Joe

At the age of 7-14 I worked on elephants. When I turned 18 I served my country in the Military Service. In 1960, I was drafted to play for the Atlanta Braves. My brother Frank's was also playing for the Atlanta Braves. It was his last season with them so I was very excited to be a part of the team. I played Catcher as my beginning season then played a little bit of First Base. In 1963 to 1967 I made the all star team every year. I also won a gold glove award in 1966. In 1967 I was traded to the Saint Louis Cardinals. In 1971 I had the best year yet. I led the National League in RBI's (runs batted in) and batting average. In the season of 1974 I was traded to the Mets. In the year 1977 the manager for the Mets was fired and they needed a Manager. They wanted me to manage the team so I signed with them. I managed the Mets until the 1981 season without a post season win. I then took over as a manager in 1982 for the Braves. I was then fired because our team slipped from 2nd to almost last place. In 1990 I became manager of St. Louis Cardinals. I did not reach the playoffs with a lose-win record. I was then fired again. November 2nd 1995 changed my life. The team I always wanted to manage for offered me a deal. I signed very quickly with the New York Yankees. The New York Yankess won their first world championship in 1996 since 1978. That was a long dream of mine to win a World Series. I then lead the Yankees to winning three World Series in a row from 1998-2000. That was our last world series win, but we have won many Divison and Pennant titles since then. This year in 2007 will be my 12th year for the New York Yankees.