEPT AT SEARS. I CHEERED SO LOUD, EVERYONE TURNED AND JUST STARED AT ME LIKE I WAS OUT OF MY MIND.
you a true yankee fan.
Beautiful. I was only 2. I wish I could have seen it live myself. You are lucky.
Bat was illegal. Game is under review
Dents' bat illegal. Manfred may nullify game and vacant title. Stay tuned
It wasn't Dent's bat. It was Mickey Rivers' bat.
Back then ( no cable or cell phones) playoff games were played during the day, had to have a radio if at school or work to know the score, main channels either 2, 4 or channel 7 carried the games, or all three had the game on
Of all the comments yours is the best, You're right, It was 1978, no internet, no TH-cam, Google, no ESPN, no checking your phone for the score, This game was aired in my area (Washington DC) on WJLA channel 7 an ABC affiliate, I remember it well, If the Yankees ever deserved a championship more it was '78 coming from 14 games back to force a one game playoff against Boston then defeating KC and repeat as world champions against LA.
Happy Anniversary ! 38 years ago today. I was 8 years old watching at my babysitter's house. For some reason I had no school that day and was able to watch.
Classic times! I was 15 here in the east bay! Reggie, The year before!
i was in college sr. year, and was so nervous i locked myself in my room.; i can still remember that feeling in the 9th inning when Gossage faced Yaz, and got him to pop up to Nettles to end the game; i'll never forget it.
DAVID R
Justice would have been Yaz hitting a homer and getting him and the Red Sox into the WS. I also remember Yaz popping out,my heart was broken.
Baseball a joke today...greedy players and stupid childish rules.
joemanpjg Would have gotten them into the AL playoffs with Kansas City.
I knew Mike Torrez. I enjoyed seeing Dent hit that home run. Torrez and I were both in the Marine Corps in 1966 stationed at Camp Pendleton. Bob Watson was also there with us. It was a Friday afternoon and I was already in civilian clothes ready to go with my buddies to LA. We actually were going to visit Disneyland, among other things on weekend liberty. We already had a rented Volkswagen "beetle". Into the barracks where I was housed comes Torrez. He tells me to take my civies off and put on my utilities, that I was going to be cleaning guns at the armory. I said "F.... you, I'm going to LA". I turned around from Torrez and walked out of the barracks with my buddies. The following Sunday I came into the barracks, having had a great visit to LA and Disneyland. Some other Marines said, "Chapman, Torrez turned you in. You have to have 'coffee' with the Captain Monday morning". That Monday morning, I was waiting in the Captain's reception area outside his office. I was filled with dread. The Captain's door was closed. Then the door opened and Torrez and Bob Watson came walking out. Watson told me he had put in a good word for me with the Captain and wished me luck. Torrez didn't say anything. The Captain called me into his office at that moment and then proceeded to chew me out. He let me slide, after he warned me, because I was scheduled to take a bus two days later out of Pendleton to the LA airport (I was flying to my hometown --- San Antonio) to be on reserve status with the 4th Recon Battalion. So, yes, I loved that Dent home run. Nevertheless, both Torrez and Watson were great MLB players and Torrez was right and I was wrong. Anyway, thank you, Bob Watson!
Thanks for the bedtime story. Worked great
Torrez was actually a mainstay of the Yankee pitching staff in '77 so he contributed to back to back World Series wins for the Yankees. The 2nd one quite unintentional.
I was at Parris Island and running in and out of the Captain’s office as he was a Yankees fan too.
In ‘78 they lost the first 2 games of the WS to the Dodgers. My SGT bet me double or nothing. He was shocked when the Yanks won 4 straight to win the 1978 WS
Charles, Jet. Forgive me for not mentioning it. Thank you for your service. Semper Fi. I was a soldier, peace time. You guys
What is Bob Watson's claim to fame?
I was 15 years old already a big Yankee fan watching this with my father
That's a pleasant memory. My dad took me to see Death Wish at 9 yo and my brothers took me to see The Exorcist. While those were upsetting, they later took me to see the 1st Star Trek film. That's when I learned to my shock that Kirk wore a wig.
It’s pretty crazy as well when you realize Torres caught the final out in the 77 WS on a bunt attempt by Dusty Baker only to go to Sox and give up this the following year. Torres has said he was walking back to dugout thinking it was the final out of inning. Has also said the wind was blowing in all game until the 6th. No doubt the shift in wind helped that ball go out.
Big choke up on the bat, fans laughing at him. Hits iconic home run.
Dude. Everyone choked up on the bat in little leauge.
Barry Bonds choked up.
Wtf are you babbling about? A lot of MLB players choked up, several power hitters, Bonds, Rice, Luzinski,
Played hookey from work to watch with my pal, Charlie, at his home in Queens. What a GREAT DAY!
