Literary birthday greetings: Billy the Kid

May 16, 2011

Billy Martin, the feisty ballplayer and feistier manager, was born this date in 1928.

Martin was hired and fired so often by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, it became something of a pop culture phenomenon. I’m pretty sure the original of this Miller Lite commercial has Steinbrenner saying, “You’re fired.” Sounds (and looks) like a dub to change the word to “hired.” That may actually be the case. Works either way.

A mustachioed Martin was also in this spot:

Books on Martin include:

* The Last Yankee: The Turbulent Life of Billy Martin

* Wild, High and Tight: The Life and Death of Billy Martin

* The Last Real Season: A Hilarious Look Back at 1975 – When Major Leaguers Made Peanuts, the Umpires Wore Red, and Billy Martin Terrorized Everyone

* Dugout Days : Untold Tales and Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Career of Billy Martin

* The Ballad of Billy and George: The Tempestuous Baseball Marriage of Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner

* Billyball

* Damn Yankee: The Billy Martin Story

* The Billy Martin Story (1959, the first book about Martin)

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Tagged as: Billy Martin, George Steinbrenner, New York Yankees

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