1977 Profile: Chris Chambliss

"His sudden-death homer in the ninth inning of the fifth playoff game won the first AL pennant for the Yankees in 12 years.
'I'm still in a daze,' he said hours later. 'I really don't know what happened, but I'm happy.' Destined to become one of the great stars of the game, says Yankee owner George Steinbrenner.
Born in Dayton, Ohio, the son of a Navy Chaplain, Chris was traded by the Indians to the Yankees in 1974 in a controversial deal but quickly established himself as a quiet leader. He had his best year in '76 with a .293 average, 17 homers and 96 RBI, and almost carried the club in the first half of the season. Settled and secure now in New York, he should continue to improve."

-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1977 Edition

"'Holy Cow! It's outta here - the Yankees win the pennant!' Chris Chambliss triggered those words with his dramatic home run in the last of the ninth in the final game of the American League Championship Series. It was one of the most historic home runs in baseball lore and a fitting climax to a series in which Chris set records for most hits and RBIs.
But Chambliss is more than a postseason player. He has put together back-to-back outstanding seasons for the Yankees, both at first base and at the plate. He reached career highs in nearly every offensive department in 1976 and tied for fourth in the league in RBIs.
It's hard to believe now, but when Chris was obtained from Cleveland in 1974, there was much skepticism surrounding the trade. But the soft-spoken former Rookie of the Year (1971) has become one of the fans' favorites and there is no reason to suspect any change."

-The New York Yankees Official 1977 Yearbook

"Chris Chambliss had his second consecutive outstanding season in 1976, climaxed by his pennant winning home run in the last of the ninth in the final game of the American League Championship Series. It will be remembered as one of the most historic home runs in baseball history, and it wrapped up a series in which he set records for most hits and most RBIs. His regular-season performance was also a thing of beauty, and he finished fifth in the MVP voting to prove it. He reached career highs in nearly every department and tied for fourth in the league in RBIs. His highlight moment of the regular season was a last of the ninth home run to beat Boston in Yankee Stadium on July 25, resulting in a unique curtain call from the Yankee dugout, the first time that had happened since Roger Maris' 61st home run in 1961. It's hard to believe now that when Chris was obtained in 1974, great skepticism surrounded the deal.
He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1971, after just one full season in the minors, where his .342 average at Wichita made him the first rookie to ever win a Triple-A batting title. This followed just one season at UCLA, where he set school records with 15 homers and 45 RBIs. He had a two-run single to beat the White Sox 2-1 in his first major league game.
Hitting streaks have been a part of Chris's career. Starting in 1971, he's had yearly streaks of 15, 15, 19, 18, 13 and 19 last year. He concluded the regular season by hitting in nine straight and then batted safely in every postseason game to run the streak to 18. At no time during the 1976 season did Chris go more than two games without a hit, hitting safely in 123 games.
Chris generally hits into the power alleys, and his 38 doubles in 1975 were the most by a Yankee in 13 years.
Soft-spoken Chris is the son of a Navy Chaplain, who traveled for much of his youth. Arlene Henry, now Mrs. Elston Howard, was a babysitter for the Chambliss family in St. Louis. Chris played football, basketball and baseball at Oceanside High in California."

-1977 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide