History of the New York Yankees

The New York Yankees professional baseball team, are typically considered the most successful professional sports franchise in history. The Yankees are the most widely known American sports team worldwide. They are located in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. The actual club had been among the original American League teams however referred to as the Baltimore Orioles for their first two years. In 1903 they relocated from Baltimore to New York and became the Highlanders. They officially became the “Yankees” in 1913.

The Yankees play at Yankee Stadium, essentially the most famous sports venues the world has ever known. The initial stadium had been built-in 1923 and had been often known as “the house that Ruth built” making reference to Babe Ruth, the prominent Yankee slugger. In 2009 the team relocated into the brand new Yankee stadium which had been built on a site across the street from the original ballpark.

The Yankees have won forty American League pennants qualifying them for more World Series as compared to any other major league team. They won their last World Series in 2009 which was the 27th world championship in their storied history. The Yankees won their first series in 1923 and have won an average of about 1 out of every 3 world series ever since then. A notable feat in any sport.

In the past 110 years, the Yankees have displayed some of the most famous players in major league baseball (MLB). George Herman “Babe” Ruth played for the Yankees from 1920 until 1934 after playing 6 years for the rival Boston Red Sox. Along with Lou Gehrig and many other great players, Ruth began the Yankee domination of the sport. After Ruth and Gehrig, the astounding Joe DiMaggio years followed until the 1950s when the role of superstar was filled by Mickey Mantle. At the end of Mantle’s career in the 1960s and into the early 1970s the Yankees had uncommonly mediocre teams.

In 1973 multi-millionaire George Steinbrenner led a group of investors to purchase the New York Yankees from CBS (the television network) which had bought the team in 1965 ( many believe CBS had been a primary reason to the years of mediocrity). The recent “Curt Flood” court decision had resulted in free agency in major league baseball. Steinbrenner signed free agents including Catfish Hunter and Reggie Jackson to huge contracts and reconstructed the team into a leader going back to the World Series in 1976 after having a 12 year absence.

Steinbrenner made the Yankees in to the most valuable sports franchise worldwide. Right up until his retirement in 2006, the Yankee owner used his wallet to guarantee that the Yankees remained as among the top level teams in baseball. Over this time the sheer number of superstars putting on the well known Yankee pin stripped uniform are way too numerous to mention. Profit for the Yankees increased as sales of caps, jerseys, headbands, shoes, helmets, jewelry and other things that could possess a Yankee logo ended up being gobbled up by an incredible number of fans, travelers as well as collectors.

Steinbrenner however had his share of controversy and detractors. Fans of other teams have referenced the Yankees during his leadership as being the “Evil Empire” referencing Darth Vader’s dark side in the Star Wars movies .His on again off again relationship with sometimes Yankee manager Billy Martin typically left both enthusiasts and also Yankee haters baffled. The gifted gut erratic Martin was hired and fired 5 times by Steinbrenner and had been set for a 6th stint before his untimely death in 1989.

The Yankees these days are still a great baseball team with Derek Jeter as their current superstar. They made the 2011 playoffs but were eliminated in short order,, an uncommon event for Yankee followers. Television, movies and the internet now take American sports around the globe. Much like a few football and basketball teams, you’ll find Yankee fans in Utah, Texas, Los Angeles, Florida, Japan and even Thailand. The majority of us want to be linked to those who win and the New York Yankees are the definition of the term “winners”.

About the Author

I grew up near Syracuse, New York and was a huge Yankee fan in the late 50s and early 60s. Mickey Mantle was my favorite sports hero both then and now. In the 1970s I moved south and became an Atlanta Braves fan and one of those Yankee haters. In recent years after the drug scandals, strikes and ridiculous contracts, I have lost interest in major league baseball. However, I still daydream about Mickey, Yogi, Whitey and the boys when the fresh smell of a spring day reminds me of the great game of baseball.

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