It’s an all-star East Coast West Coast showdown this week between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers

The two blue-blood franchises have won 34 World Series titles together, the most recent in 2020 when the boys in blue took home the title during the pandemic.

But the two teams haven’t faced each other when it matters since 1981. That final game ended with the Dodgers winning their fifth title.

So what has changed in the last forty years? Well, a lot.

World Series Ticket Prices

It’s not cheap to attend the World Series, at least not anymore.

Tickets for this year’s showdown cost more than four figures at best: $1,034 to attend Friday and $1,209 on Saturday in Los Angeles.

In New York, the cheapest ticket for game 3 costs $1,385, and $1,110 for games 4 and 5.

Between both stadiums, some tickets were sold in 1981 for $20 on the baseline, $15 for the upper deck and $5 for the stands. That’s estimated at $70, $52 and $17 in today’s currency.

Gas prices

$1.35.

That is the highest gas price reached in the United States all year in 1981.

But adjusted for inflation, the rate is about $4.46, which isn’t that different from the current $4.68.

A liter of milk

Milk is even more affordable now than it was forty years ago.

During 1981, a standard gallon of milk cost Americans an average of $1.83 or $6.35 today.

According to Cornell University, the average milk price during the first four months of 2024 was $4.57.

Price of a new car

1981 was only the sixth year that the iconic Ford F150 was on sale, with the entry-level model starting at $6,765, while the top trim was $9,681. Adjusted today, it is $23,465.47 to $33,580.08.

The same base model 2024 F150 starts at $37,065, and can be upgraded with options for well over $100,000.

House prices

Remember when a single family sold for five figures? Neither do we.

In 1981, the average cost of a home on the West Coast was $77,800. Adjusted for inflation, that’s just $269,861.

Right now, if you want to buy a house in Echo Park (next to Dodger Stadium), it will cost you $1,077,623, according to Zillow.

Prices across California are just a little lower, at $787,000.

What else happened in 1981?

Here are a few other things that happened in 1981:

• January 20 – Ronald Regan is sworn in as the 40th President of the United States.
• January 21 – The first DeLorean, best known for its role in the 1985 cult classic ‘Back to the Future’, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland.
• April 12 – NASA launches the Columbia Space Shuttle, the first reusable spacecraft to return from Earth orbit.
• May 11 – Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley dies at the age of 36.
• June 5 – The first officially recognized case of AIDS is reported in Los Angeles, California.
• July 29 – Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer
• August 1 – MTV airs its first broadcast, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles.
• December 5 – USC running back Marcus Allen wins the Heisman Trophy.