Yankee Stadium
Encyclopedia
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx
in New York City
, New York
. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees
from 1923
to 1973
and from 1976
to 2008
. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York Giants
football
team. The stadium's nickname, "The House That Ruth Built", is derived from Babe Ruth
, the iconic baseball superstar whose prime years coincided with the stadium's opening and the beginning of the Yankees' winning history.
The venue was constructed for $2.4 million dollars (equal to $ today) between 1922–1923 specifically for the Yankees, who had been sharing the Polo Grounds
with the New York Giants
baseball team for 10 years. Yankee Stadium opened in 1923, and at the time, it was hailed as a one-of-a-kind facility in the country for its size. Over the course of its history, it became one of the most famous venues in the United States
, having hosted a variety of events and historic moments during its existence. While many of these moments were baseball-related—including World Series
games, no-hitters, perfect games, and historic home run
s—the stadium also hosted boxing
matches, concerts, and three Papal
Masses. The stadium went through many alterations and playing surface configurations over the years. The condition of the facility worsened in the 1960s and 1970s, prompting its closing for renovation from 1974–1975. The renovation significantly altered the appearance of the venue and reduced the distance of the outfield fences.
In 2006
, the Yankees began building a new $2.3 billion stadium
in public parkland adjacent to the stadium. Many of the iconic features of the original stadium, such as the frieze and Monument Park
, were incorporated into the design of the new venue. Yankee Stadium closed following the 2008 baseball season, and the new stadium opened in 2009, adopting the "Yankee Stadium" moniker. The original facility was not demolished until 2010, nearly two years after it closed. It is being converted into parkland. The name of the park is Heritage Field.
in northern Manhattan
since 1913, sharing the venue with the New York Giants
. However, relations between the two teams were rocky, with the Giants harboring resentment towards the Yankees. For the season, the Yankees acquired star slugger Babe Ruth
and in his first year with his new team, the Yankees drew 1.3 million fans to the Polo Grounds, outdrawing the Giants. In , the Yankees won their first American League
pennant
(but lost the then-best-of-nine 1921 World Series
to the Giants in eight games, all played at the Polo Grounds). This exacerbated Giants owner Charles Stoneham
's resentment of the Yankees and precipitated his insistence that the Yankees find another place to play their home games. The Giants derisively suggested that the Yankees relocate "to Queens
or some other out-of-the-way place."
Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston
and Jacob Ruppert
, the Yankees' owners since January 1915
, decided to proceed with building their team its own stadium. They did so at considerable financial risk and speculation. Baseball teams typically played in 30,000-seat facilities, but Huston and Ruppert invoked Ruth's name when asked how the Yankees could justify a ballpark with 60,000 seats. The doubt over the Yankees' lasting power was amplified by baseball's sagging popularity after the 1919
Black Sox Scandal
, in which eight Chicago White Sox
players were expelled for conspiring with gamblers to fix that year's World Series
. Many people also felt three baseball teams could not prosper in New York City
, but Huston and Ruppert were confident the Yankees could outlast the more established Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants
of the National League
(which proved true, as both would eventually relocate to California following the 1957 season). Huston and Ruppert would end up footing the bill for construction of the $2.5 million stadium.
Huston and Ruppert explored many areas for Yankee Stadium. Of the other sites being considered, the Hebrew Orphan Asylum
, at Amsterdam Avenue between 136th and 138th streets in Manhattan
, nearly became reality. Consideration was also given to building atop railroad tracks on the West Side of Manhattan (an idea revived in 1998) and to Long Island City, in Queens
. The area Huston and Ruppert settled on was a 10 acres (4 ha) lumberyard in the Bronx
within walking distance from, and in sight of, Coogan's Bluff
. The Polo Grounds was located on the Manhattan side of the Harlem River
, at 155th Street and Eighth Avenue. Huston and Ruppert purchased the lumberyard from William Waldorf Astor for $600,000, equal to $ today. Construction began May 5, 1922, and Yankee Stadium opened to the public less than a year later. The stadium's walls were built of "an extremely hard and durable concrete that was developed by Thomas Edison
", with total of 20,000 cubic yards (26,000 cubic meters) of concrete used in the original structure.
led the Seventh ("Silk-Stocking") Regiment Band in playing The Star-Spangled Banner
. After a parade of the players and dignitaries, Babe Ruth was presented with a case containing a symbolically big bat. New York Governor Al Smith
(who would become the Democratic Party
's candidate for president in 1928) then threw out the first pitch directly into the glove of catcher Wally Schang
rather than the customary couple of feet wide. The Yankees went on to defeat Ruth's former team, the Boston Red Sox
, by a score of 4–1, with Ruth hitting a three-run home run into the right-field stands. Asked later for his opinion of the stadium, he replied, "Some ball yard."
Upon opening, Fred Lieb
of the New York Evening Telegram dubbed it "The House That Ruth Built". The Yankees also won their first World Series
during the Stadium's inaugural season
. Future Yankee manager Casey Stengel
hit the first post-season homerun in stadium history while playing with the opposing New York Giants
. The only other team to do so prior to the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals in (the new) Busch Stadium
had been the Pittsburgh Pirates
, who won the 1909 World Series
in Forbes Field
's inaugural season; and the Boston Red Sox
, who won the 1912 World Series
in Fenway Park
's first year. The Yankees accomplished this feat yet again in the New Yankee Stadium in the 2009 World Series
.
The Stadium was the first facility in North America with three tiers, although the triple deck originally extended only to the left and right field corners. The concrete lower deck extended well into left field, with the obvious intention of extending the upper deck over it, which was accomplished during the 1926-1927 off-season. As originally built, the stadium seated 58,000. For the stadium's first game, the announced attendance was 74,217 (with another 25,000 turned away); however, Yankees business manager Ed Barrow
later admitted that this number was likely heavily overestimated. Regardless of what the figure was, it was undoubtedly more than the 42,000 fans who attended game five of the 1916 World Series
at Braves Field
, baseball's previous attendance record. However, during the 1920s and 1930s, the Yankees' popularity was such that crowds in excess of 80,000 were not uncommon. It was referred to as "the Yankee stadium" (with the "s" in "stadium" sometimes lowercase) until the 1950s.
Yankee Stadium underwent more extensive renovations from 1936
through 1938
. The wooden bleachers were replaced with concrete, shrinking the "death valley" area of left and center substantially, although the area was still much deeper than in most ballparks; and the second and third decks were extended to short right center. Runways were left between the bleachers and the triple-deck on each end, serving as bullpens. By 1938, the Stadium had assumed the "classic" shape that it would retain for the next 35 years. In April 1945, Yankees president Larry MacPhail
announced that after the War
, the Yankees would install an additional tier of bleachers to increase stadium capacity to 100,000. In addition to the bleachers, he also planned to add 2,000 additional box-seats by lowering the field and shortening the distance from the backstop to home-plate from 82 feet (25 m) to 60 feet (18.3 m). However, the plans were tabled and the expansion did not take place.
Many sources incorrectly state that prior to the 1955 season, Yankee Stadium's Ballantine Beer scoreboard was sold to the Phillies for use in Shibe Park. Although the two scoreboards possessed some superficial resemblances, they differed in many details, and the Yankee Stadium scoreboard remained at Yankee Stadium until 1959 when it was replaced, two years after a different Ballantine scoreboard was installed at Shibe.
In 1962, Rice University Alumnus John Cox '27 gave Yankee Stadium to Rice University
. In 1971 the city of New York forced (via eminent domain
) Rice to sell the stadium for a mere $2.5 million. In the 1966–1967 offseason, during the period in which Rice owned the stadium, the concrete exterior was painted white, and the interior was painted blue. The metal frieze circling the upper deck was painted white.
By the late 1960s, Yankee Stadium's condition had badly deteriorated, and the surrounding neighborhood had gone downhill as well. In 1971
, CBS
, which owned the Yankees at the time, proposed extensive renovations to Yankee Stadium. However, this would have required the Yankees to play their home games at Shea Stadium
in Queens, the regular home of the New York Mets
. The Mets, as Shea's primary tenants, resisted the proposal, effectively delaying renovation. CBS then gave serious thought to building a stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands
before selling the Yankees to George Steinbrenner
in 1972 for $10 million.
Finally, in mid-1972, Mayor
John Lindsay
stepped in and announced the city would buy Yankee Stadium for $24 million (equal to $ today) and lease it back to the Yankees. As the city already owned Shea Stadium, the Mets were ultimately unable to prevent the Yankees from sharing their venue. Yankee Stadium closed on September 30, 1973 for the two-year facelift.
, sharing the venue with the New York Mets
.
Since the renovation significantly altered the appearance of the ballpark, some consider the rebuilt Yankee Stadium a different facility from the pre-renovation stadium. For example, the ESPN
Sports Almanac considers the renovated stadium to be "Yankee Stadium II," and the pre-renovated facility to be "Yankee Stadium I". Other books, such as Green Cathedrals, make no such distinction. Among the more noticeable differences resulting from the renovation was the removal of the 118 columns reinforcing each tier of the Stadium's grandstand. The Stadium's roof, including its distinctive 15 feet (4.6 m) metal frieze
, was replaced by the new upper shell and new lights were added. A white painted concrete replica of the frieze was added atop the wall encircling the bleachers. The playing field was lowered by about seven feet and moved outward slightly.
The original wooden stadium seats were replaced with wider plastic ones, and the upper deck expanded upward nine rows, excluding the walkway. A new upper concourse was built above the old and original concourse exits were closed in by new seating. A new loge middle tier was built featuring a larger press box and 16 luxury boxes at the expense of general seating. Roughly 1/3 of the bleacher seats were eliminated, their middle section converted to a blacked-out batter's eye
. A wall was built behind the bleachers blocking the views from Gerard Avenue and the elevated subway platform above River Avenue. On this wall, the Yankees erected the first instant replay
display in baseball, referred to in literature as a "telescreen". All told, the Stadium was reduced to a listed capacity of 57,545.
The Stadium's playing field was substantially shortened, with monuments once in play relegated to a newly created Monument Park
and deep center reduced by over 40 feet (12.2 m). The cost of the 1970s renovations, $160 million (equal to $ today), was originally borne by New York City and is now being paid off by New York State.
The Stadium reopened on April 15, 1976. More than 54,000 fans saw the Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 11–4, and the "new Stadium" hosted its first playoff
and World Series
games that October. In 1985, the left field fence was moved in, and the stadium assumed its final dimensions in 1988.
In April 1998, during the stadium's 75th anniversary, a 500 lb (226.8 kg). piece of concrete beam spall
ed and destroyed one seat along the third-base line, resulting in the scheduled game being moved to Shea Stadium. A two-week inspection followed before the park was certified safe to reopen.
, the site of the new stadium. This all but sealed the fate of Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees played their final two seasons in the stadium in 2007 and 2008 while the new venue was being built.
After the final game in the Stadium's history was played on September 21, 2008, public tours of Yankee Stadium continued until November 23, 2008. November 9, 2008 was the last day the public tours included Monument Park and the retired number area. On November 12, 2008 construction workers began removing memorials from Monument Park for relocation to the new facility. On November 8, 2008 former Yankees Scott Brosius
, Paul O'Neill, David Cone
and Jeff Nelson, all members of the 1998 World Series championship team
, joined 60 children from two Bronx based youth groups Youth Force 2020 and the ACE Mentor Program in ceremoniously digging up home plate
, the pitcher's mound pitching plate (rubber) and the surrounding dirt of both areas and transporting them to comparable areas of new Yankee Stadium.
An official closing ceremony was reportedly discussed to occur in November 2008, but was scrapped when the organization decided the final event should be a baseball game. Yankee officials said that while the team had contemplated a final ceremony (with any proceeds going to charity), talk of a concert was just media speculation.
The front office staff vacated the premises on January 23, 2009. Demolition began in March 2009 with the removal of the playing field. On May 13, 2009, the process of removing seats began and was completed on June 8. On September 3 and 4, the iconic white facade was dismantled.
On November 4, 2009, construction workers began tearing down the outfield bleachers, marking the first major structural demolition of the old ballpark. On November 12, demolition work began on the field level grandstand. By the end of November, most of the grandstand and bleachers at field level were gone. By the first week of December, demolition of the midlevel loge seats had begun. By January 2010, the loge level was gone and demolition began on the left field escalator bank adjacent to Gate 2. In February 2010, demolition work began on the upper deck and the outfield wall; the final part of the outfield wall (the Continental Airlines ad, the out-of-town scoreboard, and the remaining part of the advertising panel to its right) was taken down February 24, 2010. By March 25, the entire upper deck was taken down.
Following an unsuccessful attempt to save Gate 2 (the only portion of the original Yankee Stadium that mostly remained unaltered after the venue's renovation), demolition of the outer walls of the stadium began on March 29.
Demolition of the original Yankee Stadium was completed on May 13, 2010. A 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) park complex called Heritage Field will be constructed on the old stadium site, accounting for 40 percent of the original parkland that is now occupied by the new Stadium. The groundbreaking ceremony for Heritage Field took place on June 29, 2010.
. Baseball teams typically played in a park or a field. The word stadium deliberately evoked ancient Greece, where a stade was a unit of measure—the length of a footrace; the buildings that housed these footraces were called stadia. Yankee Stadium was one of the first to be deliberately designed as a multi-purpose facility. The field was initially surrounded by a (misshapen) 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) running track, which effectively also served as a warning track
for outfielders, a feature now standard on all major league fields. The left and right field bleacher sections were laid out roughly at a right angle, and to the third base stands, to be properly positioned for both track-and-field events and football. The large electronic scoreboard in right-center field, featuring both teams' lineups and scores of other baseball games, was the first of its kind.
As Yankee Stadium owed its creation largely to Ruth, its design partially accommodated the game's left-handed-hitting slugger. Initially the fence was 295 feet (89.9 m) from home plate down the right-field line, referred to as the "short porch", and 350 feet (106.7 m) to near right field, compared with 490 feet (149.4 m) to the deepest part of center field, nicknamed Death Valley. The right-field bleachers were appropriately nicknamed "Ruthville." Although the right field fences were eventually pushed back after the 1974-1975 renovations, they were still relatively close to home plate and retained the "short porch" moniker. A little-known fact about the stadium; the field level was actually several feet below sea level.
The origins of Monument Park can be traced to the original three monuments of Lou Gehrig
, Miller Huggins
, and Babe Ruth that once used to stand in-play in center field. Over the years, the Yankees continued to honor players and personnel with additional monuments and plaques. After the 1974–1975 renovations of Yankee Stadium, the monuments and plaques were moved behind the outfield fences to "Monument Park." A visual collection of retired numbers was soon added to this location. Monument Park remained there until the stadium's closing in 2008; after the new Yankee Stadium
opened, the retired numbers, plaques, and monuments were moved into a new Monument Park in the new ballpark.
The facade was an addition made by Osborn Engineering
, when the owners of the Yankees asked that the stadium be given "an air of dignity." It originally ran around the roof of the grandstand's upper deck. This original facade was made of copper, and over the course of time, developed a patina
(just like the Statue of Liberty). It was painted white in the mid-1960s.
