1962 Profiles: Del Webb and Dan Topping

"The success of the New York Yankees is reflected in the achievements of the club's co-owners, Daniel R. Topping and Del E. Webb. These highly successful business men took over the operation of the Yankees at the end of World War II. In the ensuing years, the Yankees have won an amazing 12 pennants and nine World Championships, a record unmatched in the annals of baseball. These are dedicated men, interested in the welfare of the game itself, of the American League and, of course, in the destiny of the Yankees. They will continue to direct their energies toward producing the best in baseball at the game's best ball park, Yankee Stadium."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

DEL WEBB (Co-Owner)

"Del E. Webb comes by his baseball enthusiasm naturally. He started out as a professional ball player, but his embryo pitching career ended abruptly when he came up with a sore arm.

Del turned to the construction business and his success in this field is legendary. In a comparatively short time he developed the Del E. Webb Corporation into one of the nation's largest firms in its field.

While Del Webb follows a hectic schedule, he finds considerable time for baseball, and especially the Yankees. He always visits spring training and attends all of the major Yankee Stadium events, including, he hopes, the 1962 World Series."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

"Baseball is second nature to Del Webb. He started out as a professional pitcher, but his efforts to reach the big leagues as a player were thwarted by a sore arm. But he finally made it to the majors as Co-Owner of the New York Yankees.

His great success in baseball has been matched by his meteoric career as head of one of the nation's largest construction firms, the Del E. Webb Corporation. Despite his many activities and almost continuous travel, Del sees his Yankees many times a season in New York and on the road."

-1962 World Series Official Souvenir Program

DAN TOPPING (Co-Owner)

"Daniel R. Topping is the acting executive head of the Yankees by virtue of his living and working in New York City. While he has varied other interests and serves on the board of directors of several major corporations, Dan's primary concern is the success of the Yankees and the operation of Yankee Stadium. He sees virtually every home game, every home spring exhibition, and many road contests.

He has been interested in sports all of his life. An outstanding amateur golfer, he played college baseball and football. He was co-owner of the old Brooklyn Football Dodgers and owned the New York Yankees of the All-American Football Conference."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook

"As the acting executive head of the Yankees, Dan Topping lives and works in New York. Since assuming Co-Ownership of the club in 1945, the Yankees have won an amazing 13 pennants and nine World Series, up to this one ... the most successful span by a team in the history of the game.

Topping has been a sports enthusiast all his life. A top golfer, he was owner of professional football teams before entering baseball at the end of the war. Although he is on the Board of Directors of many corporations, Dan gives most of his time to the success of the Yankees."

-1962 World Series Official Souvenir Program

1962 New York Yankees Outlook

'61 YANKS AS GOOD AS '27'S?

They've Less Pitching But More Power

"Their 13-7 win in the World Series clincher demonstrated why Ralph Houk's 1961 Yankees were a ball club worthy of mention in the same breath with the 1927 Yankees, generally regarded as the greatest of all 19 Pinstriped world champions from New York.

Without Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Bob Cerv in the game, they collected 15 hits, two homers, a triple and four doubles and came up with two five-run innings. Everyone in the lineup but the pitchers got at least one hit. And Johnny Blanchard and Hector Lopez, not considered regulars on this amazing power club, got five hits between them- a homer, double and single by Blanchard and a homer and triple by Lopez.

Any number of experts are now comparing this Yankee team with that of 1927, but this writer did it away back in early July, when they weren't even in first place, to the obvious displeasure of of old-timers who wrote in to enquire solicitously if I were some kind of nut.

Events of the last three months of the season bore out the accuracy of my bill of particulars about this Yankee team, even though I said they'd win 110 games on the long schedule and they wound up with only 109.

I had made the point the 1961 Yanks were actually a more formidable power club than the 1927 team despite the Ruth-Gehrig total of 107 homers and would prove it by setting a new homer mark. And Major Houk's men did just that. Where the teammates of Ruth and Gehrig added only 51 homers to their 107, the other Yankees of the 1961 club contributed 125 to the Maris-Mantle total of 115 to set an all-time team record of 240 homers for one season. (Let's not get into the 154 vs. 162 thing at this time. The 1961 Yanks broke the old 221 mark legitimately.)

Conceding the 1927 Yankees were better than the 1961 team on the mound, although Whitey Ford was a cinch to beat Waite Hoyt's top mark of 22 wins (Whitey won 25), I still rated Houk's ball club at least the equal of the late Miller Huggins'. Reason: Under present conditions, pitching isn't as important as it was in 1927. Power is more important.

