"Ladies and gentlemen, the Bronx is burning," deadpanned Howard Cosell. It was Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, and the ABC cameras were panning beyond Yankee Stadium, catching shots of the fires devouring the blighted South Bronx. Reggie Jackson was on his final at-bat, having slammed two home runs into "Ruthville" in earlier innings. But the vicious stare he flashed Dodgers' reliever Charlie Hough said he wasn't nearly done. Perhaps Jackson was imagining the head of manager Billy Martin — with whom he'd been feuding all season — when he cracked Hough's fastball straight back. It pinged into the bleachers with such force, Cosell exclamed, "What a blow!" toupee flying off into Tom Seaver's mug of spiked coffee (or so we imagine). Thus, "Mr. October" was born. Jackson was always a major collector of old Chevys — a bunch of which went up in an Oakland wildfire that torched Jackson's home and garage during the 1980s. Now, Chevrolet's promoting the "Reggie Jackson 1969 Camaro" rebuilt with GM Performance Parts with old-school NHRA driver Warren Johnson. It's all mainly to promote Chevrolet's new cast-iron LSX block. It's no Reggie Bar, but nothing really is anymore. [Gallery]
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Droppin' Mad Jacksons at Barrett-Jackson [internal]