TRADED: 1977 BUCKY "$*&@!" DENT

Here’s a traded card for shortstop Bucky Dent, who came to the Bronx via a trade with the Chicago White Sox for slugger Oscar Gamble on April 5th, 1977:

Dent would play a key role as the shortstop on the “Bronx Zoo” World Championship Yankee teams of 1977 and 1978.
Of course the biggest moment for Dent would be the unlikely and heart-breaking (for Boston) home run in the 163rd game of the 1978 season, helping clinch the American League East’s top spot and eventual road to the Fall Classic against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Yankees gave up a chunk for Dent, sending Gamble, Lamarr Hoyt and Robert Polinsky PLUS $200,000 cash to the South Side of Chicago.
He’d play for 12 years in the Majors, finishing up with eleven games with the Kansas City Royals in 1984 before retiring with a .247 average over 1392 games.

"HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 1970'S" #36: YANKEES MAKE HISTORIC COMEBACK

I just couldn't let a "Highlights from the '70s" series go by without throwing in one of MY all-time highlights: the 1978 Yankees comeback, and eventual championship.

Check out my 1979 card design celebrating that feat:

Would you believe that I could NOT find a suitable color-version of the moment Bucky hit the home run off Mike Torrez?!

There were a ton of black and white images, but no color, so I found this great image of Dent as he crossed home plate, being greeted by Chris Chambliss and Roy White.

Just look at the priceless look on Carlton Fisk's face, as well as Mickey Rivers (hidden behind the "#163" call-out).

Needless to say, for about a year after that Dent homer, every kid in the schoolyard was "Bucky Dent" when up at-bat.

Truly the height of the "Bronx Zoo" days at the Stadium, you had a Reggie Jackson suspension, the famous Jackson-Billy martin scuffle in the dugout, Martin resigning in mid-season with Bob Lemon taking over the helm, the introduction to us NYC kids to a character named "Goose" which led to one of my favorite quotes of the era "You went from Cy Young to sayonara" (Google it if you don't remember) and of course "Louisiana Lightning" Ron Guidry having a season for the ages, going 25-3 with a 1.74 E.R.A. and 248 strikeouts with nine shutouts, winning the Cy Young Award unanimously while being ripped-off the M.V.P. (I'm STILL holding on to that one).