A conversation with Diana Munson

May 2024 · 5 minute read

On Tuesday night, I spoke with Diana Munson, the widow of former Yankees captain Thurman Munson, at the 33rd Annual Thurman Munson Dinner in Manhattan. Thurman Munson, of course, died in 1979 – at age 32, while still an active player with the Yankees – in a horrible accident.

Diana Munson still lives in Ohio, just as she did during Thurman’s Yankees days.

KD: How incredible is it for you that you’ve been doing this event for 33 years now?

DM: I’m still just in complete amazement because, as I said, I know the impact that Thurman had. But they told me that this was built on the sentiment of how we lost him, and that it would last for three or four years and do wonderful things, but that don’t sad when it goes away, because there are so many wonderful causes in New York. I said, “OK.” And thirty-three years later, …it’s just amazing.

He would not believe it. He believed he had influence and impact on his family and the people who loved him, but to know that people here still love him and remember him and respect him is wonderful. And what a great cause. He did lots of things for kids that nobody knew anything about. I think it came out after his death. A lot of sportswriters in particular were surprised by that, because, let’s face it, he could be a real tough guy. I know that.

I used to try to be his PR man. He said, “Honey, you can’t be my cheerleader. Let me go. You worry about you,” he said, “because you’re not going to change me.” But I didn’t want to change him. I wanted to change what people thought of him because I knew the heart part of him. Being able to do this for 33 years helps me to let people know about his image. So I think that’s one of the things that been beneficial for the Munson family.

Thurman is not this rough, tough guy. He was the dirtiest guy on the field. He played rough and tumble. Sometimes looked like football. But to see that he had a soft side, and what he was able to do, I’m really glad.

KD: Is it fair to say that, in the time you’ve been following the Yankees, is Jorge Posada your favorite player aside from Thurman?

DM: I love Jorge. Love him, love him, love him. Just got to see him at a fantasy camp. Just as an ambassador. He was down there, so I got to spend time with him. Love him.

Love Nickie Swisher. He came to my area. I don’t think I can be a Cleveland Indian fan, but I can be a Swisher fan. I will go watch him play. Obviously, my heart belongs to the Yankees.

But you know, every 10 or 15 years, somebody comes along that grabs you. Jorge Posada did that. The intensity he played with, the heart of the man. I think if you saw his news conference, if you didn’t fall in love with Jorge Posada that day, something was wrong with you, because he…oh, my. He is amazing. And so is his family. They’re good people. In this world, in this baseball world, I’m unsure about a lot. But I’m sure of them.

Nick Swisher has that same kind of heart. At Old-Timer’s Day, he’d come and sit in the dugout in the widows. They’d make jokes about him. Guys would say, “Oh, sure, you’re with the women.” But it was more, I think, just about absorbing and soaking up the baseball history and tradition. He’s that kind of guy.

Jorge was that kind of guy. The first time I met him, he ran to his locker. He was trying to explain to me that he had this saying. I said, “Oh, that’s good!” I don’t think he thought I believed him. So he ran and got that. You could see the tape marks. Oh, my gosh. Who does that? Those are the kind of people to me that are special. There’s a lot of talent around. Tons of talent. It’s the heart that I’m interested in, and he definitely had it.

KD: You mentioned today’s baseball. And I’m wondering, how do you think Thurman would feel about all of these stories, steroids?

DM: He would be so totally frustrated because of his love for the game. I think the frustration level, you know George was grooming him to manage. He told him that, period. So I think Thurman was a really knowledgeable baseball man. I think he would’ve been in the game for years. I don’t know that he would’ve been able to withstand this kind of you know, you’re not sure. There’s question marks about everybody.

And I’m not criticizing the players. It’s a pressure-cooker. I don’t understand that. If the guy next to you and the guy behind you, …I don’t know. Obviously I’m not condoning that. I’m not trying to figure out why they do it. It makes me sad that it’s done at all.

And it seems to be in all phases of sports. You see the Lance Armstrong thing, he broke my heart. As he did a lot of people. So the heroes we have today have question marks. We don’t know. Thurman wouldn’t have been able to take it, though. He was a no-nonsense guy.

KD: In his day, guys used greenies, which were against the law.

DM: They were against the law. He knew who was doing them. He was aware of it.

KD: So he wouldn’t…

TM: Oh, no. Absolutely not. Thurman was a farmer, a corn-fed kind of Ohio guy. Truck-driving father. You got to where you were by hard work, not by artificial means. He was old school. He was Yogi. He was not Yogi, obviously, but the same kind of (attitude).

–Have a great day.

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