Billy Martin

Billy Martin was a major league baseball player in the late 40's and 50's.  He achieved his greatest renown in managing several major league teams and in particular the New York Yankees.  He grew up in West Berkeley, California, the poor side of Berkeley.  He reached the Yankees as a player in time to make friends with Joe DiMaggio in 1951 and his girlfriend Marilyn Monroe.

He was a fighter, literally, never avoiding fisticuffs, sometimes known as a "sparkplug."  Though certainly not a traditional intellectual, he enjoyed talking about Gettysburg and debating Lee's choices during that battle.

He became fast friends with Mickey Mantle.  The two of them were like teenagers doing silly things.

He was the hero of the deciding game of the '53 World Series when the Yankees won their 5th straight Series.

I am enjoying this new biography of Martin written by sportswriter Bill Pennington.