Billy Martin gave young players the green light when others wanted to hold them back. Now his story gives students the green light to make sports better for the planet, from the neighborhood diamond to the big league ballpark.
A kid from West Berkeley who outworked everyone, Billy Martin won as a player, won as a manager, and played every inning like it was the last one.
A kid from West Berkeley makes the Oakland Oaks. His manager, Casey Stengel, sees the fire in him and becomes his lifelong mentor.
His hustle in Oakland earns him a ticket to the New York Yankees.
Billy tours Japan with American stars after the season, helping build baseball friendships across the Pacific.
Game 7 of the World Series, bases loaded. Billy sprints in to catch Jackie Robinson's pop up and saves the championship for the Yankees.
Billy hits .500 with a record 12 hits and drives in the winning run in Game 6. Teammates Mickey Mantle and Phil Rizzuto were his closest friends. After the Series, Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen lights Billy's cigar, a show of respect between rivals.
At the peak of his career, Billy serves in the U.S. Army and misses most of two seasons.
By several accounts, the Copacabana fight began when hecklers shouted racial insults at Sammy Davis Jr. Billy is traded weeks later. He homers in his first game with Kansas City.
As a Twins coach and then manager, Billy fights to keep young Rod Carew in the majors. Carew becomes a Hall of Famer and calls Billy a father figure. In 1969 Billy wins a division title in his first year managing.
Billy leads the Rangers to their first winning season and is named AL Manager of the Year.
Billy manages the Yankees to a World Series title.
With pitcher Catfish Hunter and catcher Brad Gulden during his return to the Yankees.
"Billyball" lifts the Oakland A's from last place to the playoffs. Billy tells young Rickey Henderson to run whenever he wants, and Rickey becomes the greatest base stealer in history.
The Yankees retire his number 1 and honor him with a plaque in Monument Park.
Billy dies on Christmas Day at age 61. The players he believed in carry his name with them.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons. More photos from the Martin family welcome.
Some of the players who loved Billy most were the ones he fought for when it counted.
When the Twins wanted to send young Rod Carew, a Black player born in Panama, to the minors, Billy went over the manager's head to the owner to keep him. Carew became a Hall of Famer and asked Billy to be godfather to his daughter.
Carew called Billy a good friend who was like a father to him.
Billy told a young Rickey Henderson to run whenever he wanted. Rickey became the greatest base stealer in history, and he thanked Billy the day he broke the record.
"He was like a father to me and I think I was like a son to him." Rickey Henderson
By several accounts, the famous nightclub brawl began when hecklers shouted racial insults at Sammy Davis Jr. on stage. Billy and his teammates objected. It cost Billy his place on the Yankees.
Billy Martin was a complicated man, and some former players, including Reggie Jackson, have described a harder side of him. This project tells the true story with respect. Its purpose is to carry forward the best of what he did: believing in young people others overlooked.
Green Light Legacy begins with a son honoring his father. Billy Martin Jr. wants his dad remembered for the people he believed in. Billy's fire for the game and his loyalty to the players he believed in become the foundation for something new: a program that believes in the next generation of students.
The program keeps Billy's name tied to the things he did best. It backs young people early, gives them permission to take a risk, and expects them to compete hard.
This photo was taken the day Billy Martin Jr. first shared with Steve Bender how much he admired his father.
Steve was deeply touched. He had long respected Billy Martin as a competitor and as a man who stood up for young players others overlooked. Hearing a son speak with that much love and pride about his dad stayed with him.
A great friendship began that day, and so did the idea behind this project: honor Billy Martin's legacy by giving the next generation the same green light he gave his players.
Updates on the Billy Martin Centennial, the Green Diamond Challenge and the students taking part. Follow by RSS.
Loading the latest news...
Billy gave young players the green light. The Green Diamond Challenge gives that same green light to high school and college students who want to make sports better for the planet.
Teams round the bases with real ideas for stadiums, arenas, fields and courts in every sport: cleaner operations, greener game days, smarter playing surfaces and one big swing for the fences. Finalists pitch live on Earth Day at EarthX in Dallas.
Steve Bender designed the Green Diamond Challenge to give students a real seat at the table on climate, using the sport they already love. He is Chairman of the US Green Chamber and President of the Rotary Club of Newport Beach, and he has spent nearly two decades working for the environment in Orange County and far beyond it.
Since moving to Newport Beach's Back Bay, Steve has joined the board of the Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends, served as President of the Newport Bay Conservancy, and served on the advisory board of the Sustainability Leadership Program at the University of California, Irvine.
Through his program Building Bridges through Rotary, he pairs Rotary clubs in the United States with clubs in Mexico and other countries on shared environmental projects, including the Tijuana River Project, Pollinators Without Borders, the Alluvium Project, Ice in a Box and the Panama Project. He also leads the Rotary Club of Newport Beach's 100 Projects in 100 Countries campaign and brings Rotary to EarthX, the large environmental gathering in Dallas where Green Diamond finalists will pitch.
Steve's approach is the same one Billy Martin used with young players: find people with talent, believe in them early, and give them the green light.
Played for Billy, played against him, or met him once? Send your story or photo to be part of this tribute.
Sponsor a team, a scholarship or a field project through the Green Diamond Challenge.
Schools, parks and service clubs can host a challenge team at a local field.
Tell a teacher, a coach or a ballpark about the program.