Yankee Stadium [I] (1923 - 1973)

[Mygirljess]

Was that the same day they gave away the free "Yankee Stadium 50th Anniversary" Records? It was the same size as a '45 but it played at 33 1/3. I still have two copies, my brother gave me his.

[voodoochile]

Speaking of Stengel, this is a nice piece of trivia that I like to tell, and not many people that I know have knowledge of it.
1923 was Yankee Stadium's first year, and they were playing the Giants for the third consecutive time. Having lost the previous two to the Giants in '21 & '22, they entered the 9th tied 4-4. A home run by a Giants outfielder won game one 5-4, and it was the first World Series home run ever hit at Yankee Stadium. However, it was of the inside the park variety. But no problem since the second World Series home run at the stadium was hit over the fence by the same outfielder for a 1-0 win, and both were hit by Casey Stengel.

The photo is of Casey sliding safely in game one.

[Mike Wagner]

Dear Dennis,
Thank you for the story about Casey and Frank Messer. Everyone loves Casey!! Frank Messer was a true, kind gentleman. On September 30, 1973, the last game before the renovation, I was near 3b, taking photos of the Stadium. Frank was walking from LF towards Home Plate. He saw me point my camera at him. He was kind enough to pose and smile. I later sent him the photo, which he was kind enough to autograph. Such a sweet man!!!

During the 1973 Yankee Old Timers Day game, I saw an Old Timer sit behind Home Plate. I ended up getting autographs of Monte Irvin and Johnny Stevens (umpire) autographs. I had a baseball book. Monte liked it and said he'd like to get a copy. I later wrote him the particulars about the book and publisher.

Earlier that day, there was an entrance/exit near the street where the Yankee locker room was. I got autographs of Bobby Thomson, Rico Petrocelli,
Mel Allen, Terry Moore (Cardinals), Elston Howard, and others.

I also remember when Mickey got up to hit his home run off of Whitey, I was standing in the lower level well behind the Home Plate area. When Mickey got up to bat, I remember seeing a black man put his arms above his head and bowing towards Mickey. One of many people worshipping a baseball God.

Since you were a vendor, I do remember a tall, white male, I think he had a mustache, long hair, and glasses, and was in his 20s or 30s. I may be off a little on this. I do know he sold yearbooks along the 3b side. I don't remember if it was Upper or Lower Deck. Anyway, I remember he had the most unique way of saying "Yearbooooooooooooks."

Thanks for jogging my memory, Dennis. I took a photo of Concessions.
Hot Dog .50 Hero Sandwich .95 soda .30 candy .25
Popconn Peanuts Cracker Jacks Potato Chips .27

-Mike

[Mike Wagner]

Dear Mygirljess,

The record was given away of September 30, 1973. I still also have a couple of copies.

-Mike Wagner

[stadiumbuilder]

I've got three copies of that record I guess because the people I was with didn't want theirs. I brought home from that game those records, 3/4 of a seat, a boxplate (315e), and a small piece of the right field wall. I don't have the slightest recollection of carrying all that stuff home, but somehow I did. I also have my ticket stub, but if I was smart, I'd have three ticket stubs from that game because if people didn't want their records, they certainly would have given me those too. Nuts.

[brooklyndodger14]

Dear Dennis,
Thank you for the story about Casey and Frank Messer. Everyone loves Casey!! Frank Messer was a true, kind gentleman. On September 30, 1973, the last game before the renovation, I was near 3b, taking photos of the Stadium. Frank was walking from LF towards Home Plate. He saw me point my camera at him. He was kind enough to pose and smile. I later sent him the photo, which he was kind enough to autograph. Such a sweet man!!!

During the 1973 Yankee Old Timers Day game, I saw an Old Timer sit behind Home Plate. I ended up getting autographs of Monte Irvin and Johnny Stevens (umpire) autographs. I had a baseball book. Monte liked it and said he'd like to get a copy. I later wrote him the particulars about the book and publisher.

Earlier that day, there was an entrance/exit near the street where the Yankee locker room was. I got autographs of Bobby Thomson, Rico Petrocelli,
Mel Allen, Terry Moore (Cardinals), Elston Howard, and others.

I also remember when Mickey got up to hit his home run off of Whitey, I was standing in the lower level well behind the Home Plate area. When Mickey got up to bat, I remember seeing a black man put his arms above his head and bowing towards Mickey. One of many people worshipping a baseball God.

