On January 1, 1966, New York came to a standstill as the cityâs transit workers went on strike. This was the first day on the job for Mayor John Lindsayâa handsome, young former congressman with presidential aspirationsâand he would approach the issue with an unconventional outlook that would be his hallmark. He ignored the cold and walked four miles, famously declaring, âI still think it is a fun city.â
As profound social, racial, and cultural change sank the city into repeated crises, critics lampooned Lindsayâs âfun city.â Yet for all the hard times the city endured during and after his tenure as mayor, there was indeed fun to be had. Against this backdrop, too, the sporting scene saw tremendous upheaval.
On one hand, the venerable Yankeesâwho had won 15 pennants in an 18-year span before 1965âand the NFLâs powerhouse Giants suddenly went into a level of decline neither had known for generations, as stars like Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford on the diamond and Y.A. Tittle on the gridiron aged quickly. But on the other, the fall of the cityâs sports behemoths was accompanied by the rise of anti-establishment outsidersâthere were Joe Namath and the Jets, as well as the shocking triumph of the Amazinâ Mets, who won the 1969 World Series after spending the franchiseâs first eight seasons in the cellar. Meanwhile, the cityâs two overlooked franchises, the Knicks and Rangers, also had breakthroughs, bringing new life to Madison Square Garden.
The overlap of these two worlds in the 1960sâLindsayâs politics and the reemerging sports landscapeâserves as the backbone of Fun City. In the vein of Ladies and Gentlemen: The Bronx is Burning, the book tells the story of a remarkable and thrilling time in New York sports against the backdrop of a remarkable and often difficult time for the city, culturally and socially.
The late sixties was an era in which New York toughened up in a lot of ways; it also was an era in which a changing of the guard among New York pro teams led the way in making it a truly fun city.