"Through a disappointing season, Johnny Keane demonstrated that he's as good as loser as he is a winner. Not once, as the Yankees floundered to a sixth-place finish, did he lose his characteristic calm or attempt to fix the blame on any of his players. John is a conservative man who keeps his own counsel. His strong sense of integrity prompted him to resign as manager of the Cardinals in 1964 when he felt his employers had lost faith in him. That was the year he led the Cards to a pennant on the last day of the season and then managed them to a victory over the Yankees in the World Series. A few days later he was named new Yankee manager. His departure from St. Louis severed an association of 30 years with the organization.
John began as an infielder, but a serious beaning in 1935 shortened his playing career and he turned to managing. The route to the top included such stopoffs as Albany, Mobile, New Iberia, Houston, Rochester, Columbus and Omaha. Finally, he joined the parent club as a coach in 1959 and was appointed manager two years later."
-Jack Zanger, Major League Baseball 1966
Coach, St. Louis Cardinals, 1959 through July 5, 1961.
Replaced Solly Hemus as St. Louis manager with Cardinals in sixth place, July 6, 1961.
Signed as Yankee manager, October 20, 1964.
Named Sporting News Manager of the Year, 1964.
-1966 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
RALPH HOUK (Manager)
"Things changed suddenly for the Yankees on May 7 when Ralph Houk was returned to the dugout as field manager of the Bronx Bombers. After two and a half years as the successful General Manager of the New York Yankees, Houk agreed to the change after the Yankees got off to a 4 and 16 start in the pennant race. The sudden move returned the popular Houk to the dugout where he had piloted Yankee teams to a perfect 'three for three' pennants in his trio of managerial seasons.
Houk replaced the likeable Johnny Keane, who had managed the Yankees for just a little over one season. An outstanding series of crippling injuries hindered the Yanks in 1965, but this year the team simply did not untrack after a successful spring training season.
Houk is well known to Yankee fans. He has never played for or been a member of any other organization. The 46-year-old native of Lawrence, Kansas first joined the Yankee organization in 1939 and never left, except for four distinguished years in military service where he earned the rank of major.
He battled his way up the Yankee minor league ladder against stiff opposition, but made the parent Yankees as a utility catcher behind Yogi Berra. In his last two active seasons on the Yankee roster, Houk also served as a coach. He went to Denver, then the Yankees' top farm club, to manage in 1955 and had three consecutive successful seasons there before returning as a coach on Casey Stengel's staff in 1958.
Ralph succeeded Stengel after the 1960 season and became general manager following the 1963 campaign.
A natural leader, Houk has the enthusiastic support of his players in the uphill battle to get back into contention this season."
-The New York Yankees Official 1966 Yearbook
COACHES
"Dean of Yankee coaches, and all major league coaches for that matter, is Frank Crosetti, who has served as a player and coach continuously since 1932. Jim Hegan has been the bullpen and catching coach since 1960 and Jim Turner returned this year as pitching mentor after having served here in that capacity from 1949 through 1959. Newest coach is batting instructor and first signalman Wally Moses, who held the post prior to his recent duties as minor league hitting instructor in the Yankee farm system."
-The New York Yankees Official 1966 Yearbook
FRANKIE CROSETTI (Coach)
"There must be some people around who think that Frank Crosetti comes with the franchise. That's the kind of tenure he's put in at Yankee Stadium. Cro has an unbroken string of 34 years with the Yankees, first as a star shortstop for 17 seasons and then as a coach. He has served under six different managers in that span, been a member of 23 championship Yankee clubs and taken part in 122 World Series games as a player and a coach. He was a lifetime .245 hitter as a player and one of the slickest gloves of his era."
-Jack Zanger, Major League Baseball 1966
Played or coached in record 122 World Series games.
Has appeared on 23 of the 29 Yankee pennant-winning clubs.
Coach, New York Yankees, 1947 through 1965.
Now in 35th consecutive year as a Yankee.