Among other things, Don Zimmer will forever be quoted as saying, “Bucky fuckin’ Dent.”
Great call great video great moment. I can hear the Scooter Phil Rizzuto screaming in the radio booth right next to Frank Messer who was making the TV call on the dramatic home run. Baseball was so much better back then.
Thank you that’s a good, edit, and Healy was Reggie Jackson’s only friend when he was a Yankee, they said he was so arrogant nobody wanted to be around him, especially Billy Martin, of course all I knew was what a great player he was and I watched him all the way back to Kansas City, when the As were always in the seller, they moved to Oakland and win three World Series in a row. Unbelievable. Bucky Dent seemed to be loved by everyone.
I grew up only knowing the audio that goes.." deep to left😂😂
Interesting hearing Messer call it. I'm so used to hearing Bill White's reaction.
I was on the packed rush hour crosstown bus on 42nd Street NYC with my transistor radio & the whole bus was listening & WENT BALLISTIC!
Bucky's HR actually was the game winner if I'm correct since it gave the Yankees a lead they never relinquished. They went up 3-2 after this then 4-2 and 5-2 after Reggie's HR in the 8th, so the Yankees were always ahead after Bucky hit this even though the Red Sox cut it to 5-4. Reggie's HR of course was the marginal run but Dent had the GW RBI
Look how choked up on the bat Dent is. This never happens anymore.
I remember this Game . My parents had to go to my school for parent teacher conference.. I will never forget the memories.
As I watched on TV, I screamed BUCKY DENT, when the home run cleared the wall!
A big home run, but everyone forgets that Reggie actually hit the game winning home run in the 8th inning.
I went to Bucky Dent’s Del Ray Beach baseball camp in the 2000s when I was a little leaguer.
He came at the end of the week and signed our gear. My grandpa, who always took me to the camp, came up to him and said:
“Bucky Dent, you broke my heart in 1978 when you hit that ball over the green monster. All said, you are one heck of a ball player.”
I cut class at the university to watch the entire game at home!
Got tickets the day before.
Took a friend that never went to a Red Sox game.
I cried on the way home.
5 blocks from Fenway.
The south end.
I was a junior in high school in Connecticut, where it’s almost half Yankee fans and almost half Red Sox fans (with a few Mets fans, too). The Yanks-Sox rivalry was local, intense, and not yet overly hyped by ESPN.
I was at this game sitting behind first base.
16 at the time.
Fenway died that died.
We walked out stunned- AGAIN!
I was a young computer programmer in St. Louis out of college a couple years taking a sick day off work with strep throat after working many hours to meet a deadline. I remember being home alone while my wife worked watching TV thinking the Red Sox were actually going to win and then Bucky Dent hit the home run. Pretty exciting to watch during my sick day. Cards fan
The switch to the Mickey Rivers bat leads to the HR.
Waiting for the 2021 edition tomorrow..
I had a tv on at my job but couldn’t get a good reception so I only was able to hear the call!
This NEVER GETS OLD... it was the underdog story playing out on the big screen... not Ruth, Mantle, Maris, or Gherig... it was a lite-hitting shortstop who created one of the greatest moments in Yankees history... hitting the ball over the Green Monster sucking the air out of Fenway Park on the way to the Fall Classic...
I was there.
Still remember it like it just happened.
I was seating in the grandstand on the 3rd base side.
Dent's home run just made it over the wall and into the net, by the size of a baseball.
At the last second it just kinda floated over the wall... without any wind or breeze. It was like a higher power made it happen!
I was at work listening on a radio that I wasn’t supposed to have, I jumped up and hooted like an owl, the whole room looked at me like I had lost my mind, little did they know I did, what a moment!
Phil Rizzuto's celebrating in the background.
After Scooter came back on the WPIX TV telecast later, he claimed he was hanging around the press box during the Dent HR and "I let out three 'Holy Cow's and I thought (Red Sox scout) Frank Malzone was going to bite me in the ankles!" But what you couldn't tell from his description was that he went absolutely nuts screaming here. Of course there's the "No cheering in the press box" rule. I'm sure there are various media people who can't help themselves but shout a bit from time to time but the idea is, try to be respectful and restrain yourself as much as possible because all the people around you are trying to do their job. It looks like Scooter kind of committed a serious faux pas and just did not care. The moment was just too big for him to bother restraining himself. And he probably pissed off not just Malzone but the entire Boston press box doing it. Had Rizzuto just stayed in the announcer's booth calling the game, he could have channeled his excitement into the call, been as partisan as he wanted and no one would have minded. Would have been an amazing call we missed out on I'm sure, but White and Messer had his back on both fronts.
Then again, fuck Boston.
