(old) Yankee Stadium

My first time in the ‘old’ Yankee Stadium was 1994 against the Indians. This was the year baseball split the AL and NL into three divisions. The Yankees would win the east that year while the Indians would finish second in the central, 1 game behind the White Sox. (The following year Milwaukee went to the NL. Coincidentally, Bud Selig was the MLB commissioner at that time.) We got to the stadium early enough to walk through monument park. Back then there were only three statues; Ruth, Huggins, and Gerhig. [Mantle and DiMaggio were still alive.] This particular game included Don Mattingly, Wade Boggs, and Paul O’Neill on the Yankees and Kenny Lofton, Albert Belle, Eddie Murray, and Sandy Alomar Jr. on the Indians. The game did not disappoint. Jim Abbott started for the Yankees (no decision) and the Yankees won 6-5. Steve Howe, who led the majors in lifetime suspensions, got the save.


I did get to a few more games at Yankee before it closed. Even though the Old Yankee was originally built before WWII, the structure was remodeled in the 1970’s successfully removing any original charm.