"In Dock Ellis, the Yankees have added one of the National League's best pitchers over the past decade. A 19-game winner in 1971 (the year he started the All-Star Game), Dock now embarks on a new chapter of his career, as an American Leaguer. When a pitcher of such note comes to a new league, opposing hitters often find him difficult to adjust to. Dock is confident that will be the case with the Yankees.
Ellis, who hurled a no-hitter in 1970 against San Diego, also considers himself to be a gourmet cook, a music lover, and somewhat of a team leader when the role comes his way. Outspoken and bright, he's first and foremost a quality pitcher, and the Yankees are looking forward to the new association."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Dock comes to the Yankees this year after a dozen seasons in the Pirates' organization.
He has been in the majors since 1968, needing four victories for 100. Dock was the starting pitcher in the 1971 All-Star Game at Detroit, capping a season in which he was 19-9, with a 20th win coming in the National League Championship Series. He has hurled for five Pirate division titlists in the last six years. Dock won 13 straight games in 1971, equalling the Pittsburgh record, and hurled a no-hitter in San Diego on June 12, 1970.
Dock is a graduate of Gardenia (California) High School, lettering in baseball, track and basketball. He was the high jump champ while attending Harbor Junior College. Signed as a free agent on January 14, 1964, he led the Carolina League in ERA in 1965 and was the winning pitcher in the All-Star Game.
Dock is active in the fight against Sickle Cell Anemia."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
1976 Profile: Fran Healy
"Fran Healy joined the Yankees early this year from Kansas City in a trade for pitcher Larry Gura. It was a good acquisition for New York, for Fran is a dependable catcher who has enjoyed productive years with the Royals, and who offers experience and sound defense. One of the fastest catchers in the game, he stole 16 bases two years ago, most by a catcher in 37 years.
Fran stands 6'5" and weighs 210. He's a lifelong resident of Holyoke, Massachusetts and a graduate of American International College. Fran, whose father and uncle both played pro ball, will be 30 on September 6."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
1976 Profile: Dick Tidrow
"With the arrival of Catfish Hunter a year ago, Dick Tidrow found himself squeezed out of the starting rotation - a role he'd played ever he since he was the American League's Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 1972 while with Cleveland.
Shifted to the bullpen, Dick didn't fade into oblivion. He became the number long man on the Yankee staff, and at season's end had tied Sparky Lyle for most relief points on the club. In a transitional year, it was a fine accomplishment.
The rugged-looking right-hander is still capable of starting, but his adjustment to the bullpen has given him a home for now, and the Yankees will call upon his services often."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"With the arrival of Catfish Hunter, Dick Tidrow was converted into a relief pitcher, and he responded to the call with six wins, five saves and a 3.12 ERA. The 11 relief points tied him with Sparky Lyle for the club lead.
Dick began the season with a small fracture in his pitching hand and didn't come off the disabled list until April 19. Another break, this time in his left wrist, shelved him for the season on August 19, but he did pitch 37 times between those dates and was often the man turned to in tight spots.
Dick was the American League's Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 1972 when he won 14 and had a 2.72 ERA with the Indians. He was the number two starter to Gaylord Perry on the Tribe staff. Dick had a 2.45 ERA in relief for the Yanks in 1974 after coming over in the big April trade.
He was originally selected in the January 1967 draft by the Indians, but military duty limited his progress until after the 1968 season."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
Shifted to the bullpen, Dick didn't fade into oblivion. He became the number long man on the Yankee staff, and at season's end had tied Sparky Lyle for most relief points on the club. In a transitional year, it was a fine accomplishment.
The rugged-looking right-hander is still capable of starting, but his adjustment to the bullpen has given him a home for now, and the Yankees will call upon his services often."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"With the arrival of Catfish Hunter, Dick Tidrow was converted into a relief pitcher, and he responded to the call with six wins, five saves and a 3.12 ERA. The 11 relief points tied him with Sparky Lyle for the club lead.
Dick began the season with a small fracture in his pitching hand and didn't come off the disabled list until April 19. Another break, this time in his left wrist, shelved him for the season on August 19, but he did pitch 37 times between those dates and was often the man turned to in tight spots.
Dick was the American League's Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 1972 when he won 14 and had a 2.72 ERA with the Indians. He was the number two starter to Gaylord Perry on the Tribe staff. Dick had a 2.45 ERA in relief for the Yanks in 1974 after coming over in the big April trade.
He was originally selected in the January 1967 draft by the Indians, but military duty limited his progress until after the 1968 season."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
1976 Profile: Ed Figueroa
"Senor Stopper. In his first full season, he was the Angels' second most reliable pitcher; he won 16 and had a 2.91 ERA.
Born in Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ed was originally signed by the Mets and released, then signed by the Giants and traded to the Giants in a minor deal. He served with the Marines in Vietnam.
Ed played for nine minor league clubs in seven seasons before being called up by the Angels. Used in relief, he made his debut as a starter in July of 1974 and lost, 1-0. Of his first 14 victories, 13 stopped Angel losing streaks.
Ed was chosen handsomest Angel by the press."
-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1976 Edition
"Few knew Ed Figueroa a year ago, and even fewer could pronounce his name (say it fig-er-O-a). He opened the season in the minors following a 2-8 record with the 1974 Angels. But early in the year he was recalled, and bang, he let the league have it. Eddie compiled the fifth-best earned run average in the American League and won 16 games for California. Suddenly he was one of the hottest pitching properties in baseball, and the Yankees landed him.
Certain to make his mark in the Yankee starting rotation, Ed will win over New York fans in no time, for New Yorkers can recognize athletic ability as few can, and Ed's comes shining right through.
The 27-year-old veteran of Puerto Rico beat Boston three times without a defeat in 1975, and that's a vital 'plus-three' for a Yankee pennant in 1976."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Ed had the fifth best ERA in the league last season, trailing only Palmer, Hunter, Eckersley and Tanana. His 16-13 record for the last place Angels made him a much sought-after property.
He was originally signed by the Mets in 1966 but was soon released and signed by the Giants. Ed served in Vietnam with the Marines in 1969, and the Angels got him in June of 1973.
Ed beat the Red Sox three times in 1975. 15 of his 16 wins followed Angel defeats last year, making him a real stopper.
He has great control and his out pitch is the sinkerball. 15 or more ground balls a game are not unusual for Ed."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
Born in Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ed was originally signed by the Mets and released, then signed by the Giants and traded to the Giants in a minor deal. He served with the Marines in Vietnam.
Ed played for nine minor league clubs in seven seasons before being called up by the Angels. Used in relief, he made his debut as a starter in July of 1974 and lost, 1-0. Of his first 14 victories, 13 stopped Angel losing streaks.
Ed was chosen handsomest Angel by the press."
-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1976 Edition
"Few knew Ed Figueroa a year ago, and even fewer could pronounce his name (say it fig-er-O-a). He opened the season in the minors following a 2-8 record with the 1974 Angels. But early in the year he was recalled, and bang, he let the league have it. Eddie compiled the fifth-best earned run average in the American League and won 16 games for California. Suddenly he was one of the hottest pitching properties in baseball, and the Yankees landed him.
Certain to make his mark in the Yankee starting rotation, Ed will win over New York fans in no time, for New Yorkers can recognize athletic ability as few can, and Ed's comes shining right through.
The 27-year-old veteran of Puerto Rico beat Boston three times without a defeat in 1975, and that's a vital 'plus-three' for a Yankee pennant in 1976."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Ed had the fifth best ERA in the league last season, trailing only Palmer, Hunter, Eckersley and Tanana. His 16-13 record for the last place Angels made him a much sought-after property.
He was originally signed by the Mets in 1966 but was soon released and signed by the Giants. Ed served in Vietnam with the Marines in 1969, and the Angels got him in June of 1973.
Ed beat the Red Sox three times in 1975. 15 of his 16 wins followed Angel defeats last year, making him a real stopper.
He has great control and his out pitch is the sinkerball. 15 or more ground balls a game are not unusual for Ed."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
Monday, September 8, 2014
1976 Profile: Thurman Munson
1976 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"Coming off his finest year, having led the club in batting (.318), hits (190) and RBI (102), Thurman was also voted his third straight Gold Glove as the league's outstanding defensive catcher, despite 23 errors.
He was the only catcher to handle the speedy Angels. He nailed them seven times in 11 steal attempts. Versus the rest of the league, the Angels stole over 200 bases and were successful two out of three times.
Born in Akron, Ohio, pitchers value his expertise at calling at a game and rely on his pitch selection. He has remarkably quick reflexes and a quick release of the ball, and is extremely confident."
-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1976 Edition
"This is just to offer the Yankee opinion that Johnny Bench is not a bad catcher to have on the team, but also to claim that the Yanks are pretty happy to have his American League counterpart, Thurman Munson.
'The Munse' was Rookie of the Year in 1970, and what a fine choice that was, for after six seasons, he's had four All-Star selections, three Gold Glove awards and a trio of .300 years. Last year may have been his best, as he continues to demonstrate the ability to improve each season through the same rugged determination so evident to even the casual fan.
Thurman is the unofficial field captain of the club, for he's got everything but a general's uniform on when the Yankees are on the field. Recognized as the best man at calling a game in the league, the Canton, Ohio native is now making New Jersey his home, along with that valuable real estate behind home plate in Yankee Stadium. As heir to the Yankee catching legacy of Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra and Elston Howard, Munson has played his role to perfection."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Munson had one of the finest seasons in the American League last year, retaining his position as the most highly regarded catcher in the league. Named to his fourth All-Star team, and chosen again by the players at season's end to the Sporting News All-Star team, Thurman was voted a Gold Glove for the third consecutive year.
