Yankees ace Ron Guidry climbed the hill to face the then California Angels forty years ago today, with his franchise-record 10-game winning streak to start the season on the line. The stakes were even higher, as New York trailed first-place Boston by 7 1/2 games in the American League East race. The Red Sox had already won their game earlier in the day, so the defending World Series champion Yankees needed a victory just to keep pace.
Called Gator by his teammates, Guidry was coming off his best start of an already sensational year.