Chapter 25

January, 1970

Thur, Jan 15, 1970

They say we Grow Fastest through Adversity.

I Pray for Slow Growth.

Sorry about ending the last Chapter like I did, but I was itching to delve into my new NY Yankees Team.

I glossed over the big Time we had at the United Nations though. It was the Announcement of a broad agreement that we chose to call:

The Friendship Accord

We landed at our Jet Aviation FBO-TEB. Of the 10 Large Hangers we would build, the 1st 2 were being laid out. The new Hangers would be built around our original Hanger, in a Square.

We were keeping our old 1942 Hanger, as it had character. We would renovate it, making it a Showpiece. It would be our Anchor.

There was no longer a need for secrecy, so once landed, we boarded a couple Navy S-61 Choppers. They were designated Marine-1 & Marine-2.

It was a short flight from TEB to the UN Complex on the East River @ 42nd St. We landed on the Lawn, just North of the UN General Assembly Building.

Mon, Jan 12, 1970, the Official Cease-Fire was enacted, so every Seat in the UN General Assembly Hall had an ass in it. There was a huge buzz in the Hall, as only rumors had been discussed up to our arrival. All the other Country Delegations were dying to find out all the details of the Accord, especially how it may affect them.

U Thant entered the Hall 1st, sitting in his Seat at the Front Desk, which was up on the Rostrum. President Richard Nixon, Chairman Mao Zedong, & Leonid Iljič Brežněv, followed U Thant in, sitting on Seats behind a Podium, which was in front of the Rostrum.

U Thant announced the Historic Accord, then invited Nixon up to Speak.

Nixon told of a young Man asking him for help. He talked of how I had mapped out the West’s Mistakes since WW2 & in a way that was easy to follow. He told of how I disarmed the other side’s arguments, by being so honest of the our own mistakes. He told all those assembled at the UN that day, that I simplified it so well, it was obvious what route to follow, to correct our misdeeds.

Mao then got up, thanking his old friend, L.C. Beckett, for convincing him to participate in the Talks. He admitted that he was tired of the constant struggle. He was ready for a quiet, peaceful life. He promised that all those Countries he had influence over, would abide by the Accord. That’s what the Countries he Controlled wanted all along. They wanted Peace, but even more important, was their Self-Control. All would have that now.

Brežněv talked of the tremendous opportunities that lay ahead, which he couldn’t wait to be a part of. He also promised that those Countries he had influence over would follow the Accord. He welcomed all those interested in opening Factories in the USSR, to do so. He would personally pave the way, to make them a Win-Win for both the Companies & the USSR.

There was a huge outpouring of emotions in the Hall at that point, as everyone couldn’t believe we had actually ended all the major Conflicts of 1970, in just 1 week’s time.

But, now that the War was over, Nixon would not feel the need to Invade Cambodia, on Apr 28, 1970.

The Kent State Shootings, that happened May 4, 1970, because of that Invasion, would never happen this time, either. With the new Timeline we’ve created, many events will now be changed. Get ready for them, my friends.

A few days after the Killings at Kent State, Neil Young would never be compelled to pen Ohio. He Recorded Ohio, on May 21, 1970, the Song soon becoming an instant Classic.

It’s still a great Song though, so here are the Lyrics. When I read them, I can almost feel the Bullets whizzing by:

Tin soldiers & Nixon’s coming

We’re finally on our own

This summer I hear the drumming

Four dead in Ohio

Gotta get down to it

Soldiers are cutting us down

Should have been done long ago

What if you knew her

And found her dead on the ground?

How can you run when you know?

Gotta get down to it

Soldiers are cutting us down

Should have been done long ago

What if you knew her

And found her dead on the ground

How can you run when you know?

Tin soldiers and Nixon’s coming

We’re finally on our own

This summer I hear the drumming

Four dead in Ohio

Four dead in Ohio (four dead)

Four dead in Ohio (four)

Four dead in Ohio

Four dead in Ohio (how many more?)

Four dead in Ohio (why?)

Four dead in Ohio (oh)

Four dead in Ohio (oh)

Four dead in Ohio (why?)

Four dead in Ohio (why?)

Four dead in Ohio (why?)

Four dead in Ohio

Ohio by Neil Young

After the big Reveal, we went to my Penthouse atop the St Regis. It had been a great few months, but I was ready for some down time.

Fr, Jan 16, 1970

If it is to be, it is up to me.

I got with my top 2 Management personnel of my New York Yankees, General Manager, Lee MacPhail; & Manager, Billy Martin. We met in the cramped NY Yankees’ HQ Offices, under the Stands of Yankee Stadium. It was just inside Gate 2, at the NW Corner of Old Yankee Stadium.