His season was a model of consistency as his average never fell below .311, and he wound up third in the league in batting, behind Carew and Lynn. Thurman was also third in hits with 190, 164 of which were as a catcher, the rest as a designated hitter, left fielder, right fielder, first baseman and third baseman, as he expanded his versatility. He tied for fifth in the league in RBIs, as he became the first Yankee since 1964 to drive in 100. Thurm batted safely in 117 of the 157 games he played, 56 of them producing two or more hits, and 14 with three or more hits. He led the league in hitting from May 4 to May 25.
An All-American at Kent State, Thurman was the Yankees' number one draft choice of 1968 and played in only 99 minor league games before winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1970, his first of three .300 seasons. A year later, he made only one error and fielded .998, tying Elston Howard's Yankee catching record.
The current link to the great Yankee catching tradition of Dickey-Berra-Howard, his lifetime batting average of .286 is tied for 14th on the all-time Yankee list.
Thurman is a great competitor, gifted with unusually good speed for a catcher, and is rated as probably the finest all-around athlete on the club."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Munson had his best season last year, hitting .318 with 102 RBI. He was third in the league in batting and in hits, as his average never fell below .311 all year. Thurman has also won three consecutive Gold Gloves.
Hitting with good power this year, he had 20 home runs in 1973. Thurman was Rookie of the Year in 1970 when he hit .302. He is the first captain of the Yankees since Lou Gehrig.
This is Thurman's fifth All-Star Game."
-1976 All-Star Game official program
"Coming off his finest year, having led the club in batting (.318), hits (190) and RBI (102), Thurman was also voted his third straight Gold Glove as the league's outstanding defensive catcher, despite 23 errors.
He was the only catcher to handle the speedy Angels. He nailed them seven times in 11 steal attempts. Versus the rest of the league, the Angels stole over 200 bases and were successful two out of three times.
Born in Akron, Ohio, pitchers value his expertise at calling at a game and rely on his pitch selection. He has remarkably quick reflexes and a quick release of the ball, and is extremely confident."
-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1976 Edition
"This is just to offer the Yankee opinion that Johnny Bench is not a bad catcher to have on the team, but also to claim that the Yanks are pretty happy to have his American League counterpart, Thurman Munson.
'The Munse' was Rookie of the Year in 1970, and what a fine choice that was, for after six seasons, he's had four All-Star selections, three Gold Glove awards and a trio of .300 years. Last year may have been his best, as he continues to demonstrate the ability to improve each season through the same rugged determination so evident to even the casual fan.
Thurman is the unofficial field captain of the club, for he's got everything but a general's uniform on when the Yankees are on the field. Recognized as the best man at calling a game in the league, the Canton, Ohio native is now making New Jersey his home, along with that valuable real estate behind home plate in Yankee Stadium. As heir to the Yankee catching legacy of Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra and Elston Howard, Munson has played his role to perfection."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Munson had one of the finest seasons in the American League last year, retaining his position as the most highly regarded catcher in the league. Named to his fourth All-Star team, and chosen again by the players at season's end to the Sporting News All-Star team, Thurman was voted a Gold Glove for the third consecutive year.
His season was a model of consistency as his average never fell below .311, and he wound up third in the league in batting, behind Carew and Lynn. Thurman was also third in hits with 190, 164 of which were as a catcher, the rest as a designated hitter, left fielder, right fielder, first baseman and third baseman, as he expanded his versatility. He tied for fifth in the league in RBIs, as he became the first Yankee since 1964 to drive in 100. Thurm batted safely in 117 of the 157 games he played, 56 of them producing two or more hits, and 14 with three or more hits. He led the league in hitting from May 4 to May 25.
An All-American at Kent State, Thurman was the Yankees' number one draft choice of 1968 and played in only 99 minor league games before winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1970, his first of three .300 seasons. A year later, he made only one error and fielded .998, tying Elston Howard's Yankee catching record.
The current link to the great Yankee catching tradition of Dickey-Berra-Howard, his lifetime batting average of .286 is tied for 14th on the all-time Yankee list.
Thurman is a great competitor, gifted with unusually good speed for a catcher, and is rated as probably the finest all-around athlete on the club."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Munson had his best season last year, hitting .318 with 102 RBI. He was third in the league in batting and in hits, as his average never fell below .311 all year. Thurman has also won three consecutive Gold Gloves.
Hitting with good power this year, he had 20 home runs in 1973. Thurman was Rookie of the Year in 1970 when he hit .302. He is the first captain of the Yankees since Lou Gehrig.
This is Thurman's fifth All-Star Game."
-1976 All-Star Game official program
Sunday, September 7, 2014
1976 Profile: Jim Hunter
1976 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR
"Catfish. The center of the biggest manhunt in baseball history, he sold himself to the highest bidder, the Yankees, for a $3.2 million package and other considerations. Was he worth it? If Gabe Paul had to do it over again he'd do it over again.
'He had an outstanding year,' Paul says. 'Where would we be without him?'
Money hasn't changed him. Jim was born in Hertford, North Carolina and still lives there. He's extremely popular with his teammates.
His 30 complete games were tops in the league since Bob Feller in 1946. He had four complete-game victories over the A's in four starts, allowing three runs and 26 hits, all singles.
'He's the best pitcher in the league,' says ex-teammate Reggie Jackson. 'I always thought he was good when I played behind him, but hitting against him I know how good he is.'"
-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1976 Edition
"In one season as a Yankee, Catfish Hunter has taken his place among the greatest pitchers of all time. To run through his statistical accomplishments would be unnecessary, for he improves on them yearly, and when you talk numbers to the Cat, he could care less. Give him the final score and make sure he's on top, and he's as happy as he is on his farm in Hertford, North Carolina.
The numbers create the words to be etched on his Hall of Fame plaque one day. But that's a long way off. Right now, give Jim the baseball every fourth day, and watch what happens. This is one fine man.
The fame and fortune have not changed Jim ... he likes the camaraderie of his teammates during the season, the solitude of hunting and fishing during the off-season, and the closeness of his family at all times. If this was a world of Catfish Hunters, it would be a glorious place. But as long as there is only one, we can all share in the joy of his being a New York Yankee."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"One of the premier pitchers in the history of the American League. Last season, Jim became only the third man in league history to record five consecutive 20-win campaigns, joining Hall of Famers Walter Johnson and Lefty Grove. It was Catfish's first year as a Yankee, having joined the club on New Year's Eve amid one of the most sensational talent hunts in history, with 23 teams bidding into the millions for his services.
Catfish led the league in complete games and innings pitched, becoming the first American Leaguer since Bob Feller (1946) to record 30 complete games, and the first Yankee since Carl Mays (1921) to post 30. His 328 innings were the most by any Yankee since Mays had 337 (1921). He was the first 20-game winner on the Yanks since 1970.
He was runner-up to Jim Palmer for the Cy Young Award, an honor he captured in 1974. Cat was third in the voting in 1973, fourth in 1972. He tied Palmer for the major league lead in victories, although he didn't record his first Yankee win until his fifth start. His 2.58 ERA was second to Palmer, a department he led in '74.
Jim had a 1-hitter (vs. Texas), a 2-hitter, three 3-hitters and three 4-hitters while recording a career high of seven shutouts; he has 38 career shutouts, making him the active A.L. leader. He matched a career high of 12 strikeouts in his final appearance of the season.
Jim produced the remarkable feat last year of pitching all but 18 of the maximum number of innings he could have worked. He had five complete games between August 5 and September 11. Although a model of consistency after his slow start, his longest winning streak of the year was four, as he lost several one-run games. Against his former Oakland teammates, he was 4-0 with an 0.75 ERA - three runs and 13 hits (all singles) in 36 innings, with seven walks and 28 strikeouts. Former batterymate Gene Tenace was 0-for-10 with eight strikeouts.
The youngest of eight children, Jim was a great athlete at Perquimans High School, All-State in baseball and football, and a member of the 440 and mile relay teams in track. He also played Little League and Babe Ruth League ball in Hertford, American Legion ball in Ahoskie, and semi-pro ball in Wanchese. He was a Cleveland fan as a youngster with Jimmy Piersall his favorite player. His brothers helped develop his pitching career.
Scouted for Kansas City by Clyde Kluttz, who signed him despite a hunting accident which cost him the small toe on his right foot, Jim remained on the disabled list for all of 1964, hence he never pitched in the minors. A's owner Charlie Finley nicknamed him Catfish to give him a colorful name.
'Catfish' broke onto the national scene with a five-inning relief stint in the 1967 All-Star Game, the first ever played in TV's prime time. On May 8, 1968, in only the 12th home game ever played by the Oakland A's, he pitched a perfect game against Minnesota, winning 4-0, the only regular season perfect game in the American League in the last 54 years.
His emergence as a 20-game coincided with the rise of Oakland to the top of the Western Division, as he helped them to four straight division titles and three straight World Championships, producing a 4-0 mark in Series play. Jim won 21 games in 1973 despite missing a month after a Billy Williams line drive broke his right thumb in the All-Star Game, one of seven All-Star teams he's made.
An arbitration panel declared him a free agent after the 1974 season, and the Yankees, led by scout Clyde Kluttz (who had moved over from the A's), signed him to a five-year contract. The publicity made him a household name, and he spent an active year doing television and magazine advertisements and handling an overflow crowd of reporters from the day he got to spring training. Jim has time for everyone, only seeking privacy on days he pitches.
In the off-season, he tends to a 110-acre farm in Hertford, raising peanuts, soybeans, turnips, etc. A brother runs the farm during the season while Cat resides in New Jersey.
Jim is an outstanding fielder, and prior to the DH one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball, with 149-657 (.227) lifetime, with six homers and 51 RBIs."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
HOW TO EARN YOUR STRIPES by Catfish Hunter
"YOU NEED ONLY ONE PITCH. Everybody says you need two, three, four pitches to be in the major leagues. That isn't so. One of the best pitchers I know throws nothing but fastballs. Changes speed on it. A fast one, then a little off it, fastball inside, then back away from you ... and then he'll throw you a curve ball in the dirt. He keeps you off-stride, looking for that curve ball. But he's not going to throw it for you to hit it. He knows how to set a hitter up.
