Yankee Stadium (1923)
| Yankee Stadium | |
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"The House That Ruth Built Old Yankee Stadium" |
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| Yankee Stadium in June 2006 | |
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| place | East 161st Street & River Avenue Bronx , New York , New York
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| Coordinates | 40 ° 49 '46.8 " N , 73 ° 55' 34.6" W |
| owner | City of New York |
| operator | New York Yankees |
| opening | April 18, 1923 April 1976 (reopening) |
| Renovations | 1974-1975 |
| demolition | September 22, 2008–13. May 2010 |
| surface | Natural grass |
| costs | $ 2.5 million (1923) $ 167 million (1976) |
| architect | Osborn Engineering (1923); Praeger-Kavanaugh-Waterbury (1976) |
| capacity | 58,000 (1923) • 62,000 (1926) 82,000 (1927) • 67,113 (1928) 62,000 (1929) • 71,699 (1937) 70,000 (1942) • 67,000 (1948) 67,205 (1958) • 67,337 (1961) 67,000 (1965) • 65,010 (1971) 54,028 (1976) • 57,145 (1977) 57,545 (1980) |
| playing area | Left Field - 318 ft (96.9 m) Left Center - 399 ft (121.6 m) Center Field - 408 ft (124.4 m) Right Center - 385 ft (117.3 m) Right Field - 314 ft (95. 7m) |
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The Yankee Stadium was a baseball stadium in the south of the Bronx , New York , NY , located on 161st Street. It was the home ground of the New York Yankees .
The first game took place on April 18, 1923 (Yankees v Boston Red Sox 4-1), the last on September 21, 2008 (Yankees v Baltimore Orioles 7-3). Then the games of the Yankees were played in the new Yankee Stadium , which was built next to the old one and whose exterior is strongly based on it. It was inaugurated on April 16, 2009.
From March 2009 to May 2010 the venue was demolished and a green area called the Heritage Field was created.
Most recently, the stadium held 57,545 spectators.
history
On February 6, 1921, the Yankees issued a press release to announce the purchase of property in the Bronx. The land was opposite the Yankees' previous stadium, the Polo Grounds , which they had shared with city rivals New York Giants since 1913 . It was previously part of William Waldorf Astor's real estate and was purchased for $ 675,000.
The plan was to hold 70,000 spectators on three covered viewing decks. The club management offices were relocated from Midtown Manhattan to the stadium. Since then, the offices have been located between the main deck and the intermediate deck and are connected to the main entrance via an elevator .
The construction contract was awarded on May 5, 1922 to the New York company White Constructions Co. at a fixed price of 2.5 million US dollars, with the addition that the stadium should be ready for the season opening in 1923. After 284 working days of construction, the Yankee Stadium was ready for the opening game on April 18, 1923 against the Boston Red Sox .
The opening game was sold out with 74,200 fans, thousands more fans were not admitted. Babe Ruth sealed the 4-1 win over the Red Sox with a three run home run in the fourth inning. Since it was not least Ruth's throwing power and clout that made the stadium construction possible, the stadium became known as "The House That Ruth Built". At the end of the season, the first World Series games were played in the stadium and the Yankees won their first championship against arch-rivals, the New York Giants.
The stadium was enlarged for the first time in 1928. The upper audience deck in the left field behind the foul pole has been expanded. The upper spectator tiers in the Right Field were expanded in 1937 and thus made upper deck homeruns (German: Oberrang-Homeruns) possible on both sides of the stadium. In 1946 the stadium received a floodlight system and in 1959 the first electronic billboard. In the winter of 1966, the entire facility was modernized by the new owner CBS for 1.5 million US dollars. Most of it was invested in paint (90 tons). The brown concrete facade was painted white and the green seats in the main stand became blue.
On August 8, 1972, after years of debating the aging ball park, the Yankees signed a 30-year lease with the City of New York , which meant that the stadium would be completely modernized by 1976. After the 1973 season, the Yankees moved to Shea Stadium for two seasons , while the stadium was almost completely demolished and rebuilt. During the renovation, the playing field was lowered so that the view from the lower courts was better. After the old roof of the stadium was removed, the old facade was rebuilt and ten more rows of seats were added on the top spectator deck. The renovated stadium reopened on April 17, 1976 in the game against the Minnesota Twins , which the Yankees won 11-4.
Yankee Stadium has also hosted other sports and cultural events. While the Yankees were away playing or the baseball season was on hold, Yankee Stadium hosted college and professional football, soccer, political events, concerts, and even circus performances. On July 24, 1923 Benny Leonard won a 15-round boxing match against Lou Tendler for the lightweight title. By the time Muhammad Ali won his fight against Ken Norton on September 28, 1976, 30 boxing matches had been fought . One of them was for the heavyweight title on June 22, 1938, when Joe Louis won a first-round knockout against Max Schmeling after losing to Schmeling in the same place two years earlier.
The New York Giants football team played at Yankee Stadium from 1956 to 1973. On December 28, 1958, at the NFL Championship Game, 64,185 spectators saw the Baltimore Colts equalize the game against the Giants with a field goal from Steve Myrha seven seconds before the end at 17:17 . In the eighth minute of the first sudden death extra time played in the NFL , Colts fullback Alan Ameche fought his way from the 1-yard line to end the game. The Giants lost "The Greatest Game Ever Played" 23:17.
On October 4, 1965, 80,000 people came to the stadium to meet Pope Paul VI. to see. 14 years later, Pope John Paul II also stopped at Yankee Stadium on his journey through the United States. Even Benedict XVI. celebrated a mass on April 20, 2008 with thousands of people at Yankee Stadium.
Big moments at Yankee Stadium
- The MLB All-Star Game was played in 1939, 1969, 1977 and 2008.
- Babe Ruth hits his 60th home run of the season on September 30, 1927, setting a new record.
- Don Larsen creates a Perfect Game in the World Series on October 8, 1956.
- Roger Maris hits his 61st home run of the season on October 1, 1961, beating Ruth's record.
- Mickey Mantle hits his 500th home run on May 14, 1967.
- David Wells creates a Perfect Game on May 18, 1998.
- David Cone creates a Perfect Game on July 18, 1999.
- Roger Clemens wins the 300th game of his career and manages his 4000th strikeout on June 13, 2003.
Web links
- Yankee Stadium (English)