KC Royals vs NY Yankees: The historic rivalry revisited

In what may seem like an eternity ago to some, there was a time when the best rivalry in baseball wasn't the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, or even the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. Instead, it was the Kansas City Royals and Yankees that made for appointment viewing every October in the late 1970s and early '80s.

The Royals and Yankees met in the American League Championship Series four times in five years. The Yankees won the pennant in 1976, '77, and '78 before Kansas City exorcised its demon with a three-game sweep in 1980.

The 1976 and '77 ALCS each went the distance, with the Yankees winning in five games, claiming each series in their final at-bat. New York won the 1978 series in four games, capturing games three and four at Yankee Stadium by a run.

Each series was defined by classic moments and fueled the intense rivalry.

"There is no love lost between me and the Yankees," former Royals infielder George Brett told ESPN's Jeff Passan after the team's recent Wild Card Series win over the Orioles. "I don't think this [ALDS] will be anything like '76, '77, '78 or '80. There's no past history with any of these guys, but we had history. There's no rivalry like there was back then. Hopefully, we can start one this year."

The names and faces have changed, and the rivalry is a mere fraction of what once was the fiercest in the game. All that remains are the memories of haymakers, heartbreak, homers, and ultimately, a Royals' triumph.

Here is a look at their postseason history.

1976

The Royals claimed their first division title eight years after their inception, winning 90 games and dethroning the three-time World Series champion Oakland Athletics.

In the 1976 AL Championship Series, Kansas City and New York split the first four games with each winning one home game and one road game. The Yankees had 97 regular season games, thus earning the right to host winner-take-all Game 5.

The Royals tied the game at 6-6 in the eighth as George Brett hit a three-run homer over the right field. Kansas City nearly went ahead in the ninth by putting two runners on in the ninth, but Al Cowens was erroneously called out at second base to end the inning, setting the stage for one of the most unforgettable and chaotic scenes in baseball history.

New York's Chris Chambliss belted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to send the Yankees to the World Series for the first time in a 12 years.

1977

A similar scene to that of 1976 played out a year later, this time with a slight twist — the Royals had posted the best record in the American League and would host the final three games of the series.

After earning a series split in New York, the Royals returned home and took a 2-1 series with a 6-2 victory in Game 3 behind Dennis Leonard's four-hit, complete game. It was the final victory for the team that won 102 games during the regular season.

Although the Royals lost Game 4, they still had another opportunity to reach their first World Series with a win in Game 5 — and they found themselves a mere three outs away from said win, holding a 3-1 lead heading into the ninth inning.

Brett's first-inning triple drove Hal McRae home and ignited a brawl, as Graig Nettles kicked Brett sliding into third and Brett got up swinging. After order was restored, Brett scored on an Al Cowens' groundout. Both teams scored a run in the third and the score remained unchanged until the ninth inning.

The Yankees scored three runs in the ninth, breaking the hearts of Royals' players and fans alike for the second straight year.

1978

The Royals won the AL West by five games over Texas and ended the regular season with 92 victories, while the Yankees overcame a 14-game deficit and defeated the Red Sox in game 163 to win the East.

Unlike the previous two series, the Royals lost to the Yankees in four games in the 1978 ALCS, dropping the final two in New York after splitting the first two in Kansas City.

In Game 3, Brett put on a memorable hitting display, blasting three home runs off "Catfish" Hunter, going deep in the first, third and fifth innings. The Royals scored two runs in the eighth to take a 5-4 lead, but Thurman Munson hit a two-run homer in the bottom half to put the Yankees back on top.

New York's Ron Guidry out-dueled Kansas City's Dennis Leonard in Game 4, striking out seven in eight innings. To win the series, the Yankees took the game 2-1, getting solo home runs from Nettle and Roy White.

1980

Following three agonizing Championship Series losses, the Royals finally broke through in 1980 against their hated rival, defeating the Yankees in a three-game sweep in the Bronx to win their first American League pennant.

Kansas City took Game 1 behind Larry Gura, who threw a complete game and didn't allow a run in the final seven innings. New York's Guidry didn't fare as well on the mound, with the Royals' offense forcing him out of the game in the third.

Game 2 was a one-run affair with all the scoring coming in two innings — the Royals scored three in the third and the Yankees got two in the fifth. Kansas City held on for a 3-2 win.

Appropriately, it was Brett who hit the game-winning home run in Game 3 and thrust the Royals into the World Series. With Kansas City trailing 2-1 in the seventh, Brett launched a three-run moonshot into the upper deck of Yankee Stadium off Gossage, silencing the crowd. The Yankees loaded the bases in the eighth but failed to score, and Dan Quisenberry tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to secure the pennant.

“That was like winning the World Series,” Brett told MLB.com.

Brett, McRae, Quisenberry and others have given way to Witt, Salvy and Vinnie, and a new chapter in baseball's best-forgotten rivalry is ready to be written.