3 What stadiums did the club play at once they relocated to New York? The original name of the ballpark, as written on its outside walls, was American League Park, but because it was built on top of a hill of Manhattan Island, it became known as Hilltop Park. From 1903 until 1912, it was the club's home. In 1913, it was replaced by a new stadium that is still in use today as Yankee Stadium.
Before they moved to New York, the Yankees played their games at Newark's College Park. When they first arrived in New York, they played their home games at Hilltop Park. After one season, they moved to Fenway Park for two more seasons before opening Yankee Stadium in 1923. Although it was called "New" Yankee Stadium when it opened, it had been the old stadium's name since it was built in 1903. The Yankees left New Yankee Stadium in 2009 when they moved into a new stadium in Bronx, New York called "The Bronx Bombers' Stadium".
Miguel Cabrera has done this twice, in 2011 and 2012. Before him, no one else had even come close. The record is 11 homers, set by Jimmie Foxx in 1929. The record for most RBIs is also held by Foxx with 1,871, although he did so in 583 games while Cabrera did so in 416 games.
The original Yankee Stadium was destroyed in 2010, two years after it closed, and the 8-acre (3.2 hectare) site was turned into Heritage Field, a public park. Since 1913, the Yankees have shared the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan with the New York Giants. The two teams moved to new stadiums in 1962 and 1963, respectively - Yankee Stadium was replaced by George M. Steinbrenner Park at 1 Yankee Stadium Pkwy.
Originally built as a baseball stadium exclusively for the New York Yankees, it opened on April 17, 2009. The new ballpark replaced the old one located in the Bronx at 161st Street and River Avenue. It had been used by the Yankees since 1923, when they moved from their original stadium (now known as Fenway Park) in Boston's South End. The new ballpark has a capacity of 40,000 people and is the largest stadium in New York City.
After the demolition of the original Yankee Stadium, many fans made plans to visit the old stadium during its reconstruction. However, construction workers quickly dismantled the stands once they realized what they were building. Only the foundation of the former stadium remains today in Heritage Park.
Here are some photos of the original Yankee Stadium:
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The build-up to and final decision to build Yankee Stadium was a watershed moment in New York history. The New York Yankees previously played at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan before moving to Yankee Stadium. Before that, the team was known as the Boston Red Sox franchise because it was founded by former Red Sox players who had moved to New York.
Yankee Stadium opened on April 16, 2009. The original price tag for the stadium was $1 billion, but it was reported after the opening that the actual cost was closer to $275 million.
During World War II, when baseball was not being played due to the presence of soldiers in the military, the Yankees played several home games at Roosevelt Field, which is now part of John F. Kennedy International Airport. After the war, they returned to the Polo Grounds until they finally left it for good in 1973.
Before they even signed a contract to move into their new stadium, plans for Yankee Stadium were already being discussed by executives from both teams. On October 4, 2006, then Yankees owner George Steinbrenner announced that construction would begin on January 8, 2007, and be completed in time for the 2009 season.
Grounds on Huntington Avenue. Before moving to Fenway Park in 1912, the Red Sox played at Huntington Avenue Grounds. After the Red Sox finished their new ballpark, Braves owner James Gaffney paid $100,000 for Allston Golf Club on Commonwealth Avenue to build a new steel and concrete ballpark in 1912. The Red Sox played their first game at Fenway Park on April 17, 1912, against the New York Highlanders. The final game at the original Allston Golf Club was on September 30, 1912, also against the Highlanders.
Fenway Park was built by Charles A. Stone, who had also designed Princeton Stadium (now known as Jordan Field). The park opened in 1912 with 10,500 seats (on a site then covered in grass) and was the largest stadium in Boston at that time. It was also the only major league ball park in America to be located in an urban area: all of Boston's other stadiums were built in suburban or rural locations. The Red Sox moved into Fenway Park after they left the Huntington Avenue Grounds; however, they did not leave immediately after the season ended because there was no building available near where they were playing that would allow for complete renovations. So in 1913, the Red Sox played its home games at Harvard University's Fennelly Field while Fenway was being rebuilt. The team returned to Fenway in 1914 and has played there ever since.
The faltering Baltimore club was purchased in 1903 by Frank Farrell and Bill Devery and relocated to New York, first to Hilltop Park (1903–12), one of Manhattan's highest points, giving rise to the moniker New York Highlanders. After two more seasons at Hilltop Park, they moved on to be replaced by another new team named after themselves.
The original New York Yankees franchise was founded in 1903 by Farrell and Devery as an American League (AL) club. The AL had six teams when it began play in 1901, and the owners of these defunct clubs decided to merge their teams with a group from Baltimore led by John McGraw that included future Hall of Famers George Wright and Christy Mathewson. The new league team was to be called the New York Highlanders, but since no such team had yet been formed in Baltimore, the surviving clubs agreed to let each of them use "Yankees" for one season while they looked for another nickname. In the end, only the New York club used this name in 1903, so it is they who can claim pre-eminence as the true originators of the term.
The Baltimore club was renamed the New York Yankees in 1904 when they moved into their new stadium, which had been built specifically for them by McGraw out in Bronxville.
Almost every baseball team built a new ballpark throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Although many fans and traditionalists wished that the Yankees stay in Yankee Stadium, the team desired a new ballpark to earn greater cash and to provide spectators with more facilities and comforts. After 10 years of playing in Bronx, NY, at Yankee Stadium the Yankees decided it was time for a change.
Before building their current stadium in 2009, the Yankees played their home games at three different stadiums. They first entered New York City in 1923 when they moved into their original stadium, now known as "Yankee Stadium." The Yankees left New York City for Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1933 and finished their season there before returning to New York City the following year. In 1946, they finally returned to New York City and have been playing there ever since. During their time away from New York City, the Yankees played their home games in various other cities across America including Baltimore, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis, New Jersey, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, and Toronto.
After World War II, major league teams were granted an exemption from federal income tax, which made it possible for them to become profitable organizations. Because most leagues had only eight teams then, if one team earned more revenue than others, that team could afford to pay its players more money.