Oct. 20, 1964 - Johnny Keane, who led the St. Louis Cardinals to their World Series victory over the New York Yankees last week, switched dugouts today and succeeded Yogi Berra as manager of the Yankees.
The 53-year-old native of St. Louis signed a one-year contract four days after he had ended a 35-year career in the Cardinal organization and the Yanks had dismissed Berra.
It was the first time in baseball history that a manager had resigned from a world champion and taken over the defeated team.
Keane made his debut as the third Yankee manager in three years at a standing-room-only news conference in the same suite of the Savoy-Plaza Hotel that the Yankees used Friday to announce the end of Berra’s one-year term.
The news was broken in both cases by Ralph Houk, who became general manager a year ago when Berra became manager; who had taken the lead in finding Yogi another job (“consultant” to Houk); and who flew to Houston to hire Keane last Sunday.
Houk went to strenuous lengths during his unveiling of Keane to deny that the Yankees had “tampered” with him by discussing jobs before the Series.
Ford Frick, commissioner of baseball, raised the same question, Houk said, and received the same denial.
“It’s not fair to baseball or to Johnny,” Houk said with emphasis, “to imply that we spoke with him before the World Series. The first I heard that he was even available was last Friday on my way into this hotel for the news conference on Yogi. When I was told Keane had just resigned, he immediately went to the top of my list.”
Keane, who wrote a letter of resignation Sept. 28 after a summer of reports that he would be dismissed, handed the letter to August Busch Jr., owner of the Cards, at 10:30 a.m. on Friday.
“I had no idea then Berra would be fired,” Keane insisted today.
“To put it mildly,” Keane said, “I’m happy to be here.”
About the Yankees, he said:
“It’s a good, sound club. I wouldn’t think there would be any major changes.”
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