Billy Martin
Encyclopedia
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989) was an American
Major League Baseball
second baseman
and manager
. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees
, a position he held five different times. As Yankees manager, he led the team to consecutive American League
pennants in and ; the Yankees were swept in the 1976 World Series
by the Cincinnati Reds
but triumphed over the Los Angeles Dodgers
in six games in the 1977 World Series
. He also had notable managerial tenures with several other AL squads, leading four of them to division championships.
As a manager, Martin was known for turning losing teams into winners, and for arguing animatedly with umpire
s, including a widely parodied routine in which he kicked dust on their feet. However, he was criticized for not getting along with veteran players and owners, burning out young pitchers, and for having an addiction to alcohol
. During the 1969 through 1988 period as a manager, Martin totaled 1,253 victories with a .553 winning percentage.
. He was of Portuguese and Italian descent, as his father was a native of the Azores
and his mother was born to a large Italian family in California. Joan Martin always referred to Alfred, her second husband (she had been married before to a native Italian named Donato Pisani, whom her family arranged her to marry, and later married a singer named Jack Downey and took his name; the marriage lasted until Jack's death many years later), as the "jackass" because he abandoned the family. As Martin grew up in West Berkeley
his mother took careful notice not to let her son know his actual name, not wanting him to know he shared the same name with Alfred Martin. He began being called "Billy" after his grandmother (Joan's mother) started calling him "Bello" (Italian masculine for "beautiful"; Martin said in his autobiography Number One that she would also call him "Bellitz", a dialectical version of the same word). In fact, such careful care had been taken to hide Martin's birthname from him that he didn't find out until entering school; on his first day, while the teacher took attendance, his teacher called on "Alfred Martin" and young Billy thought she had skipped over him.
, Martin tried out for and began playing for the Oakland Junior Oaks, affiliated with the Pacific Coast League
's Oakland Oaks
club. After graduation in 1946, he was signed by Eddie Leishman, also a Berkeley native, to play for him for Idaho Falls the Class D Pioneer League, hitting .254 in 32 games. Late in the 1947 season, he was signed to the Oaks, playing for that team in and . In 1948, Martin's manager was Casey Stengel
, who admired his aggressive play. When Stengel became manager in New York, he had the Yankees obtain Martin.
Martin began his major league career in as a second baseman for the Yankees. As a player, he was known for making clutch plays. In the 1952 World Series
, he made a game-saving catch on an infield popup in Game 7.
In the season, Martin had career highs in home runs (15), RBIs (75), doubles (24), triples (6), and times hit by pitch (6). He was the MVP
of the 1953 World Series
, as he batted .500 with a .958 slugging percentage and delivered with an RBI in Game 6 to clinch the series. Martin was an All-Star
in . In , Martin led the league in sacrifice hit
s, with 13.
After his trade (which also included Ralph Terry
, Woody Held, and Bob Martyn
) to the Kansas City Athletics
(see Altercations below), Martin's career declined, with several short stints with six different teams over the final 4½ seasons of his playing career: the Athletics, the Detroit Tigers
, the Cleveland Indians
, the Cincinnati Reds
, the Milwaukee Braves
and the Minnesota Twins
.
Martin retired in with a career batting average
of .257. He hit .333 in 28 World Series
games for the Yankees.
nightclub to celebrate Martin's 29th birthday; the party ultimately erupted into a much publicized brawl when Martin, Hank Bauer, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra challenged a few drunks who were hurling racial slurs at performer Sammy Davis, Jr.
A month later, general manager
George Weiss
—believing Martin's nightlife was a bad influence on teammates Whitey Ford
and Mickey Mantle
—exiled him to Kansas City. Martin felt betrayed by Stengel, with whom he had a strong father-son relationship, for failing to prevent the trade
, and the two did not speak for years.
On August 4, 1960, Martin, then playing for the Reds, charged the mound in the second inning after receiving a brushback pitch
from Chicago Cubs
pitcher Jim Brewer
. Martin threw his bat at Brewer, who picked up the bat and started to hand it to Martin as he approached. Martin punched Brewer in the right eye, breaking his cheekbone. Brewer was hospitalized for two months, and Martin served a five-day suspension. The Cubs sued Martin for $1,000,000 ($ as of ), for the loss of Brewer's services. While the Cubs dropped their case, Brewer pursued his, and in , a judge ordered Martin to pay $10,000 ($ as of ), in damages. When informed of the judgment by the press, he asked sarcastically, "How do they want it? Cash or check?"
Martin's fights as a player also included bouts with Jimmy Piersall
, Clint Courtney
(twice), Matt Batts
and Tommy Lasorda
.
) in the Minnesota organization after his retirement. He was a scout from -64
, the third-base coach
of the Twins from through mid-June , and manager of their AAA affiliate, the Denver Bears, for the last half of the 1968 campaign. He succeeded Cal Ermer
as Minnesota's big-league manager following the '68 season.
In , Martin's only season as manager of the Twins, he won a division championship. He was fired after the season following an August fight in Detroit with one of his pitchers, Dave Boswell
, in an alley outside the legendary Lindell A.C. bar. Martin spent the season out of baseball.
from to . He guided the team to a first place finish in . During the 1972 American League Championship Series
, Oakland Athletics
shortstop Bert Campaneris
threw his bat at Detroit pitcher Lerrin LaGrow
after being hit by a pitch. In the ensuing brawl, an infuriated Martin had to be restrained by umpires and teammates to prevent him from going after Campaneris. The Tigers lost the series three games to two.
While posing for a baseball card as the manager for the Detroit Tigers in 1972, Martin gave photographers the middle finger
. The gesture went unnoticed until after the card's release.
Martin also played a key role in the discovery of Ron LeFlore
in a Michigan state prison. Martin was lured to Michigan State Prison by another inmate who knew Martin. The unorthodox Martin witnessed LeFlore's speed and strength. Martin helped LeFlore get permission for day-parole and a try out at Tiger Stadium. In the summer of 1973, the Tigers signed him to a contract, which enabled LeFlore to meet the conditions for parole. Martin was fired in August of that same year for telling Tiger pitchers to throw at opposing hitters
, and openly mentioning this order to the press. In 1978, Martin played himself in the CBS
TV movie One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
.
, where he took the club from last place to second place in , but was fired in . He was hired by owner Bob Short
replacing Whitey Herzog
at the end of the 1973 season. He surprised the baseball world in 1974 by helping the Rangers to an 84-76 record after they had two consecutive 100+ loss seasons. But after the 1975 team went 44-51 under Martin, Brad Corbett
fired him on July 20 and replaced him with Frank Lucchesi
.
. It was Martin's first time in a Yankee uniform since the team had traded him in 1957. With Martin at the helm, the Yankees went 30-26 in their final 56 games of the 1975 season; he then managed them to the World Series
in (their first pennant since ) and , winning in 1977
. He feuded publicly with both Yankee owner George Steinbrenner
and star outfielder Reggie Jackson
. In one especially infamous incident, on June 18, 1977, in the middle game of what would prove to be a three-game series sweep by the Boston Red Sox
at Fenway Park
, Martin pulled Jackson off the field (replacing him with Paul Blair
) in mid-inning for failing to hustle and catch a shallow outfield fly ball by Jim Rice
, allowing Rice to reach second base. The extremely angry and highly animated Martin had to be restrained by his coaches from getting into a fight with Jackson in the dugout during the nationally-televised Saturday afternoon game
.