Yes, this is quite a Yankee ball club. It has to be, when a player like Blanchard, whom this writer singled out at least a year ago as one who couldn't miss stardom if given a chance to play regularly, still got into only 93 games this past year! He hit .305, with 21 homers, and showed himself to be a deadly iceman in the clutches. In the World Series with the Reds, he pounded out a game-tying pinch homer in the third game and started the Yanks on their winning ways in the fifth and final game with a homer his next time up. He could be the Yanks' next 50-homer man.

The irony of Blanchard's position was that he was an outfielder originally, only to be turned into a catcher in the Yankee chain- and then kept under wraps in the minors because there was no place for another Yankee catcher with Berra and Howard riding high!

Now J.B. has shown he's a pretty good outfielder after all, and Houk has used him a lot more than Casey did. Blanchard made a sparkling throw to nail a runner at third in the Series- and he wound up with a .400 batting average.

One of the Yankees' problems next season will be left field, as usual in recent seasons. The solution, offered here a long time ago, is right in front of the Yankee brain trust- Blanchard. What are they waiting for? The big guy from Minnesota, whose long stay in the minors offered a fine argument against baseball's reserve clause, ain't getting any younger. He's 28."

-Murray Robinson, New York Journal-American (Baseball Digest, February 1962)

THERE'S A "HALL" IN FORD'S FUTURE, BUT WHAT ABOUT MARIS?

Another Homer Champ, Hack Wilson, Is Still Out

"The World Series ended a few months ago and the outcome remains the same: Yanks in five. But did the Series, and season, unveil a few more candidates for eventual membership in the Hall of Fame?

Take Whitey Ford, the southpaw, which the Pirates and Reds haven't been able to do in two straight years. He has now won more Series games (eight) than any pitcher in Series history. He has hurled 32 consecutive scoreless innings, breaking a 41-year-old mark set by Babe Ruth in 1916-18.

Moreover, Ford still has better than a fighting chance to improve those records, so that when his name crops on the annual ballot (five years after his retirement) Whitey may have unimpeachable credentials for membership.

And now, just for the fun of looking forward, what could be the status of Roger Maris in this particular situation?

Maris will be starting his seventh major league season in 1962. He has never batted .300. Yet right now he is the only man ever to hit more than 60 homers (61) in any year and might still be the only man to have done it ten years hence.

Would this feat alone entitle him to a niche on the hallowed walls at Cooperstown, N.Y.?

Thirty-two years ago Hack Wilson hit 56 home runs (a National League tops) and drove in 190 runs for a major league mark which never has been equalled. He has not made the Hall of Fame and keeps losing ground each year.

His only hope of selection seems to be in the hands of the veterans' committee which votes on men who have been out at least 30 years. The writing fraternity picks players who have been out only five years.

This represents two phases of balloting. The committee on vets, which meets each January, is permitted only two men from the long-gone group and such former stars as Eddie Roush and Eppa Rixey or the Reds and Sam Rice of the Senators will be up for consideration on an elapsed-time basis in the next year or two.

From the writers' standpoint, Jackie Robinson, the former Dodger, is about ready to be acted upon, but a guy like Ted Williams still has four years to wait.

But in contrast to the vet committee's limitations, the writers can elect any number of men, provided they receive a two-thirds majority.

But rarely do more than two men achieve enough votes, so the candidates still pile up. There are some 'naturals' like Williams, Warren Spahn, Stan Musial, Casey Stengel and Mickey Mantle who will be there as soon as they're eligible.

But this may only emphasize the position of Maris, who could turn out to be the Hack Wilson of his era, doing just one thing better than anyone else and finding it not enough for permanent recognition.

It will be interesting to see if Don Larsen, who pitched the only perfect game in World Series history, will make the H-of-F, since he did nothing else, before or after, to further his candidacy. There are only nine men in history who have four homers in a single game, yet two of 'em ... the late Chuck Klein and James (Pat) Seery of the White Sox ... won't ever be named immortals for that feat.

Only nine men have won the Triple Crown in a single season (homers, batting title and runs batted in) and one of them, Joe Medwick of the old Cardinals, hasn't been able to muster enough votes for inclusion among the greats.

Tim Keefe and John Clarkson of bygone eras each belong among the exclusive 13 hurlers to have won 300 or more games, but they weren't acceptable for the Hall of Fame.