Since you were a vendor, I do remember a tall, white male, I think he had a mustache, long hair, and glasses, and was in his 20s or 30s. I may be off a little on this. I do know he sold yearbooks along the 3b side. I don't remember if it was Upper or Lower Deck. Anyway, I remember he had the most unique way of saying "Yearbooooooooooooks."

Thanks for jogging my memory, Dennis. I took a photo of Concessions.
Hot Dog .50 Hero Sandwich .95 soda .30 candy .25
Popconn Peanuts Cracker Jacks Potato Chips .27

-Mike

I remember him too! Unfortunately, I forgot his name, but yup, he would always make that unique call for yearbooks. I'll bet you'll remember an elderly beer vendor named Nick Gerardi. He was a short Italian gentleman who must have been selling since the late 40's or early 50's, but he was one of those who sold beer from dugout to dugout (NYS2009 equivalent: The Trost Trench) with a distinctive call always heard in the background on radio and TV: "Getcher beeeeeeer, hey beeeeeeeeer!" He certainly had seen and worked many memorable games during the Yankees' glory days of the 50's.

If you have any photos of the concessions (whether vendors or stands), would you please possibly post some here? It would be a great resource for Kaplanski's 3DYS, as I'm working on the signage for inside and outside the model. Some of the earlier pictures posted here of OYS during the 1966 football season showed the stands with the same interior food signage that lasted until 1973, but still had the archival Yankee history photos outside and above the stands. In 1967, they were replaced with large color transparencies of Canteen Corporation foods. Thanks in advance!

Dennis
BrooklynDodger14

[stadiumbuilder]

I remember that guy! I heard that beer call so many times on TV I thought they trained all the beer vendors to talk that way, but it was all him. I also remember an incredibly cute female vendor from the late 70's, long dark hair, dark eyes. I think she was selling peanuts the first day I saw her. I called for some so I could talk to her and she throws them to me! No! I pass the money along and never got within 10 feet. She probably learned early on how to keep idiot teenagers from hitting on her.

[brooklyndodger14]

I remember that guy! I heard that beer call so many times on TV I thought they trained all the beer vendors to talk that way, but it was all him. I also remember an incredibly cute female vendor from the late 70's, long dark hair, dark eyes. I think she was selling peanuts the first day I saw her. I called for some so I could talk to her and she throws them to me! No! I pass the money along and never got within 10 feet. She probably learned early on how to keep idiot teenagers from hitting on her.

I think I know whom you're thinking of, her name was Liz and I do have some pictures of her. In the first year of RYS was the first season they hired female vendors to work the stands (Women's Lib literally at work, LOL!).

I started a baseball vendors thread here a couple of years ago where I will post some of the pre-game Stadium pics I found from 1976-78 over there sometime this weekend, so I won't stray off-topic here.

Dennis
BrooklynDodger14

[Gary Dunaier]

I started a baseball vendors thread here a couple of years ago where I will post some of the pre-game Stadium pics I found from 1976-78 over there sometime this weekend, so I won't stray off-topic here.

Dennis
BrooklynDodger14

There are four threads here at the Baseball Fever that reference vendors. In searching for the thread Dennis started, I learned that when you do searches you have to be specific - a search for "vendors" only pulls up those threads with "vendors" in the title, if you want the singular you have to type "vendor" without the "s."

Anyway, here are the threads, beginning with the one Dennis started...

The Ballpark Vendor. Most recent post - 6/11/06.

Photos of vendor uniforms (past and present) throughout the major leagues. Most recent post - 7/16/08.

Standout Vendors. Most recent post - 10/25/07.

Where are the Vendors & Service People? Most recent post - 6/24/07.

[SparkyL]

Dear Friends,

Regarding Mickey's home run in the 1973 Old Timers Day game at Yankee Stadium, I found my clipping from the New York Daily News. The bottom of the front page features 2 photos of Mickey. The first one shows Mickey's beautiful swing. The photo to the right shows Mickey rounding third base, with a wide smile.

I sent it to Mickey's home in Dallas. He signed it beautifully with a blue Sharpie. Mickey always had the most beautiful signature. Buck Leonard's reminds me very much of Mickey's signature. I laminated the paper, as I'd rather laminate it than have it fall apart.

At a Virginia Beach, Virginia show featuring ex-Yankee pitcher Jim Coates in the mid-1980s, I traded for a bat Mickey used in an Old Timers Day game. It's currently in storage, as we've moved a few times. I think it is the same bat Mickey clubbed his home run off of Whitey. I'd have to look. The bat is autographed.