After a incident with Reggie Jackson in which Martin suspended Jackson for bunting (against orders) into a strikeout, Martin was forced to resign after telling reporters, "They deserve each other. One's a born liar [Jackson], and the other's convicted [Steinbrenner]." (Martin was referring to Steinbrenner's conviction for making illegal donations to Richard Nixon
's 1972 election campaign - a suspension that resulted in Steinbrenner being suspended from baseball for 15 months). A few days later, Martin resigned (reportedly under pressure from Steinbrenner). Bob Lemon
was named Yankees manager. Soon afterward, at the annual Old-Timers' Game at Yankee Stadium, in a grandstanding gesture and an overwhelming demand by the fans, the Yankees had public address announcer Bob Sheppard
introduce an unemployed Martin as the Yankees' next manager for the season (with Lemon moving to the front office). Steinbrenner and Martin had apparently patched up their differences, but Lemon managed the team for 1978-1979.
and Goose Gossage
as well as the death of Thurman Munson
mid-season had the Yankees reeling. Steinbrenner fired Lemon and brought back Martin earlier than previously planned. The Yankees failed to improve, however, and their streak of American League East division titles ended at three. After the 1979 season, Martin got into a fight with marshmallow
salesman Joseph Cooper at a hotel in Minneapolis. Steinbrenner fired him after that and replaced him with Dick Howser
for the season.
native born and raised in Berkeley
, resurfaced with the Oakland Athletics
, where he perfected a style of play that became known as "Billyball" (characterized as featuring aggressive base running). Martin won the American League West Division title in the split season of , swept the Kansas City Royals
in the special division series
(due to a players' strike-action), and then met the Yankees
in the 1981 ALCS
where his A's were swept by the Yankees. Martin's early success with the A's led to his designation as the club's general manager
—giving him control over the baseball operations of the entire Oakland organization in 1981. Martin was fired from both positions when the Athletics
plummeted to a 68-94 record, largely because he'd overworked many of the pitchers from the 1981 team.
in , , and , but never for more than one full season. During his years as a major league manager, Art Fowler
usually served as his pitching coach
.
During the 1983 season, Martin was involved in one of the most controversial
regular season games, known as the Pine Tar Incident
, where umpires
nullified a game-winning home run
by Yankee nemesis, Kansas City Royals
third baseman
George Brett
, when Martin protested that there was too much pine tar
on his bat
. Ultimately, American League President Lee MacPhail
ruled in favor of the Royals protest, reinstating the home run, and replaying the game from the point of the nullification. At the start of the replayed game, Martin tried to protest on the grounds that Brett had missed a base. The umpires working this game, however, had anticipated this, and had obtained an affidavit from the crew who had worked the original game saying that Brett had indeed touched all the bases.
It was also alleged that Martin would chase a young Ken Griffey Jr. out of the clubhouse, when Griffey's father was playing for the Yankees, seeing that he didn't believe that children should be in the clubhouse. It was also mentioned on a few YES Network
broadcasts that when Al Leiter
would call a game, he mentioned that when he was a rookie with the Yankees and Martin found him lifting weights, he asked Leiter why he did it. He said it was to strengthen his arm. Martin was quoted as saying, "If you want to strengthen your arm, do some long toss."
On September 22, 1985, while at a hotel bar in Baltimore, Maryland, Martin fought one of his pitchers, Ed Whitson
, who broke one of Martin's arms. After the season, Martin was fired, which many Yankee fans suspected was because of his altercation with Whitson.
At the time of his death, Martin was preparing to manage the Yankees a sixth time for the season, to the point of having assembled a coaching staff.
; Jack Sears, a fan outside Tiger Stadium; a Chicago cab driver who preferred soccer to baseball; sportswriter Ray Hagar, in a Reno
indoor arena bar; marshmallow salesman Joseph Cooper; two bar patrons, in Anaheim
and in Baltimore; and two bouncers in an Arlington
topless bar.
at Yankee Stadium. The plaque contains the words, There has never been a greater competitor than Billy. Martin told the crowd, "I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I am the proudest."
As a tribute, the Florida Marlins
called their mascot
Billy the Marlin. (The name is also derived from the fact that another name for a marlin is a bill-fish.)
Martin appeared on the 2011 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot
. He did not receive enough votes for induction.
Many of his contemporaries have remarked on Martin's ability to surprise the opposition and his outside-the-box thinking
. Commenting on Martin's strategy as a manager, Dave Winfield
has stated that opposing players would often ask each other, "What's Billy doing now?" George Steinbrenner
has stated that when Martin was in his best form, he was a "baseball genius." He has also been cited as an influence to other prominent managers, including Lou Piniella
. (Martin would, eventually, both precede and succeed Piniella as Yankees manager.)
has a lot to report about Martin in his book 'Balls' (1984) co-written with sports historian Peter Golenbock
(who also wrote Number 1 with Martin, and the 1994 Martin biography Wild, High and Tight). This includes the fact that Billy was once analyzed by Joyce Brothers, psychologist and advice columnist, in her daily syndicated newspaper column (in the Post).
Martin was brought in to be a guest celebrity ring announcer at the inaugural WrestleMania
event held in March 1985, during his time as the manager of the Yankees, where he was referred to as 'New York's Number One'. (The number was retired the following year.) The crowd gave him a hero's ovation. Martin is the first baseball-crossover guest celebrity to appear in any of the WrestleMania pay-per-views. Martin's appearance at the inaugural event was referenced at WrestleMania X
in 1994.
In the episode of The Critic
, Jay Sherman shows a clip of a movie entitled "Field Of Dreams 2" where after Kevin Costner
's character completes his new ball field, late baseball players emerge: Ty Cobb
was looking for the next Klan meeting; Babe Ruth
was looking for some hookers; then Billy Martin emerges and punches Costner.
His frequent firings—and threats of being fired—were lampooned in a '70's Miller Lite
beer commercial in which Steinbrenner tells Martin "You're fired!" to which Martin replies "Oh, no, not again!" After Martin's real-life rehiring, the commercial was resurrected, only with Steinbrenner's line redubbed to say "You're hired!"
In the film Ocean's Thirteen
, a "Billy Martin" is used as a nickname for a second chance, presumably to make amends and do the right thing before being pursued in justified retaliation.
On the TV show, Married with Children, Al Bundy
and Jefferson D'Arcy (and others) more than once ended up in an altercation over the answer to the question "Who was in the first light beer commercial?" The answer was purported to be either Billy Martin or Bubba Smith
. The answer is actually former New York Jets
running back
Matt Snell
.
On the TV show Bizarre
, the turbulent Yankee manager situation was parodied by having press conferences every 10 minutes hiring or firing a fictitious Yankees manager named "Martin Billy Lemon" (combining the names of Yankee managers Bob Lemon and Billy Martin). Martin also appeared on the show in person as manager of the A's
, where the fictitious stunt man Super Dave Osborne
(famous for his spectacular failures) did a stunt where he had to say a bunch of insults at Billy Martin and "deal" with Martin's violent reaction.
On May 24, 1986, on the season finale of Saturday Night Live
, co-host Martin was "fired" by executive producer
Lorne Michaels
for being "drunk" in a skit, slurring his lines. During the goodnights, Martin "sets fire" to the dressing room in retaliation. (Only three cast members would be re-hired the next season.) In 1988, on Saturday Night Lives "Weekend Update
," comedian Dennis Miller
opened the sports with, "In Calgary
tonight, Katarina Witt
won the gold medal in figure skating, prompting Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to fire manager Billy Martin."
