Martin Treated for Facial Bruises After Altercation in Texas Bar

ARLINGTON, Tex. —  New York Yankees Manager Billy Martin, the left side of his face covered with two large bruises, said Saturday he was attacked, kicked and beaten by three men in the restroom of a bar shortly after midnight.

Martin said he could not identify his assailants and that he did not expect any arrests would be made.

“I guess it is sort of like in the Westerns,” Martin said before his team played the Texas Rangers Saturday night. “When you have a reputation, people start laying for you.

“I’ve thought about it today. From a security standpoint, I don’t think I will go very far from the hotel anymore. I can’t seem to go anywhere.”

Martin insisted he did not provoke the incident, which took place in a topless bar about a mile from the Yankee hotel.

“It is sort of embarrassing,” Martin said. “Usually when I get in a fight, I get off a few punches.”

Arlington police took a statement from Martin after the incident. Their report said there were only two assailants.

“There are reportedly no witnesses to the incident, but police are still conducting their investigation,” a police statement said.

Martin, 59, said he thought he briefly lost consciousness during the attack. He came away from it with a scrape below his left eye and a bloody gash near his left ear, which required stitches to close.

In addition, Martin rolled up his left sleeve to show a scrape on his left shoulder and then rolled up his left pant leg to reveal two deep bruises on his knee.

“I don’t know why they did it,” Martin said. “A group of us were in (the bar) for a while. There were some Yankee fans, and there were some Texas fans. Some of the Texas fans were giving us some good-natured kidding about us losing (to the Rangers Friday night). But it was not malicious. You can tell the difference.

“They weren’t responsible for what happened.

“When we decided to leave, I went to the restroom, and these guys were laying for me in there.

“One of them grabbed me from behind and pinned my arms. The other two started beating me and kicking me. The doctors said I was hit over the head by something that must have been a blunt instrument.”

Martin was treated at Arlington Memorial hospital after the incident and then returned to his hotel. He showed up at Arlington Stadium at 2 p.m. Saturday and, according to a Yankee spokesman, appeared “woozy and dizzy.”

Martin was exonerated of any blame by Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, who is with the team.

“I’m convinced after speaking to various individuals that Billy Martin was victimized in this incident,” Steinbrenner said in a statement issued by the team. “Billy is my manager. Case closed.”

Steinbrenner and the manager have had an often-stormy relationship, which resulted in Martin either being fired or quitting four times.

Martin’s previous off-the-field fights have been with two pitchers, a sportswriter and a marshmallow salesman.

The fight with the salesman, Joe Cooper, took place in 1979 at a hotel in Bloomington, Minn., and cost Martin his job as Yankee manager.