- 5 days ago
Managers matter (Huggins, Mccarthy, Stengel)
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00:01This is the sports dynasty of all sports dynasties.
00:04They dominate the whole history of the game.
00:08The Yankees are world champions.
00:10Five World Series in a row for Casey Stengel and his American League quiz playing.
00:14They made baseball history.
00:16What a team.
00:18It was our religion.
00:20My face came cut off.
00:21It wasn't a game. It was our religion.
00:23We lived and died being a Yankee.
00:25The Yankees represented the pinnacle of sports.
00:31People root for the underdog, but they really love a winner.
00:36The Yankees are baseball's winners.
00:44The Yankees came to define all the glory of sports in America.
00:51Together, they have achieved more in a few years than others have in a century.
00:56It seems that they just have to put on the uniform to transform from stars to heroes.
01:02He's done it!
01:03No rookie has ever hit 50 home runs in a season.
01:07Kill Aaron Judge right now!
01:10I don't know. This was a more recent one.
01:12Attempting to describe what they've done often falls short.
01:16The only word necessary is Yankees.
01:20For it's a word that has come to represent a level of performance that stands at the very top of
01:25the game.
01:26And a determination to be nothing short of the best.
01:30Today, that standard of excellence and the name of the team it embodies are synonymous.
01:35There is no greater, more successful team in any sport.
01:40And the place they've called home are a shrine to everything they represent.
01:46Tradition and pride and excellence, and that's what we're all about.
01:57So when you look at their first 20 years, it's an extraordinary contrast to what the Yankees are today.
02:02I mean, the Yankees have won 26 world championships.
02:0626 in exactly 100 years.
02:08But they've done more than that.
02:10They've won 26 in 80 years.
02:13The Yankees were actually born as the Baltimore Orioles.
02:17In 1903, a pair of New Yorkers named Big Bill Devery and Frank Farrell paid $18,000 for the team
02:25and moved it to some undeveloped land in Manhattan.
02:29Undeveloped land in Manhattan?
02:31Big Bill, whatever his name is, he didn't look that big to me.
02:35The franchise had been moved from Baltimore, and they were obviously looking for a place to live.
02:41And they built this wooden grandstand in upper Manhattan where the hospital, Columbia Presbyterian, stands now.
02:48There is, in fact, now a monument at the hospital where the Yankees took their first faltering steps.
02:54Playing at Hilltop Park, high above the city, they called themselves the Highlanders.
02:59Their greatest player was a pitcher named Jack Chesbrough.
03:03In 1904, Happy Jack threw 454 innings in 55 games, 51 of which restarts, completing 48 of them and winning
03:14a modern-day record of 41 games, all for a salary of just $1,500.
03:22He worked a bit of overtime that year.
03:25He won the 40.
03:27Probably like six figures with inflation.
03:30He won games, and he's remembered for one errant throw.
03:34It happened on the season's final day when Chesbrough threw a ninth-inning wild pitch, costing the Highlanders the pennant
03:41and plunging them into a decade of mediocrity.
03:44The thing with the early Yankees is that, basically, these two characters, Devery and Farrell, owned them for 12 years.
03:52They went through a manager a year, practically.
03:54These were not baseball men.
03:56They couldn't hold on to good baseball players or managers.
04:00In 1912, the Highlanders added pinstripes to their uniform, soon became tenants of the New York Giants' famous polo grounds,
04:07and changed their name to what was then a northern colloquialism.
04:10As early as 1904, a New York newspaper had as a headline, Yankees return north.
04:19And this was a report about the Yankees making a swing through the south as part of their exhibition schedule.
04:28And they were referred to generically as Yankees, northerners.
04:33They were called the Yankees on opening day in the newspaper headline and in a couple of times in the
04:39story.
04:39But it was a much better name than the Highlanders.
04:42I don't even know what a Highlander is.
04:45Went back and forth for several years.
04:47And about the time they moved to the polo grounds, the name became officially the Yankees.
04:55Highlanders was associated with the old team and a franchise that was not particularly distinctive.
05:01But with attendance at barely $300,000 a year, the Yankees remained a second-class team.
05:08Finally, after the 1914 season, the Yankees were sold to a partnership led by Jacob Rupert.
05:14The first ten or so years of the history of the New York Yankees is not a history of glory.
05:21The glory really begins when Rupert buys the team.
05:25But Rupert was no fool.
05:27For $450,000, we got an orphaned ball club without a home, he said.
05:32One without players of outstanding ability and without prestige.
05:37He was a good businessman.
05:39And he had a lot of money.
05:41And he really, he wanted to get into baseball to promote his brewery, his beer business.
05:48Convinced that a great baseball team could further enhance his family name,
05:52Colonel Rupert had previously tried and failed to buy John McGraw's Giants,
05:56so the Yankees would have to do.
05:59His new team would become Rupert's life work.
06:02And over the next 25 years, he would turn a second-rate ball club
06:06into the most prestigious franchise in the history of sports.
06:11Still to come, our history began in Boston in 1918.
06:18George Herman, Babe, quote-unquote, Ruth, by way of Baltimore, Maryland.
06:29The Yankees were struggling to be a 500 team,
06:32while the Red Sox were winning a world title,
06:35led by a pitcher who also liked to play the outfield on the days he didn't start.
06:39His name, Babe Ruth.
06:41He was an outstanding pitcher.
06:43He was arguably the best left-hander in the league.
06:46He was among the league leaders in shutouts,
06:49among the league leaders in opponents' batting average, his pitcher,
06:52among the league leaders in strikeouts.
06:54And he led the league in home runs.
06:58Same guy.
06:59In 1919, Red Sox manager Ed Barrow told Ruth he'd help the team more if he played the outfield every
07:05day.
07:06Babe was more than happy to comply.
07:08That season, Ruth set a new major league record with 29 home runs.
07:12And that offseason, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee made the most curious roster move in baseball history.
07:18The Red Sox owner invested in Broadway shows,
07:22and the story goes that he needed the money to keep his show going.
07:27So he sold the Babe.
07:29And when it happened, I'm sure the Boston fans weren't happy about it.
07:34But no one could have guessed that Babe Ruth would become Babe Ruth.
07:48I'd like to point out, that wasn't me.
07:50That was the guy.
07:51During Ruth's first season in New York, the Yankees had a major league.
