Billy Martin

by Bill Pennington

  I relate these years-long associations to explain that much of the reporting for the book I did personally—if subconsciously—in the 1980s and in subsequent years as a reporter for the New York Times. I did not know for certain that I was going to write a book about Billy at the time, but it was a recurring thought in the back of my mind. Besides, as a New York baseball writer, it was my job to chronicle Billy’s life.

  And so, I was frequently witness to many of the scenes, games, and postgame settings described in these pages from 1980 to 1989.

  As just one of many examples, I was there at the Cross Keys Inn for Billy’s four-round fight with pitcher Ed Whitson. My hotel room, in fact, was across the hall from Billy’s that night as he emerged with a swollen, broken arm. In the research for this book, I still gathered the recollections of many others from that memorable night and so many others, but inevitably—and fortuitously—the reporting of those turbulent days and nights was greatly informed by being there.

  As an aside, or perhaps a badge of honor, Billy also wanted to beat me up one night in a Cleveland bar in 1986. It was a misunderstanding—as many of Billy’s fights were—but I’ll never forget that he had a firm grip on my hand as he tried to escort me outside “to settle our differences.” The sagacious, all-seeing Yankees traveling secretary, Killer Kane, talked Billy out of his simmering rage. The next day, Billy apologized—in his own way.

  “I don’t remember what made me so mad at you,” he said.

  “So, instead, kid,” he continued, “I’m going to forget about it.”

  In 2011, as the prospect of this book became a reality, I began roughly three years of interviewing to flesh out the details, facts, stories, highs, lows, and specifics of the entirety of Billy’s life. I went back to the dozens of players and coaches whom I knew and approached others I did not know to reconstruct my memories and theirs. With the perspective of twenty-five or thirty years, many of the stories came alive with new insight. People often spoke more frankly than they might have before. Time seems to afford almost everyone a new level of perspicacity.

  I was also fortunate that there is a long, vibrant assembly of Billy’s family and friends, teammates, coaches, associates, adversaries, and players from his birth in 1928 to his death who are available, accessible, and eager to talk about a memorable figure in their lives. I contacted about 225 people whose lives intersected with Billy’s in some way—players, baseball executives, managers, coaches, fans, clubhouse workers, trainers, umpires, bartenders, chauffeurs, waitresses, writers, broadcasters, agents, filmmakers, advertising executives, counselors, teachers, subway workers, restaurateurs, hotel managers, and certainly a few others in walks of life I cannot now recall. Billy got around.

  For factual veracity, I was lucky that New York City had more than ten daily newspapers in the 1950s, and the New York Public Library has meticulously kept most of them on file. That was a bountiful source of material on Billy’s playing days with the Yankees. Countless stories—roughly ten to fifteen a day from the busy and famed New York sportswriters of the era—bolstered the narrative immensely. The same is true for the well-organized online archives of the New York Times and the files of the Baseball Hall of Fame library. The Baseball Hall of Fame also has a thick Billy Martin file with stories, photos, cartoons, and some of Billy’s personal papers, including personal anecdotes handwritten in Billy’s neat penmanship. The archives of the Berkeley Gazette and Oakland Tribune were also helpful, as was Billy’s pivotal autobiography, Number One, written in 1980 with Peter Golenbock at a critical and emotional juncture in Billy’s life.

  The following is a list of people who granted interviews, or multiple interviews, for this book. The list excludes a handful of club officials or ex-teammates who received anonymity because they were describing scenes they did not feel authorized, or comfortable, speaking about on the record because they were still employed by the Yankees or another Major League team.