Now, me, I might mix'em up and throw everything - fastball, breaking ball, changeup. Or just stay with one pitch because I've got it right on the corner, right within an inch of where I want it.
I give up a lot of home runs because batters know I'm a control pitcher. They know I'm not wild. They stand in there, and if you don't make the right pitch, they're gonna hit it. Ballparks shoot off fireworks after home runs most times. So my teammates, they started calling me 'Boom-Boom.'
BETWEEN THE HAT & THE MOUSTACHE. You can have good stuff, but if you don't use your brain, you're not going to win. There's one guy, he's got the best stuff of any pitcher anywhere. But he doesn't win. They tell him, 'Just get it across the plate anywhere ... they can't hit it.' You throw it breaking right down the middle and they're going to hit it! He's not thinking for himself.
I look to see how close the batter's standing to home plate ... things like that. If he stands away from the plate, most times he doesn't like the ball inside. If he's standing back deep, he's trying to wait on a curve ball until after it breaks. And if he's standing up front, he wants to hit the curve ball BEFORE it breaks, so you throw him all fastballs.
Thinking pays off all the time. Like, if he hits the ball, where am I supposed to be? You've got to know when to back-up ... some pitchers I know never think to cover first base! A good fielding pitcher can save five games for himself a year.
I TUCK MY THUMB. I've only seen one other pitcher hold the ball like I do. See how my thumb's tucked under? That's the way I picked up throwing.
Don't know as I'd tell everyone to hold his thumb that way. What I do tell people, though, is how to handle a curve ball. Most people, they throw from out here to the side so they get a flat-breaking spinner that's easy to hit because it's curving on the same plane that the guy's swinging his bat. My advice is, always turn your wrist towards your body. That way, your curve ball is going to break like it should ... downwards.
THE SECRET OF PITCHING: I tell kids, the main thing to go for at first is accuracy. I'd pick up rocks when I was a kid and throw them at telephone poles. I'd throw corncobs at my brothers, and they were throwing at me. I wasn't just throwing at nothing: I was always throwing at an object, trying to hit it.
Once you've got your accuracy, don't throw the same speed all the time. That's the secret of pitching right there. Changing speeds. Take a little off here and a little more there ... control, that's all you've got to have. It's not any good if your fastball and your curve ball are the same speed. A guy gets the time on it, he's going to hit it."
-Jim Hunter, The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Hunter is one of only three pitchers in American League history to have five consecutive 20-win seasons [with Walter Johnson and Lefty Grove]. Last year he finished first or second in the league in wins, ERA, innings, shutouts and complete games. His 30 complete games were the most in the league in 29 years [since Bob Feller].
The Cy Young Award winner in 1974, Jim is 4-0 in World Series play. He pitched a perfect game against Minnesota on May 8, 1968.
This is Jim's eighth All-Star Game."
-1976 All-Star Game official program
"Catfish. The center of the biggest manhunt in baseball history, he sold himself to the highest bidder, the Yankees, for a $3.2 million package and other considerations. Was he worth it? If Gabe Paul had to do it over again he'd do it over again.
'He had an outstanding year,' Paul says. 'Where would we be without him?'
Money hasn't changed him. Jim was born in Hertford, North Carolina and still lives there. He's extremely popular with his teammates.
His 30 complete games were tops in the league since Bob Feller in 1946. He had four complete-game victories over the A's in four starts, allowing three runs and 26 hits, all singles.
'He's the best pitcher in the league,' says ex-teammate Reggie Jackson. 'I always thought he was good when I played behind him, but hitting against him I know how good he is.'"
-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1976 Edition
"In one season as a Yankee, Catfish Hunter has taken his place among the greatest pitchers of all time. To run through his statistical accomplishments would be unnecessary, for he improves on them yearly, and when you talk numbers to the Cat, he could care less. Give him the final score and make sure he's on top, and he's as happy as he is on his farm in Hertford, North Carolina.
The numbers create the words to be etched on his Hall of Fame plaque one day. But that's a long way off. Right now, give Jim the baseball every fourth day, and watch what happens. This is one fine man.
The fame and fortune have not changed Jim ... he likes the camaraderie of his teammates during the season, the solitude of hunting and fishing during the off-season, and the closeness of his family at all times. If this was a world of Catfish Hunters, it would be a glorious place. But as long as there is only one, we can all share in the joy of his being a New York Yankee."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"One of the premier pitchers in the history of the American League. Last season, Jim became only the third man in league history to record five consecutive 20-win campaigns, joining Hall of Famers Walter Johnson and Lefty Grove. It was Catfish's first year as a Yankee, having joined the club on New Year's Eve amid one of the most sensational talent hunts in history, with 23 teams bidding into the millions for his services.
Catfish led the league in complete games and innings pitched, becoming the first American Leaguer since Bob Feller (1946) to record 30 complete games, and the first Yankee since Carl Mays (1921) to post 30. His 328 innings were the most by any Yankee since Mays had 337 (1921). He was the first 20-game winner on the Yanks since 1970.
He was runner-up to Jim Palmer for the Cy Young Award, an honor he captured in 1974. Cat was third in the voting in 1973, fourth in 1972. He tied Palmer for the major league lead in victories, although he didn't record his first Yankee win until his fifth start. His 2.58 ERA was second to Palmer, a department he led in '74.
Jim had a 1-hitter (vs. Texas), a 2-hitter, three 3-hitters and three 4-hitters while recording a career high of seven shutouts; he has 38 career shutouts, making him the active A.L. leader. He matched a career high of 12 strikeouts in his final appearance of the season.
Jim produced the remarkable feat last year of pitching all but 18 of the maximum number of innings he could have worked. He had five complete games between August 5 and September 11. Although a model of consistency after his slow start, his longest winning streak of the year was four, as he lost several one-run games. Against his former Oakland teammates, he was 4-0 with an 0.75 ERA - three runs and 13 hits (all singles) in 36 innings, with seven walks and 28 strikeouts. Former batterymate Gene Tenace was 0-for-10 with eight strikeouts.
The youngest of eight children, Jim was a great athlete at Perquimans High School, All-State in baseball and football, and a member of the 440 and mile relay teams in track. He also played Little League and Babe Ruth League ball in Hertford, American Legion ball in Ahoskie, and semi-pro ball in Wanchese. He was a Cleveland fan as a youngster with Jimmy Piersall his favorite player. His brothers helped develop his pitching career.
Scouted for Kansas City by Clyde Kluttz, who signed him despite a hunting accident which cost him the small toe on his right foot, Jim remained on the disabled list for all of 1964, hence he never pitched in the minors. A's owner Charlie Finley nicknamed him Catfish to give him a colorful name.
'Catfish' broke onto the national scene with a five-inning relief stint in the 1967 All-Star Game, the first ever played in TV's prime time. On May 8, 1968, in only the 12th home game ever played by the Oakland A's, he pitched a perfect game against Minnesota, winning 4-0, the only regular season perfect game in the American League in the last 54 years.
His emergence as a 20-game coincided with the rise of Oakland to the top of the Western Division, as he helped them to four straight division titles and three straight World Championships, producing a 4-0 mark in Series play. Jim won 21 games in 1973 despite missing a month after a Billy Williams line drive broke his right thumb in the All-Star Game, one of seven All-Star teams he's made.
An arbitration panel declared him a free agent after the 1974 season, and the Yankees, led by scout Clyde Kluttz (who had moved over from the A's), signed him to a five-year contract. The publicity made him a household name, and he spent an active year doing television and magazine advertisements and handling an overflow crowd of reporters from the day he got to spring training. Jim has time for everyone, only seeking privacy on days he pitches.
In the off-season, he tends to a 110-acre farm in Hertford, raising peanuts, soybeans, turnips, etc. A brother runs the farm during the season while Cat resides in New Jersey.
Jim is an outstanding fielder, and prior to the DH one of the best hitting pitchers in baseball, with 149-657 (.227) lifetime, with six homers and 51 RBIs."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
HOW TO EARN YOUR STRIPES by Catfish Hunter
"YOU NEED ONLY ONE PITCH. Everybody says you need two, three, four pitches to be in the major leagues. That isn't so. One of the best pitchers I know throws nothing but fastballs. Changes speed on it. A fast one, then a little off it, fastball inside, then back away from you ... and then he'll throw you a curve ball in the dirt. He keeps you off-stride, looking for that curve ball. But he's not going to throw it for you to hit it. He knows how to set a hitter up.
Now, me, I might mix'em up and throw everything - fastball, breaking ball, changeup. Or just stay with one pitch because I've got it right on the corner, right within an inch of where I want it.
I give up a lot of home runs because batters know I'm a control pitcher. They know I'm not wild. They stand in there, and if you don't make the right pitch, they're gonna hit it. Ballparks shoot off fireworks after home runs most times. So my teammates, they started calling me 'Boom-Boom.'
BETWEEN THE HAT & THE MOUSTACHE. You can have good stuff, but if you don't use your brain, you're not going to win. There's one guy, he's got the best stuff of any pitcher anywhere. But he doesn't win. They tell him, 'Just get it across the plate anywhere ... they can't hit it.' You throw it breaking right down the middle and they're going to hit it! He's not thinking for himself.
I look to see how close the batter's standing to home plate ... things like that. If he stands away from the plate, most times he doesn't like the ball inside. If he's standing back deep, he's trying to wait on a curve ball until after it breaks. And if he's standing up front, he wants to hit the curve ball BEFORE it breaks, so you throw him all fastballs.
