Remember the sizzling, scintillating summer of 1977 when Billy Martin’s Yankees stormed past the Red Sox and went on to capture their first World Championship in 15 years by beating the Dodgers in six games as Reggie Jackson blasted three home runs in the grand finale?
In this series, The Post takes you back 30 years to one of the greatest seasons in Yankee history.
TWO and a half hours before he managed the Yanks to their 3-1 win over the Royals, Billy Martin was certain he was a dead man. An ex-manager.
Martin was getting ready to leave his office for a meeting with GM Gabe Paul, who’d summoned him by phone minutes earlier. He seemed surprised that he hadn’t been fired Saturday. He believed those rumors.
A visitor suggested maybe the Yankees couldn’t find the suitable replacement. Martin looked up from his desk. “The man they want,” he agreed, “is in Montreal, isn’t he?”
Martin was referring to Dick Williams, whom George Steinbrenner first sought to hire in 1974.
The rumors said coach Dick Howser had been offered Martin’s job . . . and turned it down. Howser denied the rumors. Martin believed them.
Martin said he thought the weekend crisis was precipitated by Thursday night’s loss to the Brewers. That’s the game the Yankees led 4-0 in the ninth and lost 5-4 in the 10th.
The meeting with Paul lasted 15 minutes. At 12:22, Martin was back behind his desk. “Gabe said nothing changed,” he said.
“Billy Martin is the manager of the Yankees,” Paul would say later. He would not respond when asked if the Yanks were seeking another manager. “Time will tell,” he said.