The original New York Yankees stadium will be celebrated before Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels at the current stadium that replaced the original in 2009.
The original stadium opened April 18, 1923, with Babe Ruth hitting the first home run in a 4-1 win over Boston before 74,200 spectators, at the time it was said to be the largest crowd to see a baseball game, the Associated Press reported Monday.
Yankee Stadium was built at a cost of $2.5 million, an exceedingly great expense then. Even after a 1974-75 renovation eliminated obstructed seats, but caused the loss of many original elements, a game there remained an aspiration for many players and fans, the AP reported.
The ballpark opened April 18, 1923, with Babe Ruth hitting the first home run in a 4-1 win over Boston before 74,200, at the time called the largest crowd to see a baseball game. https://t.co/nmNaJ8NVTY
— Fox5NY (@fox5ny) April 17, 2023
By the time the original Yankee Stadium closed in 2008, it had hosted 100 of 601 World Series games. The black-and-white images of memorable moments are still seen, including the accomplishments of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra along with the more modern color video of Reggie Jackson, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera, the AP reported.
Built on land purchased from the William Waldorf Astor estate for $675,000, the ballpark was designed by Osborn Engineering and took just 284 working days to construct. The Yankees moved across the Harlem River from the Polo Grounds, their home since 1913, into America’s first three-deck ballpark and became baseball’s attendance leader.