Thinking pays off all the time. Like, if he hits the ball, where am I supposed to be? You've got to know when to back-up ... some pitchers I know never think to cover first base! A good fielding pitcher can save five games for himself a year.
I TUCK MY THUMB. I've only seen one other pitcher hold the ball like I do. See how my thumb's tucked under? That's the way I picked up throwing.
Don't know as I'd tell everyone to hold his thumb that way. What I do tell people, though, is how to handle a curve ball. Most people, they throw from out here to the side so they get a flat-breaking spinner that's easy to hit because it's curving on the same plane that the guy's swinging his bat. My advice is, always turn your wrist towards your body. That way, your curve ball is going to break like it should ... downwards.
THE SECRET OF PITCHING: I tell kids, the main thing to go for at first is accuracy. I'd pick up rocks when I was a kid and throw them at telephone poles. I'd throw corncobs at my brothers, and they were throwing at me. I wasn't just throwing at nothing: I was always throwing at an object, trying to hit it.
Once you've got your accuracy, don't throw the same speed all the time. That's the secret of pitching right there. Changing speeds. Take a little off here and a little more there ... control, that's all you've got to have. It's not any good if your fastball and your curve ball are the same speed. A guy gets the time on it, he's going to hit it."
-Jim Hunter, The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Hunter is one of only three pitchers in American League history to have five consecutive 20-win seasons [with Walter Johnson and Lefty Grove]. Last year he finished first or second in the league in wins, ERA, innings, shutouts and complete games. His 30 complete games were the most in the league in 29 years [since Bob Feller].
The Cy Young Award winner in 1974, Jim is 4-0 in World Series play. He pitched a perfect game against Minnesota on May 8, 1968.
This is Jim's eighth All-Star Game."
-1976 All-Star Game official program
Saturday, September 6, 2014
1976 New York Yankees Manager and Coaches Profiles
BILLY MARTIN (Manager)
"Brash Billy. Back with the Yankees, where he enjoyed his greatest success, he was Casey Stengel's favorite player.
Billy was born Alfred Manuel Martin in Berkley, California, and battled his way to the big leagues. He won the AL West as manager of the Twins, then was fired ... he took a Tiger team and won the AL East in his second year there, then was fired ... he took a rag-tag Ranger team and brought them in second place in his first full season there ... then was fired. Billy was hired by the Yankees on Old-Timers' Day, 1975.
'I didn't come here to lose,' he said. Under him, the Yanks were 30-26. Martin's philosophy of managing: 'I'm an unorthodox manager. I like to do the opposite of what the other team expects.'"
-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1976 Edition
"When Billy Martin patrolled second base for the Yankees during the 1950s, he was the man who made things happen. He was Casey Stengel's pride and joy, and a man who really proved what the magic of a Yankee uniform can do.
Now, two decades later, Billy is still the man who makes things happen. But now, he's in Casey's office, managing the team he once starred for. And what a perfect marriage it is!
Billy is a leader by inspiration as well as by reputation, for players consider him among the best in the running of a game. But it is not only as a tactician that he succeeds but also as an old fashioned, play-your-heart-out man who leads by example.
Billy's just an inspiring kind of guy. And he's going to give New Yorkers an inspiring kind of team."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Billy returned to the Yankee organization on August 2, 1975 as manager, 18 years and six weeks after he was traded away.
He was a sparkplug second baseman who played in five World Series for the Yankees, and a classic example of a man who maximized his abilities just by wearing the Yankee uniform. After he was traded, he played in rapid succession for the Athletics, Tigers, Indians, Reds, Braves and Twins, and was only an ordinary performer.
Billy was a superstar in World Series play, with a lifetime .333 average. He made a famous catch of a short pop hit by Jackie Robinson to save the 1952 World Championship for the Yankees. A year later, he won the Babe Ruth Award by hitting .500 (12 for 24).
He was born Alfred Manuel Pesano in Berkley to Italian and Portuguese parents, but his father deserted when he was only eight months old. After graduating from Berkley High in 1946, the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific League signed him. He was farmed out to Phoenix of the Arizona-Texas League in 1947 and led the league in hitting (.392), hits (230), doubles (48) and runs batted in (174). Billy finished the year under Casey Stengel at Oakland and played for Casey again in 1948, the Oaks winning two pennants.
In 1950, he and Jackie Jensen were purchased by the Yankees, and after starting the season in Kansas City (American Association) Billy moved up to New York play in 34 games as a utility infielder. He served the same role in 1951, appearing in his first Series. Billy became a regular in 1952 and remained so until he was traded, with time out for military service for the entire 1954 season, and for most of 1955. Billy has been a close friend of Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford ever since they played together with the Yankees.
After his playing career ended in 1961, he scouted for Minnesota (1962-64) and became a Twins' coach in 1965, the year they unseated New York as American League champions. He remained third base coach until May 28, 1968, when he went to Denver to begin his managing career, and returned to Minnesota in 1969 with the Twins' job, leading the club to the first Western Division title. Billy lost the Championship Series and his job, sat out the 1970 season, and got the Detroit Tigers' job in 1971, leading the club to the 1972 Eastern Division championship. He lost that job on September 1, 1973 but a week later was hired by the Texas Rangers, whom he led to a strong second-place finish in 1974. Billy was the A.P. and U.P.I. Manager of the Year that season. He was fired by Texas on July 21, 1975 with the club in fourth place, and took over the Yankees with the team's record at 53-51 in third place, ten games out.
Colorful, fiery and controversial, Billy enjoys working out with the team, or even taking the coaching lines at third base at times. He has a reputation for running a game and setting the tempo of a team more than most managers.
Billy's hobby is American history, with a special expertise on the Civil War."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"The name's the same and the Stadium is still in the same place, but everything else seems to have changed.
Yankee Stadium, the House That Ruth Built and Lindsey Remodeled, is again the home of the Yankees. A mammoth controversial rebuilding program, started under the administration of former Mayor John Lindsey, has given the New York Yankees a new look to their old home in the Bronx.
But with all the changes, there's something that's going to be quite familiar to Yankee fans. Billy the Kid has come home.
Really, where else should Billy Martin be managing but at Yankee Stadium? It took him a few stops at places like Minnesota, Detroit and Texas. And when the Yankees finally did get a chance to hire him last season, they were playing on foreign turf at Shea Stadium- the home of the Mets.
But now the Yankees and Martin are both back home- two decades after the brash, cocky kid won the heart of Casey Stengel with his combative play before he finally outlasted his welcome and was shipped to Kansas City.
Martin, always a Yankee at heart, is bound to make the club a force to reckoned with in the coming American League season.
Martin came back to the Yankees last August 2 and, appropriately enough, it was on Old-Timers' Day. It was just 12 days after he had been fired by the Texas Rangers. 'For a year or two,' says one baseball executive, 'he's the best manager in baseball.'
But now Martin wants to prove he can be a winning manager over the long haul. His three major league managing jobs have spanned about five full years, less than two years per job.
Gabe Paul, the club president, has no doubts that Martin is the guy to get the Yankees back on the right track. 'We knew his background, knew his temperament, knew his pluses and minuses,' Paul says. 'If a guy can't learn from the experience of three jobs, then he's not very smart. I think Billy Martin is smart.'
Martin's problems with his past clubs usually have been differences over player personnel but that's because he had a big say in personnel. 'All my duties here are as a manager. I expect to have something to say on personnel but only as a consultant.' Gabe Paul is a strong-willed executive and it's obvious that he'll run the club.
Martin will admit he has made mistakes in the past, but says that his problems in the past have been due to promises broken by and misunderstandings with the front office. He says his superiors have been jealous of his popularity with the fans.
'Everybody's makes mistakes and I've been the perfect guy to be crucified,' he says.
If there was one indication of Martin's willingness to admit past mistakes, it came in his dealings with Elliott Maddox. The two parted bitterly when Maddox felt that Martin got rid of him in Detroit, promised him a shot at a regular job in Texas, failed to live up to that promise, and ordered Ranger pitchers to throw at him last spring.
But Martin made it obvious to Maddox that the past was the past. There was a telephone call. 'Hello, this is Billy Martin,' he said to Maddox. 'Maybe you've heard I'm the new Yankee manager.' Later, they had a talk in the Yankee clubhouse after Martin had gone out of his way to question him about the torn cartilage in his leg. 'He felt the things in the past should be forgotten,' Maddox said.
Maddox added, 'Actually, we never knew each other. I was never around long enough. I imagine things can be worked out now. We have a common goal now.'
Martin admitted he was wrong about Maddox with the Rangers. 'I planned on playing Lenny Randle in center field. I didn't think he (Maddox) could hit in the big leagues. He proved me wrong. He told me he wants the same thing I want, to win. That's enough for me.'
That's Billy Martin, a guy as fiery as ever but a guy willing to admit to his own goofs in the past. Now Martin has to prove he still has a future with the Yankees.
Martin is always fast with a quip. He once said the secret of managing is 'to keep the five players who hate you away from the four who are undecided.'
But there's a lot more to it than that in Martin's book. He claims a manager can change the result in anywhere from 20 to 50 games. That may be a bit inflated, but nobody ever said Martin isn't brash.
He backs up his claim. 'A manager can if he's the kind of guy I am, who handles everything himself. I'm not talking about the managers who just make out the lineup card. I call everything myself. Infield in, halfway, back; all the pitchouts; whether to throw through or not. I call a lot of pitches, too. There's someone out there looking at me before every pitch.'
But Martin is also the kind of guy who gets genuine satisfaction out of teaching the young players the ins and outs of the game. 'When I was a kid, I never understood what teachers got out of it. But now I know. Why, to see somebody do something you showed them, that's a wonderful feeling. You feel better than if you had done it yourself.'
