Gehrig
08-10-01, 01:46 PM
Since 1932, the New York Yankees have honored their all-time greats with the erection of monuments and plaques in the outfield section of Yankee Stadium.
On May 30, 1932, the first monument was dedicated to the memory of Miller Huggins, who died suddenly in 1929. The diminutive manager guided the Yankees to six American-League pennants and three World Championships in his 11-plus seasons.
The first plaque was placed on the center-field wall in April 1940, a tribute to Jacob Ruppert, the former owner who built Yankee Stadium and brought the tradition of winning to the Yankees.
Two more monuments followed in 1941 for Lou Gehrig and in 1949 for slugger Babe Ruth. Later plaques were placed in center field for General Manager Edward Barrow and the Yankees' two great center fielders, Joe Dimaggio and Mickey Mantle. Mantle's plaque was removed and replaced by a fourth monument in his honor in 1996.
Originally, the monuments and plaques were part of the playing field. The monuments and flag pole were located in straight-away center field on the warning track about 10 feet in front of the wall. Sometimes long hits and fly balls forced fielders to go through or behind the monuments to retrieve the long drives.
As much of a tradition as the monuments and plaques themselves was the policy of allowing fans to exit Yankee Stadium through the center-field gates via the warning track, pausing and reflecting on the achievements of these great men.
When Yankee Stadium was closed for renovations in 1974 and 1975, the monuments and plaques were relocated to an area off the field between the Yankee and visiting bullpens. However, fans were not allowed to exit via the warning track and viewing of Monument Park was only allowed at a great distance.
In 1976, two more plaques were added to memorialize managers Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel. In the 1980's, plaques were dedicated to Yankee greats Thurman Munson (1980), Roger Maris and Elston Howard (1984), Phil Rizzuto (1985), Billy Martin (1986), Lefty Gomez and Whitey Ford (1987), Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey (1988), and Allie Reynolds (1989). In the 1990's, the Yanks dedicated plaques to former team captain Don Mattingly (1997) and the legendary "Voice of the Yankees" Mel Allen (1998) .
Plaques commemorating the visits of Pope Paul VI in 1965 and Pope John Paul II in 1979 were dedicated in Monument Park by the Knights of Columbus.
In 1985, after the left-center field fence was moved in, the Yankees again were able to open the Monument Park area for fan viewing. Long lines and increased fan interest caused the Yankees to move the fence in further in 1988 and expand the Monument Park area. The Yankees have included a special walk honoring those Yankees who have their uniform numbers retired.
Gone...
But NEVER forgotten...
YANKEE STADIUM'S FIVE MONUMENTS
MILLER JAMES HUGGINS
MANAGER OF THE NEW YORK YANKEES, 1918-1929
PENNANT WINNERS 1921-22-23-26-27-28
WORLD CHAMPIONS 1923, 1927 AND 1928
AS A TRIBUTE TO A SPLENDID CHARACTER WHO
MADE PRICELESS CONTRIBUTIONS TO BASEBALL
AND ON THIS FIELD BROUGHT GLORY TO THE
NEW YORK CLUB OF THE AMERICAN LEAGUE
THIS MEMORIAL ERECTED BY COL. JACOB RUPPERT
ELECTED TO HALL OF 1974
AND BASEBALL WRITERS OF NEW YORK
A MAGNIFICENT YANKEE
MAY 30, 1932
HENRY LOUIS GEHRIG
JUNE 19, 1903-JUNE 2, 1941
A MAN, A GENTLEMAN AND A GREAT BALL PLAYER
WHOSE AMAZING RECORD OF 2,130 CONSECUTIVE
GAMES SHOULD STAND FOR ALL TIME.
THIS MEMORIAL IS A TRIBUTE FROM THE YANKEE
PLAYERS TO THEIR BELOVED CAPTAIN AND
TEAMMATE.
JULY 4, 1941
GEORGE HERMAN "BABE" RUTH
1895-1948
A GREAT BALL PLAYER
A GREAT MAN
A GREAT AMERICAN
ERECTED BY THE YANKEES AND
THE NEW YORK BASEBALL WRITERS
APRIL 19, 1949
MICKEY MANTLE
"A GREAT TEAMMATE"
1931-1996
536 HOME RUNS
WINNER OF THE TRIPLE CROWN 1956
MOST WORLD SERIES HOMERS 18
SELECTED TO ALLSTAR GAME 20 TIMES
WON MVP AWARD 1956, 1957 & 1962
WHO LEFT A LEGACY OF
UNEQUALLED COURAGE
DEDICATED BY THE NEW YORK YANKEES
AUGUST 24, 1996
JOSEPH PAUL DiMAGGIO
"THE YANKEE CLIPPER"
1914-1999
RECOGNIZED AS BASEBALL'S "GREATEST LIVING PLAYER"
LIFETIME BATTING AVERAGE .325
WON MVP AWARD 1939, 1941, 1947
SELECTED TO ALL-STAR GAME 13 TIMES
AMERICAN LEAGUE BATTING TITLE 1939, 1940
ELECTED TO HALL OF FAME 1955
SET ON E OF BASEBALL'S MOST ENDURING RECORDS
56-GAME HITTING STREAK, MAY 15 TO JULY 16 1941
LED THE YANKEES TO AN INCREDIBLE NINE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
IN HIS 13-YEAR CAREER
A BASEBALL LEGEND AND AN AMERICAN ICON
"HE HAS PASSED, BUT HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US."
