After 14 years, sophomore manager Tommy Lasorda led a young Dodgers team to the 1977 World Series where they faced Billy Martin and the Yankees. The two managers were involved in a fist fight during the 1956 season while playing for the two teams they were now managing. The Yankees were coming off a controversy ridden season. Furious at their loss to The Big Red Machine in the 1976 World Series, owner George Steinbrenner had signed slugger Reggie Jackson to the team. Jackson immediately created friction in the clubhouse between himself and Bill Martin as well as captain Thurman Munson, the defending AL MVP. New York City itself was going through a financial crisis under Mayor Abraham Beame and experienced the Son of Sam and a major blackout, all chronicled in "The Bronx is Burning". Despite the controversy, the Yankees managed to play together and win the pennant to face the Dodgers in the World Series.