In the 1994 movie The Scout, Albert Brooks
wants a psychiatrist to send a letter to George Steinbrenner, and adds that it might be nice to put "sorry about Billy Martin" in the closing. When the psychiatrist wonders who Billy Martin is, Brooks replies "Oh, just some guy he kept firing until he finally died."
Martin was played by John Turturro
in the 2007 ESPN
mini-series The Bronx is Burning
which follows the tumultuous summer of 1977 in New York.
In the Seinfeld
episode ("The Wink
"), after George Costanza
accidentally gets one of his co-workers in the Yankees organization fired, the fictional George Steinbrenner
goes on a long rant to George about the many people he has had to let go over the years. He mentions Billy Martin four times.
A complete list of Billy Martin's fights can be found in The Baseball Maniac's Almanac, 2nd Edition by Bert Randolph Sugar
.
when he was killed in a low speed, one-car crash during an ice storm at the end of the driveway to his farm in Port Crane, north of Binghamton, New York
, on Christmas Day 1989. He was pronounced dead at a hospital in Johnson City, where efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Reports of the crash indicated that Martin had been drinking earlier, and that his friend William Reedy consequently was driving him home in Martin's Ford pickup truck. However, several conspiracy theorists and writers (including Peter Golenbock
in Wild, High and Tight) have asserted that Martin was the driver, and that Bill Reedy and Jill Martin covered up the truth for legal reasons. According to the HBO TV series Autopsy, forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden
performed the examination on Martin and investigated the accident scene, including the pick-up truck in which Martin died. The examination revealed that Martin's impact injuries were all on the right side, and that hair and other DNA found on the right side of the shattered windshield belonged to Martin, who was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. The final conclusion of the examination was that Reedy drove the pick-up and Martin was the passenger. As per request of the family no autopsy was performed.
Martin was eulogized by Cardinal John O'Connor at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
, before his funeral at Gate of Heaven Cemetery
in Hawthorne, New York. His grave is located about 150 feet (45.7 m) from the grave of Babe Ruth
in Section 25. The following epitaph, said by Billy Martin himself at his number retiring ceremony at Yankee Stadium
in 1986, appears on the headstone: I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I was the proudest. Former United States President
Richard Nixon
and Yankee owner George Steinbrenner
, along with many former New York Yankees
greats attended Martin's funeral service.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
and manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, a position he held five different times. As Yankees manager, he led the team to consecutive American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
pennants in and ; the Yankees were swept in the 1976 World Series
1976 World Series
The 1976 World Series matched the defending champion Cincinnati Reds of the National League against the New York Yankees of the American League, with the Reds sweeping the Series to repeat. The Reds became the only team to sweep an entire multi-tier postseason. The Reds are also the last National...
by the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
but triumphed over the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
in six games in the 1977 World Series
1977 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 11, 1977 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkThe Dodgers drew first blood off Don Gullett in the first when Davey Lopes walked and scored on a Bill Russell triple. Ron Cey made it 2–0 on a sacrifice fly...
. He also had notable managerial tenures with several other AL squads, leading four of them to division championships.
As a manager, Martin was known for turning losing teams into winners, and for arguing animatedly with umpire
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
s, including a widely parodied routine in which he kicked dust on their feet. However, he was criticized for not getting along with veteran players and owners, burning out young pitchers, and for having an addiction to alcohol
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. During the 1969 through 1988 period as a manager, Martin totaled 1,253 victories with a .553 winning percentage.
Early life
Martin was born to Joan (who was known as "Jenny" both to her family and friends, according to Martin) and Alfred Manuel Martin, Sr. in Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. He was of Portuguese and Italian descent, as his father was a native of the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
and his mother was born to a large Italian family in California. Joan Martin always referred to Alfred, her second husband (she had been married before to a native Italian named Donato Pisani, whom her family arranged her to marry, and later married a singer named Jack Downey and took his name; the marriage lasted until Jack's death many years later), as the "jackass" because he abandoned the family. As Martin grew up in West Berkeley
West Berkeley, Berkeley, California
West Berkeley is generally the area of Berkeley, California which lies west of San Pablo Avenue, abutting San Francisco Bay. It includes the area which was once the unincorporated town of Ocean View, as well as the filled-in areas along the shoreline west of I-80 including, mainly, the Berkeley...
his mother took careful notice not to let her son know his actual name, not wanting him to know he shared the same name with Alfred Martin. He began being called "Billy" after his grandmother (Joan's mother) started calling him "Bello" (Italian masculine for "beautiful"; Martin said in his autobiography Number One that she would also call him "Bellitz", a dialectical version of the same word). In fact, such careful care had been taken to hide Martin's birthname from him that he didn't find out until entering school; on his first day, while the teacher took attendance, his teacher called on "Alfred Martin" and young Billy thought she had skipped over him.
Playing career
While attending Berkeley High SchoolBerkeley High School (California)
Berkeley High School is the only public high school in Berkeley, California. It is located one long block west of Shattuck Avenue and three short blocks south of University Avenue in Downtown Berkeley, and is recognized as a Berkeley landmark...
, Martin tried out for and began playing for the Oakland Junior Oaks, affiliated with the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
's Oakland Oaks
Oakland Oaks (PCL)
The Oakland Oaks were a minor league baseball team in Oakland, California that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 through 1955, after which the club transferred to Vancouver, British Columbia...
club. After graduation in 1946, he was signed by Eddie Leishman, also a Berkeley native, to play for him for Idaho Falls the Class D Pioneer League, hitting .254 in 32 games. Late in the 1947 season, he was signed to the Oaks, playing for that team in and . In 1948, Martin's manager was Casey Stengel
Casey Stengel
Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel , nicknamed "The Old Perfessor", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in ....
, who admired his aggressive play. When Stengel became manager in New York, he had the Yankees obtain Martin.
Martin began his major league career in as a second baseman for the Yankees. As a player, he was known for making clutch plays. In the 1952 World Series
1952 World Series
The 1952 World Series featured the three-time defending champion New York Yankees beating the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games. The Yankees won their fourth straight title—tying the mark they set between 1936 and 1939 under manager Joe McCarthy, and Casey Stengel became the second manager in Major...
, he made a game-saving catch on an infield popup in Game 7.
In the season, Martin had career highs in home runs (15), RBIs (75), doubles (24), triples (6), and times hit by pitch (6). He was the MVP
World Series MVP Award
The World Series Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the Major League Baseball postseason...
of the 1953 World Series
1953 World Series
The 1953 World Series matched the four-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in a rematch of the 1952 Series. The Yankees won in six games for their fifth straight title—a mark which has not been equalled—and their sixteenth overall...
, as he batted .500 with a .958 slugging percentage and delivered with an RBI in Game 6 to clinch the series. Martin was an All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
in . In , Martin led the league in sacrifice hit
Sacrifice hit
In baseball, a sacrifice bunt is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball in a manner that allows a runner on base to advance to another base. The batter is almost always sacrificed but sometimes reaches base due to an error or fielder's choice...
s, with 13.
After his trade (which also included Ralph Terry
Ralph Terry
Ralph Willard Terry is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees , Kansas City Athletics , Cleveland Indians and New York Mets...
, Woody Held, and Bob Martyn
Bob Martyn
Academically, Martyn double-majored in mathematics and sociology and he graduated cum laude. While playing professional baseball, he earned his masters degree in education in 1959, studying between seasons....