When the stadium was renovated in the 1970s, 10 rows were added to the top of upper deck, and the support columns were removed. The original roof had to be removed; the facade was removed and sold as scrap. A smaller, concrete version was erected above the scoreboards and billboards behind the bleachers. In the new stadium
, the facade was replicated in its original position along the roof of the upper deck, although now constructed of steel painted white. It does not cantilever out over the upper deck as much as the original did.
The iconic facade is employed in graphics for the YES Network
and was incorporated into the logo for the 2008 All-Star Game
held at the Stadium.
The term "facade" is actually a misnomer. The scalloped arches are actually a frieze, and it was originally known as such. It is unknown when or where the term "facade" came into use, but it has become the more common name, used by fans, broadcasters, and personnel. With the move to the new stadium, the organization has made a move to return to the term "frieze", exclusively using it in public statements and literature.
The 415 sign, and its 367 counterpart in right field, were both covered by auxiliary scoreboards during the 1949 season. Those boards displayed the current game inning-by-inning along with runs-hits-errors. When the stadium reopened in 1976, the distance in straight-away center field was 417 feet (127.1 m). The deepest part of the outfield was in left center at 430 feet (131.1 m). The most recent field dimensions were reached primarily by moving the Yankee bullpen to left-center from right and making a few other changes so as to bring the left-center field wall in. The 1973-era left-center field wall locations could still be seen in 1976, as this is where the outfield bleacher seats began.
The following is a partial list of the stadium's dimensions throughout the years:
After a mid-1960s remodeling, the 461 marker was replaced by a 463 marker slightly farther to the left of the pair of double doors, and a 433 marker was added between the 463 and 407 markers ostensibly to represent true straightaway center field (being roughly at the midpoint of the batter's-eye screen).
was the public address announcer at Yankee Stadium. His distinctive voice (Yankee legend Reggie Jackson
has called him "the Voice of God"), and the way he announced players for over half a century made him a part of the lore of the stadium and the team. Before a player's first at-bat of the game, Sheppard announced his position, his uniform number, his name, and his number again. Example: "Now batting for the Yankees, the shortstop, number 2, Derek Jeter, Number 2." For each following at-bat, Sheppard announced just the position and name: "The shortstop, Derek Jeter." Due to health reasons, the 97-year-old Sheppard announced his last game on September 5, 2007. He did sign a new two-year contract with the Yankees in March 2008 but lacked the strength necessary to do the job and missed the entire 2008 season, including the 2008 All-Star Game
, which was played at Yankee Stadium. He could not announce the final game at the old stadium in September 2008, but recorded a video address that was played during the pregame ceremonies and also recorded the lineups for the game. He officially announced his retirement before the 2009 season. Sheppard died in July 2010.
was installed at Yankee Stadium in 1967
, and was primarily played by Eddie Layton
from its introduction until his retirement after the 2003
season. The playing of the organ has added to the character of the stadium for many years, playing before games, introducing players, during the national anthem and the rendition of "Take me out to the ball game
" during the seventh inning stretch. After Layton's retirement, he got to pick his replacement, Paul Cartier. In recent years, the use of the organ has been decreased in place of recorded music between innings and introducing players. Since the 2004
season, the national anthem has rarely been performed by the organists, opting for military recordings of the Star Spangled Banner. In 2005
, a new Hammond Elegante was installed replacing the original Hammond Colonnade.
's version of the "Theme from New York, New York
" over the loudspeakers after a victory following a home game. In past seasons, Liza Minnelli
's version has been occasionally played after a loss.
After the September 11 attacks, all American Major League Baseball stadiums started playing God Bless America
during the seventh-inning stretch
for the remainder of the 2001 season. Many teams ceased this practice the following season, although it has continued in post-season events at many cities and become a tradition at Yankee Stadium alongside Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Usually, a recording of the song by Kate Smith
is played, although sometimes there is a live performance by Irish tenor Ronan Tynan
. For part of the 2005 season, the Yankees used a recording of Tynan, but the Kate Smith version was reinstated due to fan complaints about the long duration of the Tynan version. For the final game at Yankee Stadium, Tynan performed "God Bless America" live, including the rarely-heard introduction to the song.
When the Yankees scored a run, a version of the Westminster chime played as the last player to score in the at-bat gets to home plate. The version of the chime is the beginning of "Workaholic" by the music group 2 Unlimited
.
Since , the Yankees' World Series championship has been celebrated with the playing of Queen's "We Are The Champions" followed by Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York."
, makers of the famous Louisville Slugger line of baseball bats, which is specifically designed to look like a Babe Ruth model. As the most prominent feature on the stadium's exterior, recognizable even to first-time visitors, the bat was often used as a designated meeting spot for fans to meet their ticket holding friends before entering the stadium.
The "Bat" continues to stand outside the Metro North Station, built in 2009. A 450-foot long pedestrian walkway and its staircase meet at the "bat".
" in Section 39, usually led by a man nicknamed Bald Vinny, began chanting the names of every player in the defensive lineup (except the pitcher and catcher, with some rare exceptions), starting with the center fielder. They did not stop chanting the player's name until he acknowledged the Creatures (usually with a wave or a point), who then moved on to the next player. Other names called out during roll call from time to time have included Yankee broadcasters John Sterling
and Michael Kay, or Aaron Boone
, Bucky Dent
, and Babe Ruth when the Yankees hosted the rival Boston Red Sox. Sometimes, after a long rain delay, the Creatures started another Roll Call for comedic effect. Often when a player was replaced in the field, their replacement was also welcomed with a chant. In 2008, center fielder Melky Cabrera
booted a routine grounder while attempting to wave to the fans.
(Boston), Wrigley Field
(Chicago), Sportsman's Park
(St. Louis) and Tiger Stadium (Detroit) have hosted more games. Due to the Yankees' frequent appearances in the World Series
, Yankee Stadium played host to 161 postseason games, more than any other stadium in baseball history. The Stadium hosted 37 of the 83 possible World Series during its existence (not counting 1974-75, and the 1994 strike), with the Yankees winning 26 of them. In total, the venue hosted 100 World Series games.
Sixteen of the seventeen World Series won in the Bronx were clinched at the 1923 Yankee Stadium, nine by the Yankees and seven by their opponents:
Perhaps the most memorable moment in the venue's history came on July 4, 1939, designated as "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day". Gehrig
, forced out of action permanently by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(ALS) and facing his impending death, gave a legendary farewell speech thanking his fans and colleagues for making him "the luckiest man on the face of the earth."
Many memorable and historic games have been played at Yankee Stadium. All three perfect game
s thrown by Yankee pitchers have occurred at the Stadium. Don Larsen
threw a perfect game on October 8, 1956, in the fifth game of the World Series
, while David Wells
and David Cone
threw theirs on May 17, 1998, and July 18, 1999, respectively. No-hitter
s were thrown by Monte Pearson
, Bob Feller
, Allie Reynolds
, Virgil Trucks
, Dave Righetti
, Jim Abbott
, Dwight Gooden
, and a combination of six Houston Astros
pitchers in one game.
The Stadium was the site of a nationally-televised game on August 6, 1979, the same day as the funeral for departed Yankees captain Thurman Munson
. The team attended the funeral in Canton, Ohio
earlier in the day and flew to New York for an emotional game. Bobby Murcer
drove in all five runs for the Yankees, including a "walk-off" two-run single that defeated the Baltimore Orioles
5–4.
Many historic home runs have been hit at Yankee Stadium. Babe Ruth hit the ballpark's first home run on its Opening Day in 1923. Ruth also set the then-league record for most home runs in a single season by hitting his 60th home run in 1927. Roger Maris
would later break this record in 1961 at Yankee Stadium on the final day of the season by hitting his 61st home run. In 1967, Mickey Mantle
slugged his 500th career home run. Chris Chambliss
won the 1976 American League Championship Series
by hitting a "walk-off" home run in which thousands of fans ran onto the field as Chambliss circled the bases. A year later, in the 1977 World Series
, Reggie Jackson hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches in the championship-clinching Game 6. In 1983, the Pine Tar Incident
involving George Brett
occurred; Brett's go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of the game was overturned for his bat having too much pine tar, resulting in him furiously charging out of the dugout. In Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series
, Derek Jeter
hit a fly ball to right-field that was interfered with by fan Jeffrey Maier
but ruled a home run. In Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series
, Aaron Boone
hit an extra-inning "walk-off" home run to send the Yankees to the World Series. On August 6, 2007, Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th home run against the Kansas City Royals at the Stadium.
In , six weeks after the September 11 attacks, Yankee Stadium hosted an emotional three games in the World Series
. For Game 3, President
George W. Bush
hurled the ceremonial first pitch, throwing a strike. In Game 4, Tino Martinez
hit a game-tying home run off Arizona Diamondbacks
closer Byung-Hyun Kim
with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Derek Jeter hit the winning "walk-off" home run in extra innings off of Kim, earning himself the nickname "Mr. November." The following night in Game 5, the Yankees replicated their heroics from the previous night; Scott Brosius
hit a game-tying home run off of Kim with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning en route to a win.
at Yankee Stadium, in concert with the World's Fair being held at Flushing-Meadows
in Queens. Yankees manager Joe McCarthy loaded his American League team with pinstripes: Bill Dickey
(catcher), Joe DiMaggio
(outfield), Joe Gordon (second base), Red Rolfe
(third base), George Selkirk
(outfield), and Red Ruffing
(pitcher) were all in the starting lineup. Reserve players included Frank Crosetti (shortstop), Lou Gehrig
(first base), Lefty Gomez
(pitcher), and Johnny Murphy
(pitcher). The American League won, 3–1, behind a home run by DiMaggio, in front of more than 62,000. This was the second All-Star Game held in New York; the Polo Grounds had hosted the event in 1934.
From 1959 to 1962, Major League Baseball held two All-Star Games each year. On July 13, 1960, Yankee Stadium hosted baseball's second All-Star Game in three days. The National League won both games. In the latter game, Whitey Ford
was the starting pitcher. Yogi Berra
(catcher), Mickey Mantle (outfield), Roger Maris
(outfield), and Bill Skowron (first base) were in the starting lineup; Jim Coates
(pitcher) and Elston Howard
(catcher) were reserves. The National League won the Yankee Stadium game, 6–0, tying a record with four home runs, including one by hometown favorite Willie Mays
. The 38,000 fans who attended the game also saw the Red Sox' Ted Williams
in his final All-Star appearance.
Showcasing its new renovation, Yankee Stadium hosted the All-Star Game on July 19, 1977. With the Yankees defending their 1976 pennant, Billy Martin
managed the American League team on his home field. The National League won its sixth consecutive All-Star Game, 7–5, in front of more than 56,000 fans; the senior circuit's streak would reach 11. Reggie Jackson (outfield) and Willie Randolph
(second base) started for the American League; Sparky Lyle
(pitcher), Thurman Munson
(catcher), and Graig Nettles
(third base) also made the team. Jim Palmer
was the game's starting pitcher because Nolan Ryan
refused to play when Martin asked him.
In honor of its final year of existence, in July 2008, Yankee Stadium hosted 2008 All-Star Game
festivities. The Yankees were represented by Derek Jeter
, Alex Rodriguez
, and Mariano Rivera
. In the Home Run Derby
, Josh Hamilton set a single-round record with 28 home runs in the first round. At one point, he hit 13 straight home runs, many of which landed in the stadium's upper deck and deep into the right field bleachers, spurring the crowd to chant his name. Minnesota Twins
first baseman Justin Morneau
won the competition defeating Hamilton in the final round. The following evening, the American League won the 2008 All-Star Game 4–3 in 15 innings. Michael Young hit the game winning sacrifice fly in the 15th inning off Brad Lidge
. The game was the longest in All-Star Game history by time, lasting 4 hours and 50 minutes, and tied for the longest in history by innings, tied with the 1967 All-Star Game
, and was played in front of 55,632 people. J.D. Drew was named game MVP going 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBI.
, Whitey Ford
, Reggie Jackson
, Bernie Williams
, Paul O'Neill, Willie Randolph
, Roy White
, and Chris Chambliss
took their positions in the playing field as their names were announced by the legendary Bob Sheppard. Julia Ruth Stevens, daughter of Babe Ruth, threw out the ceremonial first pitch in the final game in "The House That Ruth Built."
With Andy Pettitte
as the starting pitcher, the Yankees played their final game at Yankee Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles
, recording the final out at 11:43pm EDT in a 7–3 Yankee victory. Among many lasts to be recorded, a long-time standing question was answered. It was first wondered by Babe Ruth after he hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium on its opening day of April 18, 1923:
That person turned out to be Jose Molina, as he hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning.
Other lasts were Jason Giambi
recording the last hit in Yankee Stadium, driving in Brett Gardner
, who scored the last run in Yankee Stadium. Mariano Rivera made the final pitch in the stadium with Cody Ransom
recording the final out at first base. In the eighth inning, Derek Jeter became the final Yankee to bat in Yankee Stadium.
After the game was over, captain Derek Jeter delivered a speech on the field surrounded by his teammates. In the unplanned speech, Jeter thanked and saluted the fans:
Afterwards, the team circled the stadium on the warning track waving to fans and wishing the stadium goodbye.
Line score
was ruled illegal; Schmeling won by default. In July 1928, Gene Tunney
upheld the heavyweight title against Tom Heeney
at Yankee Stadium, and then retired as champion.
Perhaps the most famous boxing match ever held at Yankee Stadium was on June 22, 1938, when Joe Louis
, an African-American, squared off against Schmeling, a German
. Adolf Hitler
followed the rematch carefully, imploring Schmeling to defeat Louis, whom Hitler publicly berated. This left some with what they perceived as a moral predicament: root for the black fighter, or for the Nazi. Schmeling had defeated Louis in 1936, but in defense of his title, Louis knocked out Schmeling in the first round. This was one of eight championship fights the "Brown Bomber" fought at Yankee Stadium.
On July 1, 1939, Max Baer defeated Lou Nova at Yankee Stadium, in the first televised boxing match in the United States. The event was broadcast by television station W2XBS, forerunner of WNBC-TV. (The World Series was not televised until 1947.) On September 27, 1946, Tony Zale
knocked out New York native Rocky Graziano
for the middleweight crown; it was the first of three bouts between Zale and Graziano.
On June 25, 1952, middleweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson
sought his third title against light-heavyweight champ Joey Maxim at Yankee Stadium. More than 47,000 saw Robinson outfight Maxim but lose due to heat exhaustion in round 14 (due to the weather that topped 104-degrees Fahrenheit
). The referee who declared Maxim the winner was the second that night; the first had left the fight due to heat exhaustion.
After its 1970s renovation, Yankee Stadium hosted only one championship fight. On September 28, 1976, a declining Muhammad Ali
defended his heavyweight crown against Ken Norton
. To that point, Norton was one of only two boxers who had beaten Ali (in 1973); this was their third, and final, meeting. Norton led for most of the fight, but Ali improved in the later rounds to win by unanimous decision.
–Army
game moved to Yankee Stadium, where it remained until 1947. In the 1928 game, with the score 0–0 at halftime, legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne
gave his "win one for the Gipper" speech (with reference to All-American halfback George Gipp
, who died in 1920); Notre Dame went on to defeat Army, 12–6. The 1929 game between the two teams had the highest attendance in the series at 79,408. The 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame football game
at Yankee stadium is regarded as one of the 20th century college football Games of the Century
.
