Retired Yankees - By Number Trivia Quiz

Answer: Billy Martin

Billy Martin (No. 1) was a scrappy second baseman who won four World Series rings as a player in the 1950s, but he is mostly famous for being one of the most chaotic managers in baseball history. The team's owner, George Steinbrenner, actually hired and fired Billy as the Yankees manager on five separate occasions because they kept getting into massive fights. Billy had a crazy temper and was known for kicking dirt on umpires or getting into fights, on and off the field.

The hint about making him "blue" for Blue Jays fans comes from Toronto's famous 7th-inning stretch fight song, "OK Blue Jays". The track was written in the early 1980s when Billy was managing the Oakland A's, and it includes the hilarious lyric, "We'll beat the A's so bad it'll make Billy blue." When the Yankees finally retired his number 1 in 1986, he gave a speech where he said he might not have been the greatest Yankee, but he was definitely the proudest.

Answer: Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth (No. 3) is literally the most famous baseball player...perhaps the most famous sportsman.... Nicknamed "The Sultan of Swat," the Babe completely changed the game by hitting home runs at a time when nobody else could. He was so legendary that people still call Yankee Stadium "The House That Ruth Built". Also, he didn't pick #3, the Yankees simply started putting numbers on jerseys in 1929 based on the batting order, and Babe Ruth just happened to hit third. When the team finally retired his number in 1948, he was sadly very sick with cancer, but he still came out to the field one last time to say goodbye to a packed stadium of crying fans.

Answer: Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig (No. 4) was a powerhouse hitter who earned the nickname "The Iron Horse" because he played in 2,130 games in a row without ever missing a single one. He finally had to stop playing in 1939 when he got a nerve disease that is now named ALS, or "Lou Gehrig's disease".

When he gave his famous retirement speech at Yankee Stadium, he told the crying crowd that he considered himself "the luckiest man on the face of the earth." His number 4 was the first uniform number ever retired by any team in the history of American baseball.

The "Pride of the Yankees" (1942) was a movie made about his life.

Answer: Joe DiMaggio

Joe DiMaggio (No. 5) "The Jolt" a center fielder who set a record in 1941 by getting a hit in 56 games in a row, which is a record that nobody has ever even come close to breaking. He won nine World Series rings with the Yankees and was so famous that he even married Hollywood superstar Marilyn Monroe.

The hint about "Mrs. Robinson" is from the 1968 song "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon & Garfunkel, and has the line: "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you." Oh, and he also was in a ton of Mr. Coffee ads over the span of two decades.

Answer: Mickey Mantle

Mickey Mantle (No. 7), one of the greatest switch-hitters to ever play the game. Known as "The Commerce Comet," he won three MVP awards and seven World Series titles with the Yankees (1951-1968), and hit some of the longest home runs in baseball history.

In August 2022, a mint-condition 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card sold at an auction for $12.6 million. That eye-popping price tag shattered all previous records to become the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold.

Answer: Yogi Berra

Yogi Berra (No. 8)...yeah, so he was a catcher who won 13 World Series rings, more than anyone else ever. He played for the NYY from 1946-1963. Even though he was an awesome hitter and won a ton of awards, people usually remember him for the odd...insane... things he said.

The crack about people not using FunTrivia anymore because there are "too many players" comes from one of his most famous "Yogi-isms". He was talking about a popular restaurant in Minneapolis called Ruggeri's and said, "Nobody goes there anymore.

It's too crowded." The Yankees retired his number 8 in 1972 on the same day they honored another legendary Hall of Fame catcher, Bill Dickey, who BTW had the same number.

Answer: Roger Maris

Roger Maris (No. 9) a right fielder who won back-to-back MVP awards with the Yankees in 1960 and 1961, but if you know him, you more than likely only know him only for that one number...61. He played for the NYY from 1960-1966. In the 1961 season he hit 61 home runs to break Babe Ruth's single-season record (60 HRs set in 1927). He faced a crazy amount of stress from the media and fans during that home run chase, and his hair even started falling out because of it. And yeah you may think, OK, stress, so what?

But this was death threats, hate mail, media attacks, and even people threatening to kidnap his kids!!
To make things worse, the baseball commissioner made a rule that because Maris played a longer 162-game schedule than Ruth did, his record had to be listed with an asterisk. Because of that magic number, fans joke that 61 would have been a perfect jersey number for him, but the Yankees ended up retiring his actual number 9 in 1984.

Answer: Don Mattingly

Don Mattingly (No. 23) was an incredibly popular first baseman who fans loved so much they gave him the nickname "Donnie Baseball". He was one of the best hitters in the game during the 1980s, winning an MVP award and nine Gold Gloves for his amazing defense. He played for the NYY from 1982-1995. The moustache hint is a nod to his facial hair, which became point of contention during his time with the Yankees. In 1991, Yankees manager Stump Merrill actually benched Mattingly because he violated the Yankees' rule against long hair, sideburns, and facial hair.

Oh, BTW, Yours Truly actually got an incredibly generous Mattingly to sign his younger brother's glove at Phil Niekro's final game as a Yankee vs. the Jays, October 6, 1985. I had run down to the dugout, but the Jays had finished signing and I was heartbroken that I couldn't get Dave Stieb, or George Bell to sign it. That's when this bundle of hair stepped over and offered to sign. I had no idea who this scruffpot was, but I reluctantly said OK, he did, and I walked back to my seat. My 9 year old brother was disappointed at my get and I apologized. Only later did I figure out who that guy was. My brother used the glove proudly till the signature wore away. Yeah, but the memories are indelible.

Answer: Elston Howard

Elston Howard (No. 32) catcher, outfielder, and a player who made history in 1955 by becoming the first Black player to ever play for the New York Yankees.
He was a core piece of the team, winning four World Series titles as a player and becoming the first Black player to win the American League MVP award in 1963. He left the NYY in 1967 and joined the Boston Red Sox.

When I called him "the Yankees' #42" I was referring to Jackie Robinson, the most famous #42 of all time, who broke the colour barrier for all of Major League Baseball. Howard later became the first Black coach in the American League NYY 1968-1979), and the Yankees retired his number 32 in 1984. Oh, and yes, I do know that the Yankees actually did have a #42, Mariano Rivera, and even retired his number. But my use of this hint still stands.

Answer: Reggie Jackson

Reggie Jackson (No. 44) was a slugger's slugger who loved the spotlight and once said that he was "the straw that stirs the drink" for the Yankees. "Mr. October" was so named because played like a beast that was out of his mind during the postseason. One of the more memorable moments happened in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, when he hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches from three different pitchers - think about that.

The crowd went so crazy that fans rushed the field, and Reggie had to physically tackle his way through people just to get back to the dugout safely.

He played for the NYY from 1977-1981. The Yankees retired his number 44 in 1993.