) to the Kansas City Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
(see Altercations below), Martin's career declined, with several short stints with six different teams over the final 4½ seasons of his playing career: the Athletics, the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
, the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
, the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
, the Milwaukee Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
and the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
.
Martin retired in with a career batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of .257. He hit .333 in 28 World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
games for the Yankees.
Altercations
Martin was well known for drinking to excess and for rowdy behavior when drinking. In , a group of Yankees met at the famous CopacabanaCopacabana (nightclub)
The Copacabana is a famous New York City nightclub. Many entertainers, among them Danny Thomas, Pat Cooper and the comedy team of Martin and Lewis, made their debuts at the Copacabana. The 1978 Barry Manilow song "Copacabana" is named after, and is about the nightclub. Part of the 2003 Yerba...
nightclub to celebrate Martin's 29th birthday; the party ultimately erupted into a much publicized brawl when Martin, Hank Bauer, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra challenged a few drunks who were hurling racial slurs at performer Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
A month later, general manager
General manager (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, the general manager of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players....
George Weiss
George Weiss (baseball)
George Martin Weiss was an American baseball executive. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.Weiss was one of Major League Baseball's most successful farm system directors and general managers...
—believing Martin's nightlife was a bad influence on teammates Whitey Ford
Whitey Ford
Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who spent his entire 18-year career with the New York Yankees. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.-Early life and career:...
and Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
—exiled him to Kansas City. Martin felt betrayed by Stengel, with whom he had a strong father-son relationship, for failing to prevent the trade
Major League Baseball transactions
Major League Baseball transactions are changes made to the roster of a major league team during or after the season. They may include waiving, releasing, and trading players, as well as assigning players to minor league teams.-25-man and 40-man rosters:...
, and the two did not speak for years.
On August 4, 1960, Martin, then playing for the Reds, charged the mound in the second inning after receiving a brushback pitch
Brushback pitch
In baseball, a brushback pitch is a pitch thrown high and inside, usually a fastball, to force the batter away from the plate, often to intimidate. It differs from the beanball in that the intent is not to hit the batter, or intentionally throw at the batter's head...
from Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
pitcher Jim Brewer
Jim Brewer
James Thomas Brewer was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1960 through 1976, Brewer played for the Chicago Cubs , Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels...
. Martin threw his bat at Brewer, who picked up the bat and started to hand it to Martin as he approached. Martin punched Brewer in the right eye, breaking his cheekbone. Brewer was hospitalized for two months, and Martin served a five-day suspension. The Cubs sued Martin for $1,000,000 ($ as of ), for the loss of Brewer's services. While the Cubs dropped their case, Brewer pursued his, and in , a judge ordered Martin to pay $10,000 ($ as of ), in damages. When informed of the judgment by the press, he asked sarcastically, "How do they want it? Cash or check?"
Martin's fights as a player also included bouts with Jimmy Piersall
Jimmy Piersall
James Anthony Piersall is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. Between 1950 and 1967, he played for the Boston Red Sox , Cleveland Indians , Washington Senators , New York Mets , and Los Angeles/California Angels .While he had a fairly good professional career as a center...
, Clint Courtney
Clint Courtney
Clinton Dawdson Courtney was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees , St. Louis Browns , Baltimore Orioles , Chicago White Sox , Washington Senators and Kansas City Athletics . Courtney batted left-handed and threw right-handed...
(twice), Matt Batts
Matt Batts
Matthew Daniel Batts was a Major League Baseball catcher who played from through for the Boston Red Sox , St. Louis Browns , Detroit Tigers , Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds . Batts batted and threw right-handed...
and Tommy Lasorda
Tommy Lasorda
Thomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...
.
Minnesota Twins
Martin spent eight years (-691969 in baseball
-Expansion:Four expansion teams joined Major League Baseball for this season: the San Diego Padres, the Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Pilots, and the first MLB team in Canada, the Montreal Expos. To accommodate the additional teams, the two leagues were split into two divisions of East and West...
) in the Minnesota organization after his retirement. He was a scout from -64
1964 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees ; Bob Gibson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 7 at Shea Stadium: National League, 7–4; Johnny Callison, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Minnesota...
, the third-base coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
of the Twins from through mid-June , and manager of their AAA affiliate, the Denver Bears, for the last half of the 1968 campaign. He succeeded Cal Ermer
Cal Ermer
Calvin Coolidge Ermer was an American second baseman, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II...
as Minnesota's big-league manager following the '68 season.
In , Martin's only season as manager of the Twins, he won a division championship. He was fired after the season following an August fight in Detroit with one of his pitchers, Dave Boswell
Dave Boswell
David Wilson Boswell was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played in the American League for the Minnesota Twins from 1964-1971....
, in an alley outside the legendary Lindell A.C. bar. Martin spent the season out of baseball.
Detroit Tigers
Martin managed the Detroit TigersDetroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
from to . He guided the team to a first place finish in . During the 1972 American League Championship Series
1972 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 7, 1972 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, CaliforniaGame 1 pitted ace pitchers Catfish Hunter for the A's and Mickey Lolich for the Tigers, and, as expected, both were brilliant...
, Oakland Athletics
1972 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics season involved the A's winning the American League West with a record of 93 wins and 62 losses. In the playoffs, they defeated the Detroit Tigers in a five-game ALCS, followed by a seven-game World Series, in which they defeated the Cincinnati Reds for their first World...
shortstop Bert Campaneris
Bert Campaneris
Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco , nicknamed "Campy", is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for four American League teams, primarily the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics...
threw his bat at Detroit pitcher Lerrin LaGrow
Lerrin LaGrow
Lerrin Harris LaGrow was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played 10 seasons in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers , St...
after being hit by a pitch. In the ensuing brawl, an infuriated Martin had to be restrained by umpires and teammates to prevent him from going after Campaneris. The Tigers lost the series three games to two.
While posing for a baseball card as the manager for the Detroit Tigers in 1972, Martin gave photographers the middle finger
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
. The gesture went unnoticed until after the card's release.
Martin also played a key role in the discovery of Ron LeFlore
Ron LeFlore
Ronald LeFlore is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played six seasons with the Detroit Tigers before being traded to the Montreal Expos, retiring as a Chicago White Sox in . He stole 455 bases in his career, and was an American League All-Star selection in 1976...
in a Michigan state prison. Martin was lured to Michigan State Prison by another inmate who knew Martin. The unorthodox Martin witnessed LeFlore's speed and strength. Martin helped LeFlore get permission for day-parole and a try out at Tiger Stadium. In the summer of 1973, the Tigers signed him to a contract, which enabled LeFlore to meet the conditions for parole. Martin was fired in August of that same year for telling Tiger pitchers to throw at opposing hitters
Beanball
"Beanball" is a colloquialism used in baseball, for a ball thrown at an opposing player with the intention of striking him such as to cause harm, often connoting a throw at the player's head...
, and openly mentioning this order to the press. In 1978, Martin played himself in the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
TV movie One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story was a 1978 made for TV movie telling the story of Ron LeFlore, a troubled Detroit youth who rose from Michigan prisons to star in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers...
.
