Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium
The House that Ruth Built

Location	Bronx, New York
Opened	April 18, 1923
Re-opened	April 15, 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)
Owned By	City of New York
Architect:	Osborn Engineering (1923) Praeger-Kavanaugh-Waterbury (1976)
Dimensions: Left Left-Center Center Right-Center Right	280.58 ft. (1923), 301 ft. (1928), 312 ft. (1976), 318 ft. (1988) 500 ft. (1923), 490 ft. (1924), 457 ft. (1937), 430 ft. (1976), 411 ft. (1985), 399 ft. (1988) 487 ft. (1923), 461 ft. (1937), 463 ft. (1967), 417 ft. (1976), 410 ft. (1985), 408 ft. (1988) 429 ft. (1923), 407 ft. (1937), 385 ft. (1976) 294.75 ft. (1923), 295 ft. (1930), 296 ft. (1939), 310 ft. (1976), 314 ft. (1988)

Yankee Stadium is the home of the New York Yankees, a major league baseball team. Located at East 161st Street and River Avenue in the Bronx, New York City. Originally opened on April 18, 1923 and reopened on April 15, 1976 after an extensive three year renovation. The first night game was played on May 28, 1946.

It is often referred to as the "house that Ruth built," the "Home of Champions" or simply the Stadium. It is the first baseball arena to be labelled a Stadium.

It favors left-handed hitters because of a shorter right-field fence, although the field has become much more symmetric over the years. The seats behind center field are painted black and not occupied during baseball games. This allows batters to track the ball as it is pitched, as the "black seats" section is directly in front of them. If fans were allowed to sit in this section, it would create an unfair home team advantage, as the fans in that section could wear white shirts and move around, making it virtually impossible for the batters of the opposing team to track the ball.

Perhaps the best known of all baseball stadiums, Yankee Stadium is the scene of such memorable events as Don Larsen's perfect World Series game in 1956, Roger Maris' then-record 61st home run in 1961, and Reggie Jackson's three home runs in a World Series game in 1977.

The New York Giants American football team played at Yankee Stadium from 1956 to 1973. Many boxing matches have been held at the Stadium, notably Joe Louis's victory over Max Schmeling in 1938. Billy Graham held larger gatherings at the Stadium. The 1930 and 1931 Army-Navy Games were played at Yankee Stadium. The New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League used Yankee Stadium for home games in 1971 and then again in 1976.

One of its distinguishing features is the white facade that hangs over the outfield bleacher billboards and scoreboard (a similar frieze once hung over the upper deck pre-renovation). Also notable is the exhaust stack that stands outside the main entrance gate...constructed in the shape of a baseball bat. (For years it bore the Louisville Slugger logo.)

While elements of the Stadium are decidely modern, its asymmetry, monuments in left-center field and exterior arches give fans a reminder of the Stadium during its most golden period. (Even the blue YANKEE STADIUM letters over the main gate are longtime features; they're the same letters that first appeared there in white in the early 1960s.

One hypothesis is that the "Bronx cheer" was so named because of its popularity among Yankee fans.

External links

• Yankee Stadium history (http://yankees.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nyy/ballpark/nyy_ballpark_history.jsp)
• http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/yankee.htm

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