Number 1 [Hardcover]

Billy Martin (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press; 1ST edition (1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440064163
• ISBN-13: 978-0440064169
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,422,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sheer Pleasure, September 13, 2011

By 

Curt Jester "curtjester" (Painted Post, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Number 1 (Hardcover)

I got interested in reading the book when I saw Jill Martin in the Yankee dugout during the last OldTimers game. I recognized her as the same person sitting across from me in a Sacramento nightclub with Billy and his entourage in 1981. Billy was wearing the Oakland A's bright green jacket with #1 on the back, and I for some reason had enough guts to butt right in and offer him a drink. Throughout the evening he kept saying he was a well-paid Impostor, and I always asked for his driver's license to which he never showed me. He was very cordial, spent a goodly amount of time talking baseball with me of which I had played organized ball from age 6. He knew my baseball soul, and know I wasn't BSing him, and received a phone call the next day to see if I wanted to play for a semi-pro team. I was 31 and declined, very reluctantly.

All, I can say is, that he was a leader that evening, articulate, making sure everyone wasn't excluded. He nursed a drink or two over 4 hours, and if I didn't think he wasn't all Italian wouldn't have thought he was maybe what he said he was an impostor. After reading the book, and knowing how he talked in the book, and finding that he had some Portugese heritage, I knew 100% I was with the real Billy. One cannot BS me on baseball, and reading this book will show people that you can't BS Billy either, because he has such a competitive, sharp, and knowledge of the game, far superior to anyone I have come across on TV or reading-wise. I actually wished I was a little more on the ball when he called the next morning as he made me write my number down before he would accept me to depart. I didn't offer it. I should have got his, and possibly enhanced what surely could have been a good friendship. His future wife #3 was there too. She was kinda of annoying....:). What a night!

CJ

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely in my top ten baseball books, December 27, 2008

By 

Jim J. Carroll - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Number 1 (Hardcover)

Why isn't Billy Martin in the hall of fame? He was one of the best managers in the history of baseball. I can't imagine how great he would have been if Steinbrenner would have left him alone to do his job. You can see what a decent guy he was by reading his words.I can't believe he hasn't been inducted already. I guess it must be politics.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Billy Wears The Number Well, October 16, 2006

By 

Bicycle Day - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Number 1 Billy Martin (Mass Market Paperback)

Written at the period of his tumultuous ride as manager of the Yankees, Billy Martin proves why he was the heart and soul of the club.

It was during a time that interest in the Bronx Zoo was immense and numerous players were weighing in on the team. A book from Martin was a natural, and he tackles the issues inside the clubhouse and away from the ballpark in the candor that made him a baseball legend.

To gain a greater appreciation of the times chronicled by Sparky Lyle, Graig Nettles and others, Number 1 remains a must for Yankee fans or those who want another angle to the story that played out daily in the New York tabloids.