He also still remembers fondly the old days on the Yankees. 'I was probably the proudest Yankee of them all. And I don't mean a false pride. When it's real on a team, it's a real love-pride. There's nothing greater in the world than when somebody on the team does something good, and everybody gathers around to pat him on the back. I really love the togetherness in baseball. That's a true love.'
Martin's goal is to bring back those days with the Yankees. Although the Yankees are going to have a tough task trying to beat out Boston and Baltimore in the American League Eastern Division, it's a challenge he's looking forward to.
He means to remake the team and he'll start with fundamentals. 'We're going to spend a lot of time working on fundamentals. This club is very poor on fundamentals- not hitting the cutoff man, throwing to the wrong base, and the bunting is poor. Very poor.' It's not likely to stay that way.
Martin says he doesn't think it will be 'that much of a problem' for the Yankees to win in 1976. 'I don't think we have to do that much. I think we can win with a healthy club, with Ron Blomberg and Elliott Maddox back. That's all it will take, really, just to have everybody healthy because I think we have the players who can win.'
The Yankees also made a pair of key deals over the winter that will help add a lot of speed and versatility to the lineup and give Martin more of a chance to do the kinds of things he likes to do.
First, they traded slugger Bobby Bonds to the California Angels for base stealing whiz Mickey Rivers and pitcher Ed Figueroa and then traded Doc Medich to the Pittsburgh Pirates for rookie Willie Randolph and pitchers Ken Brett and Dock Ellis.
The way Martin sees it, Rivers and Randolph will give the Yankees a lot more speed in the lineup. Rivers is the defending American League base stealing champion with 70 steals in 84 attempts. 'I think he'll steal 100 for us,' Martin insists. The Yankees hated to part with Bonds, who added more punch to the lineup, but they feel that Rivers' quickness will make up for the loss in power. And Figueroa replaces Medich in the rotation (they both won 16 last year) so the Yanks could afford to send Medich to Pittsburgh for Randolph, Brett and Ellis.
Randolph hasn't proven himself in the major leagues yet, but all the scouts say he is a sure-fire prospect at second base, and he is being counted on to plug a gap in the Yankee lineup that has existed ever since Bobby Richardson retired a decade ago. If Randolph is the kind of second baseman the Yankees think he is, the deal will be a big plus for them. The Pirates were willing to part with him only because they have Rennie Stennett set at second for years to come.
Brett, who has a history of arm trouble, and Ellis, who has had problems with his attitude, are both question mark pitchers, but both could help. If any manager can motivate the unpredictable Ellis, it would have to Martin. 'I'd love to play for Martin and I'd love to play in New York,' Ellis said as soon as the deal was made.
The Yanks, who also picked up Oscar Gamble from Cleveland for Pat Dobson, feel their new players are going to help a club that already has a solid nucleus with Blomberg, Maddox, Catfish Hunter, Thurman Munson, Roy White and Graig Nettles all in their prime.
And with Martin ready to turn the team loose, it's going to be an interesting season to say the least. But Martin has something to prove, too. He has to show he can do it over the long haul. It could be he's too intense. 'I can't ever get away from it,' he admits. 'I take it home with me. I take it to bed with me. I wake up with it. And what I feel inside, you never see on the outside.'
But Martin does think he has gotten a bad rap over the years. 'I've always been the toughest critic of myself. They talk about my temper. Well, I haven't seen a good racehorse yet who wasn't high-strung. And anyway, temper is a wonderful thing if you can control it and if it doesn't control you. The way I see it, my temper is a great ally. It is what has pushed Billy Martin.'
The question remains whether it has pushed him too far at times. He managed the Twins and Tigers to division championships but still was dismissed after hassles with the front office. He took a Texas team that had been going nowhere since it had moved to the Lone Star State and turned it into a solid contender. But again, Martin was fired.
It wasn't three strikes and out for Martin, though. Just 12 days after the Rangers got rid of him, the Yankees had brought him back home. But this might well be the last shot on the merry-go-round for Martin. If he fails with the Yankees, that would be four strikes and there would be no guarantee that he'd get another chance.
And he couldn't ask for a better opportunity. The Yankees will be moving into a remodeled stadium this year, they have a club that clearly has the potential to be a contender and they have the kind of club that Billy Martin likes to maneuver. It is a club that can run, take the extra base and get all those little extras that Billy Martin always likes to take advantage of.
There's no doubt Martin has the record behind him. He started as a manager in the minors with Denver in 1968 and took a club that was 8-22 and went 65-60 the rest of the way with it. He then moved to Minnesota and grabbed a team that finished 24 games out of first place and drove it to the division crown. In Detroit, he took a team that had finished 20 games out of it, and in two years led it to a division win. In Texas, he took a club that had been 37 games out and led it to within five games of the top.
Yet despite all that success, Martin has yet to last three full years as the manager with any single club.
Will things change? It's going to be interesting to find out.
But Martin, who hasn't been in a World Series in 20 years, since he was a Yankee back in 1956, would like to show that it will. There couldn't be a better way than to return to the World Series."
-Vito Stellino, Sports All-Stars 1976 Baseball
"Billy Martin is the 'Make Things Happen' manager in major league baseball. That spirit goes back to the days when he was the star second baseman of the Yankees, as much as part of the attack as were Mantle, Berra and Ford. Today, that youthful zest carries over to managerial leadership. Billy is considered among the best strategists in the game. His intense dedication to baseball, particularly during the games themselves, is healthfully contagious, creating a winning atmosphere among his men.
Somehow, it always seemed inevitable that Billy and the Yankees would be back together someday ... than uniform number one would be on Billy's back as it was during those grand days of the fifties when he would steal the show at World Series time. Billy is back ... and watch the Yankees ignite under his command."
-1976 New York Yankees Scorebook & Official Program
BOB LEMON (Coach)
"Bob Lemon is the newest Yankee coach - and with pride, the newest member of the Hall of Fame. Elected last winter on the basis of a brilliant career with the Cleveland Indians, 'Lem,' former Kansas City manager, becomes pitching coach this season. His presence on the distinguished staff gives New York two Hall of Fame coaches - quite a faculty."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Bob was elected to the Hall of Fame on January 22, 1976, reaffirming him as one of the great American League pitchers of all time. He joins the Yankee organization in 1976, his 38th year in professional baseball. He was named Yankee pitching coach last December.
Bob was a seven-time 20-game winner with the Cleveland Indians, compiling a lifetime 207-128 record. He was also one of the best hitting pitchers of all time (37 lifetime home runs), as he began his career as a third baseman-outfielder. Bob was the Opening Day center fielder for the Indians in 1946 after three years in the Navy, but by season's end he was virtually a full-time pitcher. Named Pitcher of the Year by the Sporting News in 1948, 1950 and 1954, he was selected to seven All-Star teams and hurled in two World Series. Bob no-hit Detroit on June 30, 1948. He hurled 10 shutouts in 1948, and had 31 for his career.
After his playing career, Bob scouted and coached, and became manager of Kansas City in 1970. His second place finish that year brought him great acclaim. In 1974, he managed the Sacramento club that hit 305 home runs in its small park.
Bob was Minor League Manager of the Year in 1966."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Maybe it took a coaching job with the Yankees to get Bob Lemon the overdue recognition he deserved, but let's not think so, for this man pitched his way into the Hall of Fame during his brilliant career with the Indians. And 1976 turned out to be his year, as the Hall of Fame opened the gates and made him a baseball immortal, just like his coaching partner Yogi Berra. Lemon, the new Yankee pitching coach, is in his 38th consecutive year in pro baseball."
-1976 New York Yankees Scorebook & Official Program
1976 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR TEAM CAPTAIN
"Bob Lemon well remembers the last time he was in Philadelphia for an All-Star Game. The date was July 8, 1952, the place was Shibe Park and it was a dreary, rainy day.
'That's one game I'll never forget,' says the newly elected Hall of Famer. 'I pitched two innings in a steady rain, and big Hank Sauer of the Cubs hit a two-run homer off me in the fourth inning that drove in the winning run in the National League's 3-2 win.'
The game was eventually called after five innings, the only All-Star Game ever cut short, and Lemon was saddled with the loss, his only decision in four All-Star appearances.
Nowadays you hear ballplayers say they'd rather have the three days off than appear in the annual mid-summer classic. Not so with Lemon, winner of 207 big league games, who says he has many fond memories of his All-Star appearances.
'They were all good times,' says the pitching coach of the 1976 New York Yankees. 'I enjoyed every one of them and was honored to be selected four times.'"
-1976 All-Star Game official program
YOGI BERRA (Coach)
"A warm welcome home to everyone's friend, Lawrence Peter 'Yogi' Berra, one of the most recognizable people in America. The three-time MVP and Hall of Famer, who hit more home runs than any catcher in history, is back with the Yankees this year after a lengthy stint as coach and manager of the Mets. Yogi starred for the Yanks from 1946 to 1963 and managed the club to the 1964 pennant."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"The Hall of Famer returned to the Yankees as a coach on December 3, 1975, 33 years after signing his Yankee first contract and 12 years after his last one.
A three-time Most Valuable Player (1951,1954,1955), his 313 home runs are the most ever hit by a catcher. Yogi twice hit 30 homers in one season, a catching record, and drove in over 100 runs five times.
He handled a record 950 consecutive chances without an error (1957-1959). Yogi also played the outfield for the Yankees.
A 15-time All-Star, Yogi played in a record 14 World Series, setting records for most championship clubs (10), most games (75), most at-bats (259), most hits (71), most singles (49) and most consecutive errorless games by a catcher (30).
Yogi was a player-coach in 1963 and Yankee manager in 1964, winning the club's last pennant. He joined the Mets' coaching staff in 1965 and became Met manager in 1972, leading the club to a pennant the following year. The Yankees retired his uniform number (and Bill Dickey's) in 1972, but bring it back for his new assignment.
