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 Phil Linz and the 1964 World Series Photo Gallery
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In today’s essay, Paul Doyle recalls for us the confrontation between Yogi Berra and utility player, Phil Linz during the 1964 pennant race. Unlike the Chico Ruiz incident for the Phillies, this one had a happy ending for the Yankees. I think you’ll enjoy Paul’s account of the incident -GL

The Famous Phil Linz “Harmonica Incident” Sparks 1964 Yankees

“Whoever’s playing that thing, shove it up your a….!” -Yankee manager Yogi Berra, from the front of the bus, August 20, 1964

Gary Livacari wrote a very riveting piece last week on the 1964 complete collapse of the Philadelphia Phillies.  The Phils had a seemingly-insurmountable six and a half games lead in the National League standings with just 12 games to go. The bottom fell out as they proceeded to lose 12 out of 13 games, including ten in arow. The Phillies had to settle for a disappointing second-place tie with the Cincinnati Reds; while the St. Louis Cardinals sprinted across the finish line to win the pennant and, ultimately, the 1964 World Series.

Gary highlighted the futility of the Phils in an infamous game against the Reds where they lost on a steal of home plate by Chico Ruiz. The rookie scored the only run late in the game of a 1-0 loss. It was a loss from which they never recovered.

Over in the American League a month earlier, the New York Yankees were in a three-way race with the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox. Baltimore had developed their talent mostly with their farm system and the astute transactions of Lee McPhail. The Chisox were in the thick of it with their then style of small ball.

The Yankees went into Chicago for a four-game series against the White Sox on August 17th, having just won 2 of 3 against the Orioles. They had their sights set on leaving Chicago within a game or two of both. It had been back and forth all summer with the Yankees, in first place as late as August 6th. From that date, the Yankees nosedived and lost 10 of their next 15 games. Key players like Whitey Ford, who didn’t pitch during that stretch, and Mickey Mantle, were hurt. Mickey jammed his famous bad knee on a pickoff play in a game as a runner on first.

The Yankees looked pathetic and were swept in all four games by the White Sox. They fell to four and a half games back, with Baltimore and Chicago seemingly having the upper hand as the season reached the backstretch of the schedule.

As they boarded the bus taking them to O’Hare airport to fly them to Boston for a four-game series against the Red Sox, the injuries and their seeming nosedive down the first division, left Yankee manager Yogi Berra (he of the 10 World Series rings) in a foul mood, needless to say.

Back in those days, the regulars used to congregate at the back of the bus, while the front was reserved for the manager and coaches, with the rest of the players in between. In the back, were icons of the dynasty: Maris, Mantle, Ford, Howard, Richardson, Pepitone, Kubek and… Phil Linz?

While most of the players were in a dispirited mood, the little-used utility player pulled out a small sheet of music and a harmonica and started to play, in an amateur way, “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

Joe Pepitone initially tried to discourage him after listening to the first few bars. After the second attempt, Berra came out with the words quoted at the top of the story. Not hearing what Berra said, Linz asked his teammates what he had uttered. As the story goes, Mantle filled him in: “He said, ‘Keep playing’.” Innocently or not, Linz continued on, sending Berra’s wrath into the stratosphere.  Yogi stormed to the back of the bus and repeated what he initially said. Linz at that point was caught off guard and replied, “If you want it shoved up my a…, why don’t you shove it there.”

Linz then flipped the harmonica at Yogi, who batted it back, hitting Joe Pepitone. Still incensed, Yogi returned to the front of the bus, while the boys in the back of the bus were making fun of the situation.

This could have turned into the “Chico Ruiz” moment and spiraled the Yankees down even further. They went to Boston and lost the first two games to a terrible Red Sox team to fall six games back in the standings. To make matters worse, the players still made light of the incident, using the harmonica and Linz in joking situations in the clubhouse behind Berra’s back.

Tensions seemed to ease when Mantle and Ford lit a cherry bomb that exploded and rocked the clubhouse. The Yankees turned it around and won the last two games of the series. Baltimore and Chicago had two series against each other as the season’s end approached. Those two teams split eight games amongst themselves, while the Yankees went 12-4 and gained momentum. The remainder of the schedule favored New York as a majority of their games were against bottom feeders like Kansas City, Washington, Cleveland, and the Angels. They went  24-9 from September 1st to October 3rd, edging out the White Sox by one game and the O’s by two games.

But, while the season was saved in spite of the injuries and apparent dissension, the cracks in the foundation got larger. If the Yankees were a house, the clapboards looked good, but termites were eating it internally.

The 1964 World Series was an interesting one. The Cardinals were on a tear, rushing across the finish line. Bob Gibson was in his prime, winning games 5 and 7. The Yankees actually had a 2-1 game advantage, but injuries were their Achilles heel. Mantle was still hurting and the Cardinals took advantage of his diminished defense.  Ford was horrible and seemed to be telegraphing his pitches in his one and only start. Barney Schultz had an 18.00 ERA for the series but got an important save for the Cardinals.  In the end, it was Gibson and the Cardinals prevailing.

After the season, Berra went into a post-World Series meeting expecting to get re-signed for 1965. Instead, he was fired. Johnny Keane, the winning Cardinal manager resigned after disagreements with General Manager Bing Devine. The Yankees signed Keane as their new manager, but the beginning of the end was apparent.

Oh, and Phil Linz? He got a $20,000 endorsement contract from the Horner Harmonica Company. (“Toot, Toot, Toot for the home teams?). He was a Yankee from 1962-’65 and later played two seasons for the Phillies and the Mets, hitting .235 with 11 home runs and 96 RBIs over his seven-year major league career (1962-’68). He also hit two home runs — including one off Bob Gibson — during the Yankees’ loss to the Cardinals in the 1964 world Series.

CBS had purchased the team earlier in 1964. They were known as the Tiffany Network. But, alas, they could not appraise this brand of diamond. The Yankees had let their farm system wither and CBS had no interest in splurging financially. Their icon players were all well past their prime and were on a downward spiral. So, while the 1964 Phillies nosedived precipitously, the 1964 Yankees had one more mini “Last Hurrah” before going dormant for many years. 

Until, that is, a bombastic shipbuilder from Cleveland purchased the team in 1973 and began to add some luster to the iconic jewel in the Bronx.

Paul Doyle

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Information: “Dynasty” by Peter Golenbock; and Baseball-Reference.com

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