The Mouth That Roared (44 page)

Our World Series victory was extra sweet for me because I was able to share it with my longtime friend and mentor, Paul Owens. Pope demonstrated enormous faith in me throughout my career, and for that I am forever grateful. (Philadelphia Daily News)

When I took over the front office of the Cubs, I brought Lee Elia from Philadelphia to be our manager. Letting him go in just his second season at the helm was the toughest personnel decision I had to make in my career. (Chicago Cubs)

Leon Durham, Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith, and Mel Hall were a huge part of the success we had in Chicago. Hall was valuable even as he left town—he was part of the package I sent to Cleveland in 1984 in exchange for Rick Sutcliffe. (Chicago Cubs)

I hired Jim Frey, the skipper of the Royals when the Phillies beat them in the 1980 World Series, to manage the Cubs in 1984. He won the Manager of the Year Award for guiding the Cubs to their first postseason appearance since 1945. (Chicago Cubs)

After a disappointing 1985 season and a lackluster start in 1986, I relieved Frey of his duties. In 1987, the Cubs did the same thing to me. (Chicago Cubs)

After serving as general manager of the Cubs from 1982 to 1987, I went back to the dugout in 1989 to manage George Steinbrenner’s Yankees. We had our share of disagreements, but I respected his commitment to putting a winning team on the field. (USA Today)

When I took over as manager of the Mets in 1993, I knew that I was in for a challenge. The team was 18 games under .500 when I walked through the door. (AP Images)

My wonderful wife, Sylvia, with whom I’ve shared my life since we met in 1955.

Sylvia and I were blessed with four wonderful children: Kim, Doug, John, and Dana.

No family should have to endure what my son, John, his wife, Roxanna, and their son, Dallas, have in losing their beloved daughter and sister, Christina-Taylor. My granddaughter was shot and killed in the Tucson, Arizona, massacre that also resulted in the shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords in 2011.

Attending the funeral service for Christina-Taylor truly tested the strength and fortitude of our family. I can only hope that my granddaughter’s story can inspire others to take action and live life to the fullest. (AP Images)

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Copyright © 2013 by Dallas Green and Alan Maimon

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Triumph Books LLC, 814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois 60610.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Green, Dallas, 1934–

The mouth that roared : my six outspoken decades in baseball / Dallas Green and Alan Maimon.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-60078-805-5

1. Green, Dallas, 1934– 2. Baseball players—United States—Biography. 3. Baseball managers—United States—Biography. I. Maimon, Alan. II. Title.