Notre Dame played 24 games at Yankee Stadium, going 15-6-3. Army played 38, compiling a 17–17–4 record (including the best-attended game, on December 1, 1928 when Army lost to Stanford
26–0 before 86,000 fans). New York University
played more games there than any other school, 96, using it as a secondary home field from 1923 to 1948, with a record of 52–40–4. Nearby Fordham University
played 19 games there, going 13–5–1.
Eight college football games were played at Yankee Stadium on Thanksgiving Day
, the first seven by New York University
. Perhaps, the most famous Thanksgiving Day game was the first. Oregon State Agricultural College (now Oregon State University
) was the first West Coast team to travel across the country and play an East Coast team. 8–1 NYU was a 3–1 favorite to beat 5–3 OSAC, but Oregon State upset the hometown favorites 25–13. Will Rogers lamented what the "Oregon apple knockers" had done to his "city slickers" in a column after the game. After the 1928 game, NYU beat Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University
) in 1931 and 1932, defeated Fordham in 1936, lost to Carnegie Tech in 1929, and lost to Fordham in 1934 and 1935. In the eighth game, in 1963, Syracuse University
beat Notre Dame, 14–7. This was a rematch following the teams' controversial 1961 game won by Notre Dame, 17–15.
The Gotham Bowl
was scheduled to premiere at Yankee Stadium in 1960, but was canceled when no opponent could be found for Oregon State University
. The 1961 game was moved to the Polo Grounds
, and when just 6,166 people came to Yankee Stadium for the 1962 game, in which the University of Nebraska defeated the University of Miami
, 36–34, the Gotham Bowl was never played again. The Miami-Nebraska game remains the only college bowl ever played at the stadium.
In 1969, Notre Dame and Army reprised their long series at the Stadium (1925–1946 except 1930) with one final game.
Starting in 1971, the Stadium hosted the Whitney M. Young Urban League Classic, a game between historically black colleges, often featuring Grambling State University
of Louisiana
, coached by Eddie Robinson, the first college coach to win 400 games. The Classic helped to spread the fame of Grambling and other similar schools. Yankee Stadium hosted its final Classic during the 1987 season, also the last time a football game was played there. Grambling lost to Central State University
of Ohio, 37-21.
The Classic has been held at Giants Stadium
in New Jersey
's Meadowlands Sports Complex
ever since, though the Yankees remain a supporter of the event.
, Red Grange
and his agent C.C. Pyle formed the first American Football League and fielded a team called the New York Yankees
based in Yankee Stadium. The league failed after only one year, but the team continued as a member of the NFL for two seasons before ceasing operations. A second New York Yankees
football team, not related to the first, split its home games between Yankee Stadium and Downing Stadium
as it competed in the second AFL in 1936 and 1937. A third AFL New York Yankees
took the field in 1940 and became the New York Americans in 1941.
The New York Yankees
of the All-America Football Conference
(AAFC) played their home games at Yankee Stadium from 1946 to 1949. Following the 1949 season
, the NFL New York Bulldogs acquired many of the players from the 1949 Yankees. Using the name the New York Yanks
they played two seasons at Yankee Stadium, 1950
and 1951
.
The New York Giants
of the NFL
played their home games at Yankee Stadium from 1956
to 1973
. On December 28, 1958, Yankee Stadium hosted the NFL championship game, frequently called "The Greatest Game Ever Played
". The Baltimore Colts
tied the Giants
, 17–17, on a field goal with seven seconds left. Led by quarterback Johnny Unitas
, the Colts won in overtime, 23–17. The game's dramatic ending is often cited as elevating professional football to one of the United States' major sports. Additionally, one of the most notable plays in NFL history occurred at Yankee Stadium on November 20, 1960 when the Philadelphia Eagles
' Chuck Bednarik
forcefully tackled the Giants' Frank Gifford
in the last minute of a close game, forcing a fumble recovered by the Eagles that clinched the victory for Philadelphia and ultimately helped the Eagles dethrone the 2-time defending champion Giants as NFL Eastern Division champions. The hit left Gifford with a concussion and forced his temporary retirement from football for the remainder of the 1960 season and all of the 1961 season.
The Giants played their first two home games at Yankee Stadium in 1973
, concluding their tenancy on September 23 with a 23–23 tie against the Philadelphia Eagles
. In October, they moved to the Yale Bowl
in New Haven
, Connecticut
, for the rest of the season.
defeated New York Yankees
in the first major soccer game to be played at the Stadium on June 28, 1931. In the coming three decades, a number of games between Jewish
Palestinian
teams and American all-stars were played. European club exhibitions first came in 1952, when on June 14, Liverpool
drew 1-1 with Grasshopper-Club Zürich
. The next day, Tottenham Hotspur
thrashed Manchester United
7-1, just a year after United had taken over for Spurs as champions of England
. The following year, on June 8, the English national team
defeated the U.S. national team
6-3, in a rematch of the Miracle on Grass
match at the 1950 World Cup
.
Major international clubs returned to the Stadium in 1966, with Pele's
Santos of Brazil
beating Inter Milan
4-1 on June 5. Beginning around 1967, C.A. Cerro
of Uruguay
played in the United Soccer Association
during the summer months under the title "New York Skyliners
". They played major games against Hibernian F.C.
of Scotland
, renamed "Toronto City
", Cagliari F.C. of Italy
, renamed "Chicago Mustangs
", and Bangu Atlético Clube
of Brazil
, renamed "Houston Stars
". Eventually, the Skyliners gave way as the team calling Yankee Stadium home to the less foreign-influenced New York Generals
of the National Professional Soccer League
, which soon became the North American Soccer League
, or NASL. In 1968, in addition to league competition, the Generals took on Santos, winning 5-3, and Real Madrid
, losing 4-1. That year, Santos also played and beat S.S.C. Napoli
of Italy 4-2 at the Stadium, along with S.L. Benfica of Portugal
, with whom they drew 3-3. The next year, four major international club games were played at the Stadium: Barcelona beat Juventus 3-2 on May 30, Inter Milan beat Sparta Prague 4-0 on June 27, and A.C. Milan
defeated Panathinaikos
4-0 also on June 27. Finally, on June 29, Yankee Stadium hosted its own version of the Derby della Madonnina
, with A.C. Milan defeating Inter 6–4. The latter three games that year were all part of a three-day "United States Cup of Champions."
On September 15, 1968, the U.S. national soccer team
played an international friendly
against the Israel national team
at the Stadium. It was the first game for the U.S. in fifteen months and 10,118 saw Israel and the U.S. draw 3 to 3.
In 1971 and 1976, the New York Cosmos
of the NASL
played their home games at Yankee Stadium. During the 1971 season, they also hosted Hearts
from Scotland, and Apollon Kalamarias of Greece
. In 1976 the team's star attraction was Pelé
. The Brazil native, known as "The King of Football," was considered the best player in the world. Also that year, in Yankee Stadium's final international match on May 28, England
defeated Italy
3–2 as part of the Bicentennial Cup Tournament
. Finally, on August 10, 1976, the last ever soccer game was played at Yankee Stadium, with the Cosmos thrashing the Miami Toros
8-2. The Cosmos moved to Giants Stadium
for the 1977 season.
. The first convention attracted 253,922 people, more in a single day than any other stadium event up to that time. These conventions would continue on until the late 1980s. When room ran out in the stands, the ladies were asked to remove their heels, and people were brought in to sit in the outfield. There was also a makeshift camp nearby where the program was broadcast for hundreds others to listen to.
On July 20, 1957, evangelist Billy Graham
attracted a crowd of 100,000 to a televised "crusade
" at Yankee Stadium. A New York Times article of the following day described the turnout as "the largest crowd in stadium history" to that time.
Cardinal Francis Spellman (1957), Pope Paul VI
(1965), Pope John Paul II
(1969 as a cardinal, 1979 as pope), and Pope Benedict XVI
(2008) all celebrated Mass
at the ballpark, along with numerous clergy and lay Catholics. On June 21, 1990, a rally was held at Yankee Stadium for Nelson Mandela
upon his release from prison. On September 23, 2001, Yankee Stadium hosted a memorial service for victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.
The first concert ever held there was an ensemble R&B show on June 21, 1969, put together by the Isley Brothers
; the first rock concert held at the stadium was on June 22, 1990, by Billy Joel
. It was also the site of two dates of U2
's Zoo TV Tour
in 1992. During one song, Bono
paid tribute to the show's setting with the line "I dreamed I saw Joe DiMaggio
/Dancing with Marilyn Monroe
". Pink Floyd
also performed two sold-out shows at this venue on their final North American tour in 1994 in support of their album The Division Bell
.
On March 10, 2006, Yankee Stadium saw its first and only wedding at home plate. Blind sportswriter Ed Lucas
, who has been a member of the Yankee family for over 40 years, got special permission from the Yankees, the City of New York, and Major League Baseball to exchange vows with his fiancée, Allison Pfieffle, on the same spot where Lou Gehrig made his famous farewell speech, among the many notable events. Over 400 people, including present and former members of the Yankee family were in attendance to see the happy couple united, and the ceremony was broadcast on ESPN
, the YES Network, NBC
's Today Show and other national media outlets.
National Hockey League (NHL)
executives inquired about the possibility of using Yankee Stadium for an outdoor ice hockey
match featuring the New York Rangers
in the 2008-2009 season after the successful reception of both the 2003 Heritage Classic and the 2008 NHL Winter Classic outdoor games. If approved, it would have been the final sporting event at the current stadium. The NHL, however, decided to hold the second Winter Classic
in Chicago, at Wrigley Field
.
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
from 1923
1923 in baseball
-Champions:*World Series: New York Yankees over New York Giants -Awards and honors:*League Award**Babe Ruth, New York Yankees, OF-Statistical leaders:-American League final standings:-National League final standings:...
to 1973
1973 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Oakland Athletics over New York Mets ; Reggie Jackson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 24 at Royals Stadium: National League, 7–1; Bobby Bonds, MVP-Other champions:...
and from 1976
1976 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over New York Yankees ; Johnny Bench, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Veterans Stadium: National League, 7-1; George Foster, MVP-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Naranjeros de Hermosillo...
to 2008
2008 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:* Regular Season Champions* World Series Champions – Philadelphia Phillies** American League Champions – Tampa Bay Rays** National League Champions – Philadelphia Phillies* Postseason – October 1 to October 29...
. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team. The stadium's nickname, "The House That Ruth Built", is derived from Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
, the iconic baseball superstar whose prime years coincided with the stadium's opening and the beginning of the Yankees' winning history.
The venue was constructed for $2.4 million dollars (equal to $ today) between 1922–1923 specifically for the Yankees, who had been sharing the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
with the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
baseball team for 10 years. Yankee Stadium opened in 1923, and at the time, it was hailed as a one-of-a-kind facility in the country for its size. Over the course of its history, it became one of the most famous venues in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, having hosted a variety of events and historic moments during its existence. While many of these moments were baseball-related—including World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
games, no-hitters, perfect games, and historic home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s—the stadium also hosted boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
matches, concerts, and three Papal
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
Masses. The stadium went through many alterations and playing surface configurations over the years. The condition of the facility worsened in the 1960s and 1970s, prompting its closing for renovation from 1974–1975. The renovation significantly altered the appearance of the venue and reduced the distance of the outfield fences.
In 2006
2006 in baseball
-Headline Event of the Year:*The 2006 World Baseball Classic final 4 teams are Japan, Cuba, Korea and the Dominican Republic, with the United States at 3–3 failing to qualify for the semi-finals. Under the leadership of manager Sadaharu Oh and veterans Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japan ...
, the Yankees began building a new $2.3 billion stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
in public parkland adjacent to the stadium. Many of the iconic features of the original stadium, such as the frieze and Monument Park
Monument Park (Yankee Stadium)
Monument Park is an open-air museum located at the new Yankee Stadium containing a collection of monuments, plaques, and retired numbers honoring distinguished members of the New York Yankees....
, were incorporated into the design of the new venue. Yankee Stadium closed following the 2008 baseball season, and the new stadium opened in 2009, adopting the "Yankee Stadium" moniker. The original facility was not demolished until 2010, nearly two years after it closed. It is being converted into parkland. The name of the park is Heritage Field.
Planning and construction
The Yankees had played at the Polo GroundsPolo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
in northern Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
since 1913, sharing the venue with the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
. However, relations between the two teams were rocky, with the Giants harboring resentment towards the Yankees. For the season, the Yankees acquired star slugger Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
and in his first year with his new team, the Yankees drew 1.3 million fans to the Polo Grounds, outdrawing the Giants. In , the Yankees won their first American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
pennant
Pennant (sports)
A pennant is a commemorative flag typically used to show support for a particular athletic team. Pennants have been historically used in all types of athletic levels: high school, collegiate, professional etc. Traditionally, pennants were made of felt and fashioned in the official colors of a...
(but lost the then-best-of-nine 1921 World Series
1921 World Series
In the 1921 World Series, the New York Giants beat the New York Yankees five games to three. This was the last of the experimental best-five-of-nine series....
to the Giants in eight games, all played at the Polo Grounds). This exacerbated Giants owner Charles Stoneham
Charles Stoneham
Charles A. Stoneham was the owner of the New York Giants baseball team, New York Giants soccer team, the center of numerous corruption scandals and the instigator of the "Soccer Wars" which destroyed the American Soccer League.-Business ventures:Stoneham began his career as a board boy, updating...
's resentment of the Yankees and precipitated his insistence that the Yankees find another place to play their home games. The Giants derisively suggested that the Yankees relocate "to Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
or some other out-of-the-way place."
Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston
Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston
Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston , popularly known as Cap Huston, was co-owner of the Major League Baseball team that became the New York Yankees with Jacob Ruppert from 1915 to 1922. They had purchased the club from Frank J. Farrell and William S. Devery...
and Jacob Ruppert
Jacob Ruppert
Jacob Ruppert, Jr. , sometimes referred to as Jake Ruppert, was a National Guard colonel; a U.S. Representative from New York; and brewery owner, who went on to own the New York Yankees...
, the Yankees' owners since January 1915
1915 in baseball
-Champions:*World Series: Boston Red Sox over Philadelphia Phillies Inter-league playoff: Boston declined challenge by Chicago Inter-league playoff: Philadelphia declined challenge by Chicago -Statistical leaders:...
, decided to proceed with building their team its own stadium. They did so at considerable financial risk and speculation. Baseball teams typically played in 30,000-seat facilities, but Huston and Ruppert invoked Ruth's name when asked how the Yankees could justify a ballpark with 60,000 seats. The doubt over the Yankees' lasting power was amplified by baseball's sagging popularity after the 1919
1919 in baseball
-Headline Event of the Year:Chicago White Sox players accused of throwing World Series, resulting in the Black Sox scandal.-Champions:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Chicago White Sox -MLB statistical leaders:-Headline Event of the Year:...
Black Sox Scandal
Black Sox Scandal
The Black Sox Scandal took place around and during the play of the American baseball 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series...
, in which eight Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
players were expelled for conspiring with gamblers to fix that year's World Series
1919 World Series
The 1919 World Series matched the American League champion Chicago White Sox against the National League champion Cincinnati Reds. Although most World Series have been of the best-of-seven format, the 1919 World Series was a best-of-nine series...
