New York Yankees

Dave Robinson, Graig Nettles and Alan Trammell all reached the pinnacle of success in professional sports.

Robinson was a star linebacker for the Green Bay Packers teams that won NFL championships in 1965, 1966 and 1967 – the latter two culminating with victories in Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II.

Nettles was a power hitting and Gold Glove third baseman for the New York Yankees teams that won the World Series in 1977 and 1978.

And Trammell was an elite shortstop who earned World Series MVP honors in leading the Detroit Tigers to the title in 1984.

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Legends & Stars is a bit hit with sports' memorabilia fans

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The trio was in town on Sunday, putting their signatures on a variety of sports memorabilia for collectors at the Legends & Stars show at Batavia Downs Gaming. Each of them gave about five minutes of their time to The Batavian.

ROBINSON PLAYED FOR TWO GREATS

Dave Robinson’s stellar NFL career took place in Green Bay (1963-1972) and Washington (1973-74), playing for two legendary coaches – Vince Lombardi and George Allen, respectively. He said he still follows both teams and felt mixed emotions when they faced off against each other last week.

“Once a Packer always a Packer,” Robinson, now 81, said. “I really wanted to see the Packers break that (then three-game) losing streak that they had, but I hated to see them do it against the Commanders (formerly Redskins) – and they didn’t. But that's the only time I really have a conflict is when the two teams play each other.”

Robinson brought up Lombardi and Allen, noting that they were similar in their approach to the game.

“They both did things thousands of times, so it became second nature to you,” he said. “The difference was that when Lombardi did it, he did it in a thousand different ways. George used to do the same thing over and over again. So, his game got a little stale by the end of the season. That’s why his playoff record wasn’t that great because the players weren’t as motivated. They had heard it all before.”

Robinson is one of a dozen “Lombardi” Packers inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, his honor coming in 2013.

“I think there are six in there from the defense,” he said. “We didn’t know that we’d end up in the Hall of Fame, but we knew we had a tough bunch of guys.”

He said that Lombardi, understanding that most quarterbacks were right-handed and teams tended to run more plays to the right, built up the left side of the defense.

“We had Willie Davis to my insider, Herb Adderley to my outside, inside linebacker was Ray Nitschke and safety was Willie Wood,” he offered. “When you looked to your right, there were five future Hall of Famers on the field at one time.”

Following Green Bay’s victory over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl II, Robinson said he went up to tell Oakland (and former Buffalo Bills) quarterback Daryle Lamonica “nice game,” when Lamonica shared that he was told all week to not throw the ball to the right.

Robinson said that Lamonica told him that by the fourth quarter, he thought he had lulled the Packers to sleep and tried to hit receiver Fred Belitnikoff with a quick slant to that side. That’s when Adderley intercepted the ball and returned it 60 yards for the first defensive touchdown in Super Bowl history.

“I said to him, ‘They told you don’t do it. You should have listened to your coaches,” Robinson said with a hearty laugh.

NETTLES CRITIQUES CURRENT YANKEES

Nettles, now 78, said he continues to follow the fortunes of the Yankees, the club he played on from 1973-83. All told, Nettles played for six teams – ending his 22-year career in 1988.

Assessing this year’s loss to Houston in the American League Championship Series, Nettles said it seemed as though the Yankees’ hitters were swinging for the fences.

“Well, to me it looked like everybody’s trying to hit home runs instead of getting base hits,” he said. “A lot of strikeouts and a lot of swinging at bad pitches. It seems they would take a good pitch and swing at the bad pitches.”

He said he noticed many times that batters were taking the first pitch, which would end up right over the heart of the plate.

“For some reason, guys like to take the first pitch and that’s usually the best pitch. My theory was to guess strike on the first pitch and swing at it,” he added.

When asked about Aaron Judge and his American League record 62 homers, Nettles said “it was great for baseball and I sure hope he stays with the Yankees.”

“You know, he gambled on himself with the contract (by not signing a long-term deal with New York prior to the season) and now he’s got every right to listen to the offers,” he said. “But I hoe he stays in New York with the Yankees.”

When asked why he doesn’t attend Yankees’ Old Timers Day festivities, Nettles said “they stopped inviting me about five years ago and I don’t know why, really.”

“I don't know if somebody – whoever is in charge, somebody doesn't like me. I don't know.”

When asked if his nickname “Puff” stemmed from him being a practical joker, Nettles said he got that moniker from his ability to leave the scene without anyone noticing.

