1980 Howser Fired After 103 Wins

On November 21, 1980, Dick Howser submitted his resignation as manager of the New York Yankees. The official story was that Howser wanted to pursue real estate opportunities in Florida. Nobody in baseball believed it. Howser had just managed the 1980 Yankees to a 103-59 record -- the best in the majors and the franchise's best mark since 1963 -- and George Steinbrenner had pushed him out because three October games went wrong. It was the most absurd firing in Yankee history, which in the Steinbrenner era was saying something.

What Howser Did Right

Everything. He became the fourth manager in baseball history to win 100 games in his first full season. He managed six All-Stars. He guided a 25-8 September run that buried Baltimore. He kept Reggie Jackson's ego in check, got career years out of Tommy John and Willie Randolph, and ran a clubhouse that was calm, professional, and focused.

Howser's approach was the opposite of Billy Martin's chaos. He didn't scream at umpires. He didn't get into fistfights. He didn't create headlines. He just managed games intelligently, gave his players room to perform, and let the talent on the roster do the talking. When Steinbrenner called the manager's office during games -- which he did often -- Howser would pick up the phone, say "I'm busy," and hang up. It was the kind of quiet defiance that drove the Boss insane.

The Ferraro Dispute

The firing traced back to a single play in Game 2 of the ALCS. With the Yankees leading 2-1 in the eighth inning, third base coach Mike Ferraro waved Willie Randolph home on a double. Randolph was thrown out at the plate, and the Royals rallied to win 3-2. Steinbrenner was furious. He blamed Ferraro for the loss and demanded that Howser fire him.

Howser refused. The play was aggressive but not reckless -- Ferraro had coached aggressively all season, and the throw that got Randolph was a strong one that arrived just ahead of the runner. Firing a coach for a close call in a playoff game wasn't Howser's idea of accountability. It was Steinbrenner's idea of control.

The impasse revealed the fundamental incompatibility between manager and owner. Howser believed managers should make personnel decisions based on competence and loyalty. Steinbrenner believed the owner made all decisions, and the manager's job was to carry them out. There was no middle ground, and there was no compromise.

The "Resignation"

Steinbrenner couldn't fire Howser outright -- the public backlash from dismissing a 103-win manager would've been severe. Instead, he engineered a "resignation" that fooled nobody. The real estate explanation was transparently false, and both the media and the players understood what had happened. Howser left with his dignity intact, which was more than most Steinbrenner managers could say.

The players were devastated. They'd played their best baseball for Howser, and they knew the firing was unjust. Several veterans spoke privately about the unfairness of the situation, though few went public -- Steinbrenner's willingness to trade dissenters was well documented.

Howser's Kansas City Success

The rest of the story reads like a baseball movie that nobody would believe. Howser left the Yankees, took a year off, and was hired by the Kansas City Royals -- the team that had just swept his Yankees out of the playoffs. Under Howser's management, the Royals won the 1985 World Series, beating the Cardinals in seven games.

The irony was devastating for Steinbrenner. The manager he'd fired for losing to Kansas City had gone to Kansas City and won a championship. Howser's quiet, professional approach -- the very qualities that had made him incompatible with Steinbrenner's need for control -- proved to be exactly what a championship team needed.

The Larger Pattern

Howser's firing wasn't an isolated incident. It was part of Steinbrenner's systematic destruction of managerial stability that would cripple the franchise throughout the 1980s. In the 1982 season alone, the Yankees would burn through three managers. Between 1973 and 1990, Steinbrenner hired and fired managers at a pace that made the position a punchline.

The 103-win season became a monument to what-might-have-been. If Howser had stayed, if Steinbrenner had stepped back, if the owner had trusted the manager the way Howser trusted his coaches -- the 1980s might've looked very different for the Yankees. Instead, the franchise entered a wilderness that lasted until the mid-1990s, when Steinbrenner finally learned (or was forced) to let his baseball people make baseball decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why was Dick Howser fired after winning 103 games?

Steinbrenner blamed Howser for the ALCS sweep and demanded he fire third base coach Mike Ferraro over a controversial Game 2 play. Howser refused, and Steinbrenner engineered his departure, which was officially announced as a resignation on November 21, 1980.

What did Dick Howser do after leaving the Yankees?

Howser managed the Kansas City Royals and led them to the 1985 World Series championship, beating the Cardinals in seven games. He's one of only a handful of managers to win 100 games in a season and then get fired.

How many games did Dick Howser manage for the Yankees?

Howser managed just one full season with the Yankees -- 1980 -- going 103-59. It remains one of the best single-season records by any Yankees manager.