07:56Babe Ruth hit that baseball so hard, the signal went out more than 80 years later.
08:02Big record by drawing more than a million fans to the pole grounds,
08:07something the Giants had never done.
08:09It's slashing my drives, but my memory of him is that he hit lofty moments.
08:14It's this beautiful, graceful swing up in the air, and you can watch them and watch them.
08:23Despite the fact
08:23that
08:26there is in 1921 and 22,
08:29the Babe is star and draw in the game.
08:32No.
08:34McGraw never liked it.
08:36He was very possessive about his Giants.
08:39His park, his polar grounds, his part of town.
08:42He didn't want to be sharing his park and losing the attendance battle,
08:47the popularity to these junior circuit upstarts.
08:51The Yankees doubled their attendance in 1920.
08:54The Giants decided it was time for the Yankees to go somewhere else.
08:58As John McGraw reportedly said,
09:01they should go to the Bronx and there they will wither on the vine.
09:04So Rupert bought land right across the river from the polar grounds and built a home that would accommodate the
09:14ever-increasing number of fans anxious for the chance to see Babe Ruth.
09:18Yankee Stadium opened in 1923.
09:21It was the house that Ruth built.
09:25This flamboyant character that he was told a friend,
09:28Lord, I hope I hit a home run on opening day.
09:31And of course he did.
09:32And that year, the Yankees won their first World Series.
09:35Finally defeating McGraw's fans,
09:37Ruth had helped usher in the first era of Yankees glory.
09:40But he was not the only Boston transplant to help give birth to the Yankees' Red Sox rivalry.
09:48In terms of building...
09:49They did that from 23 to 58, which should have been included in the list.
09:55They won 23, they won like 17 in 36 years.
10:0117 in 36 years.
10:06Every two, three years.
10:09A ball club on the field.
10:11The key moment in the history of the Yankees
10:13is when they hired Ed Barrow
10:15away from the Red Sox
10:17to be the Yankees' general manager.
10:19From there, the modern construction of the Yankees began.
10:22Ed Barrow,
10:23who prior to 2004
10:25had been the last manager
10:27to lead a Red Sox club to a world championship.
10:30In his first three seasons
10:32as GM in New York,
10:33the Yankees won each year.
10:35The fact is that within three years,
10:37nearly half the Yankee team
10:39were former Red Sox.
10:41Barrow had simply raided the team,
10:43bought it retail and wholesale,
10:45and moved it to New York.
10:46Future Hall of Fame pitchers,
10:48Wade Hoyt and Herb Pennock
10:49headed the list of Yankee greats
10:51who had followed the babe from Boston to New York
10:53and helped make the team champions.
11:02And he played full-time for 2,130 games in a row.
11:10surpassed only by Ruth,
11:12and they became the most famous
11:14and most feared one-two punch in history.
11:18Ruth hit third,
11:21Gehrig hit fourth.
11:23That was a bad,
11:25uh,
11:26crew to face.
11:26In addition to Ruth and Gehrig,
11:29Bob Musil,
11:30Earl Coombs,
11:31and Tony Lazare
11:32gave the Yankees a lineup
11:33known as Murderer's Row.
11:35In 1927,
11:37they won 110 games
11:39and lost just 44.
11:40Ruth was paid $70,000
11:43for his most famous season
11:44when he hit an unprecedented 60 home runs.
11:47Gehrig,
11:48the league's MVP,
11:49with 47 homers
11:51and 175 RBIs
11:53earned $8,000.
11:55The World Series
11:56was a foregone conclusion.
11:58Perhaps the most remarkable moment
12:00in the 1920s
12:01for the Yankees
12:02was probably
12:03a batting practice
12:04before the first game
12:05of the 1927 series.
12:07They came into
12:08the Forbes field
12:09and they were hitting the ball
12:10on top of the
12:11right field bleachers.
12:13It put the fear
12:14into a lot of people
12:15just seeing those guys
12:17in batting practice
12:18and doing things
12:19that nobody else
12:20had ever done.
12:21The Pirates knew
12:22that they had lost
12:23the World Series
12:24before it had even begun.
12:25The Yankees won in a sweep,
12:27a feat they repeated
12:29in 1928.
12:30The first golden era
12:32in Yankees history
12:33was in full swing.
12:37And they do mean swing.
12:48contract called
12:49for $80,000
12:49for two years.
12:51That's a re-agreed bond.
12:53Will you sign it?
12:54Yes, sir, Colonel.
12:55And began as the
12:56roaring 20s
12:56and ended with
12:57the Great Depression.
12:58As for the Yankees,
13:00hopes for a dynasty
13:01vanished
13:01with the loss
13:02of manager
13:02Miller Huggins.
13:03Huggins inspired excellence.
13:05Huggins led the Yankees
13:06to all of their
13:07early pennants
13:08and championships.
13:09He managed them
13:09from 1918
13:10until he died
13:11in 1929.
13:13The first of the...
13:14Wait, he died?
13:15I didn't know that.
13:17What eventually
13:18became three monuments
13:19in center field
13:19in the old Yankee stadium
13:21was dedicated
13:22to Miller Huggins.
13:23The Yankees
13:24turned to Joe McCarthy,
13:26a straight-laced
13:27baseball man
13:28who many...
13:29What are the odds
13:30that one guy
13:31would die
13:32and they would
13:33replace him
13:34with a better manager?
13:38That's insane.
13:39He doubted
13:39could coexist
13:40with a fun-loving
13:41babe.
13:42Joe McCarthy
13:42was a very serious
13:43guy and he was
13:44serious about winning.
13:45He wanted his
13:46ballplayers to wear
13:47coats and ties.
13:48He didn't want them
13:49to gamble
13:50on the train.
13:51He didn't want
13:52anybody drinking
13:53beer because he
13:54thought it caused
13:55you to lose
13:55your edge.
13:56John Trevenger,
13:57an old New York
13:58Times sports writer,
13:58said,
13:59Babe was the most
13:59uninhibited man
14:00I ever met.
14:01He just did
14:02things.
14:02Hey, fellas,
14:04please,
14:04come on,
14:04be honest,
14:05here.
14:11Someone was
14:12asking me about
14:12how I was going
14:13along with
14:14Joe McCarthy.
14:16Well,
14:16Joe and I,
14:17I think,
14:17we're going to
14:17get along
14:18very nicely.
