open mike Mike Vaccaro New York’s football teams both had it good 40 years ago — it would be great to experience it again By Mike Vaccaro Published Sep. 12, 2026, 4:19 p.m. ET Quarterback Phil Simms of the New York Giants stands behind center Bart Oates and guard Chris Godfrey during a game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Giants Stadium on December 14, 1986 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Getty Images In retrospect, we probably didn’t realize just how good we had it 40 years ago. Back in 1986, across the vast sporting kaleidoscope known as New York City, there was a little something for everyone.
Baseball fan? The ’86 Mets won 116 games all the way to the Canyon of Heroes, some of them unforgettably and crazily, and while the Yankees faded in September in their pursuit of Boston, Don Mattingly had what should have been a second-straight MVP season and raked from beginning to end, finishing at .352 with 238 hits, 86 of them for extra bases.
Hockey fan? The Rangers scuffled through a middling 36-38-6 regular season but then hijacked the spring clear away from the Mets, making a glorious push to the conference finals before running into the equally red-hot Canadiens. Out on the island, the core four Trottier/Bossy/Potvin/Smith were taking a few last proud swings, too.
Hoops? St. John’s won 30 games and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. The Nets made the playoffs. The Knicks struggled, but a young Patrick Ewing was establishing himself as every bit as elite as his college billing had promised.