There's a growing concern over the implication that making the Hall of Fame is becoming too easy; that if it is going to retain its reputation as the resting place of the very best, more care should be taken in the nominations.

Length of service, coupled with achievement, should be given more attention. That, seemingly, has ruled out Wilson.

But in 86 years of big-time baseball, only 85 men have been immortalized in Cooperstown and their contemporaries have been legion. There is still room for more of the same!"

-John P. Carmichael, Chicago Daily News (Baseball Digest, February 1962)

"A man in the nation's capital claims the Yankees will be so far ahead by August 20 that they'll be declared in restraint of trade and ruled 'off the turf' for the year. And he could be right at that, particularly if the M-and-M boys, Whitey Ford, Elston Howard, Luis Arroyo, et al come right back with the same sort of seasons they had in 1961.

Supposedly there's nothing out of place in the Yankee scheme of things. They are sturdy at all posts, with good hitting, excellent fielding, superior catching, quality pitching, a bench that has as much utility strength as any in the league, and a clear-thinking manager in Ralph Houk who refuses to panic, platoon or pout.

Sure, Tony Kubek may still be in the Army, and then there's a 'problem' at shortstop, that is if Cletis Boyer, baseball's busiest and best infielder, constitutes a problem if he's moved to short. And who'll play third if this event comes to pass? Maybe Jake Gibbs or Tom Tresh or Billy Gardner or perhaps Bill Skowron, which is not so silly as it sounds provided the experiment to make John Blanchard into a first baseman doesn't fizzle out before it begins.

However, for all the wheels to turn at the same degree of velocity in back-to-back years is to defy the laws of gravity. Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were tremendous in 1961; don't look for them to approach the same standards in '62. Ford and Arroyo were also phenomenal; it's unfair to expect them to again win 40 between them. Is Howard a genuine .348 belter? Will incomparable Yogi Berra continue to field and hit like a man of 26 instead of 36? And what of the pitching behind Ford and Arroyo - is it deep and talented enough to cope with the likes of the Tigers and Orioles?

Too many questions, some of which may not be resolved until it's too late, add up to a second-place finish.

Rookies to watch: Tom Tresh, Al Downing."

-Don Schiffer, The 1962 Major League Baseball Handbook

"Can Whitey Ford have another phenomenal year? Can Luis Arroyo continue to save him and the rest of the staff with that screwball? Can these marvelous mashers M&M - meaning Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, of course - again have a miraculous year? Can Johnny Blanchard play daily as effectively as he did in spots? Can the Yankees replace Tony Kubek?

Manager Ralph Houk, who added stability to the Yankees that wasn't evident under Casey Stengel's juggling regime, first must face up to the Kubek problem. The other questions, he hopes, will not materialize. Houk has the choice of shifting Clete Boyer to short and trying others at third, or of anchoring Boyer at the hot corner and testing some exciting rookie at Kubek's spot. Boyer is an exceptional third baseman and when he filled in briefly for Tony last season, he was smooth there, too.

Tom Tresh, a switch-hitter who batted .315 at Richmond last season, won rookie of the year honors in the International League and was the all-star shortstop. He has size, batting ability and fine fielding skills.

The Yankees really won the pennant last spring when Houk refused to trade away his surplus of catchers.

'They're my bench, too,' he explained. By standing pat, he was able to juggle Yogi Berra, Elston Howard and Johnny Blanchard all over the field. Blanchard hit so well that Houk intends to play him in left field this season. He also says Yogi will do more catching.

At second, Bobby Richardson is without peer. This a solid Yankee of the Crosetti-Rizzuto school. At first, Bill Skowron, the only Yankee to have a relatively disappointing season, is hoping for a better bat. And now we come to Mantle and Maris. In previous seasons the two M's were injury prone. A study of the records reveals that nearly all the Yankee regulars were in there daily. This is unusual and we don't figure it to happen again this year.

Now we come to the pitching where Houk admits, 'We could use another good one.' He'll get by if Ford stays healthy, if Arroyo stays sharp, if Bob Turley's operation makes his arm sound or if Robin Roberts stages a big comeback, which could happen in a Yankee uniform."

-True, The Man's Magazine 1962 Baseball Yearbook

"Frantically and sometimes ridiculously, American Leaguers spent the off-season drumming up reasons why the Yankees won't win this year's pennant. They came up with some dandies.