14:19Joe's a very
14:19nice boy and
14:21I think he and
14:23I are going
14:23to get together
14:24and as far
14:24as the ball club
14:25is concerned,
14:27I think our
14:28ball club
14:28is in very
14:29good shape.
14:30To his credit,
14:31McCarthy made
14:32it clear that
14:32his personal
14:33feelings about
14:34the Babe's
14:34private life
14:35wouldn't affect
14:36the Yankees
14:36on the field.
14:38Babe,
14:39I,
14:40Q,
14:41one of the
14:41biggest years
14:42you ever had
14:42in your life.
14:43In fact,
14:43the biggest year.
14:44Same to you,
14:44Joe.
14:45And Lou,
14:46I hope that
14:48it winds up
14:48that we bring
14:50that championship
14:50back to where
14:51it belongs
14:51in New York.
14:53Babe and Lou
14:54did reclaim
14:54the title in
14:551932,
14:56the third and
14:57last they would
14:58share as teammates.
14:59In 34,
15:01Garrick surpassed
15:02Ruth's home run
15:02total for the
15:03first time.
15:04And at season's
15:05end,
15:05Ruth was released
15:07by the Yankees
15:07and went on
15:08to sign a contract
15:09with the Boston
15:10Braves.
15:11Meanwhile,
15:11Garrick was named
15:12team captain
15:13and he continued
15:14to put up the
15:15numbers.
15:16Oh,
15:16Garrick,
15:17in living color.
15:20How about that?
15:21That could only
15:22be described as,
15:24Ruthian.
15:29Besides Garrick,
15:30Ruth also left
15:31behind other
15:32future Hall of
15:33Famers like
15:33Red Ruffin,
15:35Lefty Gomez,
15:38Bill Dickey.
15:39Still,
15:40the Yankees
15:40went three years
15:41in a row
15:42without a pennant.
15:43Then in 1936,
15:45Barrow brought
15:45in a man who
15:46would take
15:46what was
15:51already a great
15:53franchise and
15:54elevated to the
15:56realm of greatest.
15:57If you look at
15:58the all-time
15:59standings of
16:00baseball teams
16:00at the end of
16:01the 1935 season,
16:03engaged teams in
16:04terms of how
16:05many championships
16:06they've won,
16:06the Yankees would
16:07have been on an
16:08all-time list
16:09fourth.
16:10Then Joe DiMaggio
16:11arrives.
16:12And by the time
16:13he's been there
16:14four years,
16:15they are firmly
16:16established.
16:17as first on
16:18that list and
16:19they're beginning
16:19to run away
16:20from the pack.
16:22I first joined
16:23the club in
16:241936 and it
16:26gave me a good
16:26real shot in the
16:27arm because they
16:28felt, well here
16:29I got a chance
16:30to be an
16:30pennant and
16:31possibly a
16:32World Series
16:32playing for the
16:33greatest city
16:33in the world,
16:34New York City.
16:35That DiMaggio
16:36is a star in
16:37three very,
16:38very important
16:39ways.
16:40He can run
16:40like the devil,
16:42he can throw
16:42and he can bat
16:43and he's just
16:44a kid.
16:45In Joe
16:46and Joe's
16:46first three
16:47years,
16:48the Yankees
16:48became the
16:49first team
16:49ever to win
16:50three world
16:51championships in
16:51a row.
16:52It was also
16:53in 1938 that
16:54Lou Gehrig
16:55played in his
16:552000th straight
16:56game.
16:58I want to
16:59congratulate you
16:59on your
17:00wonderful career
17:01and playing
17:012000 games
17:03without
17:04missing
17:07and you
17:08should
17:09speculate it
17:09and
17:14the
17:16Gehrig was
17:17suffering from
17:17the early stages
17:18of the mysterious
17:19disease that
17:21would soon take
17:21his life.
17:22At first,
17:23only Yankees
17:24management seemed
17:24to notice that
17:25Lou's performance
17:26was slipping.
17:26So much so
17:27that in 1938,
17:29Barrow cut
17:29Gehrig's salary
17:30by $3,000.
17:33In 1939,
17:35we played him
17:36for the first part
17:36of the season
17:37and he just
17:38wasn't sharp.
17:39He's just
17:40not Lou Gehrig.
17:43After meeting
17:43with McCarthy,
17:45Lou decided
17:45to finally sit
17:46down for the
17:48good of the team.
17:49And so on
17:50May 2nd
17:50in Detroit,
17:52Gehrig took
17:52a lineup
17:52card to
17:53home plate
17:53that did
17:54not bear
17:54his name.
17:55After
17:552,130
17:57straight games,
17:58the incredible
17:59streak was
18:00over.
18:01His replacement
18:02that day,
18:03Babe Dahlgren,
18:04hit a double
18:04and a home run.
18:06Gehrig never
18:06once left
18:07the bench.
18:08The second
18:09I went to him,
18:10I said,
18:10Lou, you gotta
18:10get in the
18:11ball game,
18:11keep that
18:12streak going.
18:12He just said,
18:13no, you're
18:13doing fine,
18:14babe.
18:14He said,
18:14go on,
18:15get out there.
18:16And that was it
18:17and the streak
18:18was broken.
18:18On July 4th,
18:201939,
18:21the Yankees
18:22held Lou Gehrig
18:23Appreciation Day
18:24featuring a reunion
18:26of the great
18:27Murderer's Row
18:27team of 1927.
18:30Lou's number
18:31four became
18:32the first number
18:33retired in
18:34baseball history.
18:35And Gehrig,
18:36his disease
18:37by then diagnosed
18:39as amyotropic
18:40lateral sclerosis
18:41and made known
18:43to the public,
18:44spoke the most
18:45famous words
18:45the game
18:46has ever known.
18:49Actually,
18:49it was a dead
18:50man talking.
18:52He knew
18:53he was going
18:53to die
18:57and to go
18:58and face
18:58all of these
18:59people in that
19:00stadium
19:00and stumble
19:02out there
19:03took a lot
19:04of guts,
19:06but he had
19:07a lot of guts.
19:07for the past
19:09two weeks,
19:10you've been
19:11reading about
19:11a bad rag.
19:15Today,
19:16I consider
19:18myself
19:18the luckiest
19:19man on the
19:21face of the
19:21earth.
