RALPH HOUK (Manager)
"The man they respectfully call The Major went back into the front lines last season after spending two years in higher echelon as Yankee general manager. Ralph Houk put his uniform on again last May, stepping down to replace Johnny Keane, with the club grounded with a 4-16 record. While nobody was blaming Keane for the poor start (indeed, the Yanks' last-place finish exonerated any managerial responsibility), the feeling was that Houk presented an emotional stimulus to the players and that his presence on the bench might help to rekindle their old winning ways. The fact that it didn't only reflected what a tattered ball club they had become.
Houk has command- there's no doubt about that. He doesn't have to brandish his knuckles to show he's the boss. This is accepted and liked by the players, who recognize a natural leader. Ralph returns to a job in which he scored a perfect three for three pennants as Yankee manager from 1961 through '63. He has spent his entire baseball life in the Yankee organization, first as a minor leaguer, then as a second-string catcher behind Yogi Berra, then as a farm club manager at Denver; coached under Casey Stengel and then succeeded him, and finally became the GM. Anyway, he didn't look that good in blue serge, especially with a mouth full of tobacco."
-Jack Zanger, Major League Baseball 1967
"Manager Ralph Houk has assembled a well-knit, hard working coaching staff to work him as the Yankees start their American League climb in the 'New Era' that has opened at Yankee Stadium this season.
Ralph himself is in his fifth season as Yankee pilot. The likable Major (as he is known for his World War II exploits as a major in the Rangers) succeeded Casey Stengel after the 1960 season and managed the Bombers to a perfect three for three pennants in '61, '62 and '63, winning World Championships in the first two years. He moved to the front office as general manager in 1964 and '65, then answered the urgent call to return as field pilot early in the 1966 season. Here, as field manager, working with the players with he whom he has such a fine rapport, Ralph is happiest.
Manager Houk has been in baseball since 1939. This is his 29th year in baseball ... all in the Yankee organization. He has served successively as a minor league catcher, major league catcher (behind Yogi Berra), coach, highly successful minor league pilot, back as coach and then as manager and G.M. of the Yanks."
-The New York Yankees Official 1967 Yearbook
"Named Manager of the Year for the 1961 season, Ralph was general manager of the Yankees from October 1963 to May 1966. He replaced Johnny Keane as manager of May 7, 1966 ... the club won 66 and lost 69 under his management."
-1967 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
COACHES
"The pinstripe coaching brigade under Houk has as its head man Frank Crosetti, who has the longest string of continuous service as a player and coach, dating back to 1932. He'll be at his old stand at third base. Also returning are bullpen coach Jim Hegan and pitching mentor Jim Turner, who would have made a fine battery in their playing days. The new man this season is Loren Babe, a former infielder who had a brief tour of duty with the Yankees. Last year he managed their No. 1 farm club at Toledo; this year he'll coach at first base."
-Jack Zanger, Major League Baseball 1967
"Frank Crosetti, the third base and infield coach, has been with the Bombers continuously since 1932 as player and coach. Jim Turner came to the Yankees as a pitcher late in his career, served as a minor league manager and then returned as a coach under Stengel. He started his second tour as Yankee pitching coach last season. Jim Hegan, long-time star catcher for the Cleveland Indians, joined the Yankee coaching staff in 1960. Loren Babe, the new first base coach, was an infielder with the Yankees and Athletics in his playing days and has been a Yankee minor league manager since 1961."
-The New York Yankees Official 1967 Yearbook
"The Yankee brain trust of 1967 is first base coach Loren Babe (who joined the Yankees this year after serving several seasons as a Yankee minor league manager), pitching coach Jim Turner, manager Ralph Houk, catching and bullpen coach Jim Hegan and veteran third base signalman Frank Crosetti. 'Cro' has been a Yankee player and coach since 1932 and Houk has been in the Yankee organization since 1939."
-The 1967 New York Yankees Scorecard and Official Program
LOREN BABE (Coach)
"Loren played infield for the Yankees in the latter part of the 1952 season and early part of 1953 before being traded to the Athletics."
-1967 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
FRANKIE CROSETTI (Coach)
"Now in his 36th consecutive year as a Yankee, Crosetti has played or coached in a record 122 World Series games. He has appeared on 23 of the 29 Yankee pennant winning clubs."
-1967 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
JIM TURNER (Coach)
"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."
-1967 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
SPUD MURRAY (Batting Practice Pitcher)
"Batting practice pitcher Spud Murray throws daily without ever getting into a box score."
-The New York Yankees Official 1967 Yearbook
JOE DIMAGGIO (spring training instructor)
"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."
-1967 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide
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