Question: What year was the co-author (with Tom Verducci) of The Yankee Years born?

Context paragraphs:
Carl Cohen (professor): Carl Cohen (born April 30, 1931) is Professor of Philosophy at the Residential College of the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.  He is co-author of "The Animal Rights Debate" (Rowman and Littlefield, 2001), a point-counterpoint volume with Prof. Tom Regan; he is also the author of "Democracy" (Macmillan, 1972); the author of "Four Systems" (Random House, 1982); the editor of "Communism, Fascism, and Democracy" (McGraw Hill, 1997); the co-author (with J. Sterba) of "Affirmative Action and Racial Preference" (Oxford, 2003), co-author (with I. M. Copi) of "Introduction to Logic, 13th edition" (Prentice-Hall, 2008), and author of "A Conflict of Principles: The Battle over Affirmative Action at the University of Michigan" (University Press of Kansas, 2014).

Born on the Fourth of July: Born on the Fourth of July, published in 1976, is the best-selling autobiography by Ron Kovic, a paralyzed Vietnam War veteran who became an anti-war activist.  Kovic was born on July 4, 1946, and his book's ironic title echoed a famous line from George M. Cohan's patriotic 1904 song, "The Yankee Doodle Boy" (also known as "Yankee Doodle Dandy").  The book was adapted into a 1989 Academy Award winning film of the same name co-written by Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic, starring Tom Cruise as Kovic.

1973 New York Yankees season: The 1973 New York Yankees season was the 71st season for the team in New York, and its 73rd season overall.  The Yankees finished with a record of 80–82, finishing 17 games behind the Baltimore Orioles.  The Yankees were managed by Ralph Houk.  The Yankees played at old Yankee Stadium, on the south side of 161st Street.  This would be the last year in the "old" Yankee Stadium, which was targeted for major reconstruction in 1974–1975.  During this period, the Yankees would share a home field with a National League team for the third time in their history, moving into Shea Stadium for two years.

Bismarck Myrick: Bismarck Myrick (born December 23, 1940) is a former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Liberia (1999–2002) and Lesotho (1995–1998).  He is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and a decorated Vietnam War hero.  He represented the U.S. at the swearing in of South Africa’s first democratic parliament, led by Nelson Mandela.  The Kingdom of Lesotho conferred on him the Kingdom's highest honor to a non-citizen.  Liberia’s major newspapers and civil society organizations named him “Diplomat of the Year” or “Man of the Year” for three consecutive years.  The City Council appointed him Goodwill Ambassador for Goree Island, Senegal in 2008.  He was Political Officer in Liberia during the government of Samuel Doe.  He completed study projects in southern and western Africa every other year:2006-2012.  He graduated from the University of Tampa with honors and earned an M.A. degree from Syracuse University.  Spelman College awarded him a Doctor of Humane Letters degree.  Dr. Myrick is co-author of Three Aspects of Crisis in Colonial Kenya ; author of “The United States and Liberia” in The African Experience: Past, Present, and Future and author of scores of official documents.  Portsmouth, VA named two streets in his honor in 2001 and selected him as a 2006 “Portsmouth Notable” – the city’s highest honor.  He is featured in the March, 2013 edition of “The Citizen of Chesapeake” Newspaper.  Active in community service, he is on a number of boards, such as the World Affairs Council.

Joe Torre: Joseph Paul Torre ( ; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseball officer since 2011.  A former player, manager and television color commentator, Torre ranks fifth all-time in MLB history with 2,326 wins as a manager.  With 2,342 hits during his playing career, Torre is the only major leaguer to achieve both 2,000 hits and 2,000 wins as a manager.  From 1996 to 2007, he was the manager of the New York Yankees, whom he guided to four World Series championships.

Larry Johnson (author): Larry Johnson (born in Albuquerque, New Mexico) is an American author and former employee of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation (Alcor), a cryonics company for whom he once served as chief operating officer.  He received notoriety with the release of the August 13, 2003 issue of "Sports Illustrated".  "Sports Illustrated" sportswriter Tom Verducci, along with Johnson's input, published an article about “What Really Happened to Ted Williams?"  Immediately following the "Sports Illustrated" article, Johnson agreed to an interview with Diane Sawyer of Good Morning America.

Thursday Night Baseball: Thursday Night Baseball (formally known as MLB Network Showcase) is the title of a presentation of Major League Baseball on cable and satellite channel MLB Network (self-produced by MLB Network), that premiered on April 9, 2009.  Longtime NBC Sports broadcaster Bob Costas is one of the play-by-play voices of the broadcasts.  Matt Vasgersian also does play-by-play on some games.  Jim Kaat, John Smoltz, and Tom Verducci provide color commentary.  The network produces 26 non-exclusive live games a year during baseball season.  Since one or both teams' local TV rights holders also carry the games, the MLB Network feed is subject to local blackouts.  In that event, the cities in the blacked-out markets will instead see a simulcast of another scheduled game via one team's local TV rights holder.

The Yankee Years: The Yankee Years is a book written by Tom Verducci and Joe Torre.  The book chronicles Torre's years as manager of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1996 to 2007.  It goes into great detail on Torre's relationship with the players, general manager Brian Cashman, team owner George Steinbrenner, and the Yankees organization as a whole.  Also discussed are major developments in the way baseball management throughout the years changed from a batting average focused market to the in-depth statistical-based approach centered on base-percentage, as well as covering issues such as the "Steroids Era".

Tom Verducci: Tom Verducci (born December 2, 1960) is an American sportswriter who writes for "Sports Illustrated" and its online magazine SI.com.  He writes primarily about baseball.  He is also a field reporter for the MLB postseason on TBS.  In addition, he appears on "Hot Stove" and "MLB Tonight" on MLB Network as a baseball insider.

Tom Browning: Thomas Leo Browning (born April 28, 1960) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher.  During a 12-year baseball career, he pitched for the Cincinnati Reds (1984–1994) and the Kansas City Royals (1995).  He is also co-author of "Tom Browning's Tales from the Reds Dugout".

Supporting paragraphs: The Yankee Years Joe Torre
Answer: 1940