19:28it was a nice
19:31speech,
19:32but it's
19:34really a
19:34depressing
19:35moment
19:35because we
19:36still haven't
19:37found the
19:37cure.
19:38If anybody's
19:40heard about
19:40Chris Johnson,
19:41what's happened
19:42to him.
19:45never played
19:47again,
19:47but continue
19:48to dress
19:48for every
19:49game,
19:50silently
19:50watching his
19:51teammates win
19:52their fourth
19:52straight world
19:53championship.
19:54Less than
19:55two years
19:55later,
19:57at the age
19:57of just
19:5837,
20:00Lou Gehrig
20:00died.
20:07to the
20:07season
20:08opener.
20:09DiMaggio
20:09accepted all
20:10of Barrow's
20:11terms.
20:11To add
20:12insult to
20:13injury,
20:13Barrow also
20:14fined his
20:15superstar nearly
20:16$2,000 for
20:17missing spring
20:18training.
20:20I'll be out
20:21there doing
20:22my best.
20:22I know I
20:22missed a
20:23first few
20:23days,
20:24but it
20:25won't take
20:26me long,
20:26but I'll be
20:27out there
20:27having my
20:28best cheer.
20:29Barrow
20:30left little
20:31doubt who
20:31was running
20:31the ball
20:32club,
20:32but on
20:33the field,
20:34no one
20:34could deny
20:35that the
20:35New York
20:36Yankees
20:36were Joe
20:37DiMaggio's
20:38team.
20:41When you
20:41got to
20:42the Yankee
20:43stadium and
20:43you saw
20:44Joe in
20:44that Yankee
20:45uniform,
20:46you said,
20:46well,
20:46by gosh,
20:47I'm here.
20:47You know,
20:48you know
20:48you arrived.
20:50Yes,
20:51the Yankees
20:51took their
20:52lead from
20:52Jolt and
20:53Joe,
20:53but DiMaggio
20:54paid credit
20:55to still
20:55another Joe
20:57for establishing
20:58the Yankee
20:58way throughout
20:59his team's
21:00early championship
21:01years.
21:01When we went
21:02on to win a
21:02penalty,
21:03too,
21:03it was Joe
21:03McArthur
21:04who always
21:04held a
21:05meeting and
21:05said,
21:05when you
21:06walk out
21:06of that
21:06field,
21:07he says,
21:07you walk
21:08out,
21:08he says,
21:08with your
21:08chin high,
21:10he says,
21:10you're world
21:10champions,
21:11he says,
21:12and make the
21:12other team
21:12and the
21:13other people,
21:13all the people
21:14in the stands
21:14know that you're
21:15champions,
21:16and that's the
21:16way we carried
21:17on.
21:17In 1941,
21:20the Yankee
21:20Clipper
21:20achieved one
21:21of the
21:21greatest
21:21individual
21:22feats in
21:23baseball
21:23history,
21:24when he
21:25incredibly
21:25hit safely
21:27in 56
21:27consecutive
21:28games.
21:29During the
21:30streak,
21:30he rallied
21:31the Yankees
21:32to another
21:32championship.
21:36When DiMaggio
21:37started hitting,
21:38he picked
21:38the whole
21:38ball club up.
21:39You know,
21:40we did a lot
21:40of winning
21:41when he was
21:42hitting,
21:43but we did
21:44it with the
21:44whole team
21:45picking up.
21:45They moved
21:46from the
21:46second division
21:47to well
21:48in first
21:49place by
21:50the time
21:50the streak
21:51was over.
21:51Not only
21:52that,
21:52but inside
21:53their streak,
21:54they set
21:55the Major
21:55League Baseball
21:56record for
21:57consecutive
21:57games in
21:58which at
21:58least one
21:59member of
22:00the team
22:00hit a
22:01home run,
22:0225 ball
22:02games.
22:04If you
22:04weren't
22:04intense,
22:05you couldn't
22:05play for
22:06the Yankees.
22:06I mean,
22:07it was an
22:08intense team.
22:09It was no
22:09joke when you
22:10went out there.
22:10You went out
22:11there and you
22:11played full
22:12blast,
22:12and Joe,
22:14of course,
22:14he set the
22:15example.
22:16Pressure didn't
22:16mean anything
22:17to him.
22:18Pressure meant
22:19he's gonna
22:19dig in more.
22:21That's the
22:22type of guy
22:22he was.
22:23He's the
22:23toughest son
22:24of a gun
22:25you ever
22:25saw.
22:26He had
22:26bad legs.
22:28He had
22:28to be
22:29tough.
22:31He wasn't
22:32very durable,
22:36but he was
22:37tough.
22:37He played
22:38with a lot
22:39of injuries.
22:40Severe
22:40injuries.
22:41injuries.
22:42He'd play
22:43through those
22:44injuries to
22:45the extent
22:45that he
22:45could until
22:46he was
22:47almost
22:47incapacitated.
22:49During his
22:5013 years in
22:51pinstripes,
22:52DiMaggio would
22:53lead the
22:53Yankees to
22:5410 pennants
22:54and 9
22:55world championships.
22:57But 1947
22:58was the first
22:59full season
22:59DiMaggio had
23:01ever played
23:01without manager
23:02Joe McCarthy,
23:03with Bucky
23:04Harris now in
23:05charge.
23:06DiMaggio still
23:07went about his
23:08business according
23:09to McCarthy's
23:09strict Yankee
23:10wave, stoically
23:12and without
23:13fanfare.
23:14But in the
23:1447 World Series,
23:16with a chance
23:16to put the
23:17Yankees on top
23:18and clinch the
23:18title, DiMaggio
23:20let his feelings
23:21show.
23:24DiMaggio
23:24smashing the
23:25long, long
23:26drive into
23:27deep left
23:27field.
23:28John Cuido
23:29after a
23:29desperate
23:29twisting run
23:30to the
23:31415-foot marker
23:33makes the
23:33sensational
23:34glove-hand
23:35catch of
23:36DiMaggio's
23:36terrific one.
23:37You always
23:38remember the
23:39one where
23:40he hit a
23:41ball against
23:41the Brooklyn
23:42Dodgers at
23:43Yankee Stadium,
23:43the old Yankee
23:44Stadium, and
23:45Gianfrido jumped
23:47up and lost
23:48his hat, and
23:48you see DiMaggio
23:49kicking at the
23:50dirt.