His son Dale is a third baseman in the Pirate organization and his son Tim played football for the Baltimore Colts."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Is there a more familiar face in all America? Yogi is home, just as the Yankees themselves are this season. The greatest home run hitting catcher in history ... the holder of a host of World Series records ... the man with the gift for making the obvious sound so clever.
Lawrence Peter Berra serves this season as an aide in the dugout to manager Billy Martin."
-1976 New York Yankees Scorebook & Official Magazine
ELSTON HOWARD (Coach)
"One of the most popular players in Yankee history is Elston Howard, the last New Yorker to win an MVP award, the winner of the 1958 Babe Ruth Award, a .348 hitter during the great 1961 season, a nine-time All-Star selection, and a member of ten World Championship teams. Elston, the Yankees first base and batting coach, is in his eighth season as a Yankee coach."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Now in his eighth season as Yankee first base and batting coach, Elston is one of the most popular men to ever wear the Yankee uniform.
He spent 13 years with the Yankees, playing on nine pennant winners (plus one with Boston). A nine-time All-Star, Elston was the last Yankee to win the MVP award (1963). A .348 hitter in 1961, he won the Babe Ruth Award for World Series heroics as a left fielder.
As a catcher, Elston led the league in fielding three times, winning Gold Gloves in 1963 and 1964, and set a Yankee record in 1964 by making only one error.
Elston was the first black player on the Yankees, the first black coach in the American League and was the inventor of the batting donut, used by almost every on-deck hitter. He has served on the Bergen County Board of Vocational and Technical Education."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Doesn't seem that long ago that Ellie Howard was a star Yankee catcher and outfielder. He won the Babe Ruth in the 1958 World Series for heroics in left field, but he's better remembered as a link in the grand catching tradition of Dickey-Berra-Howard-Munson the Yankees can claim.
Now in his 21st straight year in the major leagues, the personable Jerseyite is one of the most popular men to ever wear the Yankee uniform."
-1976 New York Yankees Scorebook & Official Magazine
DICK HOWSER (Coach)
"Youthful Dick Howser still hasn't reached his 40th birthday, yet he's already an eight-year veteran of the third base coaching lines for the Yankees. The former infielder for Kansas City, Cleveland and the Yankees was the Rookie of the Year in the American League in 1961 when he stole 37 bases for the A's. He still imparts the wisdom of infield play and baserunning to his charges, as well as directing traffic around the bases."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Winner of the Sporting News' Rookie of the Year Award in 1961, Dick stole 37 bases that year and made the All-Star team. He played infield for Kansas City, Cleveland and New York before replacing Frank Crosetti as third base coach in 1969 at the age of 31. The Yankees got him on December 20, 1966 in a trade for Gil Downs.
He's a close friend of movie star Burt Reynolds, with whom he attended both high school and college.
Dick managed the Yankees' Instructional League team in Florida for two seasons."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Dick Howser is an eight-year veteran of the third base coaching lines for the Yankees, spanning a virtual turnover of players. He relays the signs from the dugout and makes the rabbit-quick Yankees motor around his base.
A one-time Rookie of the Year, Dick was quite a motorman himself, stealing 37 bases as a rookie.
Communication between Dick and the players couldn't be better. The read each other well, and transcribe his thoughts into runs."
-1976 New York Yankees Scorebook & Official Magazine
WHITEY FORD (Special Instructor)
"He's the winningest pitcher in Yankee history. With his longtime teammate, roommate and friend Mickey Mantle, Whitey entered the Hall of Fame in 1974. His uniform #16 was officially retired by the Yanks on Old-Timers' Day the same year.
Among pitchers with 200 career victories, Whitey has the highest lifetime winning percentage, .690. He is the all-time Yankee shutout leader with 45, and also tops in strikeouts with 1,956. He was the Cy Young Award winner in 1961 when he was 25-4. He hurled consecutive one-hitters in 1955.
Whitey played for eleven pennant winners and in six All-Star games. He holds World Series records for most victories (10) and most consecutive scoreless innings, 33, breaking a Babe Ruth record.
Raised in New York, he played on the City's sandlots. Whitey is considered one of the real 'money' pitchers in baseball history, and one of the most popular athletes in New York.
Circulation problems in his left arm brought his great career to a halt in 1967. He has served annually as a spring training instructor since then, and as first base coach in 1968. Whitey was pitching coach in 1974 and 1975, a position he held as a player-coach under Yogi Berra in 1964. He has also done Yankee broadcasting on TV as well as many commercials.
His oldest son Eddie was Boston's number one draft pick in 1974.
Whitey will serve on special assignments during the regular season."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
MICKEY MANTLE (Special Instructor)
"Mickey was only the seventh player in baseball history to be elected to the Hall of Fame the first time he was eligible. With sidekick and teammate Whitey Ford, they together became the 20th and 21st Yankees in the Hall of Fame in 1974.
Mickey has appeared annually since his retirement after the 1968 season as a special instructor in spring training and serves the Yankees as a goodwill ambassador throughout the year.
His 18-year career was one of the most dramatic in Yankee history. With injuries to both legs taking a heavy toll on his magnificent performances, Mickey played in more games as a Yankee (2,401) and had more at-bats (8,102).
The most powerful switch-hitter in the game's history, he ten times hit a home run from both sides of the plate in one game, a major league record. His 18 home runs in World Series played topped Babe Ruth's previous high of 15. The American League MVP in 1956, 1957 and 1962, Mickey won the Triple Crown in '56, and also won the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of the year in 1956.
Mickey ranks high in most offensive all-time Yankee categories: third in runs scored (1,677), third in hits (2,415), fourth in doubles (344), second in homers (536) and fourth in RBIs (1,509). His 1,734 walks are third on the all-time list and his 1,710 strikeouts are first.
Mickey is one of the most popular athletes in modern sports history."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Brash Billy. Back with the Yankees, where he enjoyed his greatest success, he was Casey Stengel's favorite player.
Billy was born Alfred Manuel Martin in Berkley, California, and battled his way to the big leagues. He won the AL West as manager of the Twins, then was fired ... he took a Tiger team and won the AL East in his second year there, then was fired ... he took a rag-tag Ranger team and brought them in second place in his first full season there ... then was fired. Billy was hired by the Yankees on Old-Timers' Day, 1975.
'I didn't come here to lose,' he said. Under him, the Yanks were 30-26. Martin's philosophy of managing: 'I'm an unorthodox manager. I like to do the opposite of what the other team expects.'"
-Phil Pepe, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1976 Edition
"When Billy Martin patrolled second base for the Yankees during the 1950s, he was the man who made things happen. He was Casey Stengel's pride and joy, and a man who really proved what the magic of a Yankee uniform can do.
Now, two decades later, Billy is still the man who makes things happen. But now, he's in Casey's office, managing the team he once starred for. And what a perfect marriage it is!
Billy is a leader by inspiration as well as by reputation, for players consider him among the best in the running of a game. But it is not only as a tactician that he succeeds but also as an old fashioned, play-your-heart-out man who leads by example.
Billy's just an inspiring kind of guy. And he's going to give New Yorkers an inspiring kind of team."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Billy returned to the Yankee organization on August 2, 1975 as manager, 18 years and six weeks after he was traded away.
He was a sparkplug second baseman who played in five World Series for the Yankees, and a classic example of a man who maximized his abilities just by wearing the Yankee uniform. After he was traded, he played in rapid succession for the Athletics, Tigers, Indians, Reds, Braves and Twins, and was only an ordinary performer.
Billy was a superstar in World Series play, with a lifetime .333 average. He made a famous catch of a short pop hit by Jackie Robinson to save the 1952 World Championship for the Yankees. A year later, he won the Babe Ruth Award by hitting .500 (12 for 24).
He was born Alfred Manuel Pesano in Berkley to Italian and Portuguese parents, but his father deserted when he was only eight months old. After graduating from Berkley High in 1946, the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific League signed him. He was farmed out to Phoenix of the Arizona-Texas League in 1947 and led the league in hitting (.392), hits (230), doubles (48) and runs batted in (174). Billy finished the year under Casey Stengel at Oakland and played for Casey again in 1948, the Oaks winning two pennants.
In 1950, he and Jackie Jensen were purchased by the Yankees, and after starting the season in Kansas City (American Association) Billy moved up to New York play in 34 games as a utility infielder. He served the same role in 1951, appearing in his first Series. Billy became a regular in 1952 and remained so until he was traded, with time out for military service for the entire 1954 season, and for most of 1955. Billy has been a close friend of Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford ever since they played together with the Yankees.
After his playing career ended in 1961, he scouted for Minnesota (1962-64) and became a Twins' coach in 1965, the year they unseated New York as American League champions. He remained third base coach until May 28, 1968, when he went to Denver to begin his managing career, and returned to Minnesota in 1969 with the Twins' job, leading the club to the first Western Division title. Billy lost the Championship Series and his job, sat out the 1970 season, and got the Detroit Tigers' job in 1971, leading the club to the 1972 Eastern Division championship. He lost that job on September 1, 1973 but a week later was hired by the Texas Rangers, whom he led to a strong second-place finish in 1974. Billy was the A.P. and U.P.I. Manager of the Year that season. He was fired by Texas on July 21, 1975 with the club in fourth place, and took over the Yankees with the team's record at 53-51 in third place, ten games out.
Colorful, fiery and controversial, Billy enjoys working out with the team, or even taking the coaching lines at third base at times. He has a reputation for running a game and setting the tempo of a team more than most managers.
Billy's hobby is American history, with a special expertise on the Civil War."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"The name's the same and the Stadium is still in the same place, but everything else seems to have changed.
Yankee Stadium, the House That Ruth Built and Lindsey Remodeled, is again the home of the Yankees. A mammoth controversial rebuilding program, started under the administration of former Mayor John Lindsey, has given the New York Yankees a new look to their old home in the Bronx.
