It was 40 years ago on this day, baseball's infamous 'pine tar' game at Yankee Stadium.
With two outs in the top of the ninth inning, George Brett of the Kansas City Royals hit a two-run home run off Rich "Goose" Gossage, giving KC a 5-4 lead; it was a match-up between two future Hall of Famers.
New York Yankees manager Billy Martin immediately challenged the homer, protesting the pine tar on Brett's bat covered more than the allowable 18 inches.
The umpires huddled, then measured the bat's pine tar against the 17-inch width of home plate; rookie umpire Tim McClelland invalidated Brett's home run, pointed the bat at the Royals' dugout and called Brett out, giving the Yankees the win. A furious Brett then bolted out of the dugout and stormed back on to the field straight at McClelland.
The American League would eventually heed the official protest by the Royals; the ninth inning was later played in its entirety a few weeks later in Yankee Stadium, Brett's home run was upheld; the Royals won the game, as the Yankees treated the played ninth inning with great disdain.