This year, the rivals are hopefully mentioning several items, including the possibility of an H-bomb attack, scarlet fever and anti-trust legislation. Plus: (1) The loss of Tony Kubek to the Army, and (2) the possibility that Yankee pitching might not reproduce the Whitey Ford & Luis Arroyo miracle of 1961.

Of course, the rivals mention the great odds against Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle repeating their home run feast of 1961. Those 115 homers were a tremendous help, both in the win column and at the box office. But, according to manager Ralph Houk, they also presented the biggest obstacle the Yankees had to overcome.

Detroit, which made a surprising run at the pennant until the first week of September, was almost a secondary threat.

'Our chief problem was right in our own midst,' says Houk. 'The biggest hurdle that we had to overcome was the Maris-Mantle home run frenzy. The more excitement their home runs attracted, the more frightened I got.

'Day after day, the headlines were Mantle of Maris. Day after day, other fine players were winning games for us, but the stories were still about Maris or Mantle. But everybody reacted perfectly. The other players saw the situation as an important move to the pennant and to a larger World Series share. And the credit belongs to Maris and Mantle, too. They talked about winning the pennant and not about themselves.'

As for Kubek, the Yankees will miss the rangy young man. He really didn't have quite the season with the bat that Houk expected, but he was a fine all-around performer. As usual with the Bombers, his loss is something less than a catastrophe.

For example, Houk might have the second best American League shortstop (next to Luis Aparicio) already in his infield. Cletis Boyer, the third base magician, could move his fielding miracles over a few paces with little loss. Originally, he preferred to play shortstop.

'Losing a player like Kubek for an entire year is tough for the club and tough for him,' Houk said early in the winter. 'But,' he added somewhat unnecessarily, 'we are better equipped to take care of this shortstop situation than any of the other clubs.'

The Yankees have two hotshot rookies who'll get a chance at Kubek's chores. Tommy Tresh, son of the old major league catcher, is a good-looking young switch-hitter who batted .315 at Richmond before finishing up last season at Yankee Stadium. Phil Linz, the Texas League batting champ with .349, is another possibility. A long shot is Jake Gibbs, the former Mississippi quarterback who received a $100,000 bonus.

Should Boyer be assigned the shortstop stall permanently, these young men could enter the fight for Clete's old third base position. And don't forget outfielder Hector Lopez once played third base.

No one expects Ford to win 25 games again. His goal in 1962 is to pitch 'many more complete games.' True, he finished only 11 times last year (Detroit's Frank Lary completed 22 games), but you must always go back to Yogi Berra's comment on Ford: 'You never saw Whitey come out of there when the game was close.' Many times, when the Yankees had a five or six-run lead, Houk would let someone else finish.

The Yankees may have bolstered their staff a bit with the acquisition of Robin Roberts, the old-time Whiz Kid who had fallen on bad times in Philadelphia. It would surprise practically no one to see Roberts jump into those Yankee pinstripes and have himself an exceptional year. It has happened before to downtrodden players who joined the Yanks. New York has also obtained left-hander Marshall Bridges from the Cincinnati club. In addition to the juggling around to fill the shortstop berth, Houk plans to use John Blanchard more. Elston Howard is the best catcher in the league, so Blanchard may be shifted around to first base and the outfield, plus catching duties behind Howard.

In all, the Yankees of 1962 shape up to be a well-rounded, well-equipped, versatile team capable of delivering the goods. Ain't it always so?"

-Murray Olderman, NBC Complete Baseball 1962

PITCHING

"It's against the odds for Ford to win 25 again, or Arroyo to keep fooling'em with his screwball, but the Yanks have quietly accomplished a youthful turnover in their pitching, with such strong arms as Bill Stafford, Rollie Sheldon and Ralph Terry leading the parade. A year on the premises should help Bud Daley, too.

Bob Turley is strictly an 'if' commodity after his operation. Jim Coates is good to have for the middle innings, and who knows what the change of scenery can do for Roberts? Houk expects a stronger contribution from Tex Clevenger to offset a possible decline by Arroyo. He also likes Bridges as a fireman.

Rating: Good"

-Murray Olderman, NBC Complete Baseball 1962

CATCHING

"Ellie's tops in baseball at the moment, and Blanchard is just about the best reserve.

Rating: Excellent"

-Murray Olderman, NBC Complete Baseball 1962

INFIELD

"A lot depends on Bill Skowron's ability to rebound from a so-so '61 that had him tabbed for the trade market, and whether the Army lets Kubek go early. If Tony's in, there's a gap at shortstop with rookies Linz and Tresh leading the fight and Boyer a possibility for shifting over from third. Bobby Richardson has no competition at second.

