Brad's Ultimate New York Yankees Website    -    www.HistoryOfTheYankees.com

	SEASON		TEAM		LEAGUE		W		L		PCT		GB		ATTENDANCE
	2012		New York Yankees		American League		-		-		-		-		-
	2011		New York Yankees		American League		97		65		.599		-		3,653,680
	2010		New York Yankees		American League		95		67		.586		1.0		3,765,807
	2009		New York Yankees		American League		103		59		.636		-		3,719,358
	2008		New York Yankees		American League		89		73		.549		8.0		4,298,655
	2007		New York Yankees		American League		94		68		.580		2.0		4,271,083
	2006		New York Yankees		American League		97		65		.599		-		4,243,780
	2005		New York Yankees		American League		95		67		.586		-		4,090,440
	2004		New York Yankees		American League		101		61		.623		-		3,775,294
	2003		New York Yankees		American League		101		61		.623		-		3,465,600
	2002		New York Yankees		American League		103		58		.640		-		3,465,807
	2001		New York Yankees		American League		95		65		.594		-		3,264,847
	2000		New York Yankees		American League		87		74		.540		-		3,227,657
	1999		New York Yankees		American League		98		64		.605		-		3,293,259
	1998		New York Yankees		American League		114		48		.704		-		2,919,046
	1997		New York Yankees		American League		96		66		.593		2.0		2,580,325
	1996		New York Yankees		American League		92		70		.568		-		2,250,877
	1995		New York Yankees		American League		79		65		.549		7.0		1,705,263
	1994		New York Yankees		American League		70		43		.619		-		1,675,556
	1993		New York Yankees		American League		88		74		.543		7.0		2,416,965
	1992		New York Yankees		American League		76		86		.469		20.0		1,748,733
	1991		New York Yankees		American League		71		91		.438		20.0		1,863,733
	1990		New York Yankees		American League		67		95		.414		21.0		2,006,436
	1989		New York Yankees		American League		74		87		.460		14.5		2,170,485
	1988		New York Yankees		American League		85		76		.528		3.5		2,633,701
	1987		New York Yankees		American League		89		73		.549		9.0		2,427,672
	1986		New York Yankees		American League		90		72		.556		5.5		2,268,030
	1985		New York Yankees		American League		97		64		.602		2.0		2,214,587
	1984		New York Yankees		American League		87		75		.537		17.0		1,821,815
	1983		New York Yankees		American League		91		71		.562		7.0		2,257,976
	1982		New York Yankees		American League		79		83		.488		16.0		2,041,219
	1981		New York Yankees		American League		59		48		.551		2.0		1,614,353
	1980		New York Yankees		American League		103		59		.636		-		2,627,417
	1979		New York Yankees		American League		89		71		.556		13.5		2,537,765
	1978		New York Yankees		American League		100		63		.613		-		2,335,871
	1977		New York Yankees		American League		100		62		.617		-		2,103,092
	1976		New York Yankees		American League		97		62		.610		-		2,012,434
	1975		New York Yankees		American League		83		77		.519		12.0		1,288,048
	1974		New York Yankees		American League		89		73		.549		2.0		1,273,075
	1973		New York Yankees		American League		80		82		.494		17.0		1,262,103
	1972		New York Yankees		American League		79		76		.510		6.5		966,328
	1971		New York Yankees		American League		82		80		.506		21.0		1,070,771
	1970		New York Yankees		American League		93		69		.574		15.0		1,136,879
	1969		New York Yankees		American League		80		81		.497		28.5		1,067,996
	1968		New York Yankees		American League		83		79		.512		20.0		1,185,666
	1967		New York Yankees		American League		72		90		.444		20.0		1,259,514
	1966		New York Yankees		American League		70		89		.440		26.5		1,124,648
	1965		New York Yankees		American League		77		85		.475		25.0		1,213,552
	1964		New York Yankees		American League		99		63		.611		-		1,305,638
	1963		New York Yankees		American League		104		57		.646		-		1,308,920
	1962		New York Yankees		American League		96		66		.593		-		1,493,574
