Interest and attendance were dropping, and football was ascending. Stuck
in a rut, baseball was dying. Then Steinbrenner bought the Yankees, a
second-division club with wife-swapping pitchers, leaving the House That
Ruth Built not with a slam but a simper. He vowed not to
interfere--before soon changing his mind. Across town, Tom Seaver led
the Mets' stellar pitching line-up, and iconic outfielder Willie Mays
was preparing to say goodbye. For months, the Mets, under Yogi Berra,
couldn't get it right. Meanwhile, the A's were breaking a ban on facial
hair while maverick owner Charlie Finley was fighting to keep them
underpaid. But beneath the muttonchops and mayhem, lay another world.
Elvis commanded a larger audience than the Apollo landings. A Dodge Dart
cost $2,800, gas was a quarter per gallon. A fiscal crisis loomed;
Vietnam had ended, the vice president resigned, and Watergate had taken
over. It was one of the most exciting years in the game's history, the
first with the designated hitter and the last before arbitration and
free agency. The two World Series opponents went head-to-head above the
baby steps of a dynasty that soon dwarfed both league champions. It was
a turbulent time for the country and the game, neither of which would
ever be the same again.
