Christmas, of course, is a time for celebration and for being with family and friends. Sadly, this Christmas marks a sad day in Yankees history, the 20th anniversary of the death of legendary manager Billy Martin.

Martin was not only a true Yankee as both a player and manager, but a true genius in spikes. Its shame that many people today remember him more for how he died, and for his personal problems, than his accomplishments on the ball field. As a player Martin made up for his lack of physical ability with sound fundamentals, heads up play, and a heart as big as the GW Bridge. Tough as nails, and always willing to do the little things to win games, he never backed off from anyone and played the game as if it were a personal war. It was none other than the great Ty Cobb who once told a reporter that “Martin is my favorite player to watch, I would have loved to manage or played with him…he’s a perfect example of a winning ball player.”

Beloved by his teammates and fans alike, he played with the Yankees from 1950 to June of 1957, and was a part of 5 pennant winners and 4 world championship clubs. As Yankees manager he guided the team on five separate occasions winning two AL pennants (1976-77) and one world championship (1977).

It is well documented that Martin had personal problems that sometimes led him to losing jobs, especially with the Yankees, yet, lost among the turmoil was his pure brilliance as a manager. Everywhere he managed he won. Besides the Yankees, Martin won division pennants with the Twins in 1969, the Tigers in 1972, managed Texas to a second place finish in 1974, and won an AL West crown with the Athletics in 1981. No matter the team or the talent, Billy always got the most out of his players, On the field he was always one step ahead of the play, forcing other managers to stay alert at all times. There was not a single movement on a baseball field that went unnoticed by him, as the George Brett ‘Pine Tar Game’ will attest to!

Yes, Martin did have problems, drinking and brawling being two of the most noticeable, yet, deep down he was a kind and generous man who would give a person the shirt off his back if needed. When Art Rust Jr., the famous New York Journalist and sports talk show host, became faint from the heat during a game at Yankee Stadium in the 1980’s, it was Martin who personally took charge, making sure that Rust was ok and was taken care of by medical staff at Yankee Stadium. Not surprisingly, this incident was never mentioned in the newspapers of the time.

While Martin did have personality conflicts with people like Reggie Jackson, Goose Gossage, and Sparky Lyle, it should also be noted that he got along wonderfully with the majority of his players he managed, including Thurman Munson, Graig Nettles. Catfish Hunter, Willie Randolph, Mickey Rivers, Don Mattingly, Ron Guidry, Rod Carew, and Rickey Henderson, (Billy actually died on Henderson’s birthday), and fellow managers Tony LaRussa, Joe Torre, Earl Weaver, and Tommy Lasorda among others.

When Billy was killed in a pick-up truck crash on an icy road on Christmas Night, 1989, the press had a field day. Sports Talk Radio, in particular, fanned the flames of hate headed by WFAN’s Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, who led the assault by openly criticizing and blasting Martin’s memory, going so far as to openly question why his wife Jill would marry a man thirty years her senior. The classless Russo, along with most of the main stream press, also failed to mention that on the last night of his life, Martin had bought Christmas dinner for two homeless men. It was a great story indeed, but what bothers me is why say something positive, when you have a chance to go negative, especially when it comes to a Yankee.

But the hating and bashing didn’t end with Billy’s death. When the Yankees placed a plaque in Monument Park in Martin’s memory on opening day in 1990, WFAN’s Dave Sims made the following comment on the air, “I can’t believe they’re having a ceremony for an alcoholic.” Very classy! One wonders how Mr. Sims would have felt if the roles were reversed and someone had said something like that about him or one of his relatives. The attacks on Martin’s character after his death prove that it’s always easy to talk about someone who has died since they cannot respond in their own defense.

In the end, it does not matter what Yankee Haters and so-called media experts think when it comes to the legacy of Billy Martin. For the majority of Yankee fans who saw him, Billy will be remembered as a winner, both as a player and manager. Billy Martin’s funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan was a solemn affair, which was attended by former President Nixon, Mantle, Berra, Ford and many other former and present Yankees including Don Mattingly and George Steinbrenner. After the service, as the hearse drove off to take Martin’s casket to its final destination in Westchester County, the throngs of people who had been standing outside began clapping, giving ‘Number One’ one last, final ovation.

Billy Martin is buried at the Cemetery of the Gate of Heaven in Hawthorne, New York in Section 25, Plot 21, Grave 3. His final resting place is located in the same section as Babe Ruth. Fittingly, the epitaph on his headstone reads, “I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, but I was the proudest.”

Tags: 20th Anniversary of Billy Martin's Death, Art Rust Jr., Billy Martin, but I was the proudest, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, Dave Sims, I may not have been the greatest Yankee to put on the uniform, New York Yankees