23:51The Brooklyn
23:51Dodgers got
23:52the better of
23:53the Yankees
23:53in one of the
23:54most famous
23:54moments in
23:55series history.
23:57Yankees still
23:57won the
23:58series, and
24:00Gianfrido, he
24:01was out of
24:04baseball within
24:05like two
24:05years.
24:08But, in
24:09game seven, one
24:11of the first
24:11pure relief
24:12pitches in the
24:13game, Joe
24:13Page, threw
24:14five innings of
24:15one-hit shutout
24:16relief, and the
24:17Yankees became
24:18world champions
24:19once again.
24:20And the
24:21New York
24:21Yankees
24:22closed the
24:22victory book
24:23with a 5-2
24:25win over the
24:26Brooklyn
24:26Dodgers.
24:28Brooklyn
24:29outfit.
24:31Never mind,
24:33Gianfrido was
24:33actually out of
24:34baseball right
24:35after that
24:35series ended.
24:38He never
24:39played in the
24:39MLB again.
24:41It was tough.
24:42They played
24:43right down the
24:44wire.
24:45I never figured
24:46it would go
24:47seven ballgames.
24:49I actually
24:50thought it would
24:51go at least
24:51five.
24:53I'm sick of the
24:54death, however,
24:55that it did go
24:57to seven, and
24:58we did win it.
25:00coming up next
25:01on the history
25:02of the New
25:03York Yankees.
25:04In the hearts
25:05of every
25:05American.
25:05Of Joe
25:06DiMaggio.
25:07He won his
25:07sixth world title
25:08and third
25:09MVP award,
25:10narrowly edging
25:11out Red Sox
25:12superstar Ted
25:13Williams.
25:14The choice was a
25:15surprise to many,
25:16for Williams won
25:17the league's
25:18triple crown award.
25:19I always felt
25:20that to some
25:21degree it wasn't
25:21fair, but I have
25:23to say this,
25:24that I only lost
25:26out by one point,
25:27and I lost out
25:28to the greatest
25:28player I ever
25:29saw Joe DiMaggio.
25:30Of course,
25:31this wasn't the
25:32first instance of
25:33MVP controversy
25:34between these
25:35two friendly
25:36rivals.
25:37Joe first edged
25:38out Ted for the
25:38honor in 1941,
25:40the year DiMaggio
25:41hit in 56
25:42straight, and
25:43Ted hit 406.
25:46Yep, batted
25:46400, last
25:47person to do it.
25:48...for the year.
25:50Their parallel
25:50paths continued
25:51when both served
25:53their country in
25:53World War II.
25:55Joe enlisted in
25:56the Army in
25:561943.
25:57He was not part
25:59of the Yankee
25:59Championship Club
26:00that season, and
26:01missed the next
26:02two years, too.
26:03Ted served in
26:04the Air Force,
26:05where he also
26:06sacrificed three
26:07of his prime
26:08big league years,
26:09two valiant
26:09efforts that
26:10drew praise from
26:11another American
26:12hero.
26:13I want to say
26:14from the bottom
26:15of my heart,
26:15and from the
26:16hearts of every
26:17American, I want
26:19to say God
26:20bless you great
26:21men and women
26:21over there, and
26:23God bless the
26:24ones that are
26:24going over.
26:25And if we
26:26fight as
26:26half as hard
26:27as you're
26:27fighting over
26:28there, that
26:29American flag
26:30will fly forever.
26:34The war's
26:35conclusion marked
26:36a victory for
26:37the nation and
26:38a homecoming for
26:39two of the
26:39game's premier
26:41players.
26:41But the
26:42transition back
26:43to baseball was
26:44not smooth for
26:45Joe, who
26:46struggled through
26:47the 40-seam.
26:48In Boston, Ted
26:50also got off to
26:50a rough start.
26:51Yeah, you
26:52can't take
26:53three years
26:54off and think
26:54you're going
26:54to be the
26:55same player
26:55as hard as
26:56baseball is.
26:57...counded
26:58to win the
26:581946 MVP
27:00award.
27:04That offseason,
27:06the names
27:06DiMaggio and
27:07Williams came
27:07up once again
27:08in a clandestine
27:09meeting between
27:10the Yankees
27:11team president,
27:12Larry McPhail,
27:13and Boston
27:14headman, Tom
27:15Yawkey.
27:19The story
27:20that I have
27:20heard is that
27:21Larry McPhail
27:22and Tom
27:23Yawkey, who
27:24were both
27:25people in
27:25position to
27:26make trades,
27:28went out for
27:28some drinks
27:29one night.
27:32We're drinking
27:33late into the
27:34night, and I'd
27:35like to know
27:36what they were
27:36drinking.
27:37Scotch,
27:38whatever the
27:38drink of choice
27:39was.
27:40And during the
27:40course of the
27:41evening, and
27:41talking baseball,
27:43and having a
27:43few more.
27:44While they were
27:45feeling that
27:45good, they
27:46decided they
27:47were going to
27:47make a change,
27:48DiMaggio for
27:48Williams.
27:49You know, Ted
27:50Williams, left-handed
27:51hitter in Yankee
27:52Stadium, DiMaggio,
27:54right-handed hitter
27:55against the green
27:56monster.
27:57Hey, it made all
27:57the sense in the
27:58world.
27:58I don't care what
27:59time of night it
28:00was.
28:00And by the end
28:01of the evening, I
28:02think they had
28:03agreed that it was
28:04time to test that
28:05theory and make
28:05that deal.
28:06It was done on
28:07cocktail napkins,
28:08and wouldn't you
28:09love to have those
28:10napkins to auction
28:11off right now?
28:12It would be
28:13fabulous.
28:13You'd probably do
28:14well.
28:14The Yankee
28:16clipper in a
28:16Red Sox uniform?
28:18The splendid
28:19splitter, a
28:19Bronx bomber?
28:21Blasphemy.
28:22A trade that
28:23could only be
28:24brewed up in a
28:24bar.
28:25Fortunately, no
28:26one signed a
28:27paper that night
28:28or shook a
28:29hand.
28:29And then when
28:30they woke up in
28:31the morning.
28:32Tell Williams
28:33would definitely
28:34got himself a few
28:35championships.
28:37I don't know
28:38about DiMaggio.