	1961		New York Yankees		American League		109		53		.673		-		1,747,725
	1960		New York Yankees		American League		97		57		.630		-		1,627,349
	1959		New York Yankees		American League		79		75		.513		15.0		1,552,030
	1958		New York Yankees		American League		92		62		.597		-		1,428,438
	1957		New York Yankees		American League		98		56		.636		-		1,497,134
	1956		New York Yankees		American League		97		57		.630		-		1,491,784
	1955		New York Yankees		American League		96		58		.623		-		1,490,138
	1954		New York Yankees		American League		103		51		.669		8.0		1,475,171
	1953		New York Yankees		American League		99		52		.656		-		1,537,811
	1952		New York Yankees		American League		95		59		.617		-		1,629,665
	1951		New York Yankees		American League		98		56		.636		-		1,950,107
	1950		New York Yankees		American League		98		56		.636		-		2,081,380
1949	New York Yankees	American League	97	57	.630	-	2,283,676
1948	New York Yankees	American League	94	60	.610	2.5	2,373,901
1947	New York Yankees	American League	97	57	.630	-	2,178,937
1946	New York Yankees	American League	87	67	.565	17.0	2,265,512
1945	New York Yankees	American League	81	71	.533	6.5	881,845
1944	New York Yankees	American League	83	71	.539	6.0	789,995
1943	New York Yankees	American League	98	56	.636	-	618,330
1942	New York Yankees	American League	103	51	.669	-	922,011
1941	New York Yankees	American League	101	53	.656	-	964,722
1940	New York Yankees	American League	88	66	.571	2.0	988,975
1939	New York Yankees	American League	106	45	.702	-	859,785
1938	New York Yankees	American League	99	53	.651	-	970,916
1937	New York Yankees	American League	102	52	.662	-	998,148
1936	New York Yankees	American League	102	51	.667	-	976,913
1935	New York Yankees	American League	89	60	.597	3.0	657,508
1934	New York Yankees	American League	94	60	.610	7.0	854,682
1933	New York Yankees	American League	91	59	.607	7.0	728,014
1932	New York Yankees	American League	107	47	.695	-	962,320
1931	New York Yankees	American League	94	59	.614	13.5	912,437
1930	New York Yankees	American League	86	68	.558	16.0	1,169,230
1929	New York Yankees	American League	88	66	.571	18.0	960,148
1928	New York Yankees	American League	101	53	.656	-	1,072,132
1927	New York Yankees	American League	110	44	.714	-	1,164,015
1926	New York Yankees	American League	91	63	.591	-	1,027,675
1925	New York Yankees	American League	69	85	.448	28.5	697,267
1924	New York Yankees	American League	89	63	.586	2.0	1,053,533
1923	New York Yankees	American League	98	54	.645	-	1,007,066
1922	New York Yankees	American League	94	60	.610	-	1,026,134
1921	New York Yankees	American League	98	55	.641	-	1,230,696
1920	New York Yankees	American League	95	59	.617	3.0	1,289,422
1919	New York Yankees	American League	80	59	.576	7.5	619,164
1918	New York Yankees	American League	60	63	.488	13.5	282,047
1917	New York Yankees	American League	71	82	.464	28.5	330,294
1916	New York Yankees	American League	80	74	.519	11.0	469,211
1915	New York Yankees	American League	69	83	.454	32.5	256,035
1914	New York Yankees	American League	70	84	.455	30.0	359,477
1913	New York Yankees	American League	57	94	.377	38.0	357,551
1912	New York Highlanders	American League	50	102	.329	55.0	242,194
1911	New York Highlanders	American League	76	76	.500	25.5	302,444
1910	New York Highlanders	American League	88	63	.583	14.5	355,857
1909	New York Highlanders	American League	74	77	.490	23.5	501,700
1908	New York Highlanders	American League	51	103	.331	39.5	305,500
1907	New York Highlanders	American League	70	78	.473	21.0	350,020
1906	New York Highlanders	American League	90	61	.596	3.0	434,700
1905	New York Highlanders	American League	71	78	.477	21.5	309,100
1904	New York Highlanders	American League	92	59	.609	1.5	438,919
1903	New York Highlanders	American League	72	62	.537	17.0	211,808

