Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — ESPN Films’ latest documentary “Yankees-Dodgers: An Uncivil War” will debut Tuesday, September 27 at 9 p.m. ET (6pm PDT) on ESPN. From the trailer, it looks to be a great trip back to the Seventies (without the polyester suits).
In 1977 and 1978, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers squared off in back-to-back World Series and three in the space of five years. This documentary purports to tell the story of those clashes and the larger-than-life personalities that participated in them.
It was the time of Garvey, Lopes, Russell, and Cey. The time of the Big Blue Wrecking Crew who rose to prominence in the wake of the demise of the dynasty of the Cincinnati Reds in the early and mid-70s. In New York, they were the days of the Bronx Zoo, Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson, all the drama that surrounded that team.
“I love baseball and I love heavyweight boxing. I have done movies in all areas, but the chance to do a heavyweight fight in baseball was irresistible,” said Producer Peter Guber. “There was no “crying in baseball”, unless you were the loser in the ’70s of the Dodgers vs. Yankees uncivil war.”
“It was a fun challenge to tell the story of baseball’s most traditional rivalry and to document the Dodgers and Yankees on their inevitable collision course through a two-year period,” added Mitchell. “I’m old enough to remember the summer of 1977, the blackout, the Son of Sam and Reggie Jackson’s three home runs, but I had forgotten about the turmoil of the Yankees and was unfamiliar with the Dodgers clubhouse angst. Both New York and Los Angeles were going through periods of profound change and despair. I found that the troubles of baseball’s free agency era mirrored those of society and the ‘me generation,’ a time that seems eerily similar to today.”
The documentary features extensive interviews with virtually all the living protagonists of the tale, from Reggie Jackson and Steve Garvey to Ron Guidry, Tommy John, Willie Randolph, Ron Cey, Graig Nettles, Steve Yeager, Mickey Rivers, Bucky Dent and Dusty Baker, as well as many of the writers and reporters who covered the teams at the time.
Looks like it’s going to be must-see TV!!
