Yankee legend set to speak at Rider’s First Pitch Dinner
LAWRENCE >> It was July of 1978 and Trentonian part-time correspondent Athan Atsales, who would go on to become the paper’s sports editor, wrote a column about the Red Sox’s 14-game lead on the Yankees in the American League East Division.
The exact headline read: “No, the Yankees will NOT catch the Red Sox.”
Atsales, now a Los Angeles Times sports editor, hated baseball but for some reason rooted for Boston. After his declaration, the Yankees roared back to win the division by taking a 5-4 win at Fenway Park in a one-game playoff and his column became that of local legend.
The irony is that Atsales was attending Rider at the time. And 40 years later, the man who hit the storied home run to cap the most storied comeback in the history of baseball’s most storied franchise will be visiting Athan’s alma mater.
On Jan. 26, Bucky Dent — who ultimately took the “NOT” out of Atsales’ headline — will be the keynote speaker at Rider baseball’s 11th Annual First Pitch Dinner. The fundraiser will run from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Cavalla Room of the Bart Luedeke Center. Tickets are $100 per person and $75 for young alumni (2014-18). A table sponsorship is $750 and a player sponsor is $100. They can be purchased on the baseball page at gobroncs.com.
In 12 seasons, Dent hit a pedestrian .247 with 40 home runs for four different teams. But 1978 made him a fixture, along with Ruth, Mantle and all the rest, in Yankee postseason lore.
New York trailed the playoff game 2-0 in the seventh when the shortstop stunned the world with Bucky Dent played for the Yankees from 1977-1982 and hit a famous home run against the Red Sox in 1978.
a three-run homer over the Green Monster to propel the Yanks to a 5-4 victory and earn a derogatory nickname in Beantown. If that wasn’t enough, he was named the World Series MVP against the Dodgers by hitting .417 with seven RBI in six games.
The famously handsome Dent immediately parlayed that fame into a bit part in the 1979 madefor-TV movie “Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders,” pairing two late 1970s pop culture icons. He then resumed his MLB career for six more seasons.
In choosing a speaker, Rider coach Barry Davis likes to get either a Phillie, Met or Yankee for local appeal. He found a most compelling one with Dent, who’s now a hit on the public speaking tour.
“We just try to find a really good fit for our dinner and where we think we are,” Davis said. “Bucky Dent is a great fit. He played during an era when many adults like myself grew up watching. He played with guys like Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, Willie Randolph, Lou Piniella, Sparky Lyle, Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss.
“He had one of the most significant home runs in Yankee history. They’re writing books about that. I actually saw the game on TV, I was in eighth grade and came home from school and it was on. I remember looking at the standings in the paper that summer and seeing the Yankees 14 back in July. I wasn’t a fan of either team, but that jumped out at me.”
The Yankees fueled their comeback with a four-game demolition of the Sox in Fenway known as the Boston Massacre, and their history-making drive was on. Davis knows that the comeback, capped by the playoff game, should make for tremendous banquet fodder.
“He certainly has a message to tell,” the coach said. “The stories and relationships he had, the way that season went, and just what went on in that game.”
Davis noted that in a special he saw on that game, Dent should have been pinch-hit for, but because starting second baseman Willie Randolph was injured, Brian Doyle played in his place and the pinch-hitter was used for Doyle, leaving it all up to Dent with two men on base.
“If anybody could set the scene, it’s him,” Davis said. “It’s amazing, one at-bat and what it did for him. He has been in baseball his entire life. His message certainly will resonate with our players and actually any young player that is in attendance. To them, there was no baseball before 2000. No one knows history. My players should have a history of the game; of baseball and how it’s changed. He can probably address that.”
Dent hopes to arrive at 6 and will mingle, pose for pictures and sign autographs. A buffet dinner will be served from 6 to approximately 7:15. From there, Davis will welcome the crowd, discuss his program, introduce special guests along with his team and incoming recruits, and then bring up Dent. There will be a Q&A session if time allows.
There will also be raffles, along with Rider gear and sports memorabilia for sale — including a basketball signed by the entire 2018 Villanova NCAA championship team.
The main draw will be the slightly built shortstop who flexed his muscles in the spotlight.
“Everybody knows Bucky Dent; whenever I mention he’s our speaker people are like, ‘Oh, that’s awesome,’” Davis said. “Listening to someone who has been successful and who has been right there can be engaging to a crowd. People want to know. Everyone wants to hear the coach miked. They want to know what play is being called. You want to be right in there, and Bucky Dent will take them in there.”
Davis is encouraging as many alumni as possible to attend and re-connect with the program.
It’s a good bet Athan Atsales will not be one of them.
Follow Rich Fisher on twitter @fish4scores