Texas Rangers
Martin's next managerial job was with the Texas RangersTexas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
, where he took the club from last place to second place in , but was fired in . He was hired by owner Bob Short
Bob Short
Robert Earl Short was an American sport teams owner and politician.-Biography:A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Short bought the Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association in the late 1950s and moved the team to Los Angeles in 1960...
replacing Whitey Herzog
Whitey Herzog
Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey" Herzog is a former Major League Baseball manager. Born in New Athens, Illinois, he made his debut as a player in 1956 with the Washington Senators. After his playing career ended in 1963, Herzog went on to perform a variety of roles in Major League Baseball, including...
at the end of the 1973 season. He surprised the baseball world in 1974 by helping the Rangers to an 84-76 record after they had two consecutive 100+ loss seasons. But after the 1975 team went 44-51 under Martin, Brad Corbett
Brad Corbett
Bradford G. Corbett was the owner of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball's American League from 1974 to 1980. He is currently part owner of S&B Technical Products, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Originally from Long Island, New York, Corbett had made a fortune in the oil business by...
fired him on July 20 and replaced him with Frank Lucchesi
Frank Lucchesi
Frank Joseph Lucchesi is a former manager in Major League Baseball who ran the Philadelphia Phillies , Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs...
.
First stint with the Yankees
Martin was hired as Yankees' manager less than two weeks later, after the team had fired Bill VirdonBill Virdon
William Charles Virdon is a former outfielder, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. A premier defensive outfielder during his playing days as a center fielder for the St...
. It was Martin's first time in a Yankee uniform since the team had traded him in 1957. With Martin at the helm, the Yankees went 30-26 in their final 56 games of the 1975 season; he then managed them to the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
in (their first pennant since ) and , winning in 1977
1977 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 11, 1977 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkThe Dodgers drew first blood off Don Gullett in the first when Davey Lopes walked and scored on a Bill Russell triple. Ron Cey made it 2–0 on a sacrifice fly...
. He feuded publicly with both Yankee owner George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
and star outfielder Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...
. In one especially infamous incident, on June 18, 1977, in the middle game of what would prove to be a three-game series sweep by the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
at Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
, Martin pulled Jackson off the field (replacing him with Paul Blair
Paul Blair (baseball)
Paul L. D. Blair is a former outfielder who spent seventeen seasons in Major League Baseball with the Baltimore Orioles , New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds...
) in mid-inning for failing to hustle and catch a shallow outfield fly ball by Jim Rice
Jim Rice
James Edward "Jim" Rice , nicknamed "Jim Ed", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder.Jim Rice played his entire career for the Boston Red Sox from 1974 to 1989...
, allowing Rice to reach second base. The extremely angry and highly animated Martin had to be restrained by his coaches from getting into a fight with Jackson in the dugout during the nationally-televised Saturday afternoon game
Major League Baseball Game of the Week
The Major League Baseball Game of the Week is the de facto title for over-the-air, nationally televised coverage of regular season Major League Baseball games...
.
After a incident with Reggie Jackson in which Martin suspended Jackson for bunting (against orders) into a strikeout, Martin was forced to resign after telling reporters, "They deserve each other. One's a born liar [Jackson], and the other's convicted [Steinbrenner]." (Martin was referring to Steinbrenner's conviction for making illegal donations to Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's 1972 election campaign - a suspension that resulted in Steinbrenner being suspended from baseball for 15 months). A few days later, Martin resigned (reportedly under pressure from Steinbrenner). Bob Lemon
Bob Lemon
Robert Granville Lemon was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976....
was named Yankees manager. Soon afterward, at the annual Old-Timers' Game at Yankee Stadium, in a grandstanding gesture and an overwhelming demand by the fans, the Yankees had public address announcer Bob Sheppard
Bob Sheppard
Robert Leo "Bob" Sheppard was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the MLB New York Yankees , and the NFL New York Giants .Sheppard announced more than 4,500 Yankees baseball games over a period of 56 years,...
introduce an unemployed Martin as the Yankees' next manager for the season (with Lemon moving to the front office). Steinbrenner and Martin had apparently patched up their differences, but Lemon managed the team for 1978-1979.
Second stint with the Yankees
In , the Yankees got off to a slow start under Lemon. Injuries to Reggie JacksonReggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...
and Goose Gossage
Rich Gossage
Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. During a 22-year baseball career, he pitched from 1972-1994 for nine different teams, spending his best years with the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres. The nickname "Goose" is a play on his surname...
as well as the death of Thurman Munson
Thurman Munson
Thurman Lee Munson was an American Major League Baseball catcher. He played his entire 11-year career for the New York Yankees...
mid-season had the Yankees reeling. Steinbrenner fired Lemon and brought back Martin earlier than previously planned. The Yankees failed to improve, however, and their streak of American League East division titles ended at three. After the 1979 season, Martin got into a fight with marshmallow
Marshmallow
The marshmallow is a confection that, in its modern form, typically consists of sugar, corn syrup, water, gelatin that has been softened in hot water, dextrose, vanilla flavourings, and sometimes colouring, whipped to a spongy consistency. Some marshmallow recipes call for egg whites...
salesman Joseph Cooper at a hotel in Minneapolis. Steinbrenner fired him after that and replaced him with Dick Howser
Dick Howser
Richard Dalton Howser was an American Major League Baseball shortstop, coach and manager. He is best known as the manager of the Kansas City Royals during the 1980s, and for guiding them to the franchise's only World Series title in 1985.-Playing career:A native of Miami, Florida, Howser grew up...
for the season.
Oakland Athletics
Martin, an East BayEast Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
native born and raised in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, resurfaced with the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
, where he perfected a style of play that became known as "Billyball" (characterized as featuring aggressive base running). Martin won the American League West Division title in the split season of , swept the Kansas City Royals
1981 Kansas City Royals season
The Kansas City Royals season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Royals finishing 4th in the American League West with a record of 50 wins and 53 losses...
in the special division series
1981 American League Division Series
-New York Yankees vs. Milwaukee Brewers:-Game 1, October 6:Royals Stadium in Kansas City, MissouriMike Norris faced Dennis Leonard and the defending AL Champions in Game 1. Both pitchers were on their game and the game was scoreless through three innings. But in the top of the fourth, the A's got a...
(due to a players' strike-action), and then met the Yankees
1981 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees' 1981 season was the 79th season for the Yankees. In the ALCS, the Yankees swept the Oakland Athletics for their only pennant of the 1980s. However, they lost in the World Series in 6 games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. New York was managed by Gene Michael and Bob Lemon...
in the 1981 ALCS
1981 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 13, 1981 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkIn Billy Martin's return to Yankee Stadium , the Yankees drew first blood in front of their old skipper...
where his A's were swept by the Yankees. Martin's early success with the A's led to his designation as the club's general manager
General manager (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, the general manager of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players....
—giving him control over the baseball operations of the entire Oakland organization in 1981. Martin was fired from both positions when the Athletics
1982 Oakland Athletics season
The Oakland Athletics' 1982 season involved the A's finishing fifth in the American League West with a record of 68 wins and 94 losses.Although a disappointing season standings-wise, a major highlight of the 1982 campaign for the A's was left fielder Rickey Henderson breaking the record for most...
plummeted to a 68-94 record, largely because he'd overworked many of the pitchers from the 1981 team.
Remaining stints with the Yankees
Martin returned to the New York YankeesNew York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
in , , and , but never for more than one full season. During his years as a major league manager, Art Fowler
Art Fowler
John Arthur Fowler was an American pitcher and pitching coach in Major League Baseball. The 5'11", 180 lb. right-hander was signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before the 1944 season...
usually served as his pitching coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
.
During the 1983 season, Martin was involved in one of the most controversial
Controversy
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn...
regular season games, known as the Pine Tar Incident
Pine Tar Incident
The Pine Tar Incident was a controversial incident during an American League game played between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees on July 24, 1983 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. With his team trailing 4–3 in the top half of the ninth inning, George Brett of the Royals hit a 2-run...
