Things
You Probably Never Knew About the Yankees
The
franchise is right up there as one of the most
famous in sports. Probably more books and articles have been written
about it
than any other baseball team. Yet, there is always something new to
learn about
the Bronx Bombers so read on.
Yankees
A
reference with the name "Yankees” first
appeared in print in the Boston Herald
in 1904. It referred to the American League baseball team in New York
City. Sportswriters Sam Crane of the New York Journal and Mark Roth of the New
York Globe, are credited with first using the name
"Yankees" in their writing about the team.
Logo
The iconic “bat in the
hat” logo was introduced in 1947. It
has been the Yankees' primary logo ever since. The artwork was
originally
credited to Henry Alonzo Keller, a sports illustrator who worked in New
York.
However, the New York Times reported in 2009 that the logo
could have other origins.
According to the family of
Sam Friedman, an artist who worked
at the “21” club in the 1940s and ’50s, it was their ancestor who
sketched the
logo onto a bar napkin for Dan Topping, a regular “21” patron. The
Yankee owner
allegedly immediately decided that would be the new logo for his team.
That
Yankee logo is the oldest still in use in the major leagues.
Shame
Negro League teams who
played at the
Stadium when the Yankees were on the road were not allowed to use their
dressing rooms. Instead they were obliged to use the visitors’ dressing
room.
Unlikely
Friendship
Pitcher
Herb
Pennock was born
to a wealthy Pennsylvania family and graduated from elite prep schools.
Babe
Ruth
was raised in an
orphanage. Pennock was refined, dignified, sophisticated. The great
Ruth was
the opposite of Pennock. Nevertheless, they were friends for almost
three
decades. The friendship began when both were young lefty hurlers for
the Boston
Red Sox
in 1916. The unusual
friendship continued when they were teammates on the Yankees in the
1920s
and 1930s.
FIGHT SONG
The
official fight song for the Yankees "Here
Come the Yankees,"
was written in
1967 by Bob Bundin and Lou Stallman. Not used as too often now at
Yankee
Stadium, it is still frequently played in instrumental form, most times
in
radio broadcasts.
Monuments
The
first monument honoring a
Yankee legend was created in 1932 for Miller Huggins. Monuments and
plaques
were located in centerfield in front of the fence as part of the
playing field
about 450 feet or so from home plate. Outfielders always had to be wary
running
back for long fly balls. At one time ticket holders exited through the
centerfield gates viewing monuments on their way out of the Stadium.
The
monuments were on the field, in front of the fence.
Starting in 1976, the monuments and plaques
were behind the fence in Monument Park.
YANK Newsletter
Created
by owner Larry MacPhail, YANK Newsletter was first published in 1946
and had a
long run. It was published about 6 times a year. Its final
season
was 1967 when it was published in a newspaper format.
Travel
by Airplane
In 1946, the Yankees became the first team to
regularly travel by airplane. The team leased a United Airlines
plane
nicknamed the "Yankee Mainliner.” Despite the advantages of flying,
four
players, including Red Ruffing, still chose to take the train.
Mascot
The
Yankees are one
of four teams today lacking a mascot. From 1982
until 1985, the team mascot was Dandy, a pinstriped bird.
That did not work out.
Hideki Matsui
Before becoming a Yankee,
Hideki
Matsui recorded the second-longest consecutive games played streak in
Japanese
baseball history - 1,250 straight games.
Elaine’s
George
Steinbrenner liked to dine at Elaine's
on Second Avenue in Manhattan. With his team at home, he would often
partake of
an early supper.
Mantle’s Locker
Yankee outfielder
and future broadcaster Bobby Murcer took over Mickey Mantle's locker
after “the
Mick” retired in 1968
.
A professor for more than two decades in the MALS program at Dartmouth
College,
Frommer was dubbed “Dartmouth’s Mr. Baseball” by their alumni magazine.
He’s
also the founder of www.HarveyFrommerSports.com.
Material
in this
article was adapted from his THE ULTIMATE
YAKEE BOOK. https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Yankee-Book-Beginning-Today_Essential/dp/1624144330