Yanks, Dodgers legends dish on historic 1977, ’78, ’81 World Series showdowns

Was this World Series matchup inevitable? That question hovered over the postseason from the beginning, and now we have our answer. The Yankees and Dodgers — classic October rivals — will meet in Game 1 Friday in Los Angeles, their first Fall Classic battle in 43 years.

“Here we go,” said Ron Guidry, the former Yankees ace and 1978 AL Cy Young Award winner. “Call it whatever you want — karma, fate. But you have the [probable] AL MVP and the [probable] NL MVP. What else more could you want?”

This will be the 12th time these teams have met in the Fall Classic. The first seven came in the era of the Subway Series — when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn — between 1941 and 1956, with the Yankees winning all but one time. Brooklyn’s lone World Series title came in 1955, one of four times they took each other to a Game 7.

A lot has changed since these two titans last clashed in 1981. Free agency and Interleague play in particular have altered the makeup of teams and scheduling. Powerhouse teams from generations past stayed together for years; today’s rosters turn over more quickly as teams try to strike the balance between homegrown talent and free-agent signings.

History tells us both are effective ways to win championships. History also proves that this particular World Series matchup is every bit as intriguing as it was 40, 60, or 80 years ago. Regardless of era, the Dodgers and Yankees bring unmatched star power to the game’s biggest stage.

Need proof? Check out the names that Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, the MVP of the 1977 World Series, rattled off as he thought about the iconic players from the Yankees-Dodgers matchups, past and present.

After Sandy Koufax led the now-LA Dodgers to a four-game sweep in 1963, the two teams wouldn’t meet again until 1977. That was the start of a five-year run in which they played three times for the trophy, the Yankees winning in ’77 and ’78, and the Dodgers finally turning the tables in 1981.

“To play in those three World Series was the ultimate for me,” said Steve Garvey, the former Dodgers first baseman who served as a Dodgers bat boy during Spring Training in the late 1950s and early ’60s.

Both teams have truer rivals within their league (Yankees-Red Sox, Dodgers-Giants), but there are still some strong emotional bonds at play between New York and Los Angeles.

“I grew up a Dodgers and Lakers fan in Southern California,” said Dusty Baker, a Dodgers outfielder from 1976-1983. “There were two teams that killed the teams that I loved — the Yankees and the Celtics. So when I got to the World Series, it meant a ton to me because I was a Dodgers fan who wasn’t crazy about the Yankees. I felt it real deep.”

He’s not alone. Rick Monday, the former Dodgers outfielder who has been broadcasting their games since 1993 and grew up in Santa Monica, Calif., has similar recollections.

“I grew up not liking the Yankees, except for one guy,” he said. “Mantle.”

Childhood allegiances are hard to shake. So are emotions embedded through the heat of competition at the highest level.

“It’s not that I didn’t like the players,” Guidry said. “I didn’t like the Dodgers. They didn’t like my uniform, I didn’t like theirs. As ballplayers they were tremendous, but they got a Dodger uniform. So you looked at them differently, and I know they felt the same way about us.”

“We didn’t like each other and we played that way,” said Willie Randolph, a former Yankees captain who later played two seasons with the Dodgers. “They were more Hollywood and we were more blue collar. There was healthy respect, but we definitely didn’t like each other.”

“We hated everyone,” former Yankees closer and Hall of Famer Goose Gossage said with a cackle.

Of course, those feelings were just as intense with the fans.

Baker, who last managed the Astros in 2023, said Yankees fans would still give him grief 40-some years later.

“I go to New York even today and they yell at me, ‘Baker, I’m mad at you!’ I go, ‘For what? ‘You beat us in ’81,’” he said. “And I go, ‘Wait a minute now, you beat us in ’77 and ’78.’ They expect to win all the time.”

Those three matchups featured some big moments and lasting images. None were bigger or more memorable than Jackson’s three home run-performance in the series-clinching Game 6 of the 1977 World Series.

“I’m tired of looking at those highlight films,” Monday said with a chuckle. “All three of them you can see me going to the fence.”

“Each one got more amazing than the other,” said Chris Chambliss, the Yankees first baseman who was on deck behind Jackson for all three shots. “He didn’t even take any pitches. It was the first pitch every time. It was just surreal.”

“It’s like we ran into a buzzsaw and there wasn’t much we could do about it,” former Dodgers third baseman Ron Cey said.

After the third home run, Jackson’s fifth of the series, Garvey stood at first base and quietly applauded in his glove as Jackson trotted past.

“If you don’t realize greatness and recognize it, then you don’t understand the game,” Garvey said.

Including the 1974 World Series when Jackson’s Oakland A’s beat Los Angeles in five games, nine of Jackson’s career 18 postseason home runs were against the Dodgers.

“That’s why they called him Mr. October,” said Graig Nettles, the former third baseman whose acrobatic fielding helped the Yankees erase an 0-2 deficit and win the 1978 Series in six games for back-to-back titles.

The Dodgers finally got their taste of victory in 1981. It didn’t come a moment too soon for a veteran Dodgers team that knew changes were on the horizon. After staving off elimination five times in series wins over Houston and Montreal, guess who was in their way again?

“I was like, ‘Damn, we gotta play the Yankees again?’” Baker laughed. “Then they beat us in the first two games.”

This time it was the Dodgers who came back to win four straight and the championship. The full circle moment came in Game 6 as Jackson stood on first base next to Garvey, with the Dodgers one out away from victory.

“Garv, it’s your time now,” Jackson told him as they stood in the same spot where Garvey secretly applauded Reggie’s history-making turn four years earlier. Moments later, the Dodgers had their championship.

“That year was not painful after the last out in the ninth inning,” Monday said. ”It had been painful in the previous trips.”

“There’s no question that it sounds a lot better when you say we beat the New York Yankees in the World Series,” said Cey, the series co-MVP.

Overall, the Yankees are 8-3 in the World Series against the Dodgers. And the rivalry that only burns in October begins again Friday night in Los Angeles.

“They got some of the top stars in this game in this series,” Baker said. “Baseball couldn’t have drawn it up any better. I’m going to get me some popcorn and some beer and maybe a couple hot dogs and be a fan.”