The recent blog post of the weird, combative career of Billy Martin in baseball included my appreciation for his being arrested late one night, drunk, laying on a lawn and "screaming about a horse." I was not able to find the date or the details in an internet search, thus relying on a memory that can be tricky at my advanced age.
Memory 1, Age 0.
Twitter followers and a search by Strib library star John Wareham produced those details and a date for the arrest: Friday, April 14. And while the stories found -- from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Associated Press -- did not specify that Billy was on his back on the lawn, the tale was close enough to qualify as a victory.
Also: Billy was arguing with Jill Guiver about a horse, and screaming, so maybe my mind shortened that to "screaming about a horse" for added humorous effect. Here is the reporting cited above on Billy, booze and the horse:
CORONA DEL MAR, CALIF. -- Billy Martin, the former Yankee manager, was booked early Saturday by the Newport Beach police for an investigation of public drunkenness and disorderly conduct at a home in this suburb. Neighbors had complained of hearing a loud argument.
The 55-year-old Martin, who was dismissed last year after his third stint as Yankee manager, was released on $100 bail about 4 A.M. Saturday, after having spent four hours in a jail drunk tank, according to the police.
Gary Bruton, a traffic investigator, said Martin and a companion, Jill Guiver, had argued about travel arrangements for a horse that he had purchased for her. Responding to the complaint, Officer Bruton and a fellow officer said they had found Martin on the lawn, "obviously intoxicated, screaming and hollering at a female."
Martin was at Yankee Stadium on Sunday for a brief public appearance in a T-shirt giveaway before the game against the White Sox. Afterward he could not be located. The Yankees also had no comment.