. Many people also felt three baseball teams could not prosper in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but Huston and Ruppert were confident the Yankees could outlast the more established Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
(which proved true, as both would eventually relocate to California following the 1957 season). Huston and Ruppert would end up footing the bill for construction of the $2.5 million stadium.
Huston and Ruppert explored many areas for Yankee Stadium. Of the other sites being considered, the Hebrew Orphan Asylum
Hebrew Orphan Asylum of New York
The Hebrew Orphan Asylum of New York was a Jewish orphanage in New York City. It was founded in 1860 by the Hebrew Benevolent Society. It closed in 1941, after pedagogical research concluded that children thrive better in foster care or small group homes, rather than in large institutions...
, at Amsterdam Avenue between 136th and 138th streets in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, nearly became reality. Consideration was also given to building atop railroad tracks on the West Side of Manhattan (an idea revived in 1998) and to Long Island City, in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
. The area Huston and Ruppert settled on was a 10 acres (4 ha) lumberyard in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
within walking distance from, and in sight of, Coogan's Bluff
Coogan's Bluff
Coogan's Bluff is the name of a promontory located in upper Manhattan in New York City, starting at 155th Street. Rising abruptly from the Harlem River, it is colloquially regarded as the boundary between the neighborhoods of Harlem and Washington Heights....
. The Polo Grounds was located on the Manhattan side of the Harlem River
Harlem River
The Harlem River is a navigable tidal strait in New York City, USA that flows 8 miles between the Hudson River and the East River, separating the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx...
, at 155th Street and Eighth Avenue. Huston and Ruppert purchased the lumberyard from William Waldorf Astor for $600,000, equal to $ today. Construction began May 5, 1922, and Yankee Stadium opened to the public less than a year later. The stadium's walls were built of "an extremely hard and durable concrete that was developed by Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
", with total of 20,000 cubic yards (26,000 cubic meters) of concrete used in the original structure.
1923-1973
Yankee Stadium officially opened on Wednesday, April 18, 1923, with the Yankees' first home game. According to the New York Evening Telegram, "everything smelled of ... fresh paint, fresh plaster and fresh grass." At 3 p.m., the composer-conductor John Philip SousaJohn Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known particularly for American military and patriotic marches. Because of his mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King" or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J....
led the Seventh ("Silk-Stocking") Regiment Band in playing The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
. After a parade of the players and dignitaries, Babe Ruth was presented with a case containing a symbolically big bat. New York Governor Al Smith
Al Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928...
(who would become the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
's candidate for president in 1928) then threw out the first pitch directly into the glove of catcher Wally Schang
Wally Schang
Walter Henry Schang was a catcher in Major League Baseball. From 1913 through 1931, he played for the Philadelphia Athletics , Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees , St. Louis Browns and Detroit Tigers . Schang was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed...
rather than the customary couple of feet wide. The Yankees went on to defeat Ruth's former team, the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, by a score of 4–1, with Ruth hitting a three-run home run into the right-field stands. Asked later for his opinion of the stadium, he replied, "Some ball yard."
Upon opening, Fred Lieb
Fred Lieb
Frederick Lieb was an American sportswriter and baseball historian. He and his wife Mary were especially close to Lou Gehrig. Walter Brennan's character in the movie The Pride of the Yankees was loosely based on him...
of the New York Evening Telegram dubbed it "The House That Ruth Built". The Yankees also won their first World Series
1923 World Series
In the 1923 World Series, the New York Yankees beat the New York Giants in six games. This would be the first of the Yankees' 27 World Series championships...
during the Stadium's inaugural season
1923 in baseball
-Champions:*World Series: New York Yankees over New York Giants -Awards and honors:*League Award**Babe Ruth, New York Yankees, OF-Statistical leaders:-American League final standings:-National League final standings:...
. Future Yankee manager Casey Stengel
Casey Stengel
Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel , nicknamed "The Old Perfessor", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in ....
hit the first post-season homerun in stadium history while playing with the opposing New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
. The only other team to do so prior to the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals in (the new) Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium
Busch Stadium is the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, of MLB...
had been the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, who won the 1909 World Series
1909 World Series
The 1909 World Series featured the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Detroit Tigers. The Pirates won the Series in seven games to capture their first championship of the modern Major League Baseball era and the second championship in the club's history....
in Forbes Field
Forbes Field
Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to 1971. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League franchise...
's inaugural season; and the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, who won the 1912 World Series
1912 World Series
In the 1912 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Giants four games to three .This dramatic series showcased great pitching from Giant Christy Mathewson and from Boston fireballer Smoky Joe Wood. Wood won two of his three starts and pitched in relief in the final game...
in Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
's first year. The Yankees accomplished this feat yet again in the New Yankee Stadium in the 2009 World Series
2009 World Series
The 2009 World Series was the 105th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series. The best-of-seven playoff was contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National League and defending World Series champions, and the New York Yankees, champions of the American League...
.
The Stadium was the first facility in North America with three tiers, although the triple deck originally extended only to the left and right field corners. The concrete lower deck extended well into left field, with the obvious intention of extending the upper deck over it, which was accomplished during the 1926-1927 off-season. As originally built, the stadium seated 58,000. For the stadium's first game, the announced attendance was 74,217 (with another 25,000 turned away); however, Yankees business manager Ed Barrow
Ed Barrow
Edward Grant Barrow was an American manager and executive in Major League Baseball, primarily with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox...
later admitted that this number was likely heavily overestimated. Regardless of what the figure was, it was undoubtedly more than the 42,000 fans who attended game five of the 1916 World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
at Braves Field
Braves Field
Braves Field was a baseball park that formerly stood on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts. The stadium was home to the Boston Braves National League franchise from 1915–1952, when the team moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
, baseball's previous attendance record. However, during the 1920s and 1930s, the Yankees' popularity was such that crowds in excess of 80,000 were not uncommon. It was referred to as "the Yankee stadium" (with the "s" in "stadium" sometimes lowercase) until the 1950s.
Yankee Stadium underwent more extensive renovations from 1936
1936 Major League Baseball season
-Statistical leaders:-External links:*...
through 1938
1938 Major League Baseball season
-Statistical leaders:-External links:*...
. The wooden bleachers were replaced with concrete, shrinking the "death valley" area of left and center substantially, although the area was still much deeper than in most ballparks; and the second and third decks were extended to short right center. Runways were left between the bleachers and the triple-deck on each end, serving as bullpens. By 1938, the Stadium had assumed the "classic" shape that it would retain for the next 35 years. In April 1945, Yankees president Larry MacPhail
Larry MacPhail
Leland Stanford "Larry" MacPhail, Sr. was an American lawyer, and an executive and innovator in Major League Baseball.-Biography:...
announced that after the War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Yankees would install an additional tier of bleachers to increase stadium capacity to 100,000. In addition to the bleachers, he also planned to add 2,000 additional box-seats by lowering the field and shortening the distance from the backstop to home-plate from 82 feet (25 m) to 60 feet (18.3 m). However, the plans were tabled and the expansion did not take place.
Many sources incorrectly state that prior to the 1955 season, Yankee Stadium's Ballantine Beer scoreboard was sold to the Phillies for use in Shibe Park. Although the two scoreboards possessed some superficial resemblances, they differed in many details, and the Yankee Stadium scoreboard remained at Yankee Stadium until 1959 when it was replaced, two years after a different Ballantine scoreboard was installed at Shibe.
In 1962, Rice University Alumnus John Cox '27 gave Yankee Stadium to Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
. In 1971 the city of New York forced (via eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
) Rice to sell the stadium for a mere $2.5 million. In the 1966–1967 offseason, during the period in which Rice owned the stadium, the concrete exterior was painted white, and the interior was painted blue. The metal frieze circling the upper deck was painted white.
By the late 1960s, Yankee Stadium's condition had badly deteriorated, and the surrounding neighborhood had gone downhill as well. In 1971
1971 Major League Baseball season
The 1971 Major League Baseball season was also the final season for the Senators in Washington, D.C., before the team's relocation to the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb Arlington for the following season, as the Texas Rangers, leaving the Nation's capital without a baseball team of their own until...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, which owned the Yankees at the time, proposed extensive renovations to Yankee Stadium. However, this would have required the Yankees to play their home games at Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
in Queens, the regular home of the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
. The Mets, as Shea's primary tenants, resisted the proposal, effectively delaying renovation. CBS then gave serious thought to building a stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeast New Jersey in the United States. The Meadowlands are known for being the site of large landfills and decades of...
before selling the Yankees to George Steinbrenner
George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series...
in 1972 for $10 million.
Finally, in mid-1972, Mayor
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
John Lindsay
John Lindsay
John Vliet Lindsay was an American politician, lawyer and broadcaster who was a U.S. Congressman, Mayor of New York City, candidate for U.S...
stepped in and announced the city would buy Yankee Stadium for $24 million (equal to $ today) and lease it back to the Yankees. As the city already owned Shea Stadium, the Mets were ultimately unable to prevent the Yankees from sharing their venue. Yankee Stadium closed on September 30, 1973 for the two-year facelift.
1974–75 renovations and beyond
While Yankee Stadium was being renovated, the Yankees played the 1974 and 1975 seasons in Shea StadiumShea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
, sharing the venue with the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
.
Since the renovation significantly altered the appearance of the ballpark, some consider the rebuilt Yankee Stadium a different facility from the pre-renovation stadium. For example, the ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
Sports Almanac considers the renovated stadium to be "Yankee Stadium II," and the pre-renovated facility to be "Yankee Stadium I". Other books, such as Green Cathedrals, make no such distinction. Among the more noticeable differences resulting from the renovation was the removal of the 118 columns reinforcing each tier of the Stadium's grandstand. The Stadium's roof, including its distinctive 15 feet (4.6 m) metal frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
, was replaced by the new upper shell and new lights were added. A white painted concrete replica of the frieze was added atop the wall encircling the bleachers. The playing field was lowered by about seven feet and moved outward slightly.
The original wooden stadium seats were replaced with wider plastic ones, and the upper deck expanded upward nine rows, excluding the walkway. A new upper concourse was built above the old and original concourse exits were closed in by new seating. A new loge middle tier was built featuring a larger press box and 16 luxury boxes at the expense of general seating. Roughly 1/3 of the bleacher seats were eliminated, their middle section converted to a blacked-out batter's eye
Batter's eye
The batter's eye or batter's eye screen is a solid-colored, usually dark area beyond the center field wall of a baseball stadium, that is the visual backdrop directly in the line of sight of a baseball batter, while facing the pitcher and awaiting a pitch. This dark surface allows the batter to see...
. A wall was built behind the bleachers blocking the views from Gerard Avenue and the elevated subway platform above River Avenue. On this wall, the Yankees erected the first instant replay
Instant replay
Instant replay is the replaying of video footage of an event or incident very soon after it has occurred. In television broadcasting of sports events, instant replay is often used during live broadcast, to show a passage of play which was important or remarkable, or which was unclear on first...
display in baseball, referred to in literature as a "telescreen". All told, the Stadium was reduced to a listed capacity of 57,545.
Monument Park (Yankee Stadium)
Monument Park is an open-air museum located at the new Yankee Stadium containing a collection of monuments, plaques, and retired numbers honoring distinguished members of the New York Yankees....
and deep center reduced by over 40 feet (12.2 m). The cost of the 1970s renovations, $160 million (equal to $ today), was originally borne by New York City and is now being paid off by New York State.
The Stadium reopened on April 15, 1976. More than 54,000 fans saw the Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 11–4, and the "new Stadium" hosted its first playoff
1976 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 9, 1976 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, MissouriThe opener was played on a bright Saturday afternoon at Royals Stadium and pitted Yankee ace Jim “Catfish” Hunter against left-hander and ex-Yankee Larry Gura. The Yankees got off to a quick start scoring two in the first...
and World Series
1976 World Series
The 1976 World Series matched the defending champion Cincinnati Reds of the National League against the New York Yankees of the American League, with the Reds sweeping the Series to repeat. The Reds became the only team to sweep an entire multi-tier postseason. The Reds are also the last National...
games that October. In 1985, the left field fence was moved in, and the stadium assumed its final dimensions in 1988.
In April 1998, during the stadium's 75th anniversary, a 500 lb (226.8 kg). piece of concrete beam spall
Spall
Spall are flakes of a material that are broken off a larger solid body and can be produced by a variety of mechanisms, including as a result of projectile impact, corrosion, weathering, cavitation, or excessive rolling pressure...
ed and destroyed one seat along the third-base line, resulting in the scheduled game being moved to Shea Stadium. A two-week inspection followed before the park was certified safe to reopen.
Replacement, closing, and demolition
After years of speculation that the Yankees would build a new ballpark to replace Yankee Stadium, construction on a new facility began on August 16, 2006 with a groundbreaking ceremony across the street in Macombs Dam ParkMacombs Dam Park
Macombs Dam Park is a park in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The park is situated in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, between Jerome Avenue and the Major Deegan Expressway, near the Harlem River and the Macombs Dam Bridge. The park is administered and maintained by the New York City...
, the site of the new stadium. This all but sealed the fate of Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees played their final two seasons in the stadium in 2007 and 2008 while the new venue was being built.
After the final game in the Stadium's history was played on September 21, 2008, public tours of Yankee Stadium continued until November 23, 2008. November 9, 2008 was the last day the public tours included Monument Park and the retired number area. On November 12, 2008 construction workers began removing memorials from Monument Park for relocation to the new facility. On November 8, 2008 former Yankees Scott Brosius
Scott Brosius
Scott David Brosius is a former Major League Baseball third baseman for the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees . Brosius is currently the head baseball coach at Linfield College, his alma mater....
, Paul O'Neill, David Cone
David Cone
David Brian Cone is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. During a 17-year baseball career, he pitched from 1986-2003 for six different teams. Cone pitched the sixteenth perfect game in baseball history. He also set the MLB record for most years between 20-win seasons. He was a member of five...
and Jeff Nelson, all members of the 1998 World Series championship team
1998 World Series
The 1998 World Series, the 94th edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, matched the New York Yankees against the San Diego Padres . The Yankees swept the Series in four games to capture their second championship in three years, and their 24th overall...
, joined 60 children from two Bronx based youth groups Youth Force 2020 and the ACE Mentor Program in ceremoniously digging up home plate
Home Plate
Home Plate is the fifth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1975 .-Track listing:#"What Do You Want the Boy to Do?" – 3:19#"Good Enough" – 2:56#"Run Like a Thief" – 3:02...
, the pitcher's mound pitching plate (rubber) and the surrounding dirt of both areas and transporting them to comparable areas of new Yankee Stadium.
An official closing ceremony was reportedly discussed to occur in November 2008, but was scrapped when the organization decided the final event should be a baseball game. Yankee officials said that while the team had contemplated a final ceremony (with any proceeds going to charity), talk of a concert was just media speculation.
The front office staff vacated the premises on January 23, 2009. Demolition began in March 2009 with the removal of the playing field. On May 13, 2009, the process of removing seats began and was completed on June 8. On September 3 and 4, the iconic white facade was dismantled.
On November 4, 2009, construction workers began tearing down the outfield bleachers, marking the first major structural demolition of the old ballpark. On November 12, demolition work began on the field level grandstand. By the end of November, most of the grandstand and bleachers at field level were gone. By the first week of December, demolition of the midlevel loge seats had begun. By January 2010, the loge level was gone and demolition began on the left field escalator bank adjacent to Gate 2. In February 2010, demolition work began on the upper deck and the outfield wall; the final part of the outfield wall (the Continental Airlines ad, the out-of-town scoreboard, and the remaining part of the advertising panel to its right) was taken down February 24, 2010. By March 25, the entire upper deck was taken down.