October 2nd 1978 I was only 5 months old when this happened. I watched this game for the first time in 2002 on Yes Network I was in early 20's at the time and I was really into it. This was a great game although I was way too young to have experienced it for myself when it happened I still loved watching it. One of the greatest moments in the Yankee Red Sox rivalry and definitely one of the greatest games.
Went to Hialeah High with Bucky. We had phys ed together all three years, even dated same girls. He was always a down to earth guy and one hell of an athelete!!!! Class of 1969
Just look at Yaz crumble in LF...
Believe it or not this is the first time I have heard the Frank Messer radio version of the Bucky Dent famous 3 run homer. For forty years I have been listening to the WPIX Bill White version a thousand times so this is a refreshing view of the call of Dents home run.
Dent earned a rather dubious middle name from Red Sox fans from that day forward. Began with the letter "F". 😉
I had a college friend from Boston who never referred to Dent except as Bucky F****** Dent.
Proudest middle name a man ever had.
Bill White's TV call was pretty great, too!
I went to Bucky Dents baseball school in 94 when I was 16. Best 2 weeks of my young life. What a blast.
Dent's H.R.goes down as 5 top Homers in Yankees history. But it brings so much sorrow to me. It was the last game my friend Earl saw. We left a bar in Hackensack N.J.after the game and Earl was murdered later that night. l seen that homerun played so many times and in that joy of moment for Bombers fans it's a heartbreaking feeling for me.
wow, that's one hell of a memory.
Wow. I feel for you. Maybe the only Yankee fan who has a sadness to that memory but well understood. Somebody get this man a beer and maybe a hug lol.
David Greene Murdered in Hackensack? I can see other NJ towns being the site of an after-the-game murder, but Hackensack? Sorry, Earl.
OMG...so sorry for your loss ! Did they get the perp?
Hackensack has some rough characters. Not like Newark or Passaic but there's a lot of crime there.
Come on man, this wasn't the ALDS, there was no ALDS. This was game 163
Yup. After coming all the way back from a 14-game deficit in July, the Yanks were tied with the Sox after the last game of the regular season, forcing the one-game tie-breaker for the A.L. East title.
Someone who was likely not born in 1978 lol and not did their research.
WAY more pressure in this situation than in stupid division series game. WAY more.
Your.are so write..it was a.play oof. For. First place tie in the American leauge. East for the division title and the. Defending. 1977 word champion new York Yankees.
@@americangiant1003 you write they didn't do they research. I saw. The game on wjzt. Chanel 13. ,3pm.in the evening. And Reggie. Jackson hit a home run .and. Ron guidry and. Mike tores.the pitcher. And .Carl yestripskey. Was the last out. For the Yankees victory
Needless to say it was an amazing yet heartbreaking game💔
My Sis & Dad were not around to savor '04. GO SOX❤⚾️🙏
I grew up in New Jersey and became a die hard yankee fan. The rivalry between those two teams was just awesome to experience. Your sis and dad had the best view out of all of us from us above. The enjoyed 2004!
@@kevintate768 ..yes what a season. Greatest rivalry ever.. I feel like their was thousands of Angels 🙏for Sox to win in '04❤⚾️
Messer is calling the game as it should be called even as, in this case, a Yankee announcer. The fans know the importance of what's going on; the announcer need not scream at them to emphasize that. Vin Scully said announcers need to see with their eyes and not with their hearts, as fans do.
I recently obtained a CD of Game 6 of the 1996 World Series. It is the national radio version with Vin Scully. It's the best call of that game that I've ever heard.
Remember that like it was yesterday, I was in 5th grade remember how excited I was and new the game changed momentum ..
He really choked up on that bat. You almost never see that anymore
Wow, I haven’t seen this video clip of Bucky Dent famous HR over the Green monster, since I actually watch in Oct of 1978.
RIP Dick Howser.
Cancer ate that poor man up.
I remembered him mostly as the manager of the Royals.
Is that Rizzuto screaming in the background? LOL!
I noticed that too he was doing his holy cow routine. I guess Frank was on the TV and Phil was on the radio. Incredible memories. The phenomenal comeback season and the Red Sox were loaded that year.
@@rsb512 So if Messer was on TV and Rizzuto was on radio, then where was Bill White, who was the one who had the iconic, "Deep to left! Yastrzemskiiiii ... can't get it, it's a home run!!"? I think Messer was on radio because the call here is more descriptive than necessary (teammates out of the dugout), and White was TV. Rizzuto was... I dunno. Maybe the ol' WW (wasn't watching) j/k!
It really doesnt matter how many WS the Red Sox win, that wound will never heal..Bucky Dent of all people.
