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.

One of Martin's attorneys, Eddie Sapir, of New Orleans, said Saturday that he had no details of the arrest, but added he was "relieved" Martin had not struck anyone. Martin has been involved in several fighting incidents.

Bruton said that Martin was cooperative during his arrest. He was bailed out by Guiver after the stay in the drunk tank, and then Martin caught a Saturday flight to New York.

(Note: Guiver became Martin's fourth wife. They were married when Martin died at 61 in a one-vehicle accident on Christmas Day 1989.)