28:40Probably the more
28:41appropriate time is
28:41when they sobered up
28:42in the morning.
28:44One called the
28:45other and said,
28:47we can't do this.
28:48Boston fans would
28:49have been in
28:51revolts and the
28:53Yankees fans would
28:53have been the same.
28:54But it's a good
28:55thing they kept it
28:56the way it was.
28:58Ted and Joe
28:59stayed put but
29:00continued to cross
29:01paths.
29:02In 1948,
29:03DiMaggio amazed
29:04those who thought
29:05injuries had gotten
29:06the best of him and
29:07led the league in
29:07home runs and
29:08RBIs.
29:09With the two teams
29:10in a heated pennant
29:11race, New York
29:12traveled to Boston for
29:13the season's final
29:14weekend.
29:15There, Ted led the
29:16Red Sox to two
29:17straight wins and
29:18kept the Yankees out
29:19of postseason play,
29:20even though it was
29:21Cleveland who'd
29:22win the pennant.
29:22New York's manager
29:24Bucky Harris was
29:25promptly fired, and
29:26the Yankees replaced
29:27him with a man many
29:28felt a dubious choice,
29:30Casey Stengel.
29:31When he came to
29:32the Yankees, most
29:33of the experts thought
29:36that the Yankees were
29:36making a sad mistake
29:38in hiring this man
29:39to be the manager.
29:40They wondered
29:42aloud why the
29:44Yankees.
29:46Huggins to
29:47McCarthy to Casey
29:48Stengel.
29:51Managers don't get
29:52enough credit in
29:52baseball for some
29:53reason.
29:54The Yankee team is
29:55bringing a clown to
29:57match.
29:59Some predicted the
30:00demise of the
30:01franchise.
30:01No one expected the
30:03case he was about to
30:03lead the Yankees into
30:05the greatest era of
30:06dominance the game
30:07has ever known.
30:12Still to count.
30:13But up to the
30:14sixth inning, I was
30:15more confused.
30:17In 1949, most folks
30:20were as confused by the
30:21Yankees' hiring of Casey
30:22Stengel as they were by
30:24what he was saying.
30:25It was shock, surprise,
30:29bewilderment.
30:29Stengel was so much not in
30:31the Yankee pattern.
30:32And Stengel had the
30:33reputation, an unfair
30:34reputation, of being
30:35nothing but a clown.
30:38Despite the public
30:39perception, the Yankees
30:40knew that Stengel had shown
30:41a knack for winning
30:42throughout his playing
30:43career.
30:44And they suspected his
30:45limited success as
30:46manager of the talent
30:47challenge Brooklyn Dodgers
30:49and Boston Braves was
30:51misleading.
30:53Stengel came in to
30:55manage a club that was
30:57the team in professional
30:59sports.
30:59And he was considered a
31:01sort of a character.
31:02And he was him.
31:03Stengel was one of the
31:04most brilliant baseball
31:05minds I've ever seen.
31:07Despite a rash of
31:08injuries, Casey's Yankees
31:10stayed close to Joe
31:11McCarthy's Red Sox all
31:12year and beat them on
31:14the season's final day to
31:16win the pennant.
31:17Then old reliable Tommy
31:18Hendrick lived up to his
31:20nickname in Game 1 of the
31:21World Series against the
31:23Dodgers in the 9th inning
31:24of a scoreless game.
31:32Joe Page and Allie
31:33Reynolds got both a win and
31:34a save as the Yankees took
31:36the series in 5.
31:37Casey had defied the
31:39critics and the Yankees
31:40were champions once again.
31:43Manager Casey Stengel is
31:44deliriously happy.
31:45Raise another banner.
31:46Why don't you?
31:49You're gonna run out of room.
31:51With his first Major League
31:53title.
31:53Winning the World Series
31:54over the Dodgers, he now
31:56was legitimate.
31:57After all those years, he'd
31:59made it.
32:00The old professor finally had
32:02a respect.
32:02He also had an abundance of
32:04the game's greatest weapon.
32:06The 49 team and the team
32:09that went into the 50s under
32:10Stengel, they're carried by
32:12superior pitching.
32:13Casey's staff included the
32:15Springfield rifle Vic Rasche,
32:17who won 21 games in three
32:18consecutive seasons.
32:20After teams faced Rasche's
32:22speed, Stengel would start
32:23junk baller Eddie Lopat.
32:25Then, Allie Reynolds, a man of
32:27Native American heritage known
32:29as Super Chief, thanks to his
32:30success in big games, and the
32:32only Yankees pitcher ever to
32:34throw two no-hitters in one
32:35season.
32:36It was quite a staff.
32:37Casey used it to change the
32:39way the game was played.
32:42Rasche, Reynolds, Lopat,
32:44merging in with Whitey Ford,
32:46and a manager who's inventive in
32:49his use of the bullpen.
32:50Stengel was really ahead of the
32:53curve, going right against left,
32:55left against right.
32:56When they won in 49, the key was
32:59Joe Page.
33:00In that season, Joe Page has 27
33:02saves, and he was in 60 ballgames.
33:05So you had a team that had very
33:07good pitching, but pitching
33:08wasn't the team's only strength.
33:10They had very good fielding.
33:13Fielding, catching, Yogi Berra
33:16still had Joe DiMaggio, so he
33:21still could hit.
33:23They could do everything.
33:26They had depth.
33:27Stengel started using the
33:29platoon.
33:30He had Woodling, and Bauer, and
33:33McDougal, and Coleman, and all
33:35kinds of other players
33:37interchangeable.
33:38I want to kill him half the time.
33:39If he didn't play me, I want to
33:40choke him, you know, all the
33:41players did.
33:42But he really, when I look back and
33:44reflect, in retrospect, this guy
33:47was something special.
33:49And about to embark on a special
33:51era in Yankees history.
33:54Welcome back to the...
33:56To have been the greatest in the
33:58franchise's history between 1903
34:00and 1996 is pretty good.
34:03Casey and the Scooter did win their
34:05second straight World Series, and
34:08confidence was now playing a key
34:09role in the team's success.
34:12If you didn't feel unbeatable or
34:13think you were going to win, you
34:14had no sense being in the big
34:16leagues.
34:16My first two years, I made more
34:18money in the World Series than I
34:19made in my whole salary for the
34:21whole year.
