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Yankee Skipper Explodes at Reporter

Oct. 7, 1963 - The day after the World Series usually is as flat as a glass of beer left over from the party the night before. That is about the way it was today with the Yankees. Their plane didn’t land until 2:35 a.m., but a few of them were at Yankee Stadium this morning to empty out their lockers. None of them had figured to be doing that so soon. As a matter of fact, the New York Giants were all ready to move in. The football players, who have been practicing at Fordham, moved in their equipment today — there being no work for them on Mondays. The Yankees were unpleasantly surprised at how quickly they had been dispossessed. Shoulder pads, helmets, and cleats occupied the hooks and floor space in their lockers. The pitching mound was leveled, the base lines erased, and the goalposts erected this morning. Even the scoreboard was brought up to date for Sunday’s big one, the names “Dodgers” and “Yankees” changed to “Cleveland” and “New York.” Yankee general manager Roy Hamey said he isn’t going to panic because of the Series sweep. “Why should we look to make a lot of changes because the Dodgers beat us?” he asked. “There’s no reason to panic. We’ve got the best club in our league, and we’re satisfied.” Most of the Yanks took the loss of the Series, and about $4,000 each in the players’ loot, quietly. But manager Ralph Houk did blow up at a reporter shortly after the team landed at Idlewild this morning. Houk became miffed about a question regarding the performances of Moose Skowron, one of the stars of the Series who had been traded to the Dodgers by the Yankees, and Joe Pepitone, Skowron’s replacement at first base. It was Pepitone’s error in the seventh inning yesterday that led to the Dodgers’ winning run. Houk pointed out that Pepitone had a better season than Skowron, and listed the statistics to prove it. When the reporter said he was a general assignment reporter and not familiar with baseball averages, Houk shouted: “You get the hell away from me if you don’t know baseball!” About a dozen fans met the plan. One 18-year-old carried a sign which read: “Mets Fan Club — Welcome Yankees Into The Group.”


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