Following an unsuccessful attempt to save Gate 2 (the only portion of the original Yankee Stadium that mostly remained unaltered after the venue's renovation), demolition of the outer walls of the stadium began on March 29.
Demolition of the original Yankee Stadium was completed on May 13, 2010. A 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) park complex called Heritage Field will be constructed on the old stadium site, accounting for 40 percent of the original parkland that is now occupied by the new Stadium. The groundbreaking ceremony for Heritage Field took place on June 29, 2010.
Design
Yankee Stadium was the first three-tiered sports facility in the United States and one of the first baseball parks to be given the lasting title of stadiumStadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
. Baseball teams typically played in a park or a field. The word stadium deliberately evoked ancient Greece, where a stade was a unit of measure—the length of a footrace; the buildings that housed these footraces were called stadia. Yankee Stadium was one of the first to be deliberately designed as a multi-purpose facility. The field was initially surrounded by a (misshapen) 0.25 mile (0.402335 km) running track, which effectively also served as a warning track
Warning track
A warning track is the term for the part of the baseball field that is closest to the wall or fence and is typically made of dirt, instead of grass or artificial turf like most of the field. It runs parallel to the ballpark's wall and looks like a running track...
for outfielders, a feature now standard on all major league fields. The left and right field bleacher sections were laid out roughly at a right angle, and to the third base stands, to be properly positioned for both track-and-field events and football. The large electronic scoreboard in right-center field, featuring both teams' lineups and scores of other baseball games, was the first of its kind.
As Yankee Stadium owed its creation largely to Ruth, its design partially accommodated the game's left-handed-hitting slugger. Initially the fence was 295 feet (89.9 m) from home plate down the right-field line, referred to as the "short porch", and 350 feet (106.7 m) to near right field, compared with 490 feet (149.4 m) to the deepest part of center field, nicknamed Death Valley. The right-field bleachers were appropriately nicknamed "Ruthville." Although the right field fences were eventually pushed back after the 1974-1975 renovations, they were still relatively close to home plate and retained the "short porch" moniker. A little-known fact about the stadium; the field level was actually several feet below sea level.
Monument Park
Monument Park was an open-air museum that contained the Yankees' retired numbers, as well as a collection of monuments and plaques honoring distinguished members of the New York Yankees. It was located beyond the left-center field fences, near the bullpens.The origins of Monument Park can be traced to the original three monuments of Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
, Miller Huggins
Miller Huggins
Miller James Huggins , nicknamed "Mighty Mite", was a baseball player and manager. He managed the powerhouse New York Yankee teams of the 1920s and won six American League pennants and three World Series championships....
, and Babe Ruth that once used to stand in-play in center field. Over the years, the Yankees continued to honor players and personnel with additional monuments and plaques. After the 1974–1975 renovations of Yankee Stadium, the monuments and plaques were moved behind the outfield fences to "Monument Park." A visual collection of retired numbers was soon added to this location. Monument Park remained there until the stadium's closing in 2008; after the new Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
opened, the retired numbers, plaques, and monuments were moved into a new Monument Park in the new ballpark.
The Facade
One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Yankee Stadium was the "facade", a white frieze that ran along the bleacher billboards and scoreboard.The facade was an addition made by Osborn Engineering
Osborn Engineering
Osborn Engineering, is an architectural and engineering firm based in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1892, it is noted mostly for designing sports stadiums...
, when the owners of the Yankees asked that the stadium be given "an air of dignity." It originally ran around the roof of the grandstand's upper deck. This original facade was made of copper, and over the course of time, developed a patina
Patina
Patina is a tarnish that forms on the surface of bronze and similar metals ; a sheen on wooden furniture produced by age, wear, and polishing; or any such acquired change of a surface through age and exposure...
(just like the Statue of Liberty). It was painted white in the mid-1960s.
When the stadium was renovated in the 1970s, 10 rows were added to the top of upper deck, and the support columns were removed. The original roof had to be removed; the facade was removed and sold as scrap. A smaller, concrete version was erected above the scoreboards and billboards behind the bleachers. In the new stadium
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
, the facade was replicated in its original position along the roof of the upper deck, although now constructed of steel painted white. It does not cantilever out over the upper deck as much as the original did.
The iconic facade is employed in graphics for the YES Network
YES Network
The Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network is a New York City-based, regional cable television channel; it broadcasts a variety of sports events, with an emphasis on New York Yankees baseball games, and New Jersey Nets basketball games. YES made its debut on March 19, 2002...
and was incorporated into the logo for the 2008 All-Star Game
2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 79th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York, home of the New York Yankees, on...
held at the Stadium.
The term "facade" is actually a misnomer. The scalloped arches are actually a frieze, and it was originally known as such. It is unknown when or where the term "facade" came into use, but it has become the more common name, used by fans, broadcasters, and personnel. With the move to the new stadium, the organization has made a move to return to the term "frieze", exclusively using it in public statements and literature.
Outfield dimensions
In its existence, Yankee Stadium changed its dimensions several times. Many photographs taken throughout the stadium's history are used as references, as the Yankees were among the first to post distance markers on the outfield walls.The 415 sign, and its 367 counterpart in right field, were both covered by auxiliary scoreboards during the 1949 season. Those boards displayed the current game inning-by-inning along with runs-hits-errors. When the stadium reopened in 1976, the distance in straight-away center field was 417 feet (127.1 m). The deepest part of the outfield was in left center at 430 feet (131.1 m). The most recent field dimensions were reached primarily by moving the Yankee bullpen to left-center from right and making a few other changes so as to bring the left-center field wall in. The 1973-era left-center field wall locations could still be seen in 1976, as this is where the outfield bleacher seats began.
The following is a partial list of the stadium's dimensions throughout the years:
| Year | Left Field Line |
Straightaway Left Field |
Left Center | Straightaway Center Field |
Right Center | Straightaway Right Field |
Right Field Line |
Backstop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | 285 ft (86.9 m) | 395 ft. | 460 ft (140.2 m) | 520 ft (158.5 m) | 425 ft. | 350 ft (106.7 m) | 295 ft (89.9 m) | 82 ft. |
| 1937 | 301 ft (91.7 m) | 402 ft/ 415 ft (126.5 m). |
457 ft (139.3 m) | 461 ft (140.5 m) | 407 ft. | 367 ft/ 344 ft (104.9 m). |
296 ft (90.2 m) | 82 ft. |
| 1976 | 312 ft (95.1 m) | 387 ft. | 430 ft (131.1 m) | 417 ft (127.1 m) | 385 ft. | 353 ft (107.6 m) | 310 ft (94.5 m) | 84 ft. |
| 1985 | 312 ft (95.1 m) | 379 ft. | 411 ft (125.3 m) | 410 ft (125 m) | 385 ft. | 353 ft (107.6 m) | 310 ft (94.5 m) | 84 ft. |
| 1988 | 318 ft (96.9 m) | 379 ft. | 399 ft (121.6 m) | 408 ft (124.4 m) | 385 ft. | 353 ft (107.6 m) | 314 ft (95.7 m) | 82 ft. |
After a mid-1960s remodeling, the 461 marker was replaced by a 463 marker slightly farther to the left of the pair of double doors, and a 433 marker was added between the 463 and 407 markers ostensibly to represent true straightaway center field (being roughly at the midpoint of the batter's-eye screen).
Bob Sheppard
From 1951 through 2007, Bob SheppardBob Sheppard
Robert Leo "Bob" Sheppard was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the MLB New York Yankees , and the NFL New York Giants .Sheppard announced more than 4,500 Yankees baseball games over a period of 56 years,...
was the public address announcer at Yankee Stadium. His distinctive voice (Yankee legend Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...
has called him "the Voice of God"), and the way he announced players for over half a century made him a part of the lore of the stadium and the team. Before a player's first at-bat of the game, Sheppard announced his position, his uniform number, his name, and his number again. Example: "Now batting for the Yankees, the shortstop, number 2, Derek Jeter, Number 2." For each following at-bat, Sheppard announced just the position and name: "The shortstop, Derek Jeter." Due to health reasons, the 97-year-old Sheppard announced his last game on September 5, 2007. He did sign a new two-year contract with the Yankees in March 2008 but lacked the strength necessary to do the job and missed the entire 2008 season, including the 2008 All-Star Game
2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 79th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York, home of the New York Yankees, on...
, which was played at Yankee Stadium. He could not announce the final game at the old stadium in September 2008, but recorded a video address that was played during the pregame ceremonies and also recorded the lineups for the game. He officially announced his retirement before the 2009 season. Sheppard died in July 2010.
Hammond Organ
The Hammond OrganHammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
was installed at Yankee Stadium in 1967
1967 Major League Baseball season
The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Boston Red Sox four games to three in the 64th World Series, which was the first World Series appearance for the Red Sox in 21 years. Following the season, the Kansas City Athletics relocated to Oakland.-Awards and honors:...
, and was primarily played by Eddie Layton
Eddie Layton
Edward M. "Eddie" Layton played the organ at old Yankee Stadium for 31 seasons, earning him membership in the New York Sports Hall of Fame.-Career:...
from its introduction until his retirement after the 2003
2003 Major League Baseball season
*World Series MVP: Josh Beckett**American League Championship Series MVP: Mariano Rivera**National League Championship Series MVP: Iván Rodríguez*All-Star Game, July 15 at U.S...
season. The playing of the organ has added to the character of the stadium for many years, playing before games, introducing players, during the national anthem and the rendition of "Take me out to the ball game
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song. The song is traditionally sung during the seventh-inning stretch of...
" during the seventh inning stretch. After Layton's retirement, he got to pick his replacement, Paul Cartier. In recent years, the use of the organ has been decreased in place of recorded music between innings and introducing players. Since the 2004
2004 Major League Baseball season
* Playoff MVPs** Manny Ramírez ** David Ortiz ** Albert Pujols * All-Star Game, July 13 at Minute Maid Park: American League, 9-4; Alfonso Soriano, MVP-References:* *...
season, the national anthem has rarely been performed by the organists, opting for military recordings of the Star Spangled Banner. In 2005
2005 Major League Baseball season
Click on any series score to link to that series' page.Higher seed had home field advantage during Division Series and League Championship Series.The American League champion had home field advantage during the World Series as a result of the AL victory in the 2005 All-Star...
, a new Hammond Elegante was installed replacing the original Hammond Colonnade.
Music
One of the most famous traditions for Yankee Stadium was playing Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
's version of the "Theme from New York, New York
Theme from New York, New York
"Theme from New York, New York" is the theme song from the Martin Scorsese film New York, New York , composed by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb. It was written for and performed in the film by Liza Minnelli...
" over the loudspeakers after a victory following a home game. In past seasons, Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
's version has been occasionally played after a loss.
After the September 11 attacks, all American Major League Baseball stadiums started playing God Bless America
God Bless America
"God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin in 1918 and revised by him in 1938. The later version has notably been recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song ....
during the seventh-inning stretch
Seventh-inning stretch
The seventh-inning stretch is a tradition in baseball that takes place between the halves of the seventh inning of any game – in the middle of the seventh inning. Fans generally stand up and stretch out their arms and legs and sometimes walk around. It is a popular time to get a late-game snack as...
for the remainder of the 2001 season. Many teams ceased this practice the following season, although it has continued in post-season events at many cities and become a tradition at Yankee Stadium alongside Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Usually, a recording of the song by Kate Smith
Kate Smith
Kathryn Elizabeth "Kate" Smith was an American Popular singer, best known for her rendition of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America". Smith had a radio, television, and recording career spanning five decades, which reached its pinnacle in the 1940s.Smith was born in Greenville, Virginia...
is played, although sometimes there is a live performance by Irish tenor Ronan Tynan
Ronan Tynan
Ronan Tynan is a singer in the classical Irish style. He is most famous for his renditions of "God Bless America" at Yankee Stadium during important New York Yankees games, such as Opening Day, nationally-televised games, the last game at the old Yankee Stadium, and playoff games...
. For part of the 2005 season, the Yankees used a recording of Tynan, but the Kate Smith version was reinstated due to fan complaints about the long duration of the Tynan version. For the final game at Yankee Stadium, Tynan performed "God Bless America" live, including the rarely-heard introduction to the song.
When the Yankees scored a run, a version of the Westminster chime played as the last player to score in the at-bat gets to home plate. The version of the chime is the beginning of "Workaholic" by the music group 2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited
2 Unlimited is a Dutch Eurodance/Hi-NRG act formed in 1991. The project was the brainchild of Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde, and was fronted by a Dutch duo, rapper Ray Slijngaard and singer Anita Doth. During five years of enormous worldwide popularity, the act scored 16 chart...
.
Since , the Yankees' World Series championship has been celebrated with the playing of Queen's "We Are The Champions" followed by Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York."
Meeting at "the bat"
Outside the stadium's main entrance gate, stands a 138 feet (42.1 m) tall exhaust pipe in the shape of a baseball bat, complete with tape at the handle that frays off at the end. It is sponsored by Hillerich & BradsbyHillerich & Bradsby
Hillerich & Bradsby Company is a company located in Louisville, Kentucky that produces the famous Louisville Slugger baseball bat. The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in downtown Louisville features a retrospective of the product and its use throughout baseball history...
, makers of the famous Louisville Slugger line of baseball bats, which is specifically designed to look like a Babe Ruth model. As the most prominent feature on the stadium's exterior, recognizable even to first-time visitors, the bat was often used as a designated meeting spot for fans to meet their ticket holding friends before entering the stadium.
The "Bat" continues to stand outside the Metro North Station, built in 2009. A 450-foot long pedestrian walkway and its staircase meet at the "bat".
Roll call
Beginning in the 1990s, and after the first pitch was thrown at the top of the first inning, the "Bleacher CreaturesBleacher Creatures
The Bleacher Creatures are a group of fans of the New York Yankees who are known for their strict allegiance to the team and their merciless attitude to opposing fans...
" in Section 39, usually led by a man nicknamed Bald Vinny, began chanting the names of every player in the defensive lineup (except the pitcher and catcher, with some rare exceptions), starting with the center fielder. They did not stop chanting the player's name until he acknowledged the Creatures (usually with a wave or a point), who then moved on to the next player. Other names called out during roll call from time to time have included Yankee broadcasters John Sterling
John Sterling (sportscaster)
John Sterling is an American sportscaster best known as the radio play-by-play announcer of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. He has announced every Yankees game since .-Early life:...
and Michael Kay, or Aaron Boone
Aaron Boone
Aaron John Boone is a former Major League Baseball infielder whose famous home run off Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield won the 2003 American League Championship Series for the New York Yankees. He played for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins, Washington...
, Bucky Dent
Bucky Dent
Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent , is a former American Major League Baseball player and manager. He earned two World Series rings as the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees in and , and was voted the World Series MVP in 1978...
, and Babe Ruth when the Yankees hosted the rival Boston Red Sox. Sometimes, after a long rain delay, the Creatures started another Roll Call for comedic effect. Often when a player was replaced in the field, their replacement was also welcomed with a chant. In 2008, center fielder Melky Cabrera
Melky Cabrera
Melky Astacio Cabrera is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the San Francisco Giants.-Minors:Cabrera was signed by the New York Yankees on November 13, 2001, at age 17...
booted a routine grounder while attempting to wave to the fans.
