Comments on: What does Yankee Stadium mean to you?

By: Mike Hayes

Mike Hayes — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:40:20 +0000

Here’s a story that I posted on my memories of my first game at the Stadium:

http://www.bustedhalo.com/features/bleacher-magic/

By: Marc W

Marc W — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:35:15 +0000

Truly the Mecca of Sports. Nothing is wrong about it. The greatest play there, the homely feel and the fans. This place will be demolished but not in my heart. Last night showed that Yankee Stadium is one of the greatest places in the world. They did a superb job commemorating it. YANKEE STADIUM I WILL MISS YOU!!!!

By: rodg12

rodg12 — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:55:44 +0000

I’m a lifelong Yankees fan living in the Midwest (Iowa specifically) and have been lucky enough to attend a Yankees game every year of my life. I owe that to my parents who are both huge baseball fans and took me to game before I was even one year old in Minnesota. I’ve been to Yankee Stadium on two separate trips. One in 1995 (when tickets were plentiful due to the strike – I was 11) and another trip in 1999. In 1995 we went for a 3 game set against Baltimore and a 5 game set against Cleveland (including a DH) August 7-13th. We had great seats under the overhang and behind the Yankees dugout. I remember walking out the tunnel the first time and how awe-inspiring the green of the grass and the great white facade around the outfield were. Looking back now, the highlights of the trip were a pair of Yankees each hitting 3 HR in a game. One was Mike Stanley (who hit one to left, one to center and one to right) and the other was Ruben Sierra. I distinctly remember how loud the Stadium was when Ruben came up for a chance to hit his third HR. The Stadium was going nuts chanting â€œRUBEN!-RUBEN!-RUBEN!â€ and when he delivered the HR into the right-centerfield bleachers I thought the place was going to explode. I was high-fiving complete strangers in the rows around me and going nuts. Another interesting fact of the trip that meant little at the time but means a lot now is that I got to see a skinny right-hander start the first game of the double header. I’d never heard of him and neither had my dad. This skinny right-hander was none other than Mariano Rivera. I also remember standing by the playersâ€™ entrance before and after a few of the games. I saw Jack McDowell roll into the stadium wearing plaid shorts, a t-shirt and sandals when everybody else was rocking a collared shirt and jeans/khakis. I thought he looked like a bum. I also remember seeing Donnie Baseball walk out after the game with a kid on his shoulders and two more flanked beside him. Donnie was my idol growing up. I was lucky enough to get his autograph numerous times in Minnesota, Kansas City and Detroit. I was even shown on ESPN getting his autograph in KC when they ran a special on Donnie in ‘95. There was also a time in Detroit when I was just a little tyke of 8 and Donnie came over to sign for the fans. There was such a huge onslaught of fans coming to get his autograph that everyone behind me pushed forward and pinned me against the railing so that I could barely breathe. Donnie told everyone to back up, they were hurting me and proceeded to sign my ball and go back to taking grounders. Seeing him with his family after a game in NY was special. I don’t remember as much about the ‘99 trip. We did see the Yanks score 21 in a game against the Indians. I didn’t take it in and remember it as well as I should of on that trip. It wasn’t my first trip and I didn’t think it would be my last as it turned out being. The best part of that trip was taking the Stadium tour on one of the Yankees off days and getting to set in the Yankees dugout and see the clubhouse. Memories I’ll never forget. I really wish I could have made it out there this year, but circumstances just didn’t allow it. I’ll miss the old Stadium and cherish the memories that I have of it and watching all the great Yankees games there (both in person and on T.V.)

By: Timothy Clougher

Timothy Clougher — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:34:01 +0000

I have so many fond memories of Yankee stadium, I was born in 1960, my dad and grandpa were die hard Yank fans and raised me that way as well, my grandpa use to say there is only 1 NY team, and being from the Bronx he’s say, they reside in the Bronx.

