Trouble followed Billy Martin everywhere. And on Christmas night it found him on an icy road in upstate New York and it killed him.
The five-time manager of the New York Yankees died Monday evening in a one-vehicle crash outside his upstate New York home. He was 61.William Reedy was driving Martin's blue-and-white 1989 Ford pick-up truck and Martin was a passenger when the vehicle skidded about 200 feet off a winding rural road. The truck careened another 100 feet down a four-foot gully before stopping at a 45-degree angle after smashing into a concrete culvert that ran under Martin's driveway.
The impact of the crash bounced Martin off the windshield and knocked the glass out onto the hood, Port Crane Fire Chief John Eldred said.
Reedy, 53, was charged with driving while intoxicated, Broome County Sheriff Anthony C. Ruffo said. Reedy, a longtime friend of Martin who owns a saloon in Detroit, was hospitalized in serious condition Monday night with a broken hip and possible broken ribs. An autopsy was scheduled to be performed later today on Martin's body.
Ruffo said icy road conditions were a factor. "The road was slippery, but we're having him charged," he said of Reedy. "Driving and drinking were another factor."
Authorities were attempting to retrace the movements of Martin and Reedy, who is an administrative assistant to Detroit City Councilman Jack Kelly.
Reedy said he and Martin had gone to a store and then stopped for a quick drink at a Binghamton bar Reedy could not identify, according to Deputy Steve Glanville, who issued the DWI ticket.
Martin had been living on a 148-acre farm eight miles north of Binghamton since September 1988 with his fourth wife, Jilluann. Martin told people he was enjoying his quieter upstate New York lifestyle away from baseball's spotlight.
Martin's latest position was as a special consultant to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. He was already being talked about as a possible replacement for current Yankees manager Bucky Dent.
Martin, one of seven managers who have led the Yankees to World Series titles, was their manager in 1977 when they won the Series for the first time in 15 years. He played for five of the Yankees World Series championship teams in the 1950s under his idol, Casey Stengel.
"It's like losing part of my own family," Steinbrenner said in a statement. "He was one of a kind. There are not many people in the world who can be called one of a kind. There's not another like him."
Alfred Manuel Pesano was born on May 16, 1928, in Berkeley, Calif., and became known as Billy Martin in his youth. He signed with Idaho Falls of the Pioneer League in 1946 and made it up to the big leagues with the Yankees in 1950.
Martin batted .257 with 64 homers and 333 RBIs in 11 major-league seasons and brought his pugnacious attitude to the manager's bench, arguing with players and umpires, and getting his teams to play a hard-running game dubbed "Billy Ball."