The Bronx is Burning

I was 15-years old in the summer of 1977, and while life was serene in the 'burbs, it was anything but that in New York City. A blackout lead to widespread looting and rioting, and "Son of Sam" killer David Berkowitz was shooting unsuspecting lovers. During that same summer, the Yankees were continuing their ascent to the top of Major League baseball. It was Reggie Jackson's first year in the Bronx and the start of a tumultuous relationship with Billy Martin, Thurman Munson, George Steinbrenner, and others.

ESPN will debut a new original series this summer, 30 years after that crazy time. "The Bronx is Burning" premieres in July and will cover all of the aforementioned events. Fran Healy, who was a member of that 1977 Yankees club and is now an announcer for the cross-town Mets, recently profiled the series on the show "The Game: 365" on the MSG network.




Joseph Mahler's novel goes Hollywood







Healy spent time with the cast and crew, including actor Loren Dean (star of Mumford) who is portraying Healy. Among the rest of the cast are John Turturro (Billy Martin), Oliver Platt (George Steinbrenner), Christopher McDonald (Joe DiMaggio), and Rescue Me's Daniel Sunjata as Reggie Jackson. Actor Erik Jenssen eerily resembles Thurman Munson.

The blackout started when lightning struck a substation along the Hudson River on the evening of July 13. Some shoddy equipment intensified the situation, which got markedly worse when other areas were struck by lightning. An hour later the entire city was in darkness. The next 24 hours saw massive rioting and looting. Especially hard hit were the Crown Heights and Bushwick sections of Brooklyn. More than 3,700 people were arrested for crimes relating to the blackout and damages were estimated at over $300 million.

Son of Sam had been striking fear in the city since 1976 and police were desperate to arrest a suspect. He was originally known as the "44-caliber killer" because that was his weapon of choice. Before he was arrested in August of 1977, he had murdered six and injured seven others.

The '77 Yankees served as a distraction to the city, which was already suffering from severe financial difficulties before the blackout even occurred, and a very nasty mayoral race. The Yankees drive to the championship didn't go all that smoothly either. Who could forget Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin going nose-to-nose before a national TV audience after Martin accused Jackson of dogging it in right field. Martin threw grease on the fire when he sent Paul Blair out to replace Jackson in the middle of the inning. Knowing Billy's temper, Reggie immediately removed his glasses as he entered the dugout and expected a brawl. If not for coaches Yogi Berra and Elston Howard intervening, it may have very well happened.




Good thing there were photographers around, because this is a scene that didn't happen often.





The pennant victory over the KC Royals and the World Series win over the LA Dodgers would smooth things out internally until the fur started to fly again the following season. But Reggie's 3 home runs in Game 7 vs. the Dodgers will be what resonates most in the minds of Yankees fans. That's the way it should be.

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The 1977 team was honored last night at the annual Baseball Assistance Team (BAT) dinner. Noticeably absent was BAT chairmen Bobby Murcer who was missed by those in attendance. Earlier in the day Bobby was on 1050 ESPN radio and was very upbeat. Former Yankee Ron Blomberg also spoke to Bobby on the phone yesterday and echoed the same feelings.