The stadium to me is a magical place, you can feel a presence at the games, one I have never felt in other ball parks, when the Yanks are down a run or something in the stadium, you just know the ghost’s are lurking for a special moment.

I sit here and wonder were will the spirits of Ruth, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Mantle, Maris, Murcer, Rizzuto, Munson, Hunter, Martin the lists goes on…were will they dwell….

I’m sad really sad….I know life goes on….

By: EdinVirginia

EdinVirginia — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:44:05 +0000

I’m lucky to have several very fond memories! My 1st would be sitting in the car on the Grand Concourse with my Mom and Dad as we turned toward the Stadium – it was the 1st time I saw those blue seats so high up in the air! #2 would be the night Gator struck out 18 Angels! As the game went on, the buzz grew – everybody was keeping a count, hoping and hoping for more. As usual that year, Guidry delivered. I was 7, sitting in the 3rd deck and 100% in heaven. 3rd memory came back in ‘91. I was working as an extra for ESPN and had on filed access. I wandred toward the batting cage…and who walks right up to me but Frank ‘Hondo’ Howard – all 6′8″ of him. He was as friendly as could be. I don’t even think I got the time correct. Anyway, like most of us, I’ve been blessed with many great times at Da Stadium.

By: RTS

RTS — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:12:39 +0000

For some reason 1968 stands out for me. Could be because I was 16 and had enough money to go many, many games – $1.50 to sit in the back of the upper deck behind home plate + 30 cents subway fare + maybe a buck for Cokes and peanuts.

I remember three games vividly and I still have the score cards. On May 30, Mantle went 5 for 5 with 2 homers & a double against the Washington Senators. Mick was a shadow of himself but not on that day! Later that year, on August 10, Mickey hit more against the Twins – both from the right side. I considered myself his good luck charm.

Also that year was the best game I have ever witnessed in person. It was August 24, a hot and hazy Saturday and the Tigers, who were running away with the AL that year were in town. Denny McLain, on his way to 31 wins and 25-4 coming into the game vs. Mel Stottlemyre who would win 21 games with a pretty mediocre team. Roy White hit a 2 run homer off McLain in the 1st (Horace Clarke on base) and Willie Horton hit a monster shot off Mel in the 7th and that was it. Yankees win 2-1! In front of about 29,000, which was HUGE crowd in 1968. Game time – 2 hours and 3 minutes.

Although that was the only game of the weekend series I attended, the Yankees swept 4 (all by one run) from the mighty Tigers, and sat at .500 for the 1st time since April of that year. Rocky Colavito was the winning pitcher in the 1st game of the Sunday doubleheader – saw that one on TV. The Yanks actually finished 4 games over .500 for the year, a huge accomplishment after finishing 9th in 67 and 10th (last) in 66.

Those were the days!

By: brian

brian — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:57:21 +0000

i only got to go to the stadium once. I’ve been a fan all my life but I live in New Hampshire. When I finally got the chance to go i almost missed it. My car wouldn’t start and I was stuck in Jersey. I finally made it at the beginning of the 6th inning. They almost didn’t let me in. but I got in and I was mesmorized. I will never forget how i felt looking down on the field for the first time. truly magical

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:24:21 +0000

To a kid growing up on LI in the ’50s, who lived, breathed, ate, and drank baseball and the Yankees, The Stadium…’the Big Ballpark’, as the ol’ redhead used to call it…it was home. The facade, the monuments and flagpole in cf (yes, I’m one who actually thought Huggins, Ruth, and Gehrig were buried there), Death Valley, it combined with the players and the team that gave this kid the sense of entitlement come October. It was Mantle and Maris, Jensen and Ford, Yogi and Whitey, Turley and Ditmar. But it was also DeMaestri and Shantz, Blanchard and Cerv, Lopez and Carey. It was the smell of stale popcorn and cigar smoke. It was that magic moment, walking though the tunnel and seeing that huge, magnificently green field, Mickey joking with the press by the batting cage before launching pitch after pitch into the upper deck in right. It was the down times, the cavernous outfield missing for years the idols of my youth…but I never wavered, I tuned in while Clarke and White and Stottlemyre and Bouton toiled as I waited for Reggie to come and bring them back to October, when the bunting draped across the walls in foul territory told me that the World Series was back. It’s the childhood memories that matter the most to me, though Jeter, O’Neill, Martinez, Williams, Rivera, Posada and the rest of the last championship teams that played there do matter. It won’t ever be the same; no matter that the new stadium will look more like the old one.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:51:35 +0000

