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Bronx News
says farewell to Yankee Stadium
By Vinny Iovino
Yankee Stadium or "The House That
Ruth Built" whichever name suits you, ended its 85 year
history Sunday night when it dimmed its lights for good.
The final game at Yankee Stadium was a meaningless game
against the Baltimore Orioles, a meaningless game in
late September that Yankee fans are certainly not used
to. With a record of 84-71, the team is not yet
officially eliminated from the post season but their
hopes are as dim as the lights that went out Sunday
night. It will be the first time the team has missed
October baseball since 1994.
I have many memories of Yankee Stadium. I remember the
first time I went to the stadium as a reporter and
walked on the field. I would have never imagined walking
on the field at Yankee stadium when I was a kid, but
interviewing Ricky Henderson, Don Mattingly and other
Yankee greats was special.
I remember saying hello to George Steinbrenner for the
first time and interviewing him about his plans to move
the team out of the Bronx. I also remember taking
pictures with Phil Rizzuto and Bill Martin. I
interviewed many Yankees for this Bronx News, but my
best interview was with Don Mattingly who I featured in
one of my columns. He was one of the true Yankees of my
generation.
As a kid growing up in the Bronx,
I remember going to the stadium to see Horace Clarke,
Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, Lou Pinella, Bobby
Murcer, Roy White and other Yankee greats. I was a huge
fan and anytime I could go to the game I did. I also
remember when I worked for the Yankee Stadium-Con Edison
program where Con Edison gave tickets to youth
organizations in New York City. At the time, we worked
26 Yankee home games and we sat and talked to Earl
Battey, a former catcher with the Minnesota Twins.
Yankee stadium opened April 18, 1923 and the memories
are never ending. The new ballpark will be great but one
thing the new stadium won't have is history. Ruth
hitting his 60th home run in 1927, Roger Maris hitting
his 61st home run in 1961 and Alex Rodriquez hitting his
500th last year.
Let us not forget Reggie Jackson hitting three home runs
on three consecutive pitches in Game 6 of the 1977 World
Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Don Larson
pitching a perfect game in the 1956 World Series and
Mickey Mantle nearly hitting the ball clearly out of the
park in 1963. Recently, Derek Jeter, another one of
those true Yankees, passed Lou Gehrig for the most hits
at Yankee Stadium. This stadium has so much history and
so many great memories.
There is a saying that when one
door closes another one opens. When Yankee stadium
closes with its rich tradition, history and memories,
the new stadium will begin its own unique tradition,
history and memories starting next year.
You can read Vinny Iovino's column every week in the
Bronx News, Parkchester News and City News.
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