  INTERVIEW SUBJECTS

  Sandy Alderson, Maury Allen, Joe Altobelli, Dave Anderson, Sparky Anderson, Marty Appel, Jesse Barfield, Larry Barnett, Allen Barra, Hank Bauer, Don Baylor, Lois Berndt, Carmen Berra, Dale Berra, Yogi Berra, Paul Blair, Johnny Blanchard, Clete Boyer, Ralph Branca, George Brett, Bobby Brown, Gates Brown, Jay Buhner, Bert Campaneris, Rod Carew, Howard Cassady, Bill Castell, Rick Cerone, Rick Cerrone, Bob Cerv, Chris Chambliss, Jack Clark, Jerry Coleman, Mark Connor, Don Cooper, Bobby Cox, Gretchen Creswell, Ron Davis, Ruben de Alba, Mario DeGennaro, Nick DeGennaro, Rick Dempsey, Bucky Dent, Lou D’Ermilio, Mel Duezabou, Joe Durso, Heather Ervolino, Gerald Eskenazi, Jim Evans, Dan Ewald, Lew Figone, Ron Fimrite, Rollie Fingers, Whitey Ford, Art Fowler, Johnny Franklin, Bill Freehan, Jim Fregosi, Augie Galan, Randy Galloway, Rich Garcia, Bob Geren, Tex Gernand, Frank Gifford, Rich Gossage, Dallas Green, Jerry Green, Harvey Greene, Tom Grieve, Cecilio Guante, Ron Guidry, Bill Guilfoile, Ray Hagar, Mike Hargrove, Toby Harrah, Sid Hartman, Ron Hassey, Mike Heath, Rickey Henderson, Joan Holland, Doug Holmquist, Willie Horton, Frank Howard, Roy Howell, Jeff Idelson, Pat Irvine, Jerry Izenberg, Reggie Jackson, Steve Jacobsen, Ferguson Jenkins, Betty Jenks, Tommy John, Al Kaline, Bill Kane, Michael Kay, Matt Keough, Harmon Killebrew, Clyde King, Ron Kittle, Moss Klein, Tony Kubek, Lerrin LaGrow, Jack Lang, Don Larsen, Tony La Russa, Tommy Lasorda, Cookie Lavagetto, Ron LeFlore, Eddie Leishman, Al Leiter, Bob Lerman, Rhoda Lerman, Mickey Lolich, Sparky Lyle, Mary Lynch, Fred Lynn, Elliott Maddox, Kevin Manahan, Mickey Mantle, Charlie Manuel, Bruce Markusen, Billy Martin Jr., Jill Martin-Valliere, Don Mattingly, Dick McAuliffe, Steve McCatty, Gil McDougald, Tom McEwen, Bobby Meacham, Sam Mele, Doug Melvin, Matt Merola, Stump Merrill, Frank Messer, Gene Michael, George Mitterwald, Gene Monahan, Bill Monbouquette, Jackie Moore, John Moore, Mickey Morabito, Diana Munson, Bobby Murcer, Kay Murcer, Dwayne Murphy, Andrew Nagle, Graig Nettles, Phil Niekro, Ken Nigro, Howard Noble, Mike Norris, Jim Northrup, Tony Oliva, Mike Pagliarulo, Jim Palmer, Dan Pasqua, Tom Pedulla, Phil Pepe, Ron Perranoski, Gaylord Perry, Jimmy Piersall, Lou Piniella, Boog Powell, Nick Priori, Ed Randall, Lenny Randle, Willie Randolph, Dennis Rasmussen, Bill Reedy, Rick Rhoden, Bobby Richardson, Arthur Richman, Dave Righetti, Bill Rigney, Cal Ripken, Mickey Rivers, Phil Rizzuto, Spencer Ross, Billy Sample, Rafael Santana, Eddie Sapir, Dale Scott, Jack Setzer, Buck Showalter, Charlie Silvera, Lou Skizas, Bill Skowron, Don Slaught, Roy Smalley, Duke Snider, Jim Spencer, Davey Springer, George Steinbrenner, Hank Steinbrenner, Tim Stoddard, Pat Summerall, Jim Sundberg, Bob Tewksbury, Syd Thrift, Dick Tidrow, Wayne Tolleson, Joe Torre, Mike Torrez, Bob Uecker, Steve Vucinich, Earl Wagstaff, Lee Walls, Earl Weaver, Bill White, Roy White, Ed Whitson, Stan Williams, Dave Winfield, Bob Wolff, Dick Young, Bill Zagaris, Don Zimmer.