-1966 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
JIM TURNER (Coach)
"The Milkman Returneth. That would make a suitable title for the latest chapter in the career of Jim Turner, who returns to Yankee Stadium as pitching coach after an absence of six years. He was credited with being largely responsible for developing the great Yankee pitching staffs during Casey Stengel's regime. As a pitcher with the old Boston Braves, Reds and Yankees, he compiled a 69-60 record from 1937 through 1945. He spent the last five seasons as pitching coach for the Reds."
-Jack Zanger, Major League Baseball 1966
"Turner won 20 games for the Boston Braves in 1937, his first year in the major leagues, at the age of 33, after spending 14 years in the minor leagues. He pitched for the Yankees from 1942 through 1945."
-1966 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
Coach for Yankees, 1949 through 1959.
Coach for Cincinnati Reds, 1961 through 1965.
-1966 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
"Jim won 20 games for the Boston Braves in 1937 - his first year in the major leagues, at the age of 33 after spending 12 years in the minors. He was a relief ace with the Yankees (1942-1945). Jim was a coach with the Yankees (1949-1959) and with the Cincinnati Reds (1961-1965)."
-1966 New York Yankees Scorecard and Official Program
VERN BENSON (Coach)
Coach, St. Louis Cardinals, July 6, 1961 through 1964.
Appointed Yankee coach, October 23, 1964.
Coach, New York Yankees, 1965.
-1966 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
JIM HEGAN (Coach)
Coach, New York Yankees, 1960 through 1965.
-1966 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
SPUD MURRAY (Batting Practice Pitcher)
"Batting practice pitcher Spud Murray wears the familiar No. 55 when he's serving up gopher balls daily, during batting practice."
-The New York Yankees Official 1966 Yearbook
JOE DIMAGGIO (spring training instructor)
"Twenty-five years ago, in 1941, Joe DiMaggio, one of the all-time Yankee stars, set a Major League record by hitting in 56 consecutive games. This record, along with Lou Gehrig's mark of 2,130 consecutive games played, is deemed by many as the toughest for anyone to surpass. Hitting streaks, of course, were nothing new to DiMaggio, for in 1933 with San Francisco he had hit in 61 consecutive games, also a record that still stands.
Starting Thursday, May 15 in Yankee Stadium and continuing until Thursday night, July 17 in Cleveland's Municipal Stadium, where he was finally stopped by pitchers Al Smith and Jim Bagby, DiMaggio piled up this amazing mark:
consecutive games hit safely: 56
at-bats: 223
hits: 91
average: .408
total bases: 160
runs:56
RBIs: 55
home runs: 15
triples: 4
doubles: 16
singles: 56
strikeouts: 7
bases on balls: 21
hit by pitcher: 2
The day after he was halted, Joe [began] a streak which lasted 16 games before being stopped again, this time by Johnny Niggeling, a knuckleballer for the old St. Louis Browns. This marked the first time in 84 games, since May 2, that he failed to reach base, and only the second time in 74 games that he failed to have a base hit.
The night his 56-game streak ended, it was not because he failed to meet the ball effectively ... for on all three official trips to the plate it took sparkling plays to retire him. In the first inning against Al Smith, Joe was robbed on a great play by third baseman Ken Keltner. In the fourth, Smith walked him. In the seventh, with Smith still pitching, Keltner once more made an amazing play. In his last at-bat in the eighth inning against Jim Bagby, Joe rapped a hot one to shortstop Lou Boudreau, who made a great stop to begin a double play. The Yankee Clipper had finally been stopped. However, he went far enough- 56 games- for many experts to believe that this might be the one record that wasn't made to be broken. On this the 25th anniversary of that event, no one has yet to come close."
-1966 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
Major League Player of the Year, 1939.
Hit safely in 56 consecutive games- May 15, 1941 through July 16, 1941- a major league record.
Most Valuable Player, American League, 1939, 1941, 1947.
Named to Hall of Fame, 1955.
-1966 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
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