DEDICATED BY THE NEW YORK YANKEES
APRIL 25, 1999
On May 30, 1932, the first monument was dedicated to the memory of Miller Huggins, who died suddenly in 1929. The diminutive manager guided the Yankees to six American-League pennants and three World Championships in his 11-plus seasons.
The first plaque was placed on the center-field wall in April 1940, a tribute to Jacob Ruppert, the former owner who built Yankee Stadium and brought the tradition of winning to the Yankees.
Two more monuments followed in 1941 for Lou Gehrig and in 1949 for slugger Babe Ruth. Later plaques were placed in center field for General Manager Edward Barrow and the Yankees' two great center fielders, Joe Dimaggio and Mickey Mantle. Mantle's plaque was removed and replaced by a fourth monument in his honor in 1996.
Originally, the monuments and plaques were part of the playing field. The monuments and flag pole were located in straight-away center field on the warning track about 10 feet in front of the wall. Sometimes long hits and fly balls forced fielders to go through or behind the monuments to retrieve the long drives.
As much of a tradition as the monuments and plaques themselves was the policy of allowing fans to exit Yankee Stadium through the center-field gates via the warning track, pausing and reflecting on the achievements of these great men.
When Yankee Stadium was closed for renovations in 1974 and 1975, the monuments and plaques were relocated to an area off the field between the Yankee and visiting bullpens. However, fans were not allowed to exit via the warning track and viewing of Monument Park was only allowed at a great distance.
In 1976, two more plaques were added to memorialize managers Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel. In the 1980's, plaques were dedicated to Yankee greats Thurman Munson (1980), Roger Maris and Elston Howard (1984), Phil Rizzuto (1985), Billy Martin (1986), Lefty Gomez and Whitey Ford (1987), Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey (1988), and Allie Reynolds (1989). In the 1990's, the Yanks dedicated plaques to former team captain Don Mattingly (1997) and the legendary "Voice of the Yankees" Mel Allen (1998) .
Plaques commemorating the visits of Pope Paul VI in 1965 and Pope John Paul II in 1979 were dedicated in Monument Park by the Knights of Columbus.
In 1985, after the left-center field fence was moved in, the Yankees again were able to open the Monument Park area for fan viewing. Long lines and increased fan interest caused the Yankees to move the fence in further in 1988 and expand the Monument Park area. The Yankees have included a special walk honoring those Yankees who have their uniform numbers retired.
Gone...
But NEVER forgotten...
YANKEE STADIUM'S FIVE MONUMENTS
MILLER JAMES HUGGINS
MANAGER OF THE NEW YORK YANKEES, 1918-1929
PENNANT WINNERS 1921-22-23-26-27-28
WORLD CHAMPIONS 1923, 1927 AND 1928
AS A TRIBUTE TO A SPLENDID CHARACTER WHO
MADE PRICELESS CONTRIBUTIONS TO BASEBALL
AND ON THIS FIELD BROUGHT GLORY TO THE
NEW YORK CLUB OF THE AMERICAN LEAGUE
THIS MEMORIAL ERECTED BY COL. JACOB RUPPERT
ELECTED TO HALL OF 1974
AND BASEBALL WRITERS OF NEW YORK
A MAGNIFICENT YANKEE
MAY 30, 1932
HENRY LOUIS GEHRIG
JUNE 19, 1903-JUNE 2, 1941
A MAN, A GENTLEMAN AND A GREAT BALL PLAYER
WHOSE AMAZING RECORD OF 2,130 CONSECUTIVE
GAMES SHOULD STAND FOR ALL TIME.
THIS MEMORIAL IS A TRIBUTE FROM THE YANKEE
PLAYERS TO THEIR BELOVED CAPTAIN AND
TEAMMATE.
JULY 4, 1941
GEORGE HERMAN "BABE" RUTH
1895-1948
A GREAT BALL PLAYER
A GREAT MAN
A GREAT AMERICAN
ERECTED BY THE YANKEES AND
THE NEW YORK BASEBALL WRITERS
APRIL 19, 1949
MICKEY MANTLE
"A GREAT TEAMMATE"
1931-1996
536 HOME RUNS
WINNER OF THE TRIPLE CROWN 1956
MOST WORLD SERIES HOMERS 18
SELECTED TO ALLSTAR GAME 20 TIMES
WON MVP AWARD 1956, 1957 & 1962
WHO LEFT A LEGACY OF
UNEQUALLED COURAGE
DEDICATED BY THE NEW YORK YANKEES
AUGUST 24, 1996
JOSEPH PAUL DiMAGGIO
"THE YANKEE CLIPPER"
1914-1999
RECOGNIZED AS BASEBALL'S "GREATEST LIVING PLAYER"
LIFETIME BATTING AVERAGE .325
WON MVP AWARD 1939, 1941, 1947
SELECTED TO ALL-STAR GAME 13 TIMES
AMERICAN LEAGUE BATTING TITLE 1939, 1940
ELECTED TO HALL OF FAME 1955
SET ON E OF BASEBALL'S MOST ENDURING RECORDS
56-GAME HITTING STREAK, MAY 15 TO JULY 16 1941
LED THE YANKEES TO AN INCREDIBLE NINE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
IN HIS 13-YEAR CAREER
A BASEBALL LEGEND AND AN AMERICAN ICON
"HE HAS PASSED, BUT HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US."
DEDICATED BY THE NEW YORK YANKEES
APRIL 25, 1999