But with all the changes, there's something that's going to be quite familiar to Yankee fans. Billy the Kid has come home.
Really, where else should Billy Martin be managing but at Yankee Stadium? It took him a few stops at places like Minnesota, Detroit and Texas. And when the Yankees finally did get a chance to hire him last season, they were playing on foreign turf at Shea Stadium- the home of the Mets.
But now the Yankees and Martin are both back home- two decades after the brash, cocky kid won the heart of Casey Stengel with his combative play before he finally outlasted his welcome and was shipped to Kansas City.
Martin, always a Yankee at heart, is bound to make the club a force to reckoned with in the coming American League season.
Martin came back to the Yankees last August 2 and, appropriately enough, it was on Old-Timers' Day. It was just 12 days after he had been fired by the Texas Rangers. 'For a year or two,' says one baseball executive, 'he's the best manager in baseball.'
But now Martin wants to prove he can be a winning manager over the long haul. His three major league managing jobs have spanned about five full years, less than two years per job.
Gabe Paul, the club president, has no doubts that Martin is the guy to get the Yankees back on the right track. 'We knew his background, knew his temperament, knew his pluses and minuses,' Paul says. 'If a guy can't learn from the experience of three jobs, then he's not very smart. I think Billy Martin is smart.'
Martin's problems with his past clubs usually have been differences over player personnel but that's because he had a big say in personnel. 'All my duties here are as a manager. I expect to have something to say on personnel but only as a consultant.' Gabe Paul is a strong-willed executive and it's obvious that he'll run the club.
Martin will admit he has made mistakes in the past, but says that his problems in the past have been due to promises broken by and misunderstandings with the front office. He says his superiors have been jealous of his popularity with the fans.
'Everybody's makes mistakes and I've been the perfect guy to be crucified,' he says.
If there was one indication of Martin's willingness to admit past mistakes, it came in his dealings with Elliott Maddox. The two parted bitterly when Maddox felt that Martin got rid of him in Detroit, promised him a shot at a regular job in Texas, failed to live up to that promise, and ordered Ranger pitchers to throw at him last spring.
But Martin made it obvious to Maddox that the past was the past. There was a telephone call. 'Hello, this is Billy Martin,' he said to Maddox. 'Maybe you've heard I'm the new Yankee manager.' Later, they had a talk in the Yankee clubhouse after Martin had gone out of his way to question him about the torn cartilage in his leg. 'He felt the things in the past should be forgotten,' Maddox said.
Maddox added, 'Actually, we never knew each other. I was never around long enough. I imagine things can be worked out now. We have a common goal now.'
Martin admitted he was wrong about Maddox with the Rangers. 'I planned on playing Lenny Randle in center field. I didn't think he (Maddox) could hit in the big leagues. He proved me wrong. He told me he wants the same thing I want, to win. That's enough for me.'
That's Billy Martin, a guy as fiery as ever but a guy willing to admit to his own goofs in the past. Now Martin has to prove he still has a future with the Yankees.
Martin is always fast with a quip. He once said the secret of managing is 'to keep the five players who hate you away from the four who are undecided.'
But there's a lot more to it than that in Martin's book. He claims a manager can change the result in anywhere from 20 to 50 games. That may be a bit inflated, but nobody ever said Martin isn't brash.
He backs up his claim. 'A manager can if he's the kind of guy I am, who handles everything himself. I'm not talking about the managers who just make out the lineup card. I call everything myself. Infield in, halfway, back; all the pitchouts; whether to throw through or not. I call a lot of pitches, too. There's someone out there looking at me before every pitch.'
But Martin is also the kind of guy who gets genuine satisfaction out of teaching the young players the ins and outs of the game. 'When I was a kid, I never understood what teachers got out of it. But now I know. Why, to see somebody do something you showed them, that's a wonderful feeling. You feel better than if you had done it yourself.'
He also still remembers fondly the old days on the Yankees. 'I was probably the proudest Yankee of them all. And I don't mean a false pride. When it's real on a team, it's a real love-pride. There's nothing greater in the world than when somebody on the team does something good, and everybody gathers around to pat him on the back. I really love the togetherness in baseball. That's a true love.'
Martin's goal is to bring back those days with the Yankees. Although the Yankees are going to have a tough task trying to beat out Boston and Baltimore in the American League Eastern Division, it's a challenge he's looking forward to.
He means to remake the team and he'll start with fundamentals. 'We're going to spend a lot of time working on fundamentals. This club is very poor on fundamentals- not hitting the cutoff man, throwing to the wrong base, and the bunting is poor. Very poor.' It's not likely to stay that way.
Martin says he doesn't think it will be 'that much of a problem' for the Yankees to win in 1976. 'I don't think we have to do that much. I think we can win with a healthy club, with Ron Blomberg and Elliott Maddox back. That's all it will take, really, just to have everybody healthy because I think we have the players who can win.'
The Yankees also made a pair of key deals over the winter that will help add a lot of speed and versatility to the lineup and give Martin more of a chance to do the kinds of things he likes to do.
First, they traded slugger Bobby Bonds to the California Angels for base stealing whiz Mickey Rivers and pitcher Ed Figueroa and then traded Doc Medich to the Pittsburgh Pirates for rookie Willie Randolph and pitchers Ken Brett and Dock Ellis.
The way Martin sees it, Rivers and Randolph will give the Yankees a lot more speed in the lineup. Rivers is the defending American League base stealing champion with 70 steals in 84 attempts. 'I think he'll steal 100 for us,' Martin insists. The Yankees hated to part with Bonds, who added more punch to the lineup, but they feel that Rivers' quickness will make up for the loss in power. And Figueroa replaces Medich in the rotation (they both won 16 last year) so the Yanks could afford to send Medich to Pittsburgh for Randolph, Brett and Ellis.
Randolph hasn't proven himself in the major leagues yet, but all the scouts say he is a sure-fire prospect at second base, and he is being counted on to plug a gap in the Yankee lineup that has existed ever since Bobby Richardson retired a decade ago. If Randolph is the kind of second baseman the Yankees think he is, the deal will be a big plus for them. The Pirates were willing to part with him only because they have Rennie Stennett set at second for years to come.
Brett, who has a history of arm trouble, and Ellis, who has had problems with his attitude, are both question mark pitchers, but both could help. If any manager can motivate the unpredictable Ellis, it would have to Martin. 'I'd love to play for Martin and I'd love to play in New York,' Ellis said as soon as the deal was made.
The Yanks, who also picked up Oscar Gamble from Cleveland for Pat Dobson, feel their new players are going to help a club that already has a solid nucleus with Blomberg, Maddox, Catfish Hunter, Thurman Munson, Roy White and Graig Nettles all in their prime.
And with Martin ready to turn the team loose, it's going to be an interesting season to say the least. But Martin has something to prove, too. He has to show he can do it over the long haul. It could be he's too intense. 'I can't ever get away from it,' he admits. 'I take it home with me. I take it to bed with me. I wake up with it. And what I feel inside, you never see on the outside.'
But Martin does think he has gotten a bad rap over the years. 'I've always been the toughest critic of myself. They talk about my temper. Well, I haven't seen a good racehorse yet who wasn't high-strung. And anyway, temper is a wonderful thing if you can control it and if it doesn't control you. The way I see it, my temper is a great ally. It is what has pushed Billy Martin.'
The question remains whether it has pushed him too far at times. He managed the Twins and Tigers to division championships but still was dismissed after hassles with the front office. He took a Texas team that had been going nowhere since it had moved to the Lone Star State and turned it into a solid contender. But again, Martin was fired.
It wasn't three strikes and out for Martin, though. Just 12 days after the Rangers got rid of him, the Yankees had brought him back home. But this might well be the last shot on the merry-go-round for Martin. If he fails with the Yankees, that would be four strikes and there would be no guarantee that he'd get another chance.
And he couldn't ask for a better opportunity. The Yankees will be moving into a remodeled stadium this year, they have a club that clearly has the potential to be a contender and they have the kind of club that Billy Martin likes to maneuver. It is a club that can run, take the extra base and get all those little extras that Billy Martin always likes to take advantage of.
There's no doubt Martin has the record behind him. He started as a manager in the minors with Denver in 1968 and took a club that was 8-22 and went 65-60 the rest of the way with it. He then moved to Minnesota and grabbed a team that finished 24 games out of first place and drove it to the division crown. In Detroit, he took a team that had finished 20 games out of it, and in two years led it to a division win. In Texas, he took a club that had been 37 games out and led it to within five games of the top.
Yet despite all that success, Martin has yet to last three full years as the manager with any single club.
Will things change? It's going to be interesting to find out.
But Martin, who hasn't been in a World Series in 20 years, since he was a Yankee back in 1956, would like to show that it will. There couldn't be a better way than to return to the World Series."
-Vito Stellino, Sports All-Stars 1976 Baseball
"Billy Martin is the 'Make Things Happen' manager in major league baseball. That spirit goes back to the days when he was the star second baseman of the Yankees, as much as part of the attack as were Mantle, Berra and Ford. Today, that youthful zest carries over to managerial leadership. Billy is considered among the best strategists in the game. His intense dedication to baseball, particularly during the games themselves, is healthfully contagious, creating a winning atmosphere among his men.
Somehow, it always seemed inevitable that Billy and the Yankees would be back together someday ... than uniform number one would be on Billy's back as it was during those grand days of the fifties when he would steal the show at World Series time. Billy is back ... and watch the Yankees ignite under his command."
