Good afternoon, everybody, and this is Dan Lavallo.

Today is Saturday, August 2nd, 1975, and what will follow will be the annual Old Timers Day ceremonies from Shea Stadium in New York.

The New York Yankees' Old Timers Day ceremony this season will honor the Yankee pennant winners and their opponents of the 1950s.

Following the old-timers ceremonies will also be a recording of the game between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians.

How ironic it is that the Yankee Old Timers Day theme will be the 1950 pennant winners,

because the Old Timers Day ceremony this afternoon will really be the side story.

The main story is Billy Martin, who today becomes the New York Yankees' 20th field manager.

Last night, after the Yankees victory over the Cleveland Indians, 5 to 4,

Bill Verdon, Yankee manager for a year and a half, was fired and replaced by Martin,

but only 12 days ago was fired as manager of the Texas Rangers. This will be Martin's fourth

team. He managed the Minnesota Twins in 1969 to the American League's Western Division Pennett, took over the Detroit Tigers in 1971, won the American League East with Detroit in 1972.

In 1973, with the season's three-quarters gone, Martin was fired by the Tigers. Then he landed with the Texas Rangers. Last year, the Rangers went from last place to second place, five games behind Oakland under Martin's tutelage. But this year, the Texas team had problems. Martin had trouble with the front office, and he was fired 12 days ago, only to become the New York Yankee manager this

Saturday afternoon August 2nd, 1975.

For Martin, former second baseman, spark plug of those Yankee pennant winners in the 1950s,

he returns to his old ball club.

Casey Stangle, when he managed the Yankees, used to call Martin his assistant

manager. So Billy Martin is back with the Yankees. And on Old Timers Day, 1975, not only

will remember the ceremonies honoring the Yankees, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and so forth,

but we will also remember August 2nd, 1975, as the debut of Yankee

manager, Billy Martin.

So let's listen as we blend the past with the present. The Welcome to New York Yankee Baseball.

From Chase Stadium in New York, the Yankees meet the Cleveland Indians.

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