, where umpires
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
nullified a game-winning home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
by Yankee nemesis, Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
George Brett
George Brett (baseball)
George Howard Brett , nicknamed "Mullet", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are the most by any third baseman in major league history, and 15th...
, when Martin protested that there was too much pine tar
Pine tar
Pine tar is a sticky material produced by the high temperature carbonization of pine wood in anoxic conditions . The wood is rapidly decomposed by applying heat and pressure in a closed container; the primary resulting products are charcoal and pine tar.Pine tar consists primarily of aromatic...
on his bat
Baseball bat
A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the game of baseball to hit the ball after the ball is thrown by the pitcher. It is no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches in length. It typically weighs no more than 33 ounces , but it...
. Ultimately, American League President Lee MacPhail
Lee MacPhail
Leland Stanford MacPhail, Jr. is an American retired front-office executive in Major League Baseball...
ruled in favor of the Royals protest, reinstating the home run, and replaying the game from the point of the nullification. At the start of the replayed game, Martin tried to protest on the grounds that Brett had missed a base. The umpires working this game, however, had anticipated this, and had obtained an affidavit from the crew who had worked the original game saying that Brett had indeed touched all the bases.
It was also alleged that Martin would chase a young Ken Griffey Jr. out of the clubhouse, when Griffey's father was playing for the Yankees, seeing that he didn't believe that children should be in the clubhouse. It was also mentioned on a few YES Network
YES Network
The Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network is a New York City-based, regional cable television channel; it broadcasts a variety of sports events, with an emphasis on New York Yankees baseball games, and New Jersey Nets basketball games. YES made its debut on March 19, 2002...
broadcasts that when Al Leiter
Al Leiter
Alois Terry "Al" Leiter is a former Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher. He is now a studio analyst for MLB Network, and a color commentator for the YES Network.-Early career :Leiter attended Central Regional High School....
would call a game, he mentioned that when he was a rookie with the Yankees and Martin found him lifting weights, he asked Leiter why he did it. He said it was to strengthen his arm. Martin was quoted as saying, "If you want to strengthen your arm, do some long toss."
On September 22, 1985, while at a hotel bar in Baltimore, Maryland, Martin fought one of his pitchers, Ed Whitson
Ed Whitson
Eddie Lee Whitson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher best remembered for his short and turbulent stint with the New York Yankees in the mid 1980s. He batted and threw right-handed.-Pittsburgh Pirates:...
, who broke one of Martin's arms. After the season, Martin was fired, which many Yankee fans suspected was because of his altercation with Whitson.
At the time of his death, Martin was preparing to manage the Yankees a sixth time for the season, to the point of having assembled a coaching staff.
Other altercations as manager
Martin's sparring opponents as a manager also included two traveling secretaries (Minnesota's Howard Fox and Texas' Burt Hawkins) in a fight outside of Howard Wong's in Bloomington, MinnesotaBloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
; Jack Sears, a fan outside Tiger Stadium; a Chicago cab driver who preferred soccer to baseball; sportswriter Ray Hagar, in a Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
indoor arena bar; marshmallow salesman Joseph Cooper; two bar patrons, in Anaheim
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
and in Baltimore; and two bouncers in an Arlington
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...
topless bar.
Unconventional thinking
- The sportswriter Thomas Boswell saw that Martin's genius was in his paranoia by stating:
- On June 16, 1969, in the bottom of the first inning against the Angels, Rod CarewRod CarewRodney Cline "Rod" Carew is a former Major League Baseball first baseman, second baseman and coach. He played from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels and was elected to the All-Star game every season except his last. In 1991, Carew was inducted into the National...
and Tony OlivaTony OlivaTony Pedro Oliva is a former Major League Baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played his entire 15-year baseball career for the Minnesota Twins . He batted left-handed and threw right-handed...
pulled off a double steal of 2B and 3B. On the next pitch, the two pulled off another double steal; Carew stole his 6th steal of home tying the AL record. - During his short stint with the Minnesota TwinsMinnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
in 1969, he taught Rod CarewRod CarewRodney Cline "Rod" Carew is a former Major League Baseball first baseman, second baseman and coach. He played from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels and was elected to the All-Star game every season except his last. In 1991, Carew was inducted into the National...
how to steal home plate during spring training, resulting in seven of his 19 stolen bases that season being of home plate, the most since Pete ReiserPete ReiserHarold Patrick "Pete" Reiser , nicknamed "Pistol Pete," was an outfielder in Major League Baseball during the 1940s and early 1950s. He played primarily for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and later for the Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cleveland Indians.-Early career:A native of St...
in 1946. - On August 1, 1972, he and his TigersDetroit TigersThe Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
used stalling tactics with rain on the horizon and Detroit trailing against the BrewersMilwaukee BrewersThe Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
while the Brewers' manager tried to speed up the game. The game lasted 6 innings with the Brewers winning 9-0. - Sometimes he would literally draw a lineup out of a hat if the team was struggling to win such as on April 20, 1977 with the Yankees and August 13, 1972 with the Tigers in the first game of a doubleheader, in the year before the introduction of the designated hitterDesignated hitterIn baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
. - On October 2, 1974, Martin allowed pitcher Fergie Jenkins to help his own cause instead of using the DH. Jenkins broke up TwinsMinnesota TwinsThe Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
pitcher Jim HughesJim Hughes (1970s pitcher)James Michael Hughes is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched all or part of four seasons in the majors, from until , all with the Minnesota Twins.-External links:...
' no-hitterNo-hitterA no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
in the 6th inning with a single and later scored a run. The RangersTexas Rangers (baseball)The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
won 2-1. - On September 5, 1976, he used starting pitcher Catfish HunterCatfish HunterJames Augustus "Catfish" Hunter , was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. During a 15-year baseball career, he pitched from 1965-1979 for both the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees...
as pinch hitter for second baseman Sandy AlomarSandy Alomar, Sr.Santos "Sandy" Alomar, Sr., or in the Spanish naming system Santos Alomar Conde is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves , New York Mets , Chicago White Sox , California Angels , New York Yankees , and Texas Rangers . Alomar was a...
in top of the 6th inning and kept Hunter in the lineup as the pitcher for the remainder of the game. César TovarCésar TovarCésar Leonardo Tovar , nicknamed "Pepito" and "Mr. Versatility", was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins , Philadelphia Phillies , Texas Rangers , Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees...
, the temporary designated hitter in the game, then took over at second base. (Note: There is now a section of the rule that states that the game pitcher may only pinch-hit for the designated hitter; therefore, this move would have been allowed then, but now it would be prohibited.) - In the Billy Ball era with the Oakland AthleticsOakland AthleticsThe Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
(1980–1982), he would use hit-and-runHit and run (baseball)A hit and run is a high risk/high reward offensive strategy used in baseball.When the offense has a baserunner on first base , the runner on first breaks for second as the pitch is thrown...
, squeeze playsSqueeze play (baseball)In baseball, the squeeze play is a maneuver consisting of a sacrifice bunt with a runner on third base. The batter bunts the ball, expecting to be thrown out at first base, but providing the runner on third base an opportunity to score...
