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I was in New York this weekend to visit my brother-in-law, check out a Yankees game and drop in on Mangesh and Jason at the Brooklyn HQ. I feel like I’m being rude if I dedicate a post to Wrigley and not Yankee Stadium, so I thought I’d give you a little Yankee Stadium history today.
1. Obviously Yankee Stadium is the House that Ruth Built, but it’s also the House that Edison built. Thomas Edison started a cement company in 1899, and the extra-durable cement he developed was used for the original walls.
2. The Stadium was almost built at the site of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum at Amsterdam Avenue between 136th and 138th Streets in Manhattan. Today, that spot is known as the Jacob H. Schiff Playground.
3. New York Governor and soon-to-be Presidential nominee Alfred Smith threw out the first pitch in the new stadium (now old??) in the Bronx.
4. Old Yankee Stadium was the first three-tiered sports facility in the States. The electronic scoreboard was the first of its kind, too, as was the instant replay display installed after renovations later in the century.
5. Since a lot of the original Yankee Stadium was demolished for renovations in the early ‘70s, some people don’t even consider them to be the same stadium. It’s sometimes called “Yankee Stadium II”.
6. “New York, New York” is played over the stadium loudspeakers at the end of every game. The tradition used to be that the Frank Sinatra version was played if they won and the Liza Minnelli version was played if they lost, but Liza became a little miffed. In 2001, she told them to play her version after a win, or not play it at all. The Yankees opted to play the Sinatra version after every game, regardless of the outcome.
7. About halfway through every game, the grounds crew performs the YMCA. This used to result in some of the bleacher section harassing a fan of the opposing team with the song, except with the words changed to “Why are you gay?” The practice was put to a stop in 2006 when the NYPD started ousting anyone who sang the bleacher version.
8. Like a lot of teams, the Yankees have a superfan that serves as an unofficial mascot. At Yankee Stadium, it’s Freddy Schuman. He is in his 80s and is missing an eye as a result of a stickball game in the 1930s. He comes to games with a frying pan to bang on and carries signs that usually start with “Freddy sez”. Examples include, “Scream, whistle, keep up noise! It helps Yanks!” and “Fans, We Got to Help Yankees Out Of Slumps”. The word is that you can generally find him outside of the stadium before games, but we didn’t make it there that early.
9. Monument Park used to actually be in the middle of left field. Before the 1970s remodel, the monuments were even in play. The monuments are a good 460 feet from home plate, so it wasn’t every day that a ball would get lost out there – but it did happen on occasion. A-Rod and Thurman Munson are among those in the “new” (”old”) park to smash a ball all the way out to Monument Park. Monument Park will be relocated to the new stadium.
10. The Batter’s Eye at Yankee Stadium is just a section of bleachers (well, they used to be bleachers) painted black. At the new stadium it’s going to be a restaurant covered in black glass.
I’m glad we experienced the Stadium before it’s lost to history, but I have to say… I prefer Wrigley. OK, Yanks fans, I know I’m going to get battered for that one. Go ahead. Leave me a comment. But don’t be too mean!
Comments (22)
Comment
And the first comment will be…..Yankees Suck…but not as bad as the Cubs!!!
posted by andy on 9-23-2008 at 3:15 pm
I saw this Yankee Stadium fact recently:
The largest Yankee Stadium crowd didn’t come to see a World Series game, or even a Papal Mass. No, it was a 1958 Jehovah’s Witness convention (123,707 people).
posted by Jason English on 9-23-2008 at 3:19 pm
It doesn’t have the history of Yankee Stadium or Wrigley, but for my money I LOVE the Ballpark at Arlington, it is gorgeous and it is right next to the original Six Flags park.
Back in his days as Governor, fans liked to call it “The House that Bush built.” (believe it or not he truly was a FANTASTIC Governor) As he owned a portion of the Rangers at the time it was being constructed. Now, you don’t hear people brag about it so much….
posted by Witty Nickname on 9-23-2008 at 3:22 pm
Yank’s Suck !!
Go Red Sox!!
Although i loved that attempted curse in the new Yankee Stadium . Just some funny stuff.
posted by kilgore on 9-23-2008 at 3:49 pm
I also liked the curse attempt, kilgore. It was good of the Evil Empire to donate the jersey to the Jimmy Fund for auction. (Be that as it may, the yanks still suck. ;) Go Sox!)
posted by steph on 9-23-2008 at 5:00 pm
I remember going to Yankee Stadium with my dad – the smell of pretzels and beer, the sticky floors, the awesomeness of the field as you emerged from the gates. . . I never did learn how to use the score card correctly, but I never stopped trying. . .
My dad passed away, suddenly, last year, and the Stadium closing is just another drip of lemon juice on that wound. *sigh*
posted by myself on 9-23-2008 at 5:19 pm
Although not a baseball fan I went to THE STADIUM once just to say I went. I also did the same fir a Grateful Dead concert.
posted by gus on 9-23-2008 at 5:59 pm
Right now the sox sux also!!!
posted by gus on 9-23-2008 at 6:01 pm
Good to see Bostonians are even here. Let’s see a Fenway park Quick 10!