By the way, I did use it for a few swings at a baseball batting cage shortly after I got it. I hit 2 or 3 baseballs with it. No homers. I can see you guys fainting!!! No, the bat didn't break. You know you would have done the same thing. I choked up on it, as it weighed a little too much for me. But, how many people have been able to swing their hero's bat?

-Mike Wagner

Posting the picture on behalf of Mike.

[brooklyndodger14]

A comparison with the Daily News photo of Mantle's 1973 OTD homerun swing and the cover photo from Joseph Durso's Yankee Stadium: Fifty Years of Drama which was published the year before showing his swing from OTD 1970.

The Yankee uniform numbers on their home jerseys had 3 distinct phases: the 1929 thru 1945 era in the Red Sox-style number font (think Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig), the 1946-1973 era with the Navy-style block font (think late-career DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, Ford & Howard), and finally, the current 1973-present doubleknit era (Reggie, Munson, Goose, Mattingly, thru Jeter) with the serif-style numerals.

To fans growing up within each of these eras, the uniforms and the player numbers provided a unique identity to both the players and their time as Yankees.

I bring this up because in the back of my mind I find it slightly out-of-place to see Mantle in his '73 double-knits with a serif "7" when during his whole playing career he is remembered in his flannels and classic "7" as in the Durso book cover.

I think it would be nice (and therefore, highly unlikely) if the Yankees were to acknowledge their retired numbers in MP in the appropriate number style of each player's era. It would provide a subtle but meaningful statement of the long and legendary historical heritage of the Yankees.


Dennis
BrooklynDodger14

[SparkyL]

A comparison with the Daily News photo of Mantle's 1973 OTD homerun swing and the cover photo from Joseph Durso's Yankee Stadium: Fifty Years of Drama which was published the year before showing his swing from OTD 1970.

The Yankee uniform numbers on their home jerseys had 3 distinct phases: the 1929 thru 1945 era in the Red Sox-style number font (think Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig), the 1946-1973 era with the Navy-style block font (think late-carrer DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, Ford & Howard), and finally, the current 1973-present doubleknit era (Reggie, Munson, Goose, Mattingly, thru Jeter) with the serif-style numerals.

To fans growing up within each of these eras, the uniforms and the player numbers provided a unique identity to both the players and their time as Yankees.

I bring this up because in the back of my mind I find it slightly out-of-place to see Mantle in his '73 double-knits with a serif "7" when during his whole playing career he is remembered in his flannels and classic "7" as in the Durso book cover.

I think it would be nice (and therefore, highly unlikely) if the Yankees were to acknowledge their retired numbers in MP in the appropriate number style of each players era. It would provide a subtle but meaningful statement of the long and legendary historical heritage of the Yankees.


Dennis
BrooklynDodger14

Very observant and I totally agree with you about MP. Of course making such a change assumes that the Yankee organization is equally observant and based on some of Trost's comments (and even Morante's) I'm not convinced that is the case.

[RationalNYYfan]

A comparison with the Daily News photo of Mantle's 1973 OTD homerun swing and the cover photo from Joseph Durso's Yankee Stadium: Fifty Years of Drama which was published the year before showing his swing from OTD 1970.

The Yankee uniform numbers on their home jerseys had 3 distinct phases: the 1929 thru 1945 era in the Red Sox-style number font (think Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig), the 1946-1973 era with the Navy-style block font (think late-carrer DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, Ford & Howard), and finally, the current 1973-present doubleknit era (Reggie, Munson, Goose, Mattingly, thru Jeter) with the serif-style numerals.

To fans growing up within each of these eras, the uniforms and the player numbers provided a unique identity to both the players and their time as Yankees.

I bring this up because in the back of my mind I find it slightly out-of-place to see Mantle in his '73 double-knits with a serif "7" when during his whole playing career he is remembered in his flannels and classic "7" as in the Durso book cover.

I think it would be nice (and therefore, highly unlikely) if the Yankees were to acknowledge their retired numbers in MP in the appropriate number style of each players era. It would provide a subtle but meaningful statement of the long and legendary historical heritage of the Yankees.


Dennis
BrooklynDodger14

Wow that's really interesting! And I'd like to see that in MP as well.

[voodoochile]

Regarding the uniform/fonts of different era's, you might be surprised to find that the Yankees may listen to your suggestion. If you recall the most recent ceremonies that included veteran players, they were attired accordingly, so someone is on the ball in the front office.

[Bobby_Ayala]

Actually Munhak does have obstructing support columns.

It appears so, but not nearly to the extent that OYS had, what Locke endorses, or what USCF has.