1964 New York Yankees

1964 New York Yankees 1964 AL Champions
Major league affiliations
American League (Since 1901)
1964 Uniform
Location
Yankee Stadium (Since 1923) New York City, New York (Since 1903)
1964 Information
Owner(s)	Dan Topping and Del Webb
Manager(s)	Yogi Berra
Local television	none
Local radio	none
Baseball-Reference	1964 New York Yankees

BR Team Page

Record 99-63-2 Finished 1st in American League (1964 AL)

Climched Pennant: October 3, 1964, vs. Cleveland Indians

Managed by Yogi Berra

Coaches: Frankie Crosetti, Whitey Ford, Jim Gleeson and Jim Hegan

Ballpark: Yankee Stadium

History, Comments, Contributions

The 1964 New York Yankees played the 62nd season in theam history. They finished with a record of 99-63, winning their 29th pennant, finishing 1 game ahead of the Chicago White Sox. New York was managed by Yogi Berra. The Yankees played at Yankee Stadium. In the World Series, they were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games.

After the 1963 season, the Yankees promoted skipper Ralph Houk to General Manager, replacing him with popular player Yogi Berra. The club struggled under Berra's leadership, standing in third place behind the Baltimore Orioles and White Sox in early September. However, the team heated up under pressure, going 22-6 in September, and clinched the pennant on the season's penultimate day. A famous incident on August 20th became a microcosm of the season, when Berra got mad at back-up player Phil Linz for playing (badly) a harmonica on the team bus. The uncharacteristic outburst seemed to break the tension, especially as Linz took it with a lot of humor, even getting an endorsement deal from a manufacturer of harmonicas.

The World Series win, achieved in a closely-fought seven-game series, gave the Cardinals a 3-2 edge in overall Series play against the Bronx Bombers, the first time any team had an overall edge against the Yankees since the 1920s. As of 2015, the Cardinals remain the only one of the "classic eight" National League teams to hold an edge over the Yankees.

The 1964 season is considered to be the endpoint of the "Old Yankees" dynasty that had begun with the Jacob Ruppert-Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston partnership and then continued with the Dan Topping-Del Webb partnership. The Yankees would soon undergo ownership changes and front office turmoil, and would not be a serious factor in the pennant chase again until the early 1970s.

The Yankees were led by stars Mickey Mantle, who hit .303 with 35 homers despite missing time with a leg injury, and pitcher Whitey Ford, who went 17-6 with a 2.13 ERA. Additionally, catcher Elston Howard, who hit .313, first baseman Joe Pepitone, who clubbed 28 homers, and second baseman Bobby Richardson made the All-Star team, and pitcher Jim Bouton won 18 games.

Clubhouse drama continued in the days following the World Series. Berra was fired by the Yanks (who cited a lack of clubhouse communication as the reason) and was eventually replaced by former Cardinals manager Johnny Keane, who had resigned after beating Berra's Yankees in the World Series.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Whitey Ford, Elston Howard, Mickey Mantle, Joe Pepitone and Bobby Richardson
• AL Gold Glove: Elston Howard (C) and Bobby Richardson (2B)

1964 Opening Day Lineup

Phil Linz, ss

Bobby Richardson, 2b

Roger Maris, rf

Mickey Mantle, cf

Tom Tresh, lf

Joe Pepitone, 1b

Elston Howard, c

Clete Boyer, 3b

Whitey Ford, p

World Series

NL St. Louis Cardinals (4) vs. AL New York Yankees (3)

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance	Time of Game
1	Yankees – 5, Cardinals – 9	October 7	Busch Stadium I	30,805	2:42
2	Yankees – 8, Cardinals – 3	October 8	Busch Stadium I	30,805	2:29
3	Cardinals – 1, Yankees – 2	October 10	Yankee Stadium	67,101	2:16
4	Cardinals – 4, Yankees – 3	October 11	Yankee Stadium	66,312	2:18
5	Cardinals – 5, Yankees – 2	October 12	Yankee Stadium	65,633	2:37
6	Yankees – 8, Cardinals – 3	October 14	Busch Stadium I	30,805	2:37
7	Yankees – 5, Cardinals – 7	October 15	Busch Stadium I	30,346	2:40

Further Reading

• Associated Press: "Yankees Clinch 29th Pennant", New York Times, October 4, 1964, pg. 1
• John G. Robertson and Carl T. Madden: World Series '64: The Cardinals, the Yankees and the End of a Dynasty, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2024. ISBN 978-1-4766-9206-7

External links

• 1964 New York Yankees team page at www.baseball-almanac.com