“It’s just that I could disappear quickly, after a couple of beers,” he said. “I just say goodbye. I don't even say goodbye. If I had one night having too many beers, the next day I was hurting. So, the next night I just left after about two beers … and they didn’t know where I went.”

When asked about the 1978 playoff game against the Boston Red Sox (won by the Yankees, 5-4), Nettles talked about the last out – a foul pop-up off the bat of Carl Yastrzemski that landed in Nettles’ glove.

“I’m just glad it wasn't hit very high because I didn't like pop-ups,” he said. “That was the hardest thing for me because you never practice them; you can’t practice them during batting practice.”

TRAMMELL REMEMBERS MAGICAL YEAR

The 1984 Detroit Tigers arguably is one of the greatest teams ever – a team that won 35 of its first 40 games, went 104-58 during the regular season and captured the World Series in five games against the San Diego Padres.

Trammell, now 64, was the leader of that bunch, which was managed by the legendary Sparky Anderson, and included stars such as relief pitcher Willie Hernandez (who won the AL MVP and Cy Young Award), second baseman Lou Whitaker, catcher Lance Parrish, outfielders Kirk Gibson and Chet Lemon and starting pitcher Jack Morris.

When asked about the team’s place in MLB history, Trammell said, “I’m not going to be the one to try to rank it because that’s too hard, but during that particular year … it didn’t matter if we were playing the 1927 Yankees (with Babe Ruth), we were going to win.”

“That was just our feeling. Going into the Series, if you don't feel confident that you’re going to win, then you shouldn’t be there. So, my point is that it was our year and nobody was going to beat us in that particular year.”

Trammell, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018, mentioned that the 35-5 start is the best in baseball history, adding that the team won 17 road games in a row as well.

“We were confident and we had a pretty balanced team,” he said. “I was hoping that maybe we'd be able to win another championship, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. But at least for that one year, we were the best.”

Photo: Dave Robinson, an All-Pro linebacker with the Green Bay Packers, displays his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring to Ken Van Remmen of West Seneca during Sunday's Legends & Stars show at Batavia Downs Gaming. Photo by Mike Pettinella.

This year’s New York at Boston “Wild Card” game to advance in the American League baseball playoffs triggered a host of memories for Ron Guidry, the winning pitcher in the Yankees’ thrilling 5-4 victory over the Red Sox in the Oct. 2, 1978 tie-breaker game to determine the champion of the AL’s East Division.

“When it got down this year to the last couple of days in New York and Boston, and then now you got a playoff game, well, yeah, I started getting phone calls left and right about the playoffs,” said Guidry, who was in town today to sign autographs at the Legends & Stars Fall 2021 Sports Expo at Batavia Downs Gaming.

“So, yeah, it brought back some memories. The only problem is we didn't win this time.”

That moved the conversation to 1978, a season in which the Yankees rallied from a 14 ½ game deficit to the Bosox to end in a tie with 99-63 records. A one-game playoff was in order and, by virtue of a coin flip, it was to be played in Fenway Park in Boston.

Guidry, the AL’s best pitcher that season, started on the mound for the Yankees.

When it was mentioned that he started on short rest, he said, “Yeah. Maybe a day.”

The 5-9, 175-pound left-handed strikeout artist pitched into the seventh inning, leaving with a 4-2 lead.

The big blow in the contest -- as any baseball fan knows -- was a three-run homer by light-hitting Yankee shortstop Bucky Dent in the seventh inning that erased Boston’s 2-0 lead and gave Dent a nickname that lives in infamy.

“That was the only time that I really was upset with (manager) Bob Lemon because I really didn't want to come out of the game,” he said. “I really thought that I could; that I still had enough.”

He recalled that George Scott got a base hit between first and second base, prompting Lemon to call for reliever Goose Gossage.

“It was a ground ball – it wasn't like he hit a ball on the wall or a screamer. You know, he just snuck it in. And I still felt like I had some stuff. I still felt like I could have at least completed that seventh inning to where Goose only had to look at pitching to innings. Now, taking me out that early, he almost has to go three innings. And it was pretty hot that day. But, it worked out.”

When asked if it was more nerve-wracking for him after he came out of the game, Guidry said he never got nervous.

“People always ask me that and this is what I tell them,” he said. “You either do the job or you don't. There's no in-between, I do a good job or don't, we win or we lose, that’s it.”

Guidry said his “goal” was to put his team in a position to win that game.