Billy Gardner is handy. Joe Pepitone of the outfield hopefuls can back up Skowron.

Rating: Good"

-Murray Olderman, NBC Complete Baseball 1962

OUTFIELD

"Nothing has to be said about center and right, where M & M are in control. The platoon will be in force in left, with Yogi first in line.

The hope is for a Lopez comeback and Blanchard is a possibility, too. Bob Cerv's primary duty is to deliver pinch hits.

Rating: Excellent"

-Murray Olderman, NBC Complete Baseball 1962

HOW TO BEAT THE YANKEES by Frank Lary

"I first became involved with the New York Yankees the year I finished high school- 1948, I think. (I never was much for remembering dates and figures.)

A scout came to my house in Northport, Alabama, and got me- Bert Niehoff, I think. (I never was much for remembering names, either, unless it was some guy who just got a hit off me.) He took me and my dad to New York City, and I worked out for a week with the New York Yankees.

I weighed about 150 pounds at the time, and I guess I must have looked like I needed a square meal. I could throw pretty hard, and I thought I had a pretty good curve, but I guess it wasn't as good as I thought it was.

At the end of the week, somebody from the Yankees- it might have been Jim Turner, because he was the pitching coach then- told me I'd never make a big-league pitcher. He said I was too small.

I bring this up here because most people take for granted that I saw Yankee Stadium for the first time on May 1, 1955, when I was a rookie with the Detroit Tigers. But, as you know now, I had been there before and I had a pretty special reason for wanting to come back again.

I was bigger the second time I made the trip. I'd grown to about 180 pounds and was about 5-10, and I had the notion I was big enough to pitch in the major leagues.

I suppose I'm expected to say I walked into Yankee Stadium breathing fire that day, and that I took an oath that I was going to whip hell out of the New York Yankees every time I got the chance because I wanted revenge. It never crossed my mind.

I know I've pitched like I've had something personal against the Yankees, and I have- but it has nothing to do with their snubbing me. It's simply that I'm tired of seeing them win the American League pennant and I want to beat them every time I pitch against them. Of course I want to beat everybody else I pitch against, but there's an extra comes from beating the Yankees.

I've been in the major league and I've beaten the Yankees 27 times. They've beaten me just ten times. I've started 42 games against them and finished 24. My earned run average against them is 3.04, which won't lead many leagues, but it'll win from most clubs.

I said I wasn't much good at remembering figures, and here I've made myself out a liar. But I had to get this story straight, so I took a look at the record books and I've got a bunch of figures to pass along before I'm through.

Now I don't cotton too much to that title 'Yankee-killer,' because a fellow might ruin a good thing by rubbing it in, but if people insist on using it, I'm not going to argue with them. After all, I've won 117 ball games since I've been in the major leagues, but people remember me a lot more for the 27 games I've won from New York.

I don't want people getting the idea that anything I do against the Yankees is magical. I don't believe in voodoo or hexes or jinxes, or any of that kind of jazz. I believe in a good curve, a good fastball, a good slider and a good knuckler now and then, and I believe if they're pitched in the right place to the right batter, they'll get him out.

I think the reason I pitch better against the Yankees is plain- I know them better than any other team in the league because I've pitched against them so much. I've got ten more decisions against the Yankees than against Boston and Kansas City, for instance.

Another thing, my ball club seems to play with a little more confidence against the Yankees when I'm pitching, and that's natural because they expect me to win. You play better ball with that kind of advantage- psychological, I guess you'd call it.

But, remember, nobody should get the idea that I consider pitching against the Yankees any kind of a cinch. That's still the most dangerous collection of hitters in baseball, as far as I'm concerned, and I pitch every fellow like I'm afraid he's going to knock my head off with a line drive.

That fear can be traced back to an early experience of mine at Yankee Stadium when I spent that week there on tryout. They used me for batting practice pitching a lot, and one day I gave Johnny Lindell a fast ball right around his letters. That was almost the last pitch I ever made. He hit a line drive right back at my head, and the only reason I'm here today is because I've got a small head. That ball went whistling right by my ear. I didn't even have time to get my glove up to protect myself.

The toughest of today's Yankees for me is probably not the man you'd expect. He's not Mickey Mantle or Roger Maris, but the 'old pro,' Yogi Berra. Yogi's lifetime batting average against me is about .220- that's a guess- but it's been a damaging .220. When he gets a hit off me, he always makes it count. I may be underrating all those other important Yankees, but I feel that without Yogi, the Yankees would be a lost ball club.