, and base stealingStolen baseIn baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
but ironically resulting in leading the American LeagueAmerican LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
in home runs. As a result of Billy Ball, Rickey HendersonRickey HendersonRickey Henley Henderson is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four stints with his original team, the Oakland Athletics. Nicknamed The Man of Steal, he is widely regarded as the sport's greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner...
stole 130 bases in 1982, a single-season record unlikely ever to be broken. He was dismissed at the end of the 1982 season because of his overuse of his starting pitchers during his tenure. - Martin used pitcher Rick LangfordRick LangfordJames Rick Langford , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1976-1986...
in CF and later on in LF on October 3, 1982 at the Royals. - On July 24, 1983, in the Pine Tar Game, Martin, ever knowledgeable of the rules, got home plate umpire Tim McClellandTim McClellandTimothy Reid McClelland is an umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked in the American League from 1983 to 1999 and throughout both leagues since 2000. He has called many important games, from post-season games to the George Brett "Pine Tar" game in...
to reverse a home run hit by George BrettGeorge Brett (baseball)George Howard Brett , nicknamed "Mullet", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are the most by any third baseman in major league history, and 15th...
due to the excessive pine tar on Brett's bat based on rule 1.10(b) that stated "The bat handle, for not more than 18 inches from the end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance to improve the grip. Any such material or substance, which extends past the 18-inch limitation, shall cause the bat to be removed from the game." The home run should have counted and the bat removed from the game. However, the game ended on Brett's at-bat until the RoyalsKansas City RoyalsThe Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
filed an appeal with the American League. Later concluded on August 18, , Martin, in earnest, had his players throw to first for an appeal to attempt to overturn the homer, but the game's original umpires signed affidavits that Brett had touched each base in transit to home plate. Out of utter contempt, he then moved Don Mattingly from first base to second base while batting seventh; Ron Guidry was inserted into center field and the ninth spot in the batting order. Since AL President Lee MacPhail overturned the umpires' decision about the length of pine tar on George BrettGeorge Brett (baseball)George Howard Brett , nicknamed "Mullet", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are the most by any third baseman in major league history, and 15th...
's bat, the game had to be played to the conclusion. In the bottom of the ninth, the last third of the Yankees lineup was due up with Don MattinglyDon MattinglyDonald Arthur "Don" Mattingly is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "The Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball", he played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
, Roy Smalley, and Oscar GambleOscar GambleOscar Charles Gamble is a former outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball. He played for 17 seasons, from 1969 to 1985, on seven different teams: the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees on two separate occasions, as well as the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland...
, pinch hitting for Guidry, all failing to get on base to seal a controversial win for the Royals, 5–4. - On June 11, 1988, Martin inserted pitcher Rick RhodenRick RhodenRichard Alan Rhoden is a professional golfer and was a Major League Baseball pitcher. During his 16 year baseball career, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros of the National League; and the New York Yankees of the American League.-Early years:Rhoden was...
7th in the starting lineupBatting order (baseball)The batting order, or batting lineup, in baseball is the sequence in which the nine members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. The batting order is set by the manager before the game begins...
as the designated hitterDesignated hitterIn baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
because there was a shortage of right-handed batters to face Jeff Ballard, a left-handed pitcher. Rhoden hit a sacrifice fly which resulted in an RBI as well as a walk before being pinch-hit for by José CruzJosé CruzJosé Cruz Dilan is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is also the former first base coach for the Houston Astros. During his 19-year baseball career, he played from 1970-1988 for three different teams, playing primarily for the Astros...
in the 5th inning. The Yankees beat Baltimore 8–6.
Honors
On August 10, , the Yankees retired Martin's uniform number 1 and dedicated a plaque in his honor for Monument ParkMonument Park (Yankee Stadium)
Monument Park is an open-air museum located at the new Yankee Stadium containing a collection of monuments, plaques, and retired numbers honoring distinguished members of the New York Yankees....
at Yankee Stadium. The plaque contains the words, There has never been a greater competitor than Billy. Martin told the crowd, "I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I am the proudest."
As a tribute, the Florida Marlins
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
called their mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
Billy the Marlin. (The name is also derived from the fact that another name for a marlin is a bill-fish.)
Martin appeared on the 2011 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot
Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2011
Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2011 proceeded according to rules most recently revised in July 2010. As in the past, the Baseball Writers Association of America voted by mail to select from a ballot of recently-retired players...
. He did not receive enough votes for induction.
Many of his contemporaries have remarked on Martin's ability to surprise the opposition and his outside-the-box thinking
Thinking outside the box
Thinking outside the box is to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking....
. Commenting on Martin's strategy as a manager, Dave Winfield
Dave Winfield
David Mark Winfield is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is currently Executive Vice President/Senior Advisor of the San Diego Padres and an analyst for the ESPN program Baseball Tonight...
has stated that opposing players would often ask each other, "What's Billy doing now?" George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
has stated that when Martin was in his best form, he was a "baseball genius." He has also been cited as an influence to other prominent managers, including Lou Piniella
Lou Piniella
Louis Victor Piniella is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He has been nicknamed "Sweet Lou," both for his swing as a major league hitter and, facetiously, to describe his demeanor as a player and manager...
. (Martin would, eventually, both precede and succeed Piniella as Yankees manager.)
In popular culture
Graig NettlesGraig Nettles
Graig Nettles , nicknamed "Puff", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins , Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees , San Diego Padres , Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos .Nettles was one of the best...
has a lot to report about Martin in his book 'Balls' (1984) co-written with sports historian Peter Golenbock
Peter Golenbock
Peter Golenbock is a sports journalist and author. He is best known for the 1975 book Dynasty: The New York Yankees 1949–1964 about the Yankees of that era...
(who also wrote Number 1 with Martin, and the 1994 Martin biography Wild, High and Tight). This includes the fact that Billy was once analyzed by Joyce Brothers, psychologist and advice columnist, in her daily syndicated newspaper column (in the Post).
Martin was brought in to be a guest celebrity ring announcer at the inaugural WrestleMania
WrestleMania (1985)
WrestleMania was the first annual WrestleMania professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on March 31, 1985, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The attendance for the event was 19,121 fans...
event held in March 1985, during his time as the manager of the Yankees, where he was referred to as 'New York's Number One'. (The number was retired the following year.) The crowd gave him a hero's ovation. Martin is the first baseball-crossover guest celebrity to appear in any of the WrestleMania pay-per-views. Martin's appearance at the inaugural event was referenced at WrestleMania X
WrestleMania X
WrestleMania X was the tenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on March 20, 1994. The central focus of the pay-per-view was the WWF Championship, which was defended...
in 1994.
In the episode of The Critic
The Critic
The Critic is an American prime time animated series revolving around the life of film critic Jay Sherman, voiced by actor Jon Lovitz. It was created by Al Jean and Mike Reiss, both of whom had worked as writers on The Simpsons. The Critic had 23 episodes produced, first broadcast on ABC in 1994,...
, Jay Sherman shows a clip of a movie entitled "Field Of Dreams 2" where after Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner
Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman. He has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards, won two Academy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. Costner's roles include Lt. John J...
's character completes his new ball field, late baseball players emerge: Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...
was looking for the next Klan meeting; Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
was looking for some hookers; then Billy Martin emerges and punches Costner.
His frequent firings—and threats of being fired—were lampooned in a '70's Miller Lite
Miller Lite
Miller Lite is a 4.2% abv pale lager brand sold by MillerCoors of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Sibling beers include Miller Genuine Draft and Miller High Life.-History:...
beer commercial in which Steinbrenner tells Martin "You're fired!" to which Martin replies "Oh, no, not again!" After Martin's real-life rehiring, the commercial was resurrected, only with Steinbrenner's line redubbed to say "You're hired!"