“So, when I come out of that, when I came out of that game, we were winning 4-2. And then then very next inning, you know, Reggie (Jackson) hit a home run to make it 5-2. Now, we got a little cushion but no cushion is safe in Boston, in Fenway Park.”

He said that while Dent’s homer is remembered as the big hit, Guidry said the game-saving play was made by Yankee right fielder Lou Piniella in the ninth inning with the score 5-4.

Boston’s Jerry Remy hit a line drive that Piniella could not see due to the late afternoon sun. As the ball hit the turf and almost bounced by him, Piniella stabbed at it and it landed in his glove. That prevented the baserunner, Rick Burleson, from advancing from first to third base. A deep fly out by Jim Rice, the next batter, could only move Burleson to third – instead of being a sacrifice fly.

With two outs and two on, Gossage got Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski on a foul pop to third baseman Graig Nettles for the game’s final out.

“If Piniella doesn't cut that ball off Burleson goes third, and he might have even scored,” Guidry reasoned. “But you know, he cuts it off. And I think he just saw it at the last second.”

He credited the Yankees’ outfielders for knowing where to position themselves for certain hitters.

“Those guys were so intelligent. Because we didn't have an outfield that had blistering speed or anything like that. You know? They were just good ballplayers. (Mickey) Rivers was the only one who had speed,” he said. “But the most amazing thing was you didn't have to worry about them being out of position. They knew where to play guys.”

The 1978 Yankees went on to beat the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series for their 22^nd championship. Guidry posted three more victories in the playoffs and World Series, finishing with a 28-3 mark.

For his regular season success (25-3, 1.74 earned run average), Guidry was named the league’s Cy Young Award winner and finished second to Rice in the Most Valuable Player voting.

Guidry retired following the 1988 season with a 170-91 won-loss record, 3.29 ERA and 1,778 strikeouts.

The Lafayette, La. native (and resident) shared his thoughts on a few other topics:

On this year’s Yankees vs. Red Sox playoff game:

“I didn’t like going back to Boston for that because, looking at the whole thing, the first time (1978), we did it, but it gets much harder to do it again. So now, each team has won one. If it ever happens again, that’s going to be a great story."

On infield shifting in today’s game:

“No, we didn’t have that. I mean you shifted certain guys, because you know, a lot of guys just hit the ball in certain areas,” he said. “If I'm going to pitch and know that I'm going to be throwing a guy a certain way, then I might tell my infielders or outfielders to shift this way or that way.

“Now, with all the analytical stuff, sometimes it helps them and sometimes it hurts. You watch teams that know how to hit the ball behind runners and stuff like that? Even though they’re left or right handed, when they start shifting, you can drive a battleship between first and second, or second and third because there’s only one guy playing somewhere around there. You just hope it don't hurt at the worst possible moment.”

On his nicknames – Gator and Louisiana Lightning:

“My teammates gave me the nickname, Gator,” he said. “When I got called up in 1975, the Yankees were playing at Shea Stadium as the old (Yankee) stadium was being refurbished. And when I got there, you know, I got off the plane and I went to Shea Stadium, got dressed and they were already playing because we had a doubleheader against Boston.

“I walked in and met the manager and he told me to go to the bullpen. And when I walked in the bullpen, of course, I met Sparky Lyle and Dick Tidrow and a couple of other guys, and they started talking to you about where you’re from. And they asked me what we had a lot of in Louisiana and I told them, we got mosquitoes and snakes and alligators.

“And, I don't remember who it was; it was either Sparky or Dick Tidrow and they said, ‘We’re just going to call you Gator because we can't pronounce that last name. So, you know, that's the nickname that was given to you by your teammates. So, that's the one that you treasure the most.”

Regarding Louisiana Lightning, he said that was given to him by longtime Yankees broadcaster Phil Rizzuto during Guidry’s 18-strikeout performance against the California Angels on June 17, 1978.

“It’s a catchy thing, but it’s tough to sign when you’ve got to sign a lot of it,” he said.

Photo at top: New York Yankees pitching great Ron Guidry talks with Dino Labbate of Rochester as he autographs baseball memorabilia at today's Legends & Stars 2021 Fall Sports Expo at Batavia Downs Gaming. Photo at bottom: Guidry and Hall of Fame infielder/designated hitter Paul Molitor, who faced Guidry while playing for the Milwaukee Brewers from 1978-1992. Photos by Mike Pettinella.