Q: For anyone who hasn’t heard the story yet … How did you get your start in baseball?
A: Well, in 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. I was a senior in high school and I was going to USC. I had a scholarship all set. And then when the war started, young dummies like me wanted to win the war. And I wanted to get into the V-5 program, which is naval aviation. I couldn’t get in because I was 17. So what am I going to do all summer long? I had to wait until September. Well, someone offered me a contract in professional baseball, with the Yankees, minor league team, just above the high school level. I went to Wellsville, New York, and I played until Sept. 14, came back and ed when I was 18.
Q: Of all your accomplishments — serving in World War II, serving in the Korean War, being on the Yankees, being the World Series MVP and in the National Baseball Hall of Fame for your broadcasting career — which accomplishment means the most to you?
A: On April 1, 1944, I became a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and got my Navy Wings of Gold. That was the highlight of my life. It really was. And I’ve never forgotten it. That, to this day, is the greatest achievement of my life.
Jerry Coleman interviewQ: You went to the World Series six times and the Yankees won four of those. Do you ever reflect on how incredible that is?
A: I don’t reflect, unless you remind me (laughs). I’m one of those people that thinks about all the failures that you have. Why didn’t I do this, why didn’t I do that? The things that I did that were positive, I expected it to happen.
Q: You spent your whole career with the Yankees. What is your favorite memory?
A: It would have to be 1950. I was the World Series Most Valuable Player, and every time I came up something happened, or could happen, and I was lucky to achieve whatever happened in those instances.
Q: Do you still have your Yankees uniform?
A: (Laughs) … I have no clue where it is. I’m not a saver. I could be rich, you know, because I roomed with Mickey Mantle for two years. I could have got 100 balls signed by Mantle and been rich just giving those away. I never thought about that.
Q: How do you stay so young?
A: I didn’t know I was! I’m lucky, I guess. Genetics maybe. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I try and watch my diet and so forth.
Q: Does any part of that having to do with being around something you love every day?
A: Baseball, to me, has never lost its feeling for me. I love it now as I did when I first started.
Q: What’s one thing that people don’t know about Jerry Coleman?
A: I think most people think that I enjoy all the celebrity. I don’t like the celebrity. In fact, I’d hide in the closet if I could.
Q: What advice would you give to a young player?
A: Never give up and never give in.
Q: Best piece of advice someone ever gave you?
A: I’ve always felt there are two things that are important in life, and no one gave me this advice, but I got it on my own. The people you love and who love you, and your country — There is nothing more important.