In the film Ocean's Thirteen
Ocean's Thirteen
Ocean's Thirteen is a 2007 crime comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring an ensemble cast. It is the third and final film in the Soderbergh series following the 2004 sequel Ocean's Twelve and the 2001 film Ocean's Eleven, which itself was a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film Ocean's 11...
, a "Billy Martin" is used as a nickname for a second chance, presumably to make amends and do the right thing before being pursued in justified retaliation.
On the TV show, Married with Children, Al Bundy
Al Bundy
Al Bundy is a fictional character from the U.S. television series Married... with Children. He was played by Ed O'Neill.-Character history:...
and Jefferson D'Arcy (and others) more than once ended up in an altercation over the answer to the question "Who was in the first light beer commercial?" The answer was purported to be either Billy Martin or Bubba Smith
Bubba Smith
Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith was an American professional football player who became an actor after his retirement from the sport. He first came into prominence at Michigan State University, where he twice earned All-American honors as a defensive end on the Spartans football team...
. The answer is actually former New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
Matt Snell
Matt Snell
Matt Snell was the American Football League's New York Jets owner Sonny Werblin's first coup, prior to his 1965 acquisition of Joe Namath...
.
On the TV show Bizarre
Bizarre (TV series)
Bizarre is a weekly Canadian sketch comedy series, airing from 1980 to 1985. The show was hosted by John Byner, and produced by CTV at the CFTO Glen-Warren Studios in suburban Toronto for first-run airing in Canada on CTV and in the United States on the Showtime premium cable network.-Synopsis:The...
, the turbulent Yankee manager situation was parodied by having press conferences every 10 minutes hiring or firing a fictitious Yankees manager named "Martin Billy Lemon" (combining the names of Yankee managers Bob Lemon and Billy Martin). Martin also appeared on the show in person as manager of the A's
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
, where the fictitious stunt man Super Dave Osborne
Super Dave Osborne
Super Dave Osborne is a character created and played by comedian Bob Einstein. He is a naive but optimistic stuntman who is frequently injured when his stunts go wrong.-Appearance history:...
(famous for his spectacular failures) did a stunt where he had to say a bunch of insults at Billy Martin and "deal" with Martin's violent reaction.
On May 24, 1986, on the season finale of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, co-host Martin was "fired" by executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
for being "drunk" in a skit, slurring his lines. During the goodnights, Martin "sets fire" to the dressing room in retaliation. (Only three cast members would be re-hired the next season.) In 1988, on Saturday Night Lives "Weekend Update
Weekend Update
Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance...
," comedian Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...
opened the sports with, "In Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
tonight, Katarina Witt
Katarina Witt
Katarina Witt is a German figure skater and model. In Germany she was commonly called "Kati" in the past, but today her full name is used more often....
won the gold medal in figure skating, prompting Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to fire manager Billy Martin."
In the 1994 movie The Scout, Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks
Albert Lawrence Brooks is an American actor, voice actor, writer, comedian and director. He received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for his role in Broadcast News...
wants a psychiatrist to send a letter to George Steinbrenner, and adds that it might be nice to put "sorry about Billy Martin" in the closing. When the psychiatrist wonders who Billy Martin is, Brooks replies "Oh, just some guy he kept firing until he finally died."
Martin was played by John Turturro
John Turturro
John Michael Turturro is an American actor, writer and director known for his roles in the films Do the Right Thing , Miller's Crossing , Barton Fink , Quiz Show , The Big Lebowski , O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Transformers film series...
in the 2007 ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
mini-series The Bronx is Burning
The Bronx Is Burning
The Bronx Is Burning is a television drama that debuted on ESPN on July 9, 2007, after the 2007 MLB Home Run Derby. It is an eight-episode mini-series adapted from Jonathan Mahler's best-selling book, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx Is Burning...
which follows the tumultuous summer of 1977 in New York.
In the Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
episode ("The Wink
The Wink (Seinfeld episode)
"The Wink" is the 114th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the fourth episode in the seventh season. It aired on October 12, 1995.-Plot:...
"), after George Costanza
George Costanza
George Louis Costanza is a character in the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Jason Alexander. He has variously been described as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man" , "Lord of the Idiots" , and as "the greatest sitcom character of all time"...
accidentally gets one of his co-workers in the Yankees organization fired, the fictional George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
goes on a long rant to George about the many people he has had to let go over the years. He mentions Billy Martin four times.
A complete list of Billy Martin's fights can be found in The Baseball Maniac's Almanac, 2nd Edition by Bert Randolph Sugar
Bert Randolph Sugar
Bert Randolph Sugar is a boxing writer/sports historian. He currently resides in Chappaqua, New York.-Education:...
.
Personal life
Billy Martin was married four times and had two children, a daughter named Kelly Ann and a son named Billy Joe. His first marriage was to Lois Berndt, by whom he had his daughter and who left him in 1954. He married Gretchen Winkler in 1961, by whom he had his son, and stayed married to her until 1979 when the two divorced. He was married a third time while he was managing in Oakland, but was never faithful to his third wife and eventually married his mistress, a woman named Jill, in 1989.Death
Martin was working as a special consultant to George SteinbrennerGeorge Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
when he was killed in a low speed, one-car crash during an ice storm at the end of the driveway to his farm in Port Crane, north of Binghamton, New York
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
, on Christmas Day 1989. He was pronounced dead at a hospital in Johnson City, where efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. Reports of the crash indicated that Martin had been drinking earlier, and that his friend William Reedy consequently was driving him home in Martin's Ford pickup truck. However, several conspiracy theorists and writers (including Peter Golenbock
Peter Golenbock
Peter Golenbock is a sports journalist and author. He is best known for the 1975 book Dynasty: The New York Yankees 1949–1964 about the Yankees of that era...
in Wild, High and Tight) have asserted that Martin was the driver, and that Bill Reedy and Jill Martin covered up the truth for legal reasons. According to the HBO TV series Autopsy, forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden
Michael Baden
Michael M. Baden is a physician and board-certified forensic pathologist known for his work investigating high-profile deaths and as a host of HBO's Autopsy. He is also the Forensic Science Contributor for Fox News Channel...
performed the examination on Martin and investigated the accident scene, including the pick-up truck in which Martin died. The examination revealed that Martin's impact injuries were all on the right side, and that hair and other DNA found on the right side of the shattered windshield belonged to Martin, who was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. The final conclusion of the examination was that Reedy drove the pick-up and Martin was the passenger. As per request of the family no autopsy was performed.
Martin was eulogized by Cardinal John O'Connor at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
The Cathedral of St. Patrick is a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral church in the United States...
, before his funeral at Gate of Heaven Cemetery
Gate of Heaven Cemetery
The Gate of Heaven Cemetery, approximately 25 miles north of New York City, was established in 1917 at 10 West Stevens Ave. in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, United States, as a Roman Catholic burial site...
in Hawthorne, New York. His grave is located about 150 feet (45.7 m) from the grave of Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
in Section 25. The following epitaph, said by Billy Martin himself at his number retiring ceremony at Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
in 1986, appears on the headstone: I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I was the proudest. Former United States President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
and Yankee owner George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
, along with many former New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
greats attended Martin's funeral service.
External links
- Baseball Hall of Fame - 2008 Veterans Committee candidate profile
- Baseball Hall of Fame - 2007 Veterans Committee candidate profile at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- The Bronx is Burning ESPN miniseries (archived site)