I try to mix up my pitch my pitches to Yogi, and in Yankee Stadium I'll give him a lot of fastballs, on the outside, of course. Yogi's the kind of hitter to let one go right down the middle and then hit a pitch that's eye-high out of the park. My best Sunday pitch is my overhand curve. One day it'll get Yogi out, and the next time he'll wear it out.

I pitch to Mantle about the same way as Yogi, try to keep him off balance, give him some fastballs away in Yankee Stadium and hope he hits them where they can be caught. It's a funny thing, I guess, but I've always have had pretty good luck with Mantle.

I keep the ball on the outside to Maris, too, but you've got to watch that low pitch. He's a good low ball hitter. He likes to golf the ball, and any time you try to slip one by him around the knees, you may see it disappear over the fence. It's not what you throw to Maris. It's where you throw it. You can't make any mistakes with him. I'm not one of those fellows who believes he's only a one-year wizard. I think he's a sound hitter who's just reaching major-league maturity. I'm afraid we're going to have to put up with him for a long time.

Elston Howard is another Yankee I've got a lot of respect for. It's best to pitch him tight. I have a pattern I follow with him- two pitches in, one pitch outside. Bill Skowron likes the fastball, so I work him in and out and throw him a lot of low curves. Tony Kubek looks for certain pitches. I keep the ball away from him and curve him, but once in a while I'll pitch him tight.

The Yankees have a new menace now, John Blanchard. He's developing into a good hitter, and he loves the fastball. You've got to give him a lot of breaking stuff and throw every pitch like it's got a mortgage on it.

Bobby Richardson is different from the 'Yankee-type' hitter. He's looking for the fastball, but for a different reason. He wants you to pitch to his power, so I throw him a lot of curves and change-ups and keep him off balance.

Over the run of the years, the way I figure it, it works out that if you handle Mantle and Berra all right, you'll handle the Yankee all right. They only racked up once last summer, when they racked me for five runs in three innings. That's the reason my earned-run average against the Yankees last season went to 4.30.

That's the worst ERA I've ever had for a year's work against New York. The best year I ever had was 1958. I didn't win but 16 games that season, but seven were from the Yankees. I had an earned run average of 2.91, the best I've ever had in the majors. I was 1.85 against the Yankees, but couldn't seem to get any runs when I needed them against any of the other teams.

By then the story that I had a jinx on the Yankees was going pretty strong. It got started back in the 1956 season, when I beat the Yankees five out of six times. Exactly when it started, I'm not sure, but I'm sure that I read about being a 'Yankee-killer' in the paper before I ever thought about it myself.

But the first time that I ever pitched in a game against the Yankees, I wasn't exactly a ball of fire. I'd come up from Buffalo to finish the season in 1954, and we had a road trip east, the first time I'd been to New York since the Yankees had told me I was too much of a runt to pitch in the major leagues.

I was feeling pretty superior on this trip. I had made it to the big leagues, in spite of what they said, and I was right there in their own stadium. I went in to pitch an inning of relief, and before I knew it I had the bases loaded, two singles and a walk, and Berra coming up.

I wasn't smart enough to know how dangerous he was, and I got him out all right and got out of the inning without any runs. The next time I pitched against them was June 8, 1955, in Detroit. The Yankees were leading the league and we had a crowd of 43,000 people at Briggs Stadium for that one. We beat Bob Turley, 3-1. They got eight hits off me, all singles, and one of the stories said the Yankees lost because Turley was having a wild day. Made no difference to me. I was glad to win any way I could.

Fred Hutchinson, the manager of the Tigers then, started me just three more times against the Yankees that season, and I won one and lost one. I had my first big season in 1956, when I won 21 games, the first time a Detroit pitcher had won that many since Hal Newhouser in 1948. It wasn't just the simple matter of throwing my glove out on the mound, though, as you'll see.

By the Fourth of July, I had won exactly four ball games and lost ten, and I spent the All-Star Game break around the house. I knew I had to do something, and I started experimenting with a knuckleball. An old pitcher who had been around, Earl Harrist, had shown me his grip at Buffalo, and I'd fooled with it a bit warming up and in batting practice.