Baseball
In its 86 years of existence, Yankee Stadium hosted 6,581 regular season home games for the Yankees. Only Fenway ParkFenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
(Boston), Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
(Chicago), Sportsman's Park
Sportsman's Park
Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, all but one of which were located on the same piece of land, the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street on the north side of the city.- History :From...
(St. Louis) and Tiger Stadium (Detroit) have hosted more games. Due to the Yankees' frequent appearances in the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
, Yankee Stadium played host to 161 postseason games, more than any other stadium in baseball history. The Stadium hosted 37 of the 83 possible World Series during its existence (not counting 1974-75, and the 1994 strike), with the Yankees winning 26 of them. In total, the venue hosted 100 World Series games.
Sixteen of the seventeen World Series won in the Bronx were clinched at the 1923 Yankee Stadium, nine by the Yankees and seven by their opponents:
- Yankees, in , , , , , , , , and
- St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
, in and - Brooklyn Dodgers1955 Brooklyn Dodgers seasonIn , the Brooklyn Dodgers finally fulfilled the promise of many previous Dodger teams. Although the club had won several pennants in the past, and had won as many as 105 games in 1953, it had never won a World Series. This team finished 13.5 games ahead in the National League pennant race, leading...
, in , the only World Championship won by the Dodgers before moving to Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. - Milwaukee Braves1957 Milwaukee Braves seasonThe Milwaukee Braves season was the year that the team won its first and only World Series championship while based in Milwaukee. The Braves won 95 games and lost 59 to win the National League pennant by eight games over the second-place St. Louis Cardinals....
, in , the only World Series won by a Milwaukee team. - Cincinnati Reds1978 Cincinnati Reds seasonThe 1978 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. The Reds finished in second place in the National League West with a record of 92-69, 2½ games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Reds were managed by Sparky Anderson and played their home games at Riverfront Stadium...
, in - Los Angeles Dodgers1981 Los Angeles Dodgers seasonThe Los Angeles Dodgers season got off to a strong start when rookie pitcher Fernando Valenzuela pitched a shutout on opening day, starting the craze that came to be known as "Fernandomania." Fernando went on to win both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards.The season was divided into two...
, in - Florida Marlins2003 Florida Marlins seasonThe 2003 Florida Marlins season was a season in American baseball. The Marlins were the National League Wild Card Winners, the National League Champions, and the World Series Champions.-Offseason:...
, in
Perhaps the most memorable moment in the venue's history came on July 4, 1939, designated as "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day". Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
, forced out of action permanently by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
(ALS) and facing his impending death, gave a legendary farewell speech thanking his fans and colleagues for making him "the luckiest man on the face of the earth."
Many memorable and historic games have been played at Yankee Stadium. All three perfect game
Perfect game
A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...
s thrown by Yankee pitchers have occurred at the Stadium. Don Larsen
Don Larsen
Donald James Larsen is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. During a 15-year baseball career, he pitched from 1953-67 for seven different teams. Larsen is best known for pitching the sixth perfect game in baseball history, doing so in game 5 of the 1956 World Series...
threw a perfect game on October 8, 1956, in the fifth game of the World Series
1956 World Series
The 1956 World Series of Major League Baseball was played between the New York Yankees and the defending champion Brooklyn Dodgers during the month of October 1956. The Series was a rematch of the 1955 World Series...
, while David Wells
David Wells
David Lee Wells , nicknamed "Boomer", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Wells was considered to be one of the game's better left-handed pitchers, especially during his years with the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched the fifteenth perfect game in baseball history...
and David Cone
David Cone
David Brian Cone is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. During a 17-year baseball career, he pitched from 1986-2003 for six different teams. Cone pitched the sixteenth perfect game in baseball history. He also set the MLB record for most years between 20-win seasons. He was a member of five...
threw theirs on May 17, 1998, and July 18, 1999, respectively. No-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
s were thrown by Monte Pearson
Monte Pearson
Montgomery Marcellus Pearson was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds . Pearson batted and threw right-handed...
, Bob Feller
Bob Feller
On December 8, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy, volunteering immediately for combat service, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to do so following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. Feller served as Gun Captain aboard the USS Alabama, and missed four seasons during his service...
, Allie Reynolds
Allie Reynolds
Allie Pierce Reynolds was a pitcher in Major League Baseball.-Biography:...
, Virgil Trucks
Virgil Trucks
Virgil Oliver Trucks is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1941 through 1958, Trucks played for the Detroit Tigers , St. Louis Browns , Chicago White Sox , Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees . He batted and threw right-handed...
, Dave Righetti
Dave Righetti
David Allan Righetti is a former left-handed pitcher for various Major League Baseball teams, primarily the New York Yankees. He is currently the pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants and was the first player in history to both pitch a no-hitter and also lead the league in saves in his career...
, Jim Abbott
Jim Abbott
James Anthony Abbott is a former Major League Baseball pitcher, who played despite having been born without a right hand. He played for the California Angels, the New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox, and the Milwaukee Brewers, from 1989 to 1999.He graduated from Flint Central High School and...
, Dwight Gooden
Dwight Gooden
Dwight Eugene Gooden , nicknamed "Doc Gooden" or "Dr. K", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was one of the most dominant and feared pitchers in the National League in the middle and late 1980s.-Career:...
, and a combination of six Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
pitchers in one game.
The Stadium was the site of a nationally-televised game on August 6, 1979, the same day as the funeral for departed Yankees captain Thurman Munson
Thurman Munson
Thurman Lee Munson was an American Major League Baseball catcher. He played his entire 11-year career for the New York Yankees...
. The team attended the funeral in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
earlier in the day and flew to New York for an emotional game. Bobby Murcer
Bobby Murcer
Bobby Ray Murcer was an American Major League Baseball outfielder who played for 17 seasons between 1965 and 1983, mostly with the New York Yankees, whom he later rejoined as a longtime broadcaster...
drove in all five runs for the Yankees, including a "walk-off" two-run single that defeated the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
5–4.
Many historic home runs have been hit at Yankee Stadium. Babe Ruth hit the ballpark's first home run on its Opening Day in 1923. Ruth also set the then-league record for most home runs in a single season by hitting his 60th home run in 1927. Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
would later break this record in 1961 at Yankee Stadium on the final day of the season by hitting his 61st home run. In 1967, Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
slugged his 500th career home run. Chris Chambliss
Chris Chambliss
Carroll Christopher Chambliss is a former Major League Baseball player who played from to for the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves...
won the 1976 American League Championship Series
1976 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 9, 1976 at Royals Stadium in Kansas City, MissouriThe opener was played on a bright Saturday afternoon at Royals Stadium and pitted Yankee ace Jim “Catfish” Hunter against left-hander and ex-Yankee Larry Gura. The Yankees got off to a quick start scoring two in the first...
by hitting a "walk-off" home run in which thousands of fans ran onto the field as Chambliss circled the bases. A year later, in the 1977 World Series
1977 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 11, 1977 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkThe Dodgers drew first blood off Don Gullett in the first when Davey Lopes walked and scored on a Bill Russell triple. Ron Cey made it 2–0 on a sacrifice fly...
, Reggie Jackson hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches in the championship-clinching Game 6. In 1983, the Pine Tar Incident
Pine Tar Incident
The Pine Tar Incident was a controversial incident during an American League game played between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees on July 24, 1983 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. With his team trailing 4–3 in the top half of the ninth inning, George Brett of the Royals hit a 2-run...
involving George Brett
George Brett (baseball)
George Howard Brett , nicknamed "Mullet", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are the most by any third baseman in major league history, and 15th...
occurred; Brett's go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of the game was overturned for his bat having too much pine tar, resulting in him furiously charging out of the dugout. In Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series
1996 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 9, 1996 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkThe first game of the series is most notable for the infamous "Jeffrey Maier Incident." With the Yankees trailing 4–3 in the bottom of the eighth, rookie Derek Jeter hit a fly ball to deep right field off Orioles reliever...
, Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter
Derek Sanderson Jeter is an American baseball shortstop who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. A twelve-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, Jeter's clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning have made him a central...
hit a fly ball to right-field that was interfered with by fan Jeffrey Maier
Jeffrey Maier
Jeffrey Maier is an American baseball fan best known for an incident in which he was involved as a twelve-year-old at a baseball game, when he deflected a batted ball in-play into the stands during Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and the...
but ruled a home run. In Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series
2003 American League Championship Series
-Game 1:Wednesday, October 8, 2003 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New YorkBacked by three home runs, Tim Wakefield shut the Bombers down in Game 1.-Game 2:Thursday, October 9, 2003 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York...
, Aaron Boone
Aaron Boone
Aaron John Boone is a former Major League Baseball infielder whose famous home run off Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield won the 2003 American League Championship Series for the New York Yankees. He played for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Florida Marlins, Washington...
hit an extra-inning "walk-off" home run to send the Yankees to the World Series. On August 6, 2007, Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th home run against the Kansas City Royals at the Stadium.
In , six weeks after the September 11 attacks, Yankee Stadium hosted an emotional three games in the World Series
2001 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 27, 2001 at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, ArizonaArizona showed no fear and chased Yankees starter Mike Mussina after just three innings. The Yankees gave up five unearned runs and the Diamondbacks rode Curt Schilling's seven strong innings to a 9–1 rout...
. For Game 3, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
hurled the ceremonial first pitch, throwing a strike. In Game 4, Tino Martinez
Tino Martinez
Constantino "Tino" Martinez is a former Major League Baseball first baseman.Martinez was the first round draft pick for the Seattle Mariners in out of the University of Tampa where he starred during his time on campus. He began his Major League career in and has played for the Mariners, New...
hit a game-tying home run off Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
closer Byung-Hyun Kim
Byung-Hyun Kim
Byung-Hyun Kim is a South Korean professional baseball pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball. He is best known for his years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Boston Red Sox. In 2001, Kim took over mid-season as the Diamondbacks' closer and saved 19...
with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Derek Jeter hit the winning "walk-off" home run in extra innings off of Kim, earning himself the nickname "Mr. November." The following night in Game 5, the Yankees replicated their heroics from the previous night; Scott Brosius
Scott Brosius
Scott David Brosius is a former Major League Baseball third baseman for the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees . Brosius is currently the head baseball coach at Linfield College, his alma mater....
hit a game-tying home run off of Kim with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning en route to a win.
All-Star Games
On July 11, 1939, Major League Baseball held the league's seventh All-Star GameMajor League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
at Yankee Stadium, in concert with the World's Fair being held at Flushing-Meadows
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, often referred to as Flushing Meadow Park, Flushing Meadows Park or Flushing Meadows, is a public park in New York City. It contains the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the current venue for the U.S...
in Queens. Yankees manager Joe McCarthy loaded his American League team with pinstripes: Bill Dickey
Bill Dickey
William Malcolm Dickey was a Major League Baseball catcher and manager.He played his entire 19-year baseball career with the New York Yankees . During Dickey's playing career, the Yankees went to the World Series nine times, winning eight championships...
(catcher), Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
(outfield), Joe Gordon (second base), Red Rolfe
Red Rolfe
Robert Abial "Red" Rolfe was an American third baseman, manager and front-office executive in Major League Baseball. A native of Penacook, New Hampshire, he is one of the most prominent players to come from the Granite State...
(third base), George Selkirk
George Selkirk
George Alexander Selkirk was a Canadian outfielder and front office executive in Major League Baseball. In 1935, Selkirk succeeded the legendary Babe Ruth as the right fielder of the New York Yankees...
(outfield), and Red Ruffing
Red Ruffing
Charles Herbert "Red" Ruffing was a Major League Baseball pitcher most remembered for his time with the highly successful New York Yankees teams of the 1930s and 1940s...
(pitcher) were all in the starting lineup. Reserve players included Frank Crosetti (shortstop), Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
(first base), Lefty Gomez
Lefty Gómez
Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez was an American left-handed major league pitcher who played in the American League for the New York Yankees between 1930 and 1942. Considered one of the great pitchers of the day, Gomez was a seven-time All-Star and a five-time World Series Champion with the Yankees...
(pitcher), and Johnny Murphy
Johnny Murphy
John Joseph Murphy was an All-Star American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who later became a front office executive in the game.-Formative relief pitcher:...
(pitcher). The American League won, 3–1, behind a home run by DiMaggio, in front of more than 62,000. This was the second All-Star Game held in New York; the Polo Grounds had hosted the event in 1934.
From 1959 to 1962, Major League Baseball held two All-Star Games each year. On July 13, 1960, Yankee Stadium hosted baseball's second All-Star Game in three days. The National League won both games. In the latter game, Whitey Ford
Whitey Ford
Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who spent his entire 18-year career with the New York Yankees. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.-Early life and career:...
was the starting pitcher. Yogi Berra
Yogi Berra
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra is a former American Major League Baseball catcher, outfielder, and manager. He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
(catcher), Mickey Mantle (outfield), Roger Maris
Roger Maris
Roger Eugene Maris was an American Major League Baseball right fielder. During the 1961 season, he hit a record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record of 60 home runs...
(outfield), and Bill Skowron (first base) were in the starting lineup; Jim Coates
Jim Coates
James Alton Coates is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. A right-hander, Coates pitched for the New York Yankees , Washington Senators , Cincinnati Reds and California Angels ....
(pitcher) and Elston Howard
Elston Howard
Elston Gene Howard was an American Negro League and Major League Baseball catcher, left fielder and coach. During a 14-year baseball career, he played from 1955–1968, primarily for the New York Yankees...
(catcher) were reserves. The National League won the Yankee Stadium game, 6–0, tying a record with four home runs, including one by hometown favorite Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
. The 38,000 fans who attended the game also saw the Red Sox' Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
in his final All-Star appearance.
Showcasing its new renovation, Yankee Stadium hosted the All-Star Game on July 19, 1977. With the Yankees defending their 1976 pennant, Billy Martin
Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, Jr. was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees, a position he held five different times...
managed the American League team on his home field. The National League won its sixth consecutive All-Star Game, 7–5, in front of more than 56,000 fans; the senior circuit's streak would reach 11. Reggie Jackson (outfield) and Willie Randolph
Willie Randolph
Willie Larry Randolph is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and manager, most recently the third base coach for the Baltimore Orioles...
(second base) started for the American League; Sparky Lyle
Sparky Lyle
Albert Walter "Sparky" Lyle is an American former left-handed relief pitcher who spent sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball . He was a closer from 1969 to 1977, first for the Boston Red Sox and then the New York Yankees. A three-time All-Star, he won the American League Cy Young Award in 1977...
(pitcher), Thurman Munson
Thurman Munson
Thurman Lee Munson was an American Major League Baseball catcher. He played his entire 11-year career for the New York Yankees...
(catcher), and Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles , nicknamed "Puff", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins , Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees , San Diego Padres , Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos .Nettles was one of the best...
(third base) also made the team. Jim Palmer
Jim Palmer
James Alvin "Jim" Palmer , nicknamed "Cakes", is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in .As of 2008, Palmer and his wife Susan have homes in Palm Beach, Florida, and...
was the game's starting pitcher because Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
refused to play when Martin asked him.