I made plans to spruce up the Offices ASAP. There was plenty of wasted space under the Stands, so why not expand the Offices. I would install larger Windows too, as I wanted to be able to see my Fans milling about outside, on Game Days.

Yankee Stadium was directly North of the St Regis, but we had a few options as to the route we took to get there. Today, I had Suki drive NB on Madison Ave, crossing the Harlem River on the Madison Ave Bridge. It was about a 30 minute Drive.

Once dropped at Yankee Stadium, I passed out some Daytime Doozies to Lee & Billy. Over Carnegie Deli Corned-Beef Sandwiches, we went over the current NY Yankee Players, both on the Yankees, as well as in our Minor League System. I then asked for Lists of all the other MLB Team Rosters.

I quickly scanned the Lists, making notes of any Names that I recognized. A couple names caught my eye, that I wanted to Trade for.

Curt Flood, 31yo, had been a Player since 1956. He was a Center-Fielder, was a good Fielder & Hit for Power.

Over the years, Curt had liked August “Gussie” Busch, the St Louis Cardinals Owner. Curt had lost respect for Busch lately though.

Curt especially hated being Owned like a Slave. He had also argued with Gussie over the $10,000 Raise he was to receive in 1970. That would be added to his 1969 Salary, which was $90,000. Curt felt like he deserved more of a Raise, due to the year he had in 1969.

Because of Curt’s complaints, on Oct 7, 1969, Curt had been Traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. Curt took the Trade as an insult, refusing to Report to the Phillies.

Curt sent a Letter to MLB Commissioner, Bowie Kuhn, dated:

“December 24, 1969

After twelve years in the major leagues, I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes. I believe that any system which produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States and of the several States.

It is my desire to play baseball in 1970, and I am capable of playing. I have received a contract offer from the Philadelphia club, but I believe I have the right to consider offers from other clubs before making any decision. I, therefore, request that you make known to all Major League clubs my feelings in this matter, and advise them of my availability for the 1970 season.”

Curt Flood basically declared himself a Free-Agent, saying he would field Offers from all MLB Teams. By refusing to Report to the Phillies, Curt was giving up the $100,000 Salary he was due to receive in 1970.

Curt Flood filed his 1st Lawsuit over Free-Agency, on Jan 16, 1970, for $1,000,000 in Damages. He was Personally Suing Commissioner Bowie Kuhn & MLB.

Hey, that was today, Fr, Jan 16, 1970. What a country!

Curt would Sit-Out the 1970 MLB Season. In 1971, he would play 16 Games for the 2nd Generation of the Washington Senators. He never Played again after that,

Curt was Black-Balled by MLB Teams because of his Lawsuit. Eventually he would be vindicated, but he gave up the rest of his Career in doing so.

I asked Lee MacPhail to get with the Phillies & snatch Curt up ASAP. I thought that the Phillies would be happy to unload the Headache of Curt Flood. It was obvious that Curt wouldn’t be a Philly anytime soon.

I would then tell Curt that I agreed with him, & I would support him with his fight. I thought he would thrive under better conditions, especially if he felt fully supported. Hopefully, Curt would be a NY Yankee for years. I was going to let Curt set his own Salary. I wanted him content.

Either way, I was going to protect him from all the assholes. As he Sat-Out the 1970 Season, Curt got Death-Threats from Fans, saying he was out to Ruin Baseball. He was told by everyone in Baseball, that he was a fool, no way was he going to change the System.

The 2nd Player I recognized, was Lou Pinella, 26yo. Lou 1st Played with the Baltimore Orioles in 1964. In 1970, he was on the KC Royals. In 1974, he would become a NY Yankee, but why not grab him in 1970 instead?

Lou was a Left-Fielder. He was a good defensive Player & Hit for Power too. Lou was always an upstanding Citizen, being a great Teammate to all. If we could Trade for him, I knew Lou would be our Left-Fielder for years.

The 3rd Player I wanted was a future great. Reggie Jackson, 23yo, was currently an Oakland “A.” He had started as a KC “A,” but the “A’s” moved from Kansas City to Oakland in 1968.

Reggie was in a constant battle with the “A’s” Owner, Charlie Finley though, mostly over Money. Before the 1970 Season, Reggie was wanting a $50,000 Raise. Finley refused.

Reggie would take his displeasure out during Oakland’s upcoming 1970 Spring Training Season, tanking it. Finley would get pissed & demote Reggie to the “A’s” Puerto Rico, Minor League Club. That would happen in March, 1970.