I put it to work in some games, and the results were just fine. For example, before I started using it, Ted Williams had five-for-eight off me. After the knuckler, he was oh-for-seven. I won 17 and lost three the last half of the season, and that's how the 21 victories developed. All the time, though, I was consistent against the Yankees. I started seven games against them, went the distance five times, won five and didn't lose but one.

The Yankees were at their toughest for me in those years, especially in 1957, when the record caught up with me. I pitch righthanded and they had lefthanded hitters like Harry Simpson and Enos Slaughter and they could overload the batting order on me. Tommy Byrne was with the Yankees then, too, and when he was pitching he added another good stick to the lineup. We broke even that season; they beat me twice and I beat them twice, and both times I lost it was Byrne who beat me. The fact is, six of the ten games I've lost to the Yankees were to Byrne and Whitey Ford, three times each.

I call that the toughest Yankee club I ever had to face, but the 1961 Yankees were just about as hard on me. The only difference was, I beat them four times. In '57, I started against the Yankees five times and didn't complete but one game. Last year, I started six times and finished three, and I'm not particularly ashamed of the game I lost in that critical series in early September.

We went into New York for that three-game series with the pennant race as tight as Dick's hatband. The Yankees were leading, but we were hot on their tails. I've read in some papers or magazines that Detroit's pitching folded in the series, but I believe if you'll take a closer look at the record, you'll see that wasn't the case.

Don Mossi pitched the first game and lost, 1-0. Every manager would like for his pitching to 'fold' like that.

I started the second game and it was 2-2 going into the seventh or eighth inning, and I gave up a home run to Maris. Manager Bob Scheffing took me out and we lost. I'm not contending that he ought to have left me in, but I had beaten the Yankees three other times during the year by the score of 4-3.

In the last game, we led, 5-4, going into the eighth inning, and lost. I guess you might say our pitching bent a little that time, but I wouldn't say that the Yankees 'worked us over' in any one of the three games.

Anyway, that finished us off. That was the turning point, as the sportswriters say, and we were through. That was a good Yankee team, better balanced than any of the rest I've pitched against: good power right and left, good defense, good starting pitchers, good bullpen and lucky. Any time you win a pennant, you've got to have some luck.

It's like pitching. One day I'll go out and pitch my gizzard out and everything that's hit falls in. The next time I pitch I throw nothing but line drives, but they're still out.

With a bat in my hand I'm not what you'd call overpowering, either, but I have always managed to get my share of hits, and a lot of times I've made them 'heavy.' You'll have to forgive a pitcher for talking about his hitting, but I beat those Yankees twice with my bat last season, and I don't want anybody to forget it. It might come in handy at contract time.

Back in May I hit a home run off  Jim Coates with the score tied, 3-3, in the ninth inning and we won. We were tied again by the same score on the Fourth of July, this time in the tenth inning. Bill Stafford was pitching and Steve Boros was on third base. Two men were out and Stafford had two strikes on me, and I decided to pull a play on my own, straight out of Northport.

I bunted.

Naturally, it took everybody by surprise, including Bob Scheffing. The ball dribbled down the third-base line, gave Boros plenty of time to score, and we won again, 4-3.

Any old way to beat the Yankees, I always say.

The Yankees have just about become a personal project to me, and I know they'll get tougher and tougher each time I pitch against them. But I've never run away from a fight. A big high school tackle who weighed about 240 pounds challenged me once when I weighed about 150. We put on the gloves and went to it. I threw the only punch that landed and the fight ended right there. I am also the wrestling champion of my family, which includes two other professional pitchers, Al of the Chicago Cubs and Gene of the Mobile Bears. Ed, another older brother, pitched for a while.

My knack for beating the Yankees actually hasn't meant an extra lot to me in income. Oh, I've been on a few television shows and stuff like that, but nothing big. I don't try to capitalize on it during the winter. I come home to Northport and work on my 360-acre farm and lake out in the country and stay pretty close to home. My brothers, Al, Ed, Gene, Raymond, James and I have a little band, specializing in country and gospel music. We switch about. I sing some and play the mandolin, guitar or bass, whatever the other one doesn't want to play. We do some commercial work at shopping centers and high schools, but nothing to make a fellow rich.

Beating the Yankees, in other words, hasn't meant much more to me than what the Tigers have rewarded me in salary. Maybe I haven't been very smart about it, but I've really never thought about trying to get rich on it. The next season they're liable to whale the tar out of me, and I'll be sorry I ever brought it up.

