Yankee Stadium's Last Season
A Retrospective of Sports History In the House that Ruth Built
Jan 9, 2008
After the 2008 season, Yankee Stadium will be closed forever. And while developers promise that they do not intend to demolish Baseball's Grandest Cathedral, those of us with a pulse know that if a developer is talking, he's probably lying. Maybe not. Maybe they will make it into a museum.
Nevertheless, it is time to face the facts as they are, and it is time to highlight thirty of the thousands of great moments that took place over the 85 (soon to be 86) years of The House That Ruth Built.
1. Babe Ruth homered in the first game ever played at the Stadium.
2. Roger Maris hit his 61st home run here.
3. Babe Ruth hits his 60th home run here.
4. Don Larsen Pitched a Perfect Game in the World Series here.
5. The Yankees made 48 playoff appearances, Won 39 Pennnants and Captured 26 World Series Titles.
6. Lou Gehrig gave the Most Famous Speech in Sports History here on July 2, 1939.
7. George Brett Went Ballistic When Billy Martin's Pine Tar Scam Robbed the Royal of a Home Run.
8. Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio played in the same outfield for one season (1951).
9. Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig played four seasons together the same team for four years (1936-1939).
10. Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth played 12 seasons together in this Stadium (1923-34).
11. It was here that Reggie Jackson hit three home runs, off three different pitchers, on three consecutive pitches in the final Game of the 1977 World Series.
12. Tom Seaver won his 300th game here.
13. David Cone and David Wells each pitched perfect games here.
14. Ron Guidry struck out 18 Calfornia Angels here.
15. Derek Jeter hit the Jeffrey Maier home run here.
16. Mystique and Aura made their last appearance at Yankee Stadium during Games 4 and 5 of the 2001 World Series.
17. The Red Sox made the greatest comeback in sports history here.
18. Mickey Mantle hit five home runs off the old facade, once missing an out-of-the-park blast by as little as twelve inches.
19. Josh Gibson did hit one out.
20. Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey, Max Baer, Joe Louis, Rocky Graziano, Sugar Ray Robinson and Ken Norton all fought for the title here.
21. The 1958 NFL championship game was played here. The contest between the Colts and Giants was long known as the Greatest Football Game Ever Played.
22. Knute Rockne gave his "Win One for the Gipper" speech at halftime of the 1928 Notre Dame-Army Game. Notre Dame won.
23. Chris Chambliss tought the world how to survive a pennant-clinching walk-off home run: with brute force.
24. Casey Stengel confused many a reporter with his famous speeches here.
25. Yogi stupified everybody.
26. George Steinbrenner went from leader of the pride to the lion in winter.
27. The 1978 team overcame a 14 1/2 game deficit to beat the Red Sox, and then went on to win their second straight World series.
28. Men by the name of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Stan Musial, Sandy Koufax, Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, Frank Robinson, Rogers Hornsby, Lefty Grove, Whitey Ford, Thurman Munson, Carlton Fisk, Roger Clemens, Pete Rose, Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn, Barry Bonds, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron and Nolan Ryan all played here.
29. Mickey Mantle charmed them all, Even in the End.
30. Although the New Yankee Stadium, which opens in 2009, will undoubtedly have many great moments of its own, it's hard to imagine that it could ever match the grandeur and greatness of the original.
Farewell Yankee Stadium. You will be missed.