YANKEES POSTSEASON RESULTS

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2012	-	-	-
2011	AL Division Series	Detroit Tigers	Lost, 3-2
2010	AL Championship Series	Texas Rangers	Lost, 4-2
2009	World Series	Philadelphia Phillies	Won, 4-2
2008	DID NOT QUALIFY	na	na
2007	AL Division Series	Cleveland Indians	Lost, 3-1
2006	AL Division Series	Detroit Tigers	Lost, 3-1
2005	AL Division Series	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Lost, 3-2
2004	AL Championship Series	Boston Red Sox	Lost, 3-4
	AL Division Series	Minnesota Twins	Won, 3-1
2003	World Series	Florida Marlins	Lost, 4-2
	AL Championship Series	Boston Red Sox	Won, 4-3
	AL Division Series	Minnesota Twins	Won, 3-1
2002	AL Division Series	Anaheim Angels	Lost, 3-1
2001	World Series	Arizona Diamondbacks	Lost, 4-3
	AL Championship Series	Seattle Mariners	Won, 4-1
	AL Division Series	Oakland A's	Won, 3-2
2000	World Series	New York Mets	Won, 4-1
	AL Championship Series	Seattle Mariners	Won, 4-2
	AL Division Series	Oakland A's	Won, 3-2
1999	World Series	Atlanta Braves	Won, 4-0
	AL Championship Series	Boston Red Sox	Won, 4-1
	AL Division Series	Texas Rangers	Won, 3-0
1998	World Series	San Diego Padres	Won, 4-0
	AL Championship Series	Cleveland Indians	Won, 4-2
	AL Division Series	Texas Rangers	Won, 3-0
1997	AL Division Series	Cleveland Indians	Lost, 3-2
1996	World Series	Atlanta Braves	Won, 4-2
	AL Championship Series	Baltimore Orioles	Won, 4-1
	AL Division Series	Texas Rangers	Won, 3-1
1995	AL Division Series	Seattle Mariners	Lost, 3-2
1981	World Series	Los Angeles Dodgers	Lost, 4-2
	AL Championship Series	Oakland Athletics	Won, 3-0
	Eastern Division Series	Milwaukee Brewers	Won, 3-2
1980	AL Championship Series	Kansas City Royals	Lost, 3-0
1978	World Series	Los Angeles Dodgers	Won, 4-2
	AL Championship Series	Kansas City Royals	Won, 3-1
1977	World Series	Los Angeles Dodgers	Won, 4-2
	AL Championship Series	Kansas City Royals	Won, 3-2
1976	World Series	Cincinnati Reds	Lost, 4-0
	AL Championship Series	Kansas City Royals	Won, 3-2
1964	World Series	St. Louis Cardinals	Lost, 4-3
1963	World Series	Los Angeles Dodgers	Lost, 0-4
1962	World Series	San Francisco Giants	Won, 4-3
1961	World Series	Cincinnati Reds	Won, 4-1
1960	World Series	Pittsburgh Pirates	Lost, 4-3
1958	World Series	Milwaukee Braves	Won, 4-3
1957	World Series	Milwaukee Braves	Lost, 4-3
1956	World Series	Brooklyn Dodgers	Won, 4-3
1955	World Series	Brooklyn Dodgers	Lost, 4-3
1953	World Series	Brooklyn Dodgers	Won, 4-2
1952	World Series	Brooklyn Dodgers	Won, 4-3
1951	World Series	New York Giants	Won, 4-2
1950	World Series	Philadelphia Phillies	Won, 4-0
1949	World Series	Brooklyn Dodgers	Won, 4-1
1947	World Series	Brooklyn Dodgers	Won, 4-3
1943	World Series	St. Louis Cardinals	Won, 4-1
1942	World Series	St. Louis Cardinals	Lost, 4-1
1941	World Series	Brooklyn Dodgers	Won, 4-1
1939	World Series	Cincinnati Reds	Won, 4-0
1938	World Series	Chicago Cubs	Won, 4-0
1937	World Series	New York Giants	Won, 4-1
1936	World Series	New York Giants	Won, 4-2
1932	World Series	Chicago Cubs	Won, 4-0
1928	World Series	St. Louis Cardinals	Won, 4-0
1927	World Series	Pittsburgh Pirates	Won, 4-0
1926	World Series	St. Louis Cardinals	Lost, 4-3
1923	World Series	New York Giants	Won, 4-2
1922	World Series	New York Giants	Lost, 4-0
1921	World Series	Giants	Lost, 5-3

Some Yankee History...

The New York Yankees first played ball in 1903 and since that time over 1,200 ball players have had the privilege of putting on the Yankee pinstripes. Since their introduction to the game, the Yankees have dominated the sport and have won a total of 35 Pennants and 24 World Series. It all started in 1903 when Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the Baltimore franchise for $18,000 and moved it to New York. The team first starting playing at the famous 10,000 seat Hilltop Park. The team was then called the Highlanders as the stadium sat on Broadway and 168th Street in Upper Manhattan. The Highlanders first coach was Clark Griffith, who was also a pitcher and won 14 games in 1903, who was hired away from the Chicago Whitesox. In the first year of existence, the highlanders finished in fourth place. The following year the great Jack Chesbro won an incredible 41 games, but the Highlanders still finished second behind Boston.
In 1913, the team changed its name to the Yankees. With the name change also came a move from Hilltop Park to the Polo Grounds. The Yankees were so popular that they outgrew Hilltop Park as fans gathered and overfilled the ballpark. Without much success and little money, Farrell and Devery sold the team to Colonels Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston and Jacob Ruppert for the sum of $460,000. At that time the new ownership wanted to change the name of team to the "Knickerbockers" after Ruppert's beer business as a part of a promotional plan. Major outcry from the fans and media caused Ruppert to change his mind and keep the name "Yankees". After three more years of more unsuccessful seasons, the Yankees decided to hire the great Miller Huggins. Huggins had an immediate impact on the team as they started moving up in the standings. But as we all know, they greatest player ever to play the game was about to make his impact on the sport. The only downside was that we would have to wait until 1920.

The day after Christmas in 1919, the greatest deal in the history of sports took place. Harry Frazee was to receive a total of $100,00 in return for George Herman Ruth. Col. Jacob Ruppert also agreed to loan the sum of $300,000 to Frazee to guarantee his mortgage on Fenway Park. Baseball, as we know it today, would forever be changed. The Yankees agreed to pay "The Babe" the sum of $20,000 for the 1920 season. That season Ruth hit an amazing 54 homeruns, more than any team in baseball except the Phillies. The Yankees hit an amazing 115 homeruns as a team. In 1920, Ruth hit .376 and had 137 RBIs, along with a record slugging percentage of .847. Ruth helped baseball overcome the scandal that hit baseball in 1919 called the "Black Sox Scandal" in which White Sox players were accused of throwing the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Also in 1920, the Yankees finally drew over 1 million fans to the ballpark with a total of 1,289,422. Ruth became the greatest sports hero of all-time surpassing the likes of Red Grange, Bobby Jones, Jack Johnson, and Jack Dempsey. He would change the game of baseball forever and be known by most as the greatest player ever to play the