Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview
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Damn Yankees
Page 295
be George's pet player. Billy knew what he had to do to control Reggie Jackson, but he was impotent to do it as long as George Steinbrenner protected Jackson.”
BILLY, JAX CLASH IN DUGOUT — “Daily News” back page headline,
June 19, 1977
Tensions between Martin and Jackson exploded on national television on June 18 at Fenway Park, the NBC Saturday afternoon Game of the Week, with the Yankees a half game behind the Red Sox. Martin pulled Jackson off the field mid inning, replacing him with Paul Blair, for failing to hustle on a shallow outfield fly ball by Jim Rice, allowing Rice to reach second base. The enraged Martin had to be restrained by coaches Elston Howard and Yogi Berra from getting into a fight with Jackson in the dugout.
Steinbrenner was convinced that he should fire Martin, but negotiations brokered by backup catcher Fran Healy secured a truce. Nevertheless, the rumors that Martin would be fired, some originated by Steinbrenner, would continue season long. All of this went on in the full glare of New York's newspapers and, with the public firmly on Martin's side, Steinbrenner stayed his hand. According to Appel in his history of the Yankees, "the team was winning, the turnstiles were clicking, and the Yanks
were dominating the sports pages."