Besides, as Southern as we are, we don't take too harshly to Yankees at our house. After all, my mother was a Yankee. Her maiden name was Margaret Rench, and my daddy met her at a dance in College Point, New York, when he was a soldier in World War One. She's been down South long enough now that we've decided to accept her citizenship papers.

The most I get out of beating the Yankees is the personal pride that comes with it. Bob Feller, you know, was only 30-37 against the Yankees for his long career as a pitcher at Cleveland.

That makes me feel good. Nobody will ever speak of me in the same breath as a pitcher with Feller, he and all of his records. But they will remember that I was the fellow that could beat the Yankees. That's the kind of little dividend that I get from it."

-Frank Lary, Sport Magazine, March 1962

"The Yankees, one of the greatest power-hitting teams in history, are blessed with extraordinarily high morale, a strong young pitching staff, a three-star catching department, a scintillating infield and the cool, calm and efficient leadership of Ralph Houk. Tony Kubek's temporary absence will scarcely harm the infield, for such rising young rookies as Tom Tresh and Phil Linz are ready to step into his shortstop shoes, and the amazing Clete Boyer can do the trick if they fail."

-Charles Dexter (Baseball Digest, April 1962)

1962 New York Yankees Spring Training Depth Chart

C   Elston Howard

1B Bill Skowron

2B Bobby Richardson

3B Clete Boyer

SS Tom Tresh

LF Hector Lopez 

CF Mickey Mantle

RF Roger Maris

PITCHERS:

Whitey Ford

Ralph Terry

Bill Stafford 

Bud Daley

Rollie Sheldon

Robin Roberts 

RELIEF PITCHERS:

Luis Arroyo

Jim Coates

Marshall Bridges

Tex Clevenger

Bob Turley

UTILITY:

C   Johnny Blanchard

3B Billy Gardner (2B)

SS Phil Linz

LF Yogi Berra (C)

CF Joe Pepitone (1B)

PH Bob Cerv (OF)

1962 New York Yankees Spring Training Roster

      Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

     Manager - Ralph Houk  35

     No. Coaches

       2 Frankie Crosetti

     44 Jim Hegan

     36 Wally Moses

     31 Johnny Sain

     No. Pitchers

     47 Luis Arroyo (L-L)

     30 Marshall Bridges (R-L)

     26 Tex Clevenger (R-R)

     39 Jim Coates (R-R)

     28 Bud Daley (L-L)

     24 Al Downing (R-L)

     16 Whitey Ford (L-L)

     48 George Haney (S-R)

     53 Howard Kitt (R-L)

     49 Bob Meyer (L-L)

     18 Hal Reniff (R-R)

     21 Robin Roberts (S-R)

     52 Lou Romanucci (R-R)

     45 Rollie Sheldon (R-R)

     22 Bill Stafford (R-R)

     29 Hal Stowe (L-L)

     23 Ralph Terry (R-R)

     19 Bob Turley (R-R)

     No. Catchers

     38 Johnny Blanchard (L-R)

     40 Alan Hall (R-R)

     32 Elston Howard (R-R)

     46 Billy Madden (L-R)

     No. Infielders

       6 Clete Boyer (R-R)

     20 Joe DeMaestri (R-R)

     12 Billy Gardner (R-R)

     41 Jake Gibbs (L-R)

     42 Pedro Gonzalez (R-R)

     34 Phil Linz (R-R)

       1 Bobby Richardson (R-R)

     14 Bill Skowron (R-R)

     15 Tom Tresh (S-R)

     No. Outfielders

       8 Yogi Berra (L-R)

     17 Bob Cerv (R-R)

     43 Don Lock (R-R)

     11 Hector Lopez (R-R)

       7 Mickey Mantle (S-R)

       9 Roger Maris (L-R)

     27 Jack Reed (R-R)

     56 Ron Solomini (R-L)

     National Defense Service List

     10 Tony Kubek (L-R)

     Trainers - Joe Soares, Don Seger

     Batting Practice Pitcher - Spud Murray  55

"The Yankees moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1962 for their first spring training ever on Florida's east coast. To say that it was a happy move is to make an understatement. Crowds were great, interest was high all spring and the weather was perfect. It meant a good start for the Yankees in defense of their title.

The Yankees are operating their Class D farm club in Fort Lauderdale this summer ... the new Fort Lauderdale Yankees of the Florida State League. Dan Topping, Jr., the son of the Yankee Co-Owner, is serving as general manager of the youthful Yankees."

-The New York Yankees Official 1962 Yearbook