I went to my one and only game at Fenway with several friends from the law school we attended in MA. I am a lifelong Yankees fan and they knew it (they were of course all Red Sox fans). We got to the stadium and they let us in, but then the clouds just started dumping buckets of rain. We waited nice and dry in the concourse near our seats and watched it pour. It was obvious that the game was going to get rained out. So I started walking out from the concourse to go stand by our seats. Not one of my Massachusetts friends said a word to me as I did this. I got to my seat and looked up at the Green Monster for a moment, and then turned around and walked back toward my friends and the concourse. I was soaked, but I had a few tears, and a small smile too. Every single one of my friends looked at me and they all started telling me to go X myself. I never said a word, just kept that little smile. They knew exactly what I was looking at.
I was 8 years old and watched this game sitting in a chair with my grandmother, who is the only person I have ever known that was an even bigger Yankee fan than I am. What a great memory. Miss you Grandma!
Bonus memory: When our boy was very little, he used to love watching war documentaries with me on The History Channel. We lived in a diverse area, and I was nervous one day he might say something to one of the Asian or German students (you know how kids can be) without understanding the weight of what he was asking or saying. So, whenever he asked who we were fighting, no matter who it was, I told him the Red Sox. Several times he asked me why the Red Sox always caused so much trouble. I would just tell him because the Red Sox are just really nasty people. Even my friends in Mass thought it was pretty funny.
Remember when trainers used to spray the ethyl chloride to "freeze" an area of pain? Haven't seen that in years.
Even Bucky not looking to hit a homer. Look how high his hands are choked up.
Sounds like The Scooter is having a stroke in the backround.
I was a sophomore in H. S. in 78. I was playing a soccer game and all the parents were sitting in their cars listening to the radio broadcast. When bucky hit that home run they all hit the car horns. Never forget it!
Right up there with Ozzie Smith's hr against LA in 1985.
Saw this live on my little black and white TV in our kitchen in NJ. I couldn't stop jumping up and down when I saw it go over the monster.
The sad thing about MLB today is that they've now made the one-game playoff commonplace with the so-called "wild card game". Before this, these were rare birds and always memorable, even if they weren't nail-biters like this one was.
I don't think that's sad at all... You don't win your division, you deserve the penalty
As much as I liked this as a kid in 78, the last two days have been pretty exciting with the two division ties and the following 2 win and you are in wild card games
The only other true "game 163" I can recall was between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins in 2009. The Twins won it in the 14th inning.
Fully agree
Not understanding you tonight! This game was a wild card game; a sudden death one game playoff which the Yankees won. I watched this game live on TV. It was great!
Seeing Yaztremski`s knees buckle as he saw that ball going out of the park was something else. It took the wind out of him.
I watched that game .. It shocked everyone
I remember it like it was yesterday
I always think of this series as a the playoffs, but it was still the regular season. This whole series felt like the playoffs. Had same gravity and historical significance to it. Was actually bigger then the AL playoffs at that time.
Not exactly. It was a one game playoff between tied teams. The winner moved on .
Wow holy cow. So much drama! Now tonight at Boston again for 1 game wildcard. I think the Yankees brought the turtle. I'm nervous.
I saw Frank Messer, Ron Klimkowski and a rookie catcher named Thurman Munson at the Amityville train station in 1969. It was a prize giveaway appearance. Not overly crowded either. Munson was in full uniform (no mustache) and Frank spoke on some tinny audio set-up. Very cool.
I'll never forget hearing that game on radio as I drove from Dallas to Waco.
I haven't seen this since 1978. Me and my dad were pissed, of all the times to hit a home run. Would anyone even remember Bucky Dent if it wasn't for this home run?
I had never heard Frank Messers radio call before and its just about as good as Bill Whites TV call...what a great 12 year old memory!
I had a jv football game that day. The game announcers yelled down to stop play so they could play the replay call of the home run. You should have seen us all on the field. All the players from both teams jumping up and down and high fiving each other. It was awesome.
.......and with that one swing of the bat he became "Bucky Fuckin' Dent" to everyone in Boston....
I was 8 when I watched this with my grandparents….I grew up in Rhode Island so 3/4 of the street Red Sox Fans a 1/4 Yankees after this game you could hear cheers or swears up and down the street…
I remember watching this game at like 10;00 am in Los Angeles ,.. what happened to those playoff games that were just morning rumors ??
"BUCKY F@#KING DENT!!!"
- Every Boston Red Sox fan in 1978
Also every Red Sox player
And since!
Look at how much he was choking up on his bat.... IN A FRESH COUNT! you’ll never see that in today’s game!
It wasn’t his regular bat. Mickey Rivers gave it to him and it was rumored to be corked.
I didn't realize how much Bent had choked up.
And now, 43 years later, the Yankees and Red Sox will return to Fenway to decide who moves on and whose season ends.
Have a nice game, cheers! 🍻🍻
I remember watching this.... I was 15 years old... man where has the time gone....🙄