  Bibliography

  BOOKS

  Allen, Maury. Damn Yankee: The Billy Martin Story. New York: Times Books, 1980.

  Anderson, Dave. The New York Times Story of the Yankees: 382 Articles, Profiles and Essays from 1903 to Present.New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2012.

  Appel, Martin. Pinstripe Empire: The New York Yankees from Before the Babe to After the Boss. New York: Bloomsbury, 2012.

  Appel, Marty. Now Pitching for the Yankees: Spinning the News for Mickey, Billy, and George. Toronto: Sport Classic Books, 2001.

  Araton, Harvey. Driving Mr. Yogi: Yogi Berra, Ron Guidry, and Baseball’s Greatest Gift. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.

  Archibald, Joe. The Billy Martin Story. New York: J. Messner, 1959.

  Baylor, Don, and Claire Smith. Don Baylor: Nothing but the Truth, a Baseball Life. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989.

  Coffey, Frank. The Wit and Wisdom of George Steinbrenner. New York: Signet, 1993.

  Cramer, Richard Ben. Joe DiMaggio: The Hero’s Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.

  Creamer, Robert W. Stengel: His Life and Times. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984.

  Daley, Arthur. Sports of the Times: The Arthur Daley Years. New York: Quadrangle/New York Times Books, 1975.

  DeMarco, Michael. Dugo
ut Days: Untold Tales and Leadership Lessons From the Extraordinary Career of Billy Martin. New York: AMACOM, 2001.

  Duren, Ryne, and Tom Sabellico. I Can See Clearly Now: Ryne Duren Talks from the Heart About Life, Baseball, and Alcohol. Chula Vista, CA: Aventine Press, 2003.

  Falkner, David. The Last Yankee: The Turbulent Life of Billy Martin. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009.

  Ford, Whitey, and Mickey Mantle. Whitey and Mickey: A Joint Autobiography of the Yankee Years. New York: Viking Press, 1977.

  Golenbock, Peter. Wild, High and Tight: The Life and Death of Billy Martin. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

  Halberstam, David. The Fifties. New York: Villard Books, 1993.

  Jackson, Reggie, and Kevin Baker. Becoming Mr. October. New York: Doubleday, 2013.

  Jackson, Reggie, and Mike Lupica. Reggie: The Autobiography. New York: Villard Books, 1984.

  James, Bill. The Bill James Baseball Abstract, 1985. New York: Ballantine Books, 1985.

  Klapisch, Bob. High and Tight: The Rise and Fall of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. New York: Villard Books, 1996.

  Leavy, Jane. The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood. New York: Harper Perennial, 2011.

  Luciano, Ron, and David Fisher. The Umpire Strikes Back. Toronto: Bantam, 1983.

  Madden, Bill, and Moss Klein. Damned Yankees: A No-Holds-Barred Account of Life with “Boss” Steinbrenner. New York: Warner Books, 1990.

  Mahler, Jonathan. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.

  Mann, Arthur. The Jackie Robinson Story. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1956.

  Mantle, Merlyn. A Hero All His Life. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1996.

  Mantle, Mickey. The Quality of Courage. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1964.

  Mantle, Mickey, and Phil Pepe. My Favorite Summer, 1956. New York: Doubleday, 1991.

  Markusen, Bruce. Baseball’s Last Dynasty: Charlie Finley’s Oakland A’s. Indianapolis, IN: Masters Press, 1998.

  Martin, Billy, and Peter Golenbock. Number 1. New York: Delacorte Press, 1980.

  Martin, Billy, and Phil Pepe. Billyball. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1987.

  Masters, Todd. The 1972 Detroit Tigers: Billy Martin and the Half-Game Champs. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010.

  McMillan, Ken, and Ed Randall with Bruce Markusen. Amazing Tales From the New York Yankees Dugout. New York: Sports Publishing, 2012.