If we could make the Trades, we would have our Starting Outfield set for years. With Lou Pinella in Left-Field; Curt Flood in Center-Field; & Reggie Jackson in Right-Field, we would be as happy as a pig wallowing in shit.

I asked Lee MacPhail to do whatever-it-took, but Trade for all 3 of those Players ASAP.

Lee & Billy Martin thought my ideas had merit, as all 3 Players would be great additions to the Yankees.

There were 2 Pitchers I wanted too. Nolan Ryan, 22yo, was a NY Met since 1966. I wanted him as a Yankee, from 1970 on.

The other Pitcher I wanted, was Gaylord Perry, 31yo. He had been a SF Giant since 1962.

We already had our Starting Catcher onboard, as Thurman Munson was a Yankee Rookie. He would be Playing in his 1st Full Season, in 1970.

I didn’t recognize many other Players though, so I asked Lee & Billy for their thoughts on the best Infielders in MLB.

We still needed a 1st Baseman, 2nd, Shortstop & 3rd Base. We kicked around names, finally coming up with:

For 1st Base, we decided on Dick Allen, 27yo. He had been a Major Leaguer since 1963, as a Philly. He had fallen out of favor with the Phillies though, being Traded to the St Louis Cards before the 1970 Season. He was considered a great 1st Baseman by those in the know, so we went after him.

We decided on Don “Groove” Baylor, 20yo, at 2nd Base. He was normally a 1st Baseman, Left-Fielder or Designated Hitter, but we thought he’d work at 2nd Base for awhile. He was in the Baltimore Orioles’ Farm System, & would be brought up to the Orioles, mid-1970 Season. He was known for crowding the Plate, Leading all MLB in Hit-By-Pitch a couple times. He was a Power Hitter.

Bert “Campy” Campaneris, 27yo, was our choice at Shortstop. He had been a Kansas City “A”/Oakland “A” since 1964. He was small, at 5’10” Tall & 160#. He was a Speedster, from Cuba, leading the Majors in Stolen Bases, 6 times. Lee thought we could Trade for Campy at the same time that we Traded for Reggie Jackson. Campy would probably be our Leadoff Batter.

3rd Base went to Aurelio “Chi Chi” Rodriguez Ituarte, Jr, 22yo. We would Trade with the California Angels for Chi Chi. Chi Chi debuted with the Angels in 1967. He was born in Mexico, & was considered the 2nd best defensive 3rd-Baseman in MLB. All agreed that the Orioles’ Brooks Robinson was the best, but Chi Chi was 2nd. Chi Chi had 42 Double-Plays in 1969.

I told Lee MacPhail that I didn’t care what he had to Pay, or Give Up, to Trade for our choices. In the end, the prices paid, would be peanuts to what we would get in return.

As Lee went to work on the Trades, I worked with Billy Martin on figuring out who all we had on the Yankees Roster at that time.

We made Plans to head down to Ft Lauderdale, for the NY Yankees’ Spring Training. The Ft Lauderdale Yankee Stadium had been the Yankees’ Spring Training Home since 1961. It was a nice Stadium, holding 8,000, 4,000 under Cover, 4,000 in Bleachers.

We would have the Pitchers & Catchers Report, Mon, Feb 9, 1970. The rest of the Team would Report on Sat, Feb 14, 1970.

I got with Harry Helmsley, asking his opinion on Buying the Pier 66 Hotel & Marina in Ft Lauderdale. I thought it was really classy, & would be a nice place to House the NY Yankees during Spring Training, each year.

Harry said he thought it a good Buy, so he’d look into it. It worked out great too, as we Owned Pier 66 within a week.

Pier 66’s Tower was 17-Floors Tall, with the Pier Top Lounge atop it, that Rotated slowly, giving great views in all directions.

There were a total of 325 Rooms, between the Round Tower, & the 2-Story Buildings surrounding the Marina. The Marina had Dockage for 164 Boats, in Slips as well as along the Seawalls.

From now on, Pier 66 Hotel & Marina, would be the NY Yankees’ Spring Training Home-Base. We would be the talk of the Grapefruit League. We’d give each Player their choice of a Tower or Waterfront Room. If they had a Boat, they could Dock it at Pier 66, for free too. I’d have a couple Boats there myself, especially an old Fantail Yacht, like the Presidential Yacht, Sequoia.

Sat, Jan 17, 1970

There is still Prayer in Schools. During Exams.

