126. Psycho, Fisk, Sweet Lou and the brawl that defined an era.

On the latest episode of Past Our Prime, we dive into one of the most memorable moments in baseball history — the May 31, 1976 cover of Sports Illustrated that captured a dramatic home plate confrontation between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. The cover photograph, shot by Neil Leifer, showed Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk (#27) making a tag out on Yankees outfielder Lou Piniella (#14), with home plate umpire Terry Cooney visible in the frame. Piniella was ruled out at home, but the collision sparked a bench-clearing brawl, and the cover's headline captured the rivalry perfectly: "Head-On Collision in the East — Speeding Yanks Run Into the Sputtering Red Sox." The brawl turned ugly when Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles and Boston pitcher Bill Lee fought so fiercely that Lee suffered a separation of his left shoulder, significantly affecting the rest of his pitching career. It remains one of the most iconic covers in the magazine's history, perfectly encapsulating the fierce and often physical rivalry between the two American League East rivals. Steve "Psycho" Lyons carved out a nine-year MLB career with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox — where he was a teammate of Carlton Fisk — the Atlanta Braves, and Montreal Expos. He earned his nickname through antics like playing tic-tac-toe in the infield dirt and famously pulling his pants down after sliding into first base — a blooper reel staple for years. After retiring, Lyons became a three-time Emmy Award-winning broadcaster for Fox Sports, where he worked alongside Lou Piniella, before later joining NESN as a Red Sox studio analyst — proving, as he once said, that he talked about the game better than he played it. Lyons gives us incredible insight into Fisk, the Hall of Fame catcher, and reveals that for some reason, the serious Fisk would let the younger Lyons give him the business. He recounts how Fisk told Deion Sanders to run out a popup — leading to yet another bench-clearing incident — and how Fisk, as captain of the White Sox, was the hardest worker in the clubhouse. Lyons also takes us inside that iconic cover shot of Fisk and Piniella colliding at the plate and the brawl that followed, and reflects on how the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry back then was a whole different animal compared to today. And he tells us how he wishes he'd had the opportunity to play for Piniella, who brought that same fire to the game that Lyons himself always did — and yes, he sets the record straight on how he really got the nickname "Psycho," and no, it had nothing to do with dropping his pants in the middle of a game. If you enjoyed this episode, please download, review, and subscribe to Past Our Prime — and help spread the word to every baseball fan who loves the game the way it used to be played. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices