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Going out in style

All-Star bow only fitting for Yankee Stadium

By Hal Bock | Associated Press

July 6, 2008

NEW YORK - When Yankee Stadium opened for business April 18, 1923, an army of writers strained for adjectives to describe the majestic, triple-decked structure that loomed over the landscape like the Colosseum in Rome, somehow relocated to the Bronx.

Babe Ruth, who was largely responsible for its construction, took one look around the place and chose a succinct description, exclaiming, "Some ball yard!"

Some ball yard, indeed.

It was the biggest and grandest of ballparks, a perfect setting for some of baseball's greatest stars and most historic moments. More memories are on the way - now in its final season, the stadium will host the All-Star Game on July 15.

From the start, it was the home to Yankees dynasties - seven pennants and six World Series championships in eight years under Joe McCarthy, 10 pennants and seven championships in 12 years under Casey Stengel, six pennants and four championships in 12 straight playoff seasons under Joe Torre.

From Ruth and Gehrig to DiMaggio and Mantle, to Jackson and Jeter, Yankees history is crowded with dynamic players flourishing in a ballpark whose roots date back to a bitter rivalry that was spiced with spite.

The Yankees had been tenants of the New York Giants in an oddly shaped park named the Polo Grounds when Ruth's home run exploits began to make his team a more attractive gate draw. Giants boss John McGraw took notice of the condition and advised the Yankees after the 1922 season that they ought to find someplace else to play, preferably in the suburbs of New York, far away from the Giants.

In a fit of pique, the Yankees bosses agreed to move, settling on a plot of land across the Harlem River almost in the shadow of the Polo Grounds. At a cost of $2.5 million - no small piece of change in those days - Yankee Stadium was constructed in 284 days.

It was an instant hit.

A sellout crowd of over 60,000 watched Ruth hit a three-run homer in a 4-1 victory over Boston in that first game. That October, the Yankees won the first of their 26 World Series championships, beating the Giants, and the Stadium quickly became the crown jewel of the game.

It is as much museum as it is ballpark, this shrine with its sea of monuments and plaques lining the outfield wall. In this special place where stars played and popes prayed, the Yankees became the most successful franchise in sports history.

Yankees captain Derek Jeter was asked about his first memory of the Stadium.

"I can't even tell you who we played, to be quite honest with you," he said. "You're so excited, everything's pretty much a blur. It's a good thing, because I was a Yankees fan growing up, so it was a dream come true for me.

"Everything seemed just larger than life. It just seemed bigger. The stadium was bigger. There were millions of people - even though it was only 50,000."

From the beginning, Yankee Stadium wasn't only a baseball venue.

It was in the Stadium that Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne, preparing for a game against Army, implored the Irish to "Win one for the Gipper." Stirred by the memory of late teammate George Gipp, they did.

It was in the Stadium where the Baltimore Colts won the 1958 NFL championship in the first overtime game in league history, an epic that was properly called "The Greatest Game Ever Played."

And it was in the Stadium where Joe Louis destroyed Max Schmeling in the first round of their heavyweight championship rematch, striking a blow against Adolf Hitler's Nazi racial supremacy theories.

First and foremost, however, Yankee Stadium is a baseball park, and in its final season, after 85 years of history, it is the perfect venue for the 2008 All-Star Game.

With its unique decorative facade running along the top of the ballpark, the Stadium was one of a kind.

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Going out in style

All-Star bow only fitting for Yankee Stadium

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Going out in style

All-Star bow only fitting for Yankee Stadium

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