Oh yes and Yankees suck, but they no longer need us to tell them that.
posted by Kinglink on 9-23-2008 at 7:23 pm
Boston is such a joke. I love seeing their “fans” all walking aroung in brand new hats when they’re doing well. The Yankees may not be on their game now, but they will never lose their fans.
posted by Colin on 9-23-2008 at 7:52 pm
Your article was interesting about the world famous Yankee Stadium….I was there in 1955…1958 (The world’s largest religious convention that was held there and the Polo Grounds for 8 days…July 27-August 3…with a peak attendance of 253,922 at both stadiums The public address that Nathan H. Knorr then president of Watch Tower Society gave was GOD’S KINGDOM RULES…IS THE WORLD’S END NEAR?…the New York papers said this was the “best behaved convention ever held in New York city”…Delegates came from 120 countries. Mass baptism at Orchard Beach was 7,136. I was there again in 1961…1963 and 1973…and then in the new stadium in 1986…1988…those were the days…I was disappointed when they renovated the stadium…it just wasn’t the same anymore…
Yes, Jehovah’s Witnesses made history at Yankee Stadium and I was proud to be there for the ball game of life everlasting…
Thanks again…Paul E. Beerwort formerly of Philly but now in Eastman, Georgia….
posted by JWWT on 9-23-2008 at 8:12 pm
Kinglink: You took the words right out of my mouth.
Colin: Those aren’t real fans. I’ve had the same Sox tees, sweats, and hat for years, all of which I wear on a regular basis (except for the “In Damn We Trust” tee. That ones been retired.) My hat’s not even blue anymore, it’s a horrible dingy gray, but I still wear it. Boston Pride!!
posted by Cassie on 9-23-2008 at 10:12 pm
Come on guys, we can keep things on a much more intelligent level here: Yankees create a vacuum!
posted by PartiallyDeflected on 9-23-2008 at 10:19 pm
Camden Yards is the best stadium in all of baseball.
..Well, before the stupid Hilton they just put in. But it’s still an awesome stadium.
posted by Caitlin on 9-24-2008 at 8:19 am
Not trying to be facetious but what’s the appeal to Wrigley field exactly? Being a Yankee fan, I’m obviously biased toward “The Stadium” as being one of the greatest places on Earth. I understand that the Cubs have been around a long time and all but how does their history even come close to the Yankee’s history? I can agree that Wrigley and Fenway are a close 2nd and 3rd (in whatever order you wish) but it’s unfair to all to try and compare them with The Stadium. Forget about the Pope, the Jehovah Witness convention and the countless concerts, football games and boxing matches…the baseball history alone is overwhelming. Ruth, Mantle, Gehrig and DiMaggio are four of the greatest players of any sport and all four played on that field and stood in that batters box. 26 World Championships, countless playoff games and more hall of famers existed on that field than anywhere else.
Wrigley, on the other hand, is barely ever open in October over the past 100 years, let alone seen any success and only a handful of greatness. No disrespect to the Cubs/Sox fans here but you just cannot fairly compare the two.
posted by Mike James on 9-24-2008 at 8:25 am
Dear Yankees, we’ll always hate you.
Love, Red Sox
posted by Scotty A on 9-24-2008 at 10:12 am
You know what the funniest part about the Yankee’s is? The lore about what the term “Yankee” meant to the Europeans back prior to and around the Revolutionary War. It meant “Hick” or “Hill-billy” as we would call it today. And then they become the “great” Baseball team in one of America’s biggest and best Cities. The New York Red-Necks just doesn’t have the same ring though.
Makes you think about that famous jingle “Yankee doodle” doesn’t it! But that’s a can of worms that I won’t open here.
reCAPTCHA: flies $250,000
posted by Hahahaha on 9-24-2008 at 10:13 am
A group of friends and I went on a man-cation to Yankee Stadium, Fenway, and Cooperstown a few years back, and I can honestly say that Yankee Stadium is/was a smelly trash heap. No room in the aisles, rudest fans on the planet, and smells like a diaper. If history tells us anything, it’s that history is overrated. New stadium is long overdue.
posted by Kevin H on 9-24-2008 at 10:32 am
And one more thing. Am I the only the realizes that we’re not even talking about the original Yankee stadium? Ruth, Mantle, Gehrig, and the rest never played on this field. I FEEL LIKE I’M TAKING CRAZY PILLS!!!!!
posted by Kevin H on 9-24-2008 at 10:45 am
I’m a Yankee fan, and I love history, but I have to say, it was time for Yankee Stadium to go. The stadium that Ruth, Gehrig, Joe D and the Mick played in died back in the seventies. What stood in its place had some nice moments, but let’s face it, the interior had the charm of a bus station.
All things must past, and the only constant is change. Look on the bright side: in 85 years, when they close Yankee Stadium III, they’ll put Yankee Stadium IV in the same lot that Yankee Stadiums I and II were.
posted by Jim on 9-24-2008 at 11:28 am
I’d like to see a Fenway Top 10 too. Unfortunately, nothing interesting ever goes on there. What can you talk about? The stupid Green Monster 10 times. HAHA!
posted by Freddy Sez on 9-24-2008 at 12:04 pm
Red Sox Suck!!!! It really is an american tradition to root for the Yankees and hate the Red Sox…
posted by Golfer on 4-12-2009 at 3:13 am