  Montville, Leigh. Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero. New York: Broadway Books, 2005.

  Murcer, Bobby, and Glen Waggoner. Yankee for Life: My 40-Year Journey in Pinstripes. New York: Harper, 2008.

  Negron, Ray, and Sally Cook. Yankee Miracles: Life with the Boss and the Bronx Bombers. New York: Liveright Publishing, 2012.

  Pepe, Phil. The Ballad of Billy and George: The Tempestuous Baseball Marriage of Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner. Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2008.

  Piniella, Lou, and Maury Allen. Sweet Lou. New York: Putnam’s, 1986.

  Podell-Raber, Mickey, and Charles Pignone. The Copa: Jules Podell and the Hottest Club North of Havana. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.

  Prato, Greg. Just Out of Reach: The 1980s New York Yankees. Published by Greg Prato, 2014.

  Randolph, Willie. The Yankee Way: Playing, Coaching, and My Life in Baseball. New York: HarperCollins, 2014.

  Ritter, Lawrence S. East Side, West Side: Tales of New York Sporting Life, 1910–1960. New York: Total Sports, 1998.

  Schoor, Gene. Billy Martin. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1980.

  Shropshire, Mike. Seasons in Hell: With Billy Martin, Whitey Herzog, and “the Worst Baseball Teams in History,” the 1973–1975 Texas Rangers. New York: D. I. Fine, 1996.

  Smith, Red. Strawberries in the Wintertime: The Sporting World of Red Smith. New York: Quadrangle/New York Times Books, 1974.

  Stout, Glenn, and Richard A. Johnson. Yankees Century: 100 Years of New York Yankees Baseball. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

  Thorn, John. Glory Days: New York Baseball 1947–1957. New York: HarperCollins, 2008.

  Vancil, Mark, and Alfred Santasiere. Yankee Stadium: The Official Retrospective. New York: Pocket Books, 2008.

  Winfield, Dave, and Thomas Trebitsch Parker. Winfield: A Player’s Life. New York: W. W. Norton, 1988.

  Wolff, Bob. Bob Wolff’s Complete Guide to Sportscasting: How to Make It in Sportscasting With or Without Talent. New York: Skyhorse, 2013.

  MAJOR ARTICLES

  This list excludes hundreds of daily game and news accounts of on- and off-the-field items from 1948 to 1989.

  Allen, Maury. “Billy Cries at Night.” True magazine, September 10, 1972.

  ———. “Billy Martin: Momma’s Boy.” Sportmagazine, June 27, 1981.

  ———. “Billy Martin’s Dilemma.” Truemagazine, July 10, 1969.

  Anderson, Dave. “Lonesome Billy Assesses Reggie.” The New York Times, December 14, 1978.

  ———. “The Yankees’ Two Managers.” The New York Times, July 2, 1979.

  Bondy, Filip. “Billy’s Final Hours.” New York Daily News, May 13, 1990.

  Chass, Murray. “Emotion Rules the Way Martin Lives and Works.” The New York Times, July 3, 1983.

  ———. “Mourners Pack Cathedral for Martin’s Funeral.” The New York Times, December 30, 1989.

  Cohn, Lowell. “The Exploitation of Billy Martin.” New York Post, October 23, 1985.

  Cosell, Howard. “Billy Deserved His Day.” New York Daily News, August 3, 1986.

  DiIonno, Mark. “Mantle Mourns His Pal.” New York Post, December 29, 1989.

  Durso, Joseph. “How Martin Is Winning the West.” The New York Times, May 2, 1981.

  ———. “Martin Inquiry Opened.” The New York Times, June 20, 1983.

  Fimrite, Ron. “Berkeley Billy Comes Home Again.” Sports Illustrated, March 10, 1980.

  ———. “Whatever Happened to the Class of 1981?” Sports Illustrated, September 10, 1984.

