Turn Back The Clock: December 25th, 1989-The Yankees Lose One Of Their Own

Five times around. Most employees after being told to hit the bricks the first, maybe even the second time around, wouldn’t believe for one second that things would change or be any different the third, fourth, or fifth time around with the same company. However, not every employee was Billy Martin. The former postseason hero always considered himself a Yankee at heart, even if it meant being the whipping boy of New York Yankees’ owner George Steinbrenner. 

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Billy Martin had been hired during the early years of the Steinbrenner regime, and took what was a talented roster, and immediately turned them into contenders. During Martin’s first full season in the dugout, the Bombers won the American League pennant for the first time in 12 seasons. That didn’t matter to the Boss. The Yankees were swept by the Big Red Machine, and in the process, tossing egg on the face of Steinbrenner–something that would not go unpunished. Steinbrenner knew that the Yankees managerial job was the only one Martin ever truly wanted. The Boss also knew, but wouldn’t admit, that Martin was eons ahead of his time in strategy and baseball smarts. Over the years, the two clashed, along with free agent Reggie Jackson, like oil and water.

After multiple hirings and firings, it appeared that by the end of the 1980s, the Yankees’ ship was quickly sinking, and that the Billy Martin era in the Bronx had finally come to an end after his last dismissal during the 1988 season. Managers had come and gone, but Billy always found a way to get one more chance from the Boss. They needed each other. The problem was, the Boss would needle Martin to the point of insanity, and Martin, known for his fiery and short temper, would lash out like a dog that had been teased one too many times.

During the 1989 season, Martin had acted as a consultant to the Boss, and with the previously mentioned Yankees’ ship going nowhere fast, the Boss had considered bringing back Billy for a sixth tour of duty in pinstripes. So much traction had been picked up in the process of developing Billy VI, that Martin had already began assembling a coaching staff, led by longtime drinking buddy and pitching coach, Art Fowler.

Unfortunately for Martin, Steinbrenner, and the Yankees, the plan never came to fruition. After an all day drinking marathon with friend Bill Reedy, the two men decided to drive back to Martin’s farm in Binghamton, NY. Their vehicle slid off the road, injuring Reedy, and killing Martin. Efforts to revive the soon-to-be Yankees skipper were unsuccessful, as Martin had suffered traumatic head injuries and a broken neck. He was pronounced dead in at the Johnson City, NY hospital where he was taken following the single-vehicle accident, where his pickup truck went off the road and into a culvert.

Martin’s funeral was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, and he is buried in Hawthorne, NY, less than 150 feet away from another Yankees icon, Babe Ruth. On his headstone, one of Martin’s most memorable quotes is engraved: “I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I was the proudest.”

On this day, 25 years ago, Billy Martin died, at the age of 61, and sealing his Yankees’ legacy forever.