Q&A with Thurman Munson Biographer: Marty Appel

Marty Appel is the behind-the-scenes Mr. Yankee. He was the PR guru for the Yankees back in the 1970s, and you’ve seen him in Yankeeographies and anywhere else a Yankee expert is needed.

He was around the team for Thurman Munson’s whole career, and to coincide with the 30^th anniversary of Munson’s tragic death, he’s just written a book about the former Yankee catcher, Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain (Doubleday), which will be released on July 7^th.

Appel was friends with Munson, and his insights into the grouchy, yet lovable Yankee are far-reaching and detailed, including a minute-by-minute account of The Captain’s fateful last flight.

He interviewed Munson’s siblings and former teammates, and Appel was a first-hand witness to the Munson era.

After his PR days with the Yanks ended, Appel moved on to produce Yankee broadcasts on WPIX, start his own PR firm, write countless books, including co-writing Munson’s autobiography in the late '70s, and was an executive producer of the mini-series The Bronx Is Burning.

I asked Marty Appel a few questions about Munson and his days working for the Yankees.

Interview

Jeff Freier: We’ll start with some questions about Thurman Munson. Tell us something about him that would surprise everybody.

Marty Appel: I think people would be surprised to know he was never on the disabled list, not once—at a very physically demanding position, which he played hard.

JF: What are your memories of the first time you met Munson? Was he as gruff and grouchy as an up-and-coming player as he was as an established star?

MA: He had a certain poise for a minor league player. He had come up from Binghamton to play a game in Yankee Stadium, and we all flocked to him because he was our No. 1 draft pick. And you could sense something special there. He “had it.”

JF: What did you learn about him in writing this book that you didn’t know beforehand?

MA: The details of his tough childhood, the loveless home environment [and] the fact that he didn’t want his baseball coach dropping him off at home in case his father was outside.

JF: What were Thurman’s feelings about Reggie Jackson before the Sport article came out? Was he against Jackson’s signing from the beginning?

MA: He urged George Steinbrenner to sign Reggie; he knew power in the No. 4 spot was missing in the lineup. He was an advocate to bring him to the Yankees.

JF: What would he make of today’s sports blogging revolution and today’s modern players, epitomized by Alex Rodriguez, and their emphasis on branding and marketing themselves and posing as opposed to just playing baseball?

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