-1976 New York Yankees Scorebook & Official Program
BOB LEMON (Coach)
"Bob Lemon is the newest Yankee coach - and with pride, the newest member of the Hall of Fame. Elected last winter on the basis of a brilliant career with the Cleveland Indians, 'Lem,' former Kansas City manager, becomes pitching coach this season. His presence on the distinguished staff gives New York two Hall of Fame coaches - quite a faculty."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Bob was elected to the Hall of Fame on January 22, 1976, reaffirming him as one of the great American League pitchers of all time. He joins the Yankee organization in 1976, his 38th year in professional baseball. He was named Yankee pitching coach last December.
Bob was a seven-time 20-game winner with the Cleveland Indians, compiling a lifetime 207-128 record. He was also one of the best hitting pitchers of all time (37 lifetime home runs), as he began his career as a third baseman-outfielder. Bob was the Opening Day center fielder for the Indians in 1946 after three years in the Navy, but by season's end he was virtually a full-time pitcher. Named Pitcher of the Year by the Sporting News in 1948, 1950 and 1954, he was selected to seven All-Star teams and hurled in two World Series. Bob no-hit Detroit on June 30, 1948. He hurled 10 shutouts in 1948, and had 31 for his career.
After his playing career, Bob scouted and coached, and became manager of Kansas City in 1970. His second place finish that year brought him great acclaim. In 1974, he managed the Sacramento club that hit 305 home runs in its small park.
Bob was Minor League Manager of the Year in 1966."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Maybe it took a coaching job with the Yankees to get Bob Lemon the overdue recognition he deserved, but let's not think so, for this man pitched his way into the Hall of Fame during his brilliant career with the Indians. And 1976 turned out to be his year, as the Hall of Fame opened the gates and made him a baseball immortal, just like his coaching partner Yogi Berra. Lemon, the new Yankee pitching coach, is in his 38th consecutive year in pro baseball."
-1976 New York Yankees Scorebook & Official Program
1976 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR TEAM CAPTAIN
"Bob Lemon well remembers the last time he was in Philadelphia for an All-Star Game. The date was July 8, 1952, the place was Shibe Park and it was a dreary, rainy day.
'That's one game I'll never forget,' says the newly elected Hall of Famer. 'I pitched two innings in a steady rain, and big Hank Sauer of the Cubs hit a two-run homer off me in the fourth inning that drove in the winning run in the National League's 3-2 win.'
The game was eventually called after five innings, the only All-Star Game ever cut short, and Lemon was saddled with the loss, his only decision in four All-Star appearances.
Nowadays you hear ballplayers say they'd rather have the three days off than appear in the annual mid-summer classic. Not so with Lemon, winner of 207 big league games, who says he has many fond memories of his All-Star appearances.
'They were all good times,' says the pitching coach of the 1976 New York Yankees. 'I enjoyed every one of them and was honored to be selected four times.'"
-1976 All-Star Game official program
YOGI BERRA (Coach)
"A warm welcome home to everyone's friend, Lawrence Peter 'Yogi' Berra, one of the most recognizable people in America. The three-time MVP and Hall of Famer, who hit more home runs than any catcher in history, is back with the Yankees this year after a lengthy stint as coach and manager of the Mets. Yogi starred for the Yanks from 1946 to 1963 and managed the club to the 1964 pennant."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"The Hall of Famer returned to the Yankees as a coach on December 3, 1975, 33 years after signing his Yankee first contract and 12 years after his last one.
A three-time Most Valuable Player (1951,1954,1955), his 313 home runs are the most ever hit by a catcher. Yogi twice hit 30 homers in one season, a catching record, and drove in over 100 runs five times.
He handled a record 950 consecutive chances without an error (1957-1959). Yogi also played the outfield for the Yankees.
A 15-time All-Star, Yogi played in a record 14 World Series, setting records for most championship clubs (10), most games (75), most at-bats (259), most hits (71), most singles (49) and most consecutive errorless games by a catcher (30).
Yogi was a player-coach in 1963 and Yankee manager in 1964, winning the club's last pennant. He joined the Mets' coaching staff in 1965 and became Met manager in 1972, leading the club to a pennant the following year. The Yankees retired his uniform number (and Bill Dickey's) in 1972, but bring it back for his new assignment.
His son Dale is a third baseman in the Pirate organization and his son Tim played football for the Baltimore Colts."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Is there a more familiar face in all America? Yogi is home, just as the Yankees themselves are this season. The greatest home run hitting catcher in history ... the holder of a host of World Series records ... the man with the gift for making the obvious sound so clever.
Lawrence Peter Berra serves this season as an aide in the dugout to manager Billy Martin."
-1976 New York Yankees Scorebook & Official Magazine
ELSTON HOWARD (Coach)
"One of the most popular players in Yankee history is Elston Howard, the last New Yorker to win an MVP award, the winner of the 1958 Babe Ruth Award, a .348 hitter during the great 1961 season, a nine-time All-Star selection, and a member of ten World Championship teams. Elston, the Yankees first base and batting coach, is in his eighth season as a Yankee coach."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Now in his eighth season as Yankee first base and batting coach, Elston is one of the most popular men to ever wear the Yankee uniform.
He spent 13 years with the Yankees, playing on nine pennant winners (plus one with Boston). A nine-time All-Star, Elston was the last Yankee to win the MVP award (1963). A .348 hitter in 1961, he won the Babe Ruth Award for World Series heroics as a left fielder.
As a catcher, Elston led the league in fielding three times, winning Gold Gloves in 1963 and 1964, and set a Yankee record in 1964 by making only one error.
Elston was the first black player on the Yankees, the first black coach in the American League and was the inventor of the batting donut, used by almost every on-deck hitter. He has served on the Bergen County Board of Vocational and Technical Education."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Doesn't seem that long ago that Ellie Howard was a star Yankee catcher and outfielder. He won the Babe Ruth in the 1958 World Series for heroics in left field, but he's better remembered as a link in the grand catching tradition of Dickey-Berra-Howard-Munson the Yankees can claim.
Now in his 21st straight year in the major leagues, the personable Jerseyite is one of the most popular men to ever wear the Yankee uniform."
-1976 New York Yankees Scorebook & Official Magazine
DICK HOWSER (Coach)
"Youthful Dick Howser still hasn't reached his 40th birthday, yet he's already an eight-year veteran of the third base coaching lines for the Yankees. The former infielder for Kansas City, Cleveland and the Yankees was the Rookie of the Year in the American League in 1961 when he stole 37 bases for the A's. He still imparts the wisdom of infield play and baserunning to his charges, as well as directing traffic around the bases."
-The New York Yankees Official 1976 Yearbook
"Winner of the Sporting News' Rookie of the Year Award in 1961, Dick stole 37 bases that year and made the All-Star team. He played infield for Kansas City, Cleveland and New York before replacing Frank Crosetti as third base coach in 1969 at the age of 31. The Yankees got him on December 20, 1966 in a trade for Gil Downs.
He's a close friend of movie star Burt Reynolds, with whom he attended both high school and college.
Dick managed the Yankees' Instructional League team in Florida for two seasons."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
"Dick Howser is an eight-year veteran of the third base coaching lines for the Yankees, spanning a virtual turnover of players. He relays the signs from the dugout and makes the rabbit-quick Yankees motor around his base.
A one-time Rookie of the Year, Dick was quite a motorman himself, stealing 37 bases as a rookie.
Communication between Dick and the players couldn't be better. The read each other well, and transcribe his thoughts into runs."
-1976 New York Yankees Scorebook & Official Magazine
WHITEY FORD (Special Instructor)
"He's the winningest pitcher in Yankee history. With his longtime teammate, roommate and friend Mickey Mantle, Whitey entered the Hall of Fame in 1974. His uniform #16 was officially retired by the Yanks on Old-Timers' Day the same year.
Among pitchers with 200 career victories, Whitey has the highest lifetime winning percentage, .690. He is the all-time Yankee shutout leader with 45, and also tops in strikeouts with 1,956. He was the Cy Young Award winner in 1961 when he was 25-4. He hurled consecutive one-hitters in 1955.
Whitey played for eleven pennant winners and in six All-Star games. He holds World Series records for most victories (10) and most consecutive scoreless innings, 33, breaking a Babe Ruth record.
Raised in New York, he played on the City's sandlots. Whitey is considered one of the real 'money' pitchers in baseball history, and one of the most popular athletes in New York.
Circulation problems in his left arm brought his great career to a halt in 1967. He has served annually as a spring training instructor since then, and as first base coach in 1968. Whitey was pitching coach in 1974 and 1975, a position he held as a player-coach under Yogi Berra in 1964. He has also done Yankee broadcasting on TV as well as many commercials.
His oldest son Eddie was Boston's number one draft pick in 1974.
Whitey will serve on special assignments during the regular season."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
MICKEY MANTLE (Special Instructor)
"Mickey was only the seventh player in baseball history to be elected to the Hall of Fame the first time he was eligible. With sidekick and teammate Whitey Ford, they together became the 20th and 21st Yankees in the Hall of Fame in 1974.
Mickey has appeared annually since his retirement after the 1968 season as a special instructor in spring training and serves the Yankees as a goodwill ambassador throughout the year.
His 18-year career was one of the most dramatic in Yankee history. With injuries to both legs taking a heavy toll on his magnificent performances, Mickey played in more games as a Yankee (2,401) and had more at-bats (8,102).
The most powerful switch-hitter in the game's history, he ten times hit a home run from both sides of the plate in one game, a major league record. His 18 home runs in World Series played topped Babe Ruth's previous high of 15. The American League MVP in 1956, 1957 and 1962, Mickey won the Triple Crown in '56, and also won the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of the year in 1956.
Mickey ranks high in most offensive all-time Yankee categories: third in runs scored (1,677), third in hits (2,415), fourth in doubles (344), second in homers (536) and fourth in RBIs (1,509). His 1,734 walks are third on the all-time list and his 1,710 strikeouts are first.
Mickey is one of the most popular athletes in modern sports history."
-1976 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide
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