RIP Yankee Stadium, 1923-2008. Thank you!

So many awesome memories for me that I watched inside this place & watched take place on TV inside Yankee Stadium.

The around 35 games I went to in Yankee Stadium, each one just as special as the next.
The playoff games, the games vs the Red Sox, the other normal games.
The long days waiting until it was time to leave for Yankee Stadium.
The long days at school when I wasn’t in NYC, waiting all day for games to come.
The ferry rides to Manhattan, the subway rides all the way from the most southern tip of Manhattan all the way up to the Bronx with more & more Yankees fans on the train the closer you got to the Stadium.
The thousands of fans in the streets around Yankee Stadium.
The experience of games inside Yankee Stadium, a sports experience unmatched by any other sports games or places I’ve ever been to.
The atmosphere, indescribable.
The awesomeness of the fans, no more passionate fans anywhere.
The history of Yankee Stadium.
The awe you could feel just looking around the Stadium in amazement of everything that has taken place inside Yankee Stadium & all of the generations that have experienced it.
The joy of a Yankees win. The happiness in the air after a game.
The experience of going on a tour of Yankee Stadium with my dad & being able to walk on the field & sit in the dugout, amazing & awesome.
The experience of taking my dad to his 1st Yankees game. Taking someone I love so much to a place & team I love so much.

All of this and WAY more are all memories I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.

One day when I take my kids to the new Yankee Stadium across the street I’ll be able to tell them stories of how years ago I watched the Yankees play in the old Stadium.

Thank you Yankee Stadium & thank you Yankees for all the memories.

RIP to Yankee Stadium, 1923-2008

By: Ron

Ron — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:03:46 +0000

I’ve been a Yankee fan for 50 years. I went to the Stadium for the first time on 8/12/58. I was 7 years old and sat with my Dad in the bleachers watching Mickey Mantle. Bleacher tickets were 75 cents and the usher let me in for free going under the turnstile. Those were the days. And yes, Mickey did hit one out. Is there anything better than going to the game with your dad and watching the Mick hit a home run ? Still one of the best days of my life.

I’ve been to the Stadium between 100 – 200 times even though for many years I lived fairly far away. The Stadium always feels like home. I had the opportunity to take the Stadium tour 2 weeks ago. Absolutely awesome, and the first time I had been on the field in a long time.

Too many highlights over the years to mention them all. Maris and Mantle chasing the Babe in ‘61. Reggie’s 3 homers in ‘77, return to greatness in ‘96, Aaron’s Boone’s homer in 2003 while I was working in Boston, ( maybe the most joyous moment of them all ), and watching Derek Jeter play every day.

I have not felt real nostalgic until tonight. Maybe it’s because they rebuilt the old Stadium after ‘73. But I loved the Yankee teams from the late 90’s probably most of all. It was great to see so many great players from the past tonight. And I’m sure the new Stadium will be great. But when the wrecking ball hits the old stadium eventually, I’ll probably feel the way a lot of Dodger fans felt when they tore down Ebbetts Field. The end of an era.

Lets hope the 2009 Yankees go all the way in the new ballpark. And regardless of your age, I hope all Yankee fans will keep their special memories of Yankee Stadium in their minds and in their hearts.

And thanks Pete, for doing a super job with your blog !