In 1926 Gabe Paul went to work for the Rochester Red Wings. Forty-seven years later he became president and general manager of the New York Yankees. In his first four years in the Bronx the Yankees won two pennants and a World Series. And, a few months after the season ended, a young owner named George Steinbrenner pulled a power play that forced Paul out of the Bronx.

What's so important about Paul? He's the man who made the Yankees the Yankees again. Without him the Steinbrenner era may never have been. And one other thing. Paul brought in Billy Martin to manage and Reggie Jackson as a free agent right fielder. As those watching the ESPN series on the 1977 Yankees know, the Bronx was burning. Gabe Paul lit the match.

When Paul came to the Yankees from Cleveland in 1973 he inherited a tired collection of fossils and fizzles. Ralph Houk, the last link to the glory years, was the manager of a team with some reliable veteran pitchers and not much else. Paul gave Houk one more season before replacing him with Bill Virdon, and started to rebuild the team through trades. Here's a look at how Paul put together the 77' Yankees.

Holdovers-Thurman Munson, Sparky Lyle, Roy White, Fred "Chicken" Stanley, Graig Nettles and Lou Pinella (who came over in the last trades before the team was sold to the Steinbrenner group). Under the new regime Munson and Nettles went from solid regulars to stars. Lyle was already one of the game's best closers. Stanley a smart utility infielder whose shining moments always seemed to come with the game on the line. White was never a star but consistently contributed with his bat, glove, and on the bases. Pinella often platooned in left with White and could be penciled in for .315 over 300 at bats, mostly against left handers.

1974 Early in Paul's second season he packaged veteran pitchers Fritz Peterson and Steve Kline to the Indians for Chris Chambliss, Dick Tidrow, and a minor league outfielder. Peterson was mainly known for swapping wives with another Yankee pitcher (Mike Kekich), but Chambliss was to become the Yankees first baseman and a valuable 17-90-.290 hitter. Tidrow was one of the best setup men in baseball.

1975 Paul made two critical moves in 75'. In the off season Steinbrenner and Paul angered the baseball establishment by giving a huge contract to free agent pitcher Catfish Hunter. Then Paul fired Virdon as manager and brought in Billy Martin for the last 56 games of the season. Dave Bergman, who would serve as Chambliss' fill-in at first, came to the team as a rookie. There was also a rookie reliever named Ron Guidry who made a very wild debut while showing flashes of "Louisiana Lightning".

1976 During the off season, Paul remade the team in Martin's image, getting better defensively and faster on the bases. It worked. The Yankees won the AL pennant, but lost the World Series.

The rebuilding started when Paul traded pitcher Doc Medich to the Pirates after the 75' season ended. Medich got his nickname by studying medicine (he became a doctor later), and had thrown alot of innings over three seasons in New York. Medich never amounted to much with the Pirates, but Willie Randolph came over and became a second baseman even the ever critical Martin could appreciate. The Yankees also got the controversial Doc Ellis, and Ken Brett (a pitcher and George Brett's brother).

Also in the Winter of 1975 the Yankees moved one of the most talented players in the game, Bobby Bonds, who had just put up a 30-30 season. Bonds (Barry's dad) went to the Angels for the Yankees new center fielder Mickey Rivers and dependable right handed starter, Ed Figueroa.

In June of 76', the Yankees pulled the sort of huge multi-player trade you no longer see in baseball. Ken Holtzman, a star left handed pitcher, came from the Orioles with reliever Grant Jackson, catcher Elrod Hendricks, reliever Doyle Alexander, and minor leaguer pitcher Jimmy Freeman. The Yankees gave up mostly young talent in Scott McGregor, Tippy Martinez, Rick Dempsey, Rudy May, and Dave Pagan. Holtzman would become an ace with the Yankees, while some of the players sent to the Orioles were part of later Baltimore championship teams. Doyle Alexander is famous for being the player traded to the Tigers for a young prospect named John Smoltz.

During the 1976 season New York also came up with a backup catcher for Munson, Fran Healy. Healy was brought over in a trade for left hander Larry Gura, who had made a mostly bad impression on Billy Martin in 1975. Gura went on to become a reliable 15 game winner for the Royals. Mickey Kluttz, the backup third baseman and pinch hitter, also came up in 76' as a rookie. Late in the year pinch hitting specialist Gene Locklear was acquired for a minor league pitcher.

1977 During the off season everyone knew Steinbrenner and Paul would spend big to get over the hump and win the World Championship. What they didn't know was that he would bring in not just the best hitter on the market (Reggie Jackson), but also the best free agent pitcher, Don Gullett. It was a deadly combination. Also during the winter, New York got ace defensive outfielder Paul Blair from Baltimore for Elliot Maddox and Rick Bladt.

Not quite as important, but vital nonetheless, Paul found a shortstop to team with Randolph. Bucky Dent came from the WhiteSox at a high price (outfielder Oscar Gamble, pitcher LaMarr Hoyt, and minor leaguer Bob Polinsky). In late April, still not satisfied with the rotation, Paul traded Dock Ellis, Mary Perez, and Larry Murray for Mike Torrez. DH Carlos May also came over from the WhiteSox in May in exchange for Ken Brett and Rich Coggins and powerful DH/Catcher Cliff Johnson was acquired in June from the Astros for Mike Fischlin, Randy Neimann, and Bergman.

Five rookies came up in 77' to make valuable contributions. Gil Patterson, Ken Clay, and Larry McCall filled in the blanks in middle relief, but were seldom needed because the great Yankee rotation pitched 52 complete games. George Zeber filled in around the infield, and Dell Alston the outfield.

There were a number of veteran cameo appearances, most notably by Dave Kingman (4 home runs in 8 September games) and Jim Wynn. Stan Thomas came over from Seattle in a minor trade and pitched in three games.

What a team! It is hard to imagine anyone putting this team together in 2007. If you look at what Paul gave up, it was seldom anything that couldn't be replaced. Signing Hunter, Jackson, and Gullett as free agents made it easier, as did the emergence of Munson and Guidry as stars. But acquistions like Randolph, Dent, Chambliss, Rivers, Torrez, Holtzman, Figueroa, Tidrow, and May can't be overlooked.

The brains of Billy Martin, the money and hubris of Steinbrenner, and the trades of Gabe Paul set the Bronx on fire in 77'. After the season Steinbrenner and Paul parted ways when Al Rosen, the former great Indians third baseman, was brought in to work closely with The Boss. When Paul left the team to go back to Cleveland, the renaissance was over and the Steinbrenner Yankees were in full bloom. And baseball was never the same again.