The Final Days of Yankee Stadium
From Babe Ruth to Derek Jeter, There's a Whole Lot of History
Sep 20, 2008
House That Ruth Built
Legendary slugger Babe Ruth helped put baseball on the map in the early 1920’s. His popularity was so great that Yankee owner Jacob Ruppert decided to build a place where thousands upon thousands of his fans could come to see him play. The concept of Yankee Stadium was born.
Ruth had many great moments including hitting a homerun in the very first game played there
Cathedral of Baseball
Yankee Stadium had many monikers including "The Cathedral of Baseball", because it was a place where the Yankees were the authorities of championship teams. Baseball was not only revered, it was worshipped. The Stadium has hosted a total of 100 World Series games, 61 playoff games and over 6,500 regular season games.
Bronx Bombers
Starting with Ruth and continuing with Lou Gehrig, right up to Mickey Mantle and Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees became known for the homerun ball, thus the nickname, the Bronx Bombers. Yankee Stadium and the Bronx go hand in hand. People around the world have heard of the borough of the Bronx thanks to the Yankees and Yankee Stadium.
More Than Just A Place to Play Baseball
Baseball was not the only event that defined Yankee Stadium. The grand old structure has hosted many other sporting events, concerts and three papal visits.
The New York Giants played their home football games in the Bronx from 1956-1973. In 1958, the Giants hosted the Baltimore Colts in the NFL Championship game, one that’s been called the greatest game in NFL history. Baltimore won in overtime and the game is credited with lifting the sport to its grandeur that exists today.
There were College Football games. Army played Navy, Grambling would meet Morgan State every year and Knute Rockne gave his "win one for the gipper" speech in the bowels of Yankee Stadium as Notre Dame (known as the "Ramblers" not the "Fighting Irish" yet) prepared to play Army.
Some of the boxing matches that were staged there had significant social impact including the Joe Louis/Max Schmeling bout of 1938 that lasted 124 seconds. The fight was a rematch of their previous encounter in 1936 in which Schmeling scored a 12th round knockout. Germany had begun to move on Europe and Louis delivered a message for the United States with his victory.
Most Photographed Sports Venue in History
You can make the argument that Yankee Stadium is the most photographed sporting venue in history. It would be hard to guess how many photos have been taken inside and outside. A number of movies have been filmed there including the classic, "Pride of the Yankees" with Gary Cooper.