In honor of its final year of existence, in July 2008, Yankee Stadium hosted 2008 All-Star Game
2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 79th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York, home of the New York Yankees, on...
festivities. The Yankees were represented by Derek Jeter
Derek Jeter
Derek Sanderson Jeter is an American baseball shortstop who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. A twelve-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, Jeter's clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning have made him a central...
, Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez
Alexander Emmanuel "Alex" Rodriguez is an American professional baseball third baseman with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. Known popularly by his nickname A-Rod, he previously played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.Rodriguez is considered one of the best...
, and Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera is a Panamanian right-handed baseball pitcher who has played 17 years in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Mo", Rivera has served as a relief pitcher for most of his career, and since 1997, he has been the Yankees' closer...
. In the Home Run Derby
2008 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby
The 2008 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby was held on Monday, July 14, 2008, at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York City...
, Josh Hamilton set a single-round record with 28 home runs in the first round. At one point, he hit 13 straight home runs, many of which landed in the stadium's upper deck and deep into the right field bleachers, spurring the crowd to chant his name. Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
first baseman Justin Morneau
Justin Morneau
Justin Ernest George Morneau is a Canadian Major League Baseball first baseman for the Minnesota Twins. At 6 feet 4 inches and 225 lbs, Morneau was originally drafted as a catcher by the Twins in 1999. He converted to first base in the minor leagues and made his MLB debut in 2003...
won the competition defeating Hamilton in the final round. The following evening, the American League won the 2008 All-Star Game 4–3 in 15 innings. Michael Young hit the game winning sacrifice fly in the 15th inning off Brad Lidge
Brad Lidge
Bradley Thomas "Brad" Lidge is a reliever who is currently a free agent. Nicknamed "Lights Out", he is the all-time leader in strikeouts per nine innings among pitchers with at least 200 appearances in their career...
. The game was the longest in All-Star Game history by time, lasting 4 hours and 50 minutes, and tied for the longest in history by innings, tied with the 1967 All-Star Game
1967 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1967 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 38th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League and the National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played on July 11, 1967 at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim, California. The game resulted...
, and was played in front of 55,632 people. J.D. Drew was named game MVP going 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBI.
Final game, 2008
Yankee Stadium hosted its final baseball game on September 21, 2008. The ceremonies for the final game at Yankee Stadium began with the opening of Monument Park, as well as allowing Yankee fans to walk on the warning track around the field. Many former Yankee greats, including Yogi BerraYogi Berra
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra is a former American Major League Baseball catcher, outfielder, and manager. He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
, Whitey Ford
Whitey Ford
Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who spent his entire 18-year career with the New York Yankees. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.-Early life and career:...
, Reggie Jackson
Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...
, Bernie Williams
Bernie Williams
Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and Puerto Rican musician.-Early life:...
, Paul O'Neill, Willie Randolph
Willie Randolph
Willie Larry Randolph is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and manager, most recently the third base coach for the Baltimore Orioles...
, Roy White
Roy White
Roy Hilton White is a former American professional baseball player and coach. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the New York Yankees between 1965 and 1979....
, and Chris Chambliss
Chris Chambliss
Carroll Christopher Chambliss is a former Major League Baseball player who played from to for the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves...
took their positions in the playing field as their names were announced by the legendary Bob Sheppard. Julia Ruth Stevens, daughter of Babe Ruth, threw out the ceremonial first pitch in the final game in "The House That Ruth Built."
With Andy Pettitte
Andy Pettitte
Andrew Eugene Pettitte is a retired American left-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher.In his major league career, he played for the New York Yankees from 1995–2003. He then signed with the Houston Astros, and played for them from 2004 through 2006. In 2007, Pettitte rejoined the Yankees...
as the starting pitcher, the Yankees played their final game at Yankee Stadium against the Baltimore Orioles
2008 Baltimore Orioles season
The Baltimore Orioles entered the 2008 season led by Dave Trembley, now starting his first full season as manager. President of Baseball Operations Andy MacPhail continued the rebuilding process...
, recording the final out at 11:43pm EDT in a 7–3 Yankee victory. Among many lasts to be recorded, a long-time standing question was answered. It was first wondered by Babe Ruth after he hit the first home run in Yankee Stadium on its opening day of April 18, 1923:
That person turned out to be Jose Molina, as he hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning.
Other lasts were Jason Giambi
Jason Giambi
Jason Gilbert Giambi is an American professional baseball first baseman with the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball.He was the American League MVP in 2000 while with the Oakland Athletics, and is a five-time All-Star who has led the American League in walks four times, in on base percentage...
recording the last hit in Yankee Stadium, driving in Brett Gardner
Brett Gardner
Brett M. Gardner is an American Major League Baseball left fielder for the New York Yankees. Gardner, who is 5' 10", bats and throws left-handed.-College baseball career:...
, who scored the last run in Yankee Stadium. Mariano Rivera made the final pitch in the stadium with Cody Ransom
Cody Ransom
Bryan Cody Ransom is an American professional baseball utility infielder who is a free agent.-Early life:...
recording the final out at first base. In the eighth inning, Derek Jeter became the final Yankee to bat in Yankee Stadium.
After the game was over, captain Derek Jeter delivered a speech on the field surrounded by his teammates. In the unplanned speech, Jeter thanked and saluted the fans:
Afterwards, the team circled the stadium on the warning track waving to fans and wishing the stadium goodbye.
Line score
Boxing
When Yankee Stadium opened in 1923, the Polo Grounds continued to host boxing matches; however, Yankee Stadium was home to prizefighting beginning in its first few months. Benny Leonard retained the lightweight championship in a 15-round decision over Lew Tendler on July 24, 1923, in front of more than 58,000 fans. It was the first of 30 championship bouts to be held at the Stadium. (This excludes dozens of non-title fights.) The boxing ring was placed over second base; a 15 feet (4.6 m) vault contained electrical, telegraph, and telephone connections. In July 1927, the aging former heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey came from behind to defeat heavily favored Jack Sharkey by delivering several questionable punches that were deemed illegal. Sharkey had similarly bad luck in a July 1930 heavyweight championship bout at Yankee Stadium, when his knockout punch to Max SchmelingMax Schmeling
Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling was a German boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in the late 1930s transcended boxing, and became worldwide social events because of their national associations...
was ruled illegal; Schmeling won by default. In July 1928, Gene Tunney
Gene Tunney
James Joseph "Gene" Tunney was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1926-1928 who defeated Jack Dempsey twice, first in 1926 and then in 1927. Tunney's successful title defense against Dempsey is one of the most famous bouts in boxing history and is known as The Long Count Fight...
upheld the heavyweight title against Tom Heeney
Tom Heeney
Thomas Heeney , commonly called Tom Heeney, was a professional heavyweight boxer from New Zealand, best known for unsuccessfully challenging champion Gene Tunney for the heavyweight championship of the world in New York City on 26 July 1928.Heeney was born in Gisborne, New Zealand, and worked as a...
at Yankee Stadium, and then retired as champion.
Perhaps the most famous boxing match ever held at Yankee Stadium was on June 22, 1938, when Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
, an African-American, squared off against Schmeling, a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
followed the rematch carefully, imploring Schmeling to defeat Louis, whom Hitler publicly berated. This left some with what they perceived as a moral predicament: root for the black fighter, or for the Nazi. Schmeling had defeated Louis in 1936, but in defense of his title, Louis knocked out Schmeling in the first round. This was one of eight championship fights the "Brown Bomber" fought at Yankee Stadium.
On July 1, 1939, Max Baer defeated Lou Nova at Yankee Stadium, in the first televised boxing match in the United States. The event was broadcast by television station W2XBS, forerunner of WNBC-TV. (The World Series was not televised until 1947.) On September 27, 1946, Tony Zale
Tony Zale
Anthony Florian Zaleski was an American boxer. Zale was born and raised in Gary, Indiana, a steel town, which gave him his nickname, "Man of Steel." In addition, he had the reputation of being able to take fearsome punishment and still rally to win, reinforcing that nickname...
knocked out New York native Rocky Graziano
Rocky Graziano
Rocky Graziano, born Thomas Rocco Barbella in New York City , was an Italian American boxer. Graziano was considered one of the greatest knockout artists in boxing history, often displaying the capacity to take his opponent out with a single punch...
for the middleweight crown; it was the first of three bouts between Zale and Graziano.
On June 25, 1952, middleweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
sought his third title against light-heavyweight champ Joey Maxim at Yankee Stadium. More than 47,000 saw Robinson outfight Maxim but lose due to heat exhaustion in round 14 (due to the weather that topped 104-degrees Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...
). The referee who declared Maxim the winner was the second that night; the first had left the fight due to heat exhaustion.
After its 1970s renovation, Yankee Stadium hosted only one championship fight. On September 28, 1976, a declining Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
defended his heavyweight crown against Ken Norton
Ken Norton
Kenneth Howard Norton Sr. is a former heavyweight boxer. He is best known for his 12-round victory over a peak Muhammad Ali where he famously broke Ali's jaw, on March 31, 1973, becoming only the second man to defeat Ali as a professional .He and Ali...
. To that point, Norton was one of only two boxers who had beaten Ali (in 1973); this was their third, and final, meeting. Norton led for most of the fight, but Ali improved in the later rounds to win by unanimous decision.
College football
When an ill Ruth could not lead the Yankees to the World Series in 1925, college football took center stage at Yankee Stadium that fall. The fiercely competitive Notre DameNotre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
–Army
Army Black Knights football
The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....
game moved to Yankee Stadium, where it remained until 1947. In the 1928 game, with the score 0–0 at halftime, legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne
Knute Rockne
Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
gave his "win one for the Gipper" speech (with reference to All-American halfback George Gipp
George Gipp
George "The Gipper" Gipp was a college football player who played for the University of Notre Dame. Gipp was selected as Notre Dame's first All-American and is Notre Dame's second consensus All-American , after Gus Dorais. Gipp played multiple positions, most notably halfback, quarterback, and...
, who died in 1920); Notre Dame went on to defeat Army, 12–6. The 1929 game between the two teams had the highest attendance in the series at 79,408. The 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame football game
1946 Army vs. Notre Dame football game
The 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame football game was a regular season college football game played on November 9, 1946. Army , then ranked Number 1 in the Associated Press college football poll, played the University of Notre Dame, of South Bend, Indiana, ranked Number 2, at Yankee Stadium in New York City...
at Yankee stadium is regarded as one of the 20th century college football Games of the Century
Game of the Century (college football)
The phrase "Game of the Century" is a superlative that has been applied to several college football contests played in the 20th century, the first full century of college football in the United States...
.
Notre Dame played 24 games at Yankee Stadium, going 15-6-3. Army played 38, compiling a 17–17–4 record (including the best-attended game, on December 1, 1928 when Army lost to Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
26–0 before 86,000 fans). New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
played more games there than any other school, 96, using it as a secondary home field from 1923 to 1948, with a record of 52–40–4. Nearby Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
played 19 games there, going 13–5–1.
Eight college football games were played at Yankee Stadium on Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
, the first seven by New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. Perhaps, the most famous Thanksgiving Day game was the first. Oregon State Agricultural College (now Oregon State University
Oregon State Beavers football
The Oregon State Beavers football team represents Oregon State University in NCAA Division I-A college football. The team first fielded an organized football team in 1893 and is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The head coach is Mike Riley, with Danny Langsdorf as the offensive...
) was the first West Coast team to travel across the country and play an East Coast team. 8–1 NYU was a 3–1 favorite to beat 5–3 OSAC, but Oregon State upset the hometown favorites 25–13. Will Rogers lamented what the "Oregon apple knockers" had done to his "city slickers" in a column after the game. After the 1928 game, NYU beat Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
) in 1931 and 1932, defeated Fordham in 1936, lost to Carnegie Tech in 1929, and lost to Fordham in 1934 and 1935. In the eighth game, in 1963, Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
beat Notre Dame, 14–7. This was a rematch following the teams' controversial 1961 game won by Notre Dame, 17–15.
The Gotham Bowl
Gotham Bowl
The Gotham Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game that was played in New York City, United States, in 1961 and 1962. The game was initially created as a fund raising attempt for the March of Dimes....
was scheduled to premiere at Yankee Stadium in 1960, but was canceled when no opponent could be found for Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
. The 1961 game was moved to the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
, and when just 6,166 people came to Yankee Stadium for the 1962 game, in which the University of Nebraska defeated the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, 36–34, the Gotham Bowl was never played again. The Miami-Nebraska game remains the only college bowl ever played at the stadium.
In 1969, Notre Dame and Army reprised their long series at the Stadium (1925–1946 except 1930) with one final game.
Starting in 1971, the Stadium hosted the Whitney M. Young Urban League Classic, a game between historically black colleges, often featuring Grambling State University
Grambling State University
Grambling State University is a historically black , public, coeducational university, located in Grambling, Louisiana. The university is the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.-Academics:Grambling State University provides over...
of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, coached by Eddie Robinson, the first college coach to win 400 games. The Classic helped to spread the fame of Grambling and other similar schools. Yankee Stadium hosted its final Classic during the 1987 season, also the last time a football game was played there. Grambling lost to Central State University
Central State University
Central State University, commonly referred to as "C-State", is a historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio, United States. It is the only public HBCU in Ohio.-History:...
of Ohio, 37-21.
The Classic has been held at Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
's Meadowlands Sports Complex
Meadowlands Sports Complex
The MetLife Sports Complex is a sports and entertainment facility located in East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority...
ever since, though the Yankees remain a supporter of the event.
Professional football
In 1926, after negotiations failed with the fledgling NFL and the Chicago BearsChicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Red Grange
Red Grange
Harold Edward "Red" Grange, nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost", was a college and professional American football halfback for the University of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, and for the short-lived New York Yankees. His signing with the Bears helped legitimize the National Football League...
and his agent C.C. Pyle formed the first American Football League and fielded a team called the New York Yankees
New York Yankees (NFL)
The New York Yankees were a short-lived professional American football team from 1926 to 1928. The team was a member of the first American Football League in 1926, and later the National Football League from 1927-1928. They played their home games at Yankee Stadium...
based in Yankee Stadium. The league failed after only one year, but the team continued as a member of the NFL for two seasons before ceasing operations. A second New York Yankees
New York Yankees (1936 AFL)
The New York Yankees of the second American Football League was the second professional American football team competing under that name. It is unrelated to the Yankees of the first AFL , the Yankees of the third AFL, the Yankees of the American Association and the Yankees of the All America...
football team, not related to the first, split its home games between Yankee Stadium and Downing Stadium
Downing Stadium
Downing Stadium, previously known as Triborough Stadium and Randall's Island Stadium, was a 22,000-seat stadium in New York City. It was renamed Downing Stadium in 1955 after John J...
as it competed in the second AFL in 1936 and 1937. A third AFL New York Yankees
New York Yankees (1940 AFL)
The New York Yankees of the third American Football League was the third professional American football team competing under that name. It is unrelated to the Yankees of the first AFL , the Yankees of the second AFL, and the Yankees of the All America Football Conference...
took the field in 1940 and became the New York Americans in 1941.
