Memories of garnet and gold: The day the Yankees came to Tallahassee

Longtime Tallahassee resident and FSU graduate Jim Joanos shares his latest story, a trip down memory lane when the Yankees came to Tallahassee

It was early spring of 1978. The Florida State University baseball team, winners of the Metro Conference championship the year before, were preparing for the upcoming season. There was great news. The New York Yankees, World Series Champions in 1977, would be coming to Tallahassee to play FSU in an exhibition game on April 5.

A former FSU legend, Dick Howser, was on the coaching staff of the Yankees. It is believed that he had a major role in making the event happen. FSU’s head coach was Woody Woodward, a former major leaguer.

Game day was most exciting. As a result of being on some committees, I was invited to a luncheon to honor the New York Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner, and the Yankees’ coaching staff at the Florida governor’s mansion. Florida’s governor at the time, Reubin Askew, an FSU alum, was the host. Much to my amazement, I was seated at a table for four that included baseball great Yogi Berra, a Yankees coach at the time. It is still hard to believe that I spent an hour or so talking about baseball and lots of other things with the great Yogi Berra.

That was not the only surprise that day. When my son and I got to the game, we found our seats were next to Roger Maris. He was living in Gainesville at the time and had come up for the exhibition game. So on the same day that I had lunch with Yogi Berra, I watched a baseball game with Maris. Baseball dreams are made of things like that. Fortunately, my son had a baseball with him that we got Maris to sign and that we have to this day.

We got to the baseball field early. There they were, the mighty New York Yankees, Billy Martin, Dick Howser, Reggie Jackson, Willie Randolph, Graig Nettles, Lou Piniella, Chris Chambliss, Bucky Dent, Goose Gossage and all of the rest of them. Even Mel Allen, the Yankees broadcaster, had come to Tallahassee to call the game.

When I had been in law school in Connecticut, I had seen the Yankees play once but that was from the cheap seats, quite distant from the action. But here I was on the front row watching some of the all-time greats of baseball play my alma mater’s team in Tallahassee.

The Seminoles held their own against the Yankees in the beginning. FSU scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the third inning. At the end of four innings, FSU led 4-3. But after that it was mostly scoring by the Yankees, who won 10-5. The Yankees had 14 hits. FSU nearly matched that with 12 hits. The score and statistics really did not matter. The college players on the FSU team had gotten to play against the best team in baseball and the fans in attendance had the enjoyment of watching it.

Both teams played many players. The Yankees were just a few days away from opening day in the American League. Reggie Jackson played the entire nine innings. Woodward played nearly all the FSU players to give them that special experience of playing against the Yankees.

There were lots of special memories that FSU players took with them that day. Brooks Carey was FSU’s starting pitcher and held the Yankees in check during the two innings that he was on the mound. FSU’s shortstop, Bob Benda, went 3 for 4 at the plate and had two rbi’s. Blane McDonald, Seminole catcher, was 2 for 3 and scored a run. Center fielder Mark Gilbert scored two runs. Designated hitter Don Milner went 2 for 2 and scored a run. Another one of FSU pitchers, Kevin Brooks, who grew up in my Tallahassee neighborhood, had the thrill of a lifetime when he got the mighty Reggie Jackson to pop up. I have been told that after graduating from FSU, Brooks had a picture of him that day pitching to Jackson that he hung in his dental office for years.

The players on both teams seemed to be having a good time. The fans got a laugh when Yankees catcher Cliff Johnson, after a pitch almost hit him, took a couple of steps toward the mound as he was going to charge toward FSU’s pitcher but then stopped and started laughing.

Since then, FSU has played the Yankees in exhibition games two other times, in Tallahassee in 1980 and in Tampa in 2014. I have been very fortunate to have witnessed all three games. Baseball memories do not come any better than having watched the Seminoles play the Yankees, my favorite two baseball teams.