34:21When you won the World Series, you
34:23wouldn't have to go to work that
34:24winter.
34:25You'd be able to relax.
34:26The key thing was to win, because
34:29winning is where you made your
34:31money.
34:31And get this, a team that's already
34:33good enough to win the World
34:35Series, when they can use the
34:37World Series money and sit on
34:40that for the winner, and you don't
34:43have to go to work like everybody
34:44else, you have more time to
34:46practice.
34:47So when they come back the next
34:49season, they have an
34:51even bigger gap over the other
34:55teams and other players who had
34:57to go to work over the winter.
34:59So that's why they kept winning
35:01World Series.
35:02It's an amazing method, but you
35:04have to be good enough to win it
35:05in the first place.
35:08And we were supporting families.
35:10That's how we made our money.
35:11We had to get to the World Series
35:13to make money.
35:14And if we didn't get into the
35:15World Series, we were stuck with
35:16our salary.
35:17The Yankees returned to the World
35:19Series for the third straight time
35:21in 1951 and defeated the Giants in
35:24six games.
35:24This would be the last title for Joe
35:27DiMaggio, and the first for a 19-year-old
35:30former shortstop, now coming into his
35:32own as a big league outfielder.
35:34I know that when I first joined there,
35:36I was, like I said, 18 or 19 years old.
35:39And I looked up to DiMaggio and Allie
35:41Reynolds and Vic Rashid, the guys that I
35:43joined, the team that I joined.
35:50DiMaggio and Allie Reynolds and
35:52Stengel and Allie Reynolds and
35:54Allie Reynolds and Allie Reynolds.
35:55Boy, having played for Stengel in the
35:57minors, the scrappy Martin consistently
36:00came through, especially in the next
36:02two Octobers.
36:03Martin didn't have the talent that a
36:05lot of players had, but of all the
36:07players Stengel had, Martin was probably
36:09the shrewdest, smartest, most
36:11aggressive, most irritating.
36:13Billy Martin was among the most competitive players that ever played the game.
36:19From temperament and attitude, comparable to Ty Cobb.
36:22He was someone who sort of transcended his own ability.
36:27He played great baseball in the World Series.
36:32Like in the 1952 Fall Classic, when he helped secure the title.
36:37Yeah, he was true.
36:39He was smart enough to be a manager himself.
36:43That's pretty true.
36:45With a typical take-charge, hustling play.
36:48That's a high pop-up.
36:50Who's going to get it?
36:51Here comes Billy Martin digging hard, and he makes the catch at the last second.
36:55How about that?
36:57Is it any wonder why Casey had such an affinity for the kid?
37:01He managed to get the big player, the big hit, in quick situations with anybody that ever lived.
37:07Billy did it again in 1953,
37:09when his record 12th World Series hit in just a six-game series,
37:14a record Martin now shares with three other players,
37:18helped clinch still another championship for the Yankees.
37:21Behind Billy, the Yankees had done something never before accomplished
37:25in the history of Major League Baseball.
37:28Five straight world championships.
37:31Incredibly, they showed no indication they would stop at five.
37:41We now return to the history of...
37:43Now, come in!
37:45Well, bless my soul, Hank.
37:47This here is Colonel Dan Falcon.
37:49This is Hank Lumpkin.
37:50Well, I'm glad to meet you, Colonel.
37:52Showing up.
37:52Here we have Colonel Philip Calhoun Rizzuto.
37:55How do you?
37:56Showing up.
37:57And coming this way is Colonel Gilbert Beauregard-MacDougal.
38:00Hi, all.
38:01Showing up.
38:01Well, bless my soul, it's Colonel Whitey Stonewall Ford.
38:05I do.
38:06Showing up.
38:06And last but not least from the Deep South,
38:08this here is Colonel Yogi Ashley Burra.
38:11What? Please make your appointment.
38:13Sure enough.
38:15Colonel Yogi is on the Yogi...
38:17Deep South?
38:19St. Louis is a Deep South.
38:21I didn't know that.
38:25Man, I thought Yogi Berra was short.
38:28Rizzuto looks really short.
38:30That's not right, Yogi.
38:32Sure enough.
38:33I don't like it.
38:34God, he reminds me of Doberman.
38:35Yeah.
38:36Who's going to love him?
38:37Well, gentlemen, I guess you all came here to pick up the contract.
38:41Sure enough.
38:42Well, Hank, these gentlemen in the hurry get back to their plantation.
38:44You sign the contract, they'll give us a check.
38:46Ain't that right, gentlemen?
38:47Sure enough.
38:48Sure.
38:48I'll be glad to sign this.
38:49That's a good point.
38:50Sign right there.
38:51Sign.
38:51Sign.
38:51That's it.
38:52Here's the contact, Colonel.
38:53And this is the check.
38:55No, I wish I was in the line of cotton.
38:57Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
38:58Well, gentlemen, we'll talk this over again sometime over so many children.
39:02Thank you all for coming down.
39:03I'll be over to your plantation.
39:04We'll have some cornfall and some chihar.
39:06Who's going?
39:07I don't know.
39:07That's all I just said goodbye.
39:09Leave a ditch, you all.
39:10That's a good one.
39:11I don't know.
39:12I don't know.
39:13Casey Stengel's Yankees have become as big a hit off the field as they were on it, thanks
39:18to a charismatic young nucleus and an unprecedented stream of success.
39:23Yes, sir.
39:23The Bombers did it again.
39:25Five World Series in a row for Casey Stengel and his American League quiz bangs.
39:29They made baseball history.
39:32What a...
39:33Mmm.
39:35Forget about Kobe, Shaq, Jordan, any of those guys.
39:42Bro, McCarthy was the first guy.
39:45Not McCarthy.
39:46Stengel.
39:46He was the first guy.
39:47He had the gall to hold up the amount of fingers.
39:52The rings he went.
39:54One, two, three, four, five.
39:59Team.
40:01He played that way before any NBA player.
40:05Although the Yankees were considered a young team, they still maintained a veteran presence.
40:10And once Joe DiMaggio left the team, the torch of leadership was passed to catcher Yogi Berra,
40:17one of the game's most respected players by both his teammates and his peers.
40:22Yogi's greatest asset was deliver under pressure.
40:26He was a great clutch hitter.
40:28When the hitters needed to win that game, he is more likely to produce it than most other people.
