This Day in Yankees History: End of the line for Stengel, Torre

Welcome to the relaunched This Day in Yankees History. Even though the 2020 season is over for New York, the Pinstripe Alley team has decided to continue the revived program in its new format. These daily posts will highlight two or three key moments in Yankees history on a given date, as well as recognize players born on the day. Hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane with us!

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60 Years Ago

Dan Topping and Del Webb relieve manager Casey Stengel of his duties, instituting a new mandatory retirement policy of 65 in order to usher out their 70-year-old bench boss. Stengel had just lost the 1960 World Series, ending an 11-year run that featured 10 AL pennants and seven world championships.

Stengel was only out of baseball a year, before being called to the NL to manage, and promote, the expansion 1961 Mets. He never came close to real success again, averaging just 44 wins in the four seasons he helmed the club in Queens. It’s difficult to say just how good a manager Stengel was - he was fortunate enough to run arguably the greatest collection of talent in MLB history in those Golden Age Yankees, and nobody could have turned those expansion Mets into a winner.

43 Years Ago

Mr. October is born, as Reggie Jackson clubs three consecutive home runs in Game Six of the World Series, leading the Yankees to victory in the deciding game against the Dodgers. Jackson would be awarded World Series MVP in one of the most legendary performances in club history.

16 Years Ago

The Red Sox win Game Four of the 2004 ALCS.

13 Years Ago

In a cruel bit of historical poetry, Joe Torre is shown the door after managing the Yankees for 12 years, through four World Series, six pennants and two Manager of the Year awards. He refused to take a hefty pay cut ahead of the 2008 season, which was the final straw in his long Yankee career.

Torre experienced more success after leaving New York than Stengel did, moving across the country to manage the LA Dodgers. He won two straight NL West championships, before stepping down after a disappointing 80-82 campaign in 2010.

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We thank Baseball-Reference and Nationalpastime.com for providing background information for these posts.