The New York Yankees
New York Yankees (AAFC)
The New York Yankees were a professional American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1949. The team played in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and often played in front of sold-out crowds . They were owned by Dan Topping, who brought many of his Brooklyn...
of the All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
(AAFC) played their home games at Yankee Stadium from 1946 to 1949. Following the 1949 season
1949 NFL season
The 1949 NFL season was the 30th regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, Boston Yanks owner Ted Collins asked the league to fold his team due to financial woes, and give him a new one in New York City...
, the NFL New York Bulldogs acquired many of the players from the 1949 Yankees. Using the name the New York Yanks
New York Yanks
The New York Yanks American football team played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. In 1949, Boston Yanks owner Ted Collins had requested the NFL to fold his Boston team and give him a new one in New York City...
they played two seasons at Yankee Stadium, 1950
1950 NFL season
The 1950 NFL season was the 31st regular season of the National Football League. The merger with the All-America Football Conference expanded the league to 13 teams. Meanwhile, television brought a new era to the game. The Los Angeles Rams became the first NFL team to have all of its games – both...
and 1951
1951 NFL season
The 1951 NFL season was the 32nd regular season of the National Football League. Prior to the season, Baltimore Colts owner Abraham Watner faced financial difficulties, and thus gave his team and its player contracts back to the league for $50,000. However, many Baltimore fans started to protest...
.
The New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
played their home games at Yankee Stadium from 1956
1956 NFL season
The 1956 NFL season was the 37th regular season of the National Football League. CBS became the first network to televise some regular season games across the nation...
to 1973
1973 NFL season
The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season featured O.J. Simpson becoming the first man to rush for 2,000 yards in one season...
. On December 28, 1958, Yankee Stadium hosted the NFL championship game, frequently called "The Greatest Game Ever Played
NFL Championship Game, 1958
The 1958 National Football League Championship Game was played on December 28, 1958 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first ever National Football League playoff game to go into sudden death overtime. The final score was Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17. The game has since...
". The Baltimore Colts
1958 Baltimore Colts season
The 1958 Baltimore Colts season was the 6th season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 1958 season with a record of 9 wins and 3 losses and finished first in the Western Conference....
tied the Giants
1958 New York Giants season
The 1958 New York Giants season was the 34th season for the club in the National Football League.-Transactions:*The Giants obtained Lindon Crow and Pat Summerall from the Chicago Cardinals in exchange for Dick Nolan, Bobby Joe Conrad, and the Giants first round pick.*The Giants acquired Carl...
, 17–17, on a field goal with seven seconds left. Led by quarterback Johnny Unitas
Johnny Unitas
John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...
, the Colts won in overtime, 23–17. The game's dramatic ending is often cited as elevating professional football to one of the United States' major sports. Additionally, one of the most notable plays in NFL history occurred at Yankee Stadium on November 20, 1960 when the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
' Chuck Bednarik
Chuck Bednarik
Charles Philip Bednarik is a former professional American football player, known as one of the most devastating tacklers in the history of football and the last two-way player in the National Football League...
forcefully tackled the Giants' Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford
Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford is a Hall of Fame former American football player and American sportscaster.-Early life:Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller....
in the last minute of a close game, forcing a fumble recovered by the Eagles that clinched the victory for Philadelphia and ultimately helped the Eagles dethrone the 2-time defending champion Giants as NFL Eastern Division champions. The hit left Gifford with a concussion and forced his temporary retirement from football for the remainder of the 1960 season and all of the 1961 season.
The Giants played their first two home games at Yankee Stadium in 1973
1973 New York Giants season
The 1973 New York Giants season was the 49th season for the club in the National Football League.-NFL Draft:-Regular season:On September 23, the Giants played their final game at Yankee Stadium. The game was played against the Philadelphia Eagles and resulted in a 23–23 tie. The Giants played the...
, concluding their tenancy on September 23 with a 23–23 tie against the Philadelphia Eagles
1973 Philadelphia Eagles season
-Off season:At the 1972 season end Head Coach Ed Khayat is fired. Mike McCormack an Washington Redskins assistant coach from 1965–1972 was hired in his place...
. In October, they moved to the Yale Bowl
Yale Bowl
The Yale Bowl is a football stadium in New Haven, Connecticut on the border of West Haven, about 1½ miles west of Yale's main campus. Completed in 1914, the stadium seats 61,446, reduced by renovations from the original capacity of 70,869...
in New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, for the rest of the season.
Soccer
Celtic F.C.Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
defeated New York Yankees
New York Yankees (soccer)
New York Yankees were a New York soccer team that played briefly in the American Soccer League. They were formed following the merger of Fall River Marksmen and New York Soccer Club. Although the Yankees survived only a short time, they beat Celtic in a prestige friendly and effectively won the...
in the first major soccer game to be played at the Stadium on June 28, 1931. In the coming three decades, a number of games between Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
Palestinian
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
teams and American all-stars were played. European club exhibitions first came in 1952, when on June 14, Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
drew 1-1 with Grasshopper-Club Zürich
Grasshopper-Club Zürich
Grasshopper Club Zürich commonly referred to as simply GC, GCZ, or Grasshopper is a Swiss multisports club based in Zürich. The oldest and best known section of Grasshopper Club Zürich is its football team...
. The next day, Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
thrashed Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
7-1, just a year after United had taken over for Spurs as champions of England
English football champions
The English football champions are the winners of the highest league in English football, which is currently the Premier League. Teams in bold are those who won the double of League Championship and FA Cup, or the European Double of League Championship and European Cup in that season.Following the...
. The following year, on June 8, the English national team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
defeated the U.S. national team
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
6-3, in a rematch of the Miracle on Grass
England v United States (1950)
On 29 June 1950, at the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the United States defeated England 1–0 in a group match. This unexpected result has led to the match being described as the "Miracle on Grass", in reference to the 1980 Miracle on Ice, in which the US ice hockey team beat the Soviet Union. The...
match at the 1950 World Cup
1950 FIFA World Cup
The 1950 FIFA World Cup, held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July, was the fourth FIFA World Cup. It was the first World Cup since 1938, the planned 1942 and 1946 competitions having been canceled owing to World War II...
.
Major international clubs returned to the Stadium in 1966, with Pele's
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
Santos of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
beating Inter Milan
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
4-1 on June 5. Beginning around 1967, C.A. Cerro
C.A. Cerro
Club Atlético Cerro, usually known simply as Cerro is an Uruguayan football club based in Montevideo. They currently play in the Uruguayan 1st Division....
of Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
played in the United Soccer Association
United Soccer Association
The United Soccer Association is a former professional soccer league featuring teams from the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American Soccer League. All the teams in the league were imported...
during the summer months under the title "New York Skyliners
New York Skyliners
The New York Skyliners were a soccer team based out of New York, New York that played in the United Soccer Association. The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The New York club was actually the C.A. Cerro from Montevideo, Uruguay...
". They played major games against Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, renamed "Toronto City
Toronto City
Toronto City is a former Canadian football team based in Toronto. Between 1961 and 1967, teams using this name competed in both the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League and the United Soccer Association.-ECPSL:...
", Cagliari F.C. of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, renamed "Chicago Mustangs
Chicago Mustangs
The Chicago Mustangs were an American professional soccer team based out of Chicago, Illinois that was a charter member of the United Soccer Association in 1967. The league was made up of teams imported whole from foreign leagues. The Chicago club was actually Cagliari Calcio from Italy...
", and Bangu Atlético Clube
Bangu Atlético Clube
Bangu Atlético Clube, or Bangu as they are usually called, is a Brazilian football team from Bangu, Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro, founded on April 17, 1904...
of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, renamed "Houston Stars
Houston Stars
The Houston Stars were a soccer team based out of Houston, Texas that played in the United Soccer Association. The league was made up of teams imported from foreign leagues. The Houston club was actually Bangu Atlético Clube from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...
". Eventually, the Skyliners gave way as the team calling Yankee Stadium home to the less foreign-influenced New York Generals
New York Generals
For the collegiate baseball team, see New York Generals The New York Generals were a soccer team based out of New York that played in the non-FIFA sanctioned National Professional Soccer League. Their home field was Yankee Stadium...
of the National Professional Soccer League
National Professional Soccer League (1967)
The National Professional Soccer League was a North American professional soccer league that existed for only the 1967 season before merging with the United Soccer Association to form the North American Soccer League. It had ten charter members, nine from the United States and one from Canada...
, which soon became the North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
, or NASL. In 1968, in addition to league competition, the Generals took on Santos, winning 5-3, and Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, losing 4-1. That year, Santos also played and beat S.S.C. Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
of Italy 4-2 at the Stadium, along with S.L. Benfica of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, with whom they drew 3-3. The next year, four major international club games were played at the Stadium: Barcelona beat Juventus 3-2 on May 30, Inter Milan beat Sparta Prague 4-0 on June 27, and A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
defeated Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos FC
Panathinaikos Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Athens. Founded in 1908, they play in the Super League Greece and are one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Greek football history. They have won 20 Greek Championships and 17 Greek Cups.Panathinaikos is the most...
4-0 also on June 27. Finally, on June 29, Yankee Stadium hosted its own version of the Derby della Madonnina
Derby della Madonnina
Derby della Madonnina, or the Milan Derby as it is sometimes known, is a football match between the Italian clubs Associazione Calcio Milan and Football Club Internazionale Milano. It is a hotly contested local derby and is one of the most followed derbies in football...
, with A.C. Milan defeating Inter 6–4. The latter three games that year were all part of a three-day "United States Cup of Champions."
On September 15, 1968, the U.S. national soccer team
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
played an international friendly
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
against the Israel national team
Israel national football team
The Israel national football team is the national football team of Israel, controlled by the Israel Football Association .Israel National Football is the direct successor of the Eretz Yisrael National Team during British Mandate...
at the Stadium. It was the first game for the U.S. in fifteen months and 10,118 saw Israel and the U.S. draw 3 to 3.
In 1971 and 1976, the New York Cosmos
New York Cosmos
The New York Cosmos were an American soccer club based in New York City, New York and its suburbs. The team played home games in three stadiums around New York before moving in 1977 to Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, where it remained for the rest of its history...
of the NASL
North American Soccer League
North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
played their home games at Yankee Stadium. During the 1971 season, they also hosted Hearts
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Gorgie, in the west of Edinburgh. They currently play in the Scottish Premier League and are one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian...
from Scotland, and Apollon Kalamarias of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. In 1976 the team's star attraction was Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
. The Brazil native, known as "The King of Football," was considered the best player in the world. Also that year, in Yankee Stadium's final international match on May 28, England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
defeated Italy
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
3–2 as part of the Bicentennial Cup Tournament
1976 U.S.A. Bicentennial Cup Tournament
The Bicentennial Cup Tournament was an international association football competition, which took place in May 1976 in the USA. The tournament featured several World Cup stars both past and future....
. Finally, on August 10, 1976, the last ever soccer game was played at Yankee Stadium, with the Cosmos thrashing the Miami Toros
Miami Toros
The Miami Gatos were a soccer team based out of Miami that played in the North American Soccer League. The club was previously known as the Washington Darts. After the 1972 season, the team was renamed the Miami Toros...
8-2. The Cosmos moved to Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium
Giants Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Maximum seating capacity was 80,242. The building itself was 230.5 m long, 180.5 m wide and 44 m high from service level to the top of the seating bowl and 54 m high to...
for the 1977 season.
Other events
Beginning in 1950, the stadium began holding religious conventions of the Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
. The first convention attracted 253,922 people, more in a single day than any other stadium event up to that time. These conventions would continue on until the late 1980s. When room ran out in the stands, the ladies were asked to remove their heels, and people were brought in to sit in the outfield. There was also a makeshift camp nearby where the program was broadcast for hundreds others to listen to.
On July 20, 1957, evangelist Billy Graham
Billy Graham
William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...
attracted a crowd of 100,000 to a televised "crusade
Revival meeting
A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held in order to inspire active members of a church body, to raise funds and to gain new converts...
" at Yankee Stadium. A New York Times article of the following day described the turnout as "the largest crowd in stadium history" to that time.
Cardinal Francis Spellman (1957), Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
(1965), Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
(1969 as a cardinal, 1979 as pope), and Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
(2008) all celebrated Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
at the ballpark, along with numerous clergy and lay Catholics. On June 21, 1990, a rally was held at Yankee Stadium for Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
upon his release from prison. On September 23, 2001, Yankee Stadium hosted a memorial service for victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.
The first concert ever held there was an ensemble R&B show on June 21, 1969, put together by the Isley Brothers
Live at Yankee Stadium
Live at Yankee Stadium is a 1969 live album by The Isley Brothers, released on their own T-Neck imprint. While the Isleys appear in this live album, it's actually a live showcase by the group to conjoin artists that signed to their T-Neck label and Buddah Records-associated acts including Judy...
; the first rock concert held at the stadium was on June 22, 1990, by Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
. It was also the site of two dates of U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's Zoo TV Tour
Zoo TV Tour
The Zoo TV Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of their 1991 album Achtung Baby, the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 1992 through 1993...
in 1992. During one song, Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
paid tribute to the show's setting with the line "I dreamed I saw Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
/Dancing with Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
". Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
also performed two sold-out shows at this venue on their final North American tour in 1994 in support of their album The Division Bell
The Division Bell
The Division Bell is the fourteenth and last studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. It was released in the United Kingdom by EMI Records on 28 March 1994, and in the United States by Columbia Records on 4 April....
.
On March 10, 2006, Yankee Stadium saw its first and only wedding at home plate. Blind sportswriter Ed Lucas
Ed Lucas
Edward Lucas is a blind sports writer, broadcaster and motivational speaker.As a reporter for the New York Mets and the New York Yankees, Lucas has covered the playoffs, the World Series and the All Star games. He has interviewed hundred of sports figures and celebrities over his fifty-five-year...
, who has been a member of the Yankee family for over 40 years, got special permission from the Yankees, the City of New York, and Major League Baseball to exchange vows with his fiancée, Allison Pfieffle, on the same spot where Lou Gehrig made his famous farewell speech, among the many notable events. Over 400 people, including present and former members of the Yankee family were in attendance to see the happy couple united, and the ceremony was broadcast on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, the YES Network, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Today Show and other national media outlets.
National Hockey League (NHL)
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
executives inquired about the possibility of using Yankee Stadium for an outdoor ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
match featuring the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
in the 2008-2009 season after the successful reception of both the 2003 Heritage Classic and the 2008 NHL Winter Classic outdoor games. If approved, it would have been the final sporting event at the current stadium. The NHL, however, decided to hold the second Winter Classic
2009 NHL Winter Classic
The 2009 NHL Winter Classic, also known as the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic 2009, was a specially staged National Hockey League regular-season game played outdoors on January 1, 2009 at 12:36 p.m. CST at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois...
in Chicago, at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
.
External links
- Yankee Stadium Facts, figures, photos and more
- Ballpark Digest Visit
- Yankee Stadium Redevelopment Project
- Brief History of Yankee Stadium
- History of Yankee Stadium - About.com
- Yankee Stadium history
- Virtual Tour of Yankee Stadium
- Memories of the Old Yankee Stadium - slideshow by Life magazine
- Panorama of Yankee Stadium from Gigapan
- Farewell to the Stadium (MLB.comMLB.comMLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. . MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports columns...
) - Demolition of Yankee Stadium
- The Park that Ruth Built: the future of old Yankee Stadium, by Paul Goldberger, The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, August 10, 2009 - Stadium Facade Molding
- Pics From the 1B Side, Final 2008 Season