40:35The greatest, seven, eight, and nine.
40:36I thought he had the most hits in World Series history, because I know Merah has the most home runs.
40:44Ninth inning hitter in baseball is Yogi Berra.
40:47Berra became the first American League catcher to be named MVP three times, capturing the honor in 51, 54, and
40:5655.
40:56But beyond the awards and heroics, there's one thing Yogi remembered best about his team.
41:02We had more fun than anything.
41:05Whitey, myself, Nicky, Lily, we had a lot of fun.
41:11If you wanted to go to a movie, you sat in the lobby, and the first guy that came down
41:15wanted to go to the movie, you went to the movie with him.
41:17It wasn't a question, I don't want to go with that guy or this guy.
41:20Anybody was okay, because they were all good guys.
41:24The men who wore the pinstripes during this stretch helped make the Yankees' clubhouse a special place.
41:30The camaraderie even seemed to revitalize players thought to be past their prime.
41:34Johnny Mize or Johnny Sane, all these old guys used to come to the Yankees at the end of their
41:40careers when they weren't really doing that well.
41:42And when they come to the Yankees, for some reason or other, it just seemed like they did better again.
41:47There was a lot of pride wearing a Yankee uniform.
41:50We were not jealous of one another. If we played together as a team, if they didn't do better, their
41:55career was over.
41:57I mean, it seemed like everybody we got in trades knew what we had to do.
42:01We had to win a pennant. We all benefited by it.
42:04The ballplayers, when they joined us at the end of the season, like Enos Slaughter, we gave them a full
42:08share,
42:09which the next year in spring training, they busted their fanny to stay and be a Yankee.
42:14That's why the Yankees were successful.
42:16Of course, winning helps breed confidence.
42:19But the Yankees won so often in the 50s, even their fans felt invincible.
42:26Under Casey Stengel, that was when I was a boy, we woke up in the morning knowing that the New
42:32York Yankees were going to win the pennant.
42:351949 through 56 was the golden era of baseball in New York.
42:39At least one New York team made it to the World Series every year.
42:43And there was a...
42:44The Yankees were 49-58, won eight pennants, six World Series.
42:53The only year they didn't was 54.
42:59No, that was no main.
43:03Hold on.
43:08Subway Series in six out of eight years.
43:11Playing in that many World Series, I played in, it was great.
43:14So they won nine pennants, six World Series.
43:18Look how many guys have played and never played in the World Series.
43:22That's what you live for.
43:23It's exciting every year.
43:24Barra was fast becoming the record holder of World Series games played and championship titles.
43:31Meanwhile, one of his teammates was becoming the next great Yankees legend,
43:35something his manager had predicted when he first saw him play.
43:39Here's what Casey said.
43:40This kid is phenomenal.
43:42So he's another Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio all rolled into one.
43:47And it just didn't happen.
43:48And then in 52, 53, 54, 55, I did pretty good.
43:52You know, I had some really good years, but never anything like what Casey had bragged about.
43:57You know, and the fans in New York was starting to say,
43:59where's this guy that's supposed to be the next Babe Ruth in them, you know?
44:02Up until that time, the people still booed me.
44:05And then in 1956, I did lead the league in about five or six different offensive departments.
44:10And I really became Mickey Mantle, I guess.
44:14Hitting .353 with 52 homers and 130 RBIs was something only a great player could do, okay?
44:21In 1996, guys, you know, who just came up from AAA could do it.
44:25In 1956, you had to be Mickey Mantle to do it.
44:29It meant something.
44:30Mm-hmm.
44:31You had to be Willie Mays to do it.
44:35And Hank Aaron never even did it.
44:37He never hit 50 homeruns.
44:40That says how much harder it was.
44:44Yeah, because now, in the last 30 or so years, you can get on the juice and do that.
44:51These guys weren't on the juice.
44:55He was so good, you can't imagine.
44:58Also in 1956, shortstop Gil McDougald replaced future Hall of Famer Phil Rizzuto and became an all-star himself.
45:06McDougald was a classic example of the...
45:21Stengel loved to work with young ballplayers and teach them.
45:24In 1951, he established what he called the Instructural School.
45:27And this was a pre-spring training camp where they brought in the rookies, the minor leaguers,
45:33the people that really weren't going to make the club that year, so they could look at it and see
45:37them and explain things to them.
45:40With savvy scouts like Paul Critchell feeding him the talent, Stengel constantly tinkered with his roster.
45:46And though the lineup would often change, the result remained the...
45:50Seven World Series, uh...
45:54And they borne...
45:59Ten pennants.
46:08The Yankees were a franchise seemingly run to perfection.
46:12And in the 56 series against Brooklyn, perfection was achieved.
46:17Don Larson started Game 2, but didn't make it past the second inning of a 13-8 loss.
46:22But in Game 5, Stengel gave Larson another chance, and Yogi Berra had a prime view.
46:28That's the best game he ever pitched. He had control. Every pitch I called for, he got it over.
46:33He was behind on one hitter. That was in the first inning of the PB race. He got three balls
46:38on him.
46:38And that was it.
46:41Larson is ready. Gets the sign.
46:45He strikes ball one. Here comes the pitch. Strike three!
46:48A no-hitter! A perfect game for Don Larson!
46:52Look at this crowd roar!
46:55The first World Series no-hitter! A perfect performance by Don Larson!
47:01In Game 7, starting pitcher Johnny Cooks wasn't perfect, but did pitch a three-hit shutout on his own, and
47:08was backed by two two-run home runs by Yogi Berra.
47:11The Yankees, the greatest team in New York's golden era, had captured what would be the final Subway Series of
47:18the century.
47:18Robinson misses the third strike. The ball bounces away, but Berra throws him out at first.
47:24The Yankees, with this 9-0 pressure, have won their 17th World Series.
47:31Just six years beyond the century's halfway mark, a franchise founded as a rag-tag group of rejects,
47:38and with nothing but a rickety old stadium to call home, had established a standard of success unmatched in all
47:45of sport.
47:46One with an extraordinary legacy of heroes, legends, and championships.
47:57From their days as the Highlanders, until their first season in Yankee Stadium, the Yankees...
48:02I don't know where they cut us in 1956, but we're gonna cut it off there.
48:08Thanks for tuning in.
48:08Keep good-bye.
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