We changed the name of our LPG s/o Centers. Since everyone knows of Propane, we now called them Propane s/o Centers. Propane is also known as LPG, CNG & Auto-Gas, but those terms are confusing to many.

B-G had found a new Company, west of MSP, that were manufacturing a complete line of Propane s/o Kits, for both Gasoline & Diesel Engines. They also made the Transport Trailers, & all other required Equipment to convert to Propane. Their technical expertise matched B-G’s, thus his happiness to work with Westmor Industries, Morris, MN.

B-G had formed a 50% Partnership with them, allowing Westmor to Ramp-Up Production to meet our demands. They would supply us with 100% of all s/o Parts.

NYC, via the MTA, Metropolitan Transport Authority, wouldn’t fully take over the Private NYBS, New York Bus Service, until 2005. But now, in 1970, we helped the MTA take over the NYBS. We needed NYC to be in Control to make things happen quicker.

NYC let us set-up Shop at the old NYBS Eastchester Bus Depot, 3320 Tillotson Ave, Bronx, NYC. It was NE of Yankee Stadium, & North of Throg’s Neck & City Island.

We quickly built a General Steel Building, in a far corner of the Base. We ended up with a Building with 10 Pull-Through Bays.

In 1970, the MTA had a total of 5,927 Buses. We would operate 24-7, due to the number of Buses we needed to convert to Propane. We ended up s/o 20 Buses a Day. At 20 per day, we could s/o all 5,927 Buses in less than a Year.

We also set up Shops around NYC to s/o all the Taxi-Cabs that operated in NYC. There were 13,605 Taxi-Cabs in NYC, so it was another huge undertaking.

It didn’t take long to see less Smog in the Air though! Without the Lead in the Gasoline, as well as the Carbon-Monoxide that was spewed out with the Lead, we would start to breath cleaner Air more & more.

We set up similar Shops, in LA, Chicago, Boston, Philly, Denver, Seattle, San Fran, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Miami, London, Paris, Roma, Napoli, Turin, Stuttgart, Beijing & Moskva.

Sun, Jan 18, 1970

When we do our best, God does the rest.

Our Bike Rides around Central Park were a welcome stabilizing influence on all of us. It allowed us to Talk things over, as we Rode too, keeping us In-the-Loop.

After our Bike Ride, Ali & I Flew to LA. Angel, 1 of my Hot-Shot Pilots, flew us in our new “Used” Gulfstream-2 Jet. Angel was with a new Pilot of ours, Eric.

We landed at one of Los Angeles’ Feeder Airports, the Burbank-Bob Hope A/P, BUR.

Jet Av had just Leased the space between the N-S & E-W Runways. There was a cool Round, Red FBO Office, with Hangers both to the East & South leading from it.

Angel was moving to LA, to run Jet Aviation FBO-BUR. We would eventually replace most of the Hangers to more Modern ones. We needed large Hangers, both in height & width, to accommodate the largest Corporate Jets.

Just South of the Hangers we would use, were the future Hangers that would become Jay Leno’s Garage. I would provide him with the Hangers, being his Silent Partner. We would have great times racing each other in a couple of his Cars, playing Tag, high up in the Hollywood Hills.

In 1991, I would help Jay set up his 1st Garage. His “Garage” is located in a series of Hangers. Jay’s 1st Hanger was 17,000 SF. After 33 years, Jay Leno’s Garage is now 7x larger, at 122,000 SF ... It takes up the space of 1 & 1/2 Soccar Fields. His Complex is located along the SE Side of the N-S Runway at BUR.

For his Fleet of Vehicles, Jay pays $420,000 per year for “Umbrella Insurance Coverage”. He pays $10,000 per year, just to Register all of them. Glad he made $30,000,000 per year, Hosting the Tonight Show.

It was great to sleep at Sunset Tower again. I hated the Smog though, as in 1970, I couldn’t see Downtown from the Sunset. Hopefully that would begin to change, with our Propane s/o Centers.

LA had to have over a thousand Buses between all it’s different Bus Systems. We’d try to s/o them ASAP. So many People drove in LA though, that we would set up s/o Shops around the area for folks to use. We would get the State to give a Discount on a Driver’s Car Tabs if they s/o their Car.

Mon, Jan 19, 1970

“Be yourself, everyone else is taken.” Oscar Wilde

I spent the Day at Warner Brothers Studios, 4000 Warner Blvd, Burbank, LA. It was a little South of BUR A/P. Universal Studios was to the SW of WB.

I met with Michael Lang & Michael Wadleigh. They were almost done Editing the Film Version of the Woodstock Festival. They had done a great job of capturing the “Vibe.”