  Flanagan, Barbara. “The New Martin . . . He Cooks and Reads Shakespeare.” Minneapolis Star, October 16, 1965.

  Flannery, Michael T. “Affairs of the Heart.” Moorad Sports Law Journal,Vol. 10, 2003.

  Furlong, William Barry. “The Yankee Revolution.” The New York Times Magazine, October 10, 1978.

  Galloway, Randy. “Off-Field Clash Cost Martin His Rangers Job.” The Sporting News, August 9, 1975.

  Ginnetti, Toni. “Umpires on Umpiring.” Chicago Sun-Times, April 20, 1986.

  Haraway, Frank. “Twins Hail Martin for ‘Fantastic’ Job as Bears’ Skipper.” The Denver Post, September 14, 1968.

  Harris, Elliott. “Fiery Billy Martin a Hot Item.” Chicago Tribune, September 18, 1985.

  Hawkins, Jim. “Off-Field Remarks Set Up Martin’s Exit From Detroit.” Detroit News, September 22, 1973.

  Jenkins, William. “Priest Talks About Little Billy Martin.” Oakland Tribune, October 27, 1953.

  Jones, Jeremiah. “Billy’s Non-Violent World.” New York Daily News Sunday Magazine, July 23, 1976.

  Katz, Michael. “Ron LeFlore: A Man for This Season.” Inside Sports, April 17, 1980.

  Kay, Michael. “An Intimate Look at Billy.” New York Post, February 25, 1988.

  Kornheiser, Tony. “That Damn Yankee.” The New York Times, April 9, 1978.

  Madden, Bill. “Billy Will Be Billy—at Any Price.” New York Daily News, October 7, 1985.

  Mari, Al. “Billy’s Battlefield.” Gannett News Service, October 6, 1976.

  Markusen, Bruce. “The Original Billy Ball.” Cooperstown Confidential, September 14, 2012.

  Martin, Billy. “I’ve Never Started a Fight in My Life.” The Sporting News, April 26, 1961.

  Martinez, Michael. “The Martin Affair: Questions Emerge.” The New York Times, May 9, 1988.

  Nichols, Max. “Matchless Billy Built Fire Under Twins.” The Sporting News, October 9, 1965.

  ——�
��. “New Tutor Martin to Jab Slow Twins with Sharp Needle.” The Sporting News, February 6, 1965.

  Pepe, Phil. “Billy Survived Firing Squad on 5 Occasions.” New York Daily News, October 13, 1977.

  ———. “Yanks Give Billy a Second Chance—in 1980.” New York Daily News, August 12, 1978.

  Pitoniak, Scott. “Remembering a Gentler Billy Martin.” Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, July 29, 1990.

  Reusse, Patrick. “For One Summer, Martin Was All the Rage.” Minneapolis Star-Tribune, July 15, 2009.

  Smith, Red. “Billy Hatfield and Earl McCoy.” The New York Times, April 19, 1978.

  ———. “It Hurts Says Billy Martin.” The New York Times, June 30, 1978.

  ———. “Notes on the Bronx Zoo.” The New York Times, April 4, 1979.

  Stump, Al. “He’s Never Out of Trouble.” Saturday Evening Post, June 1956.

  Van Vliet, Jim. “When the Aces Were Wild: The A’s of 10 Years Ago.” McClatchy News Service, July 29, 1990.

  Ward, Robert. “Reggie Jackson in No-Man’s Land.” Sportmagazine, May 1977.

  Wulf, Steve. “Strangers in the Limelight.” Sports Illustrated, May 26, 1980.

  Young, Dick. “Billy May Have Finally Slugged the Wrong Guy.” New York Daily News, November 28, 1979.

  ———. “If That Midget Says a Word, I’ll Deck Him,” New York Daily News, April 15, 1978.

  NEWSPAPERS/WIRE SERVICES

  Arizona Republic Los Angeles Times

  Associated Press Minnesota Star Tribune

  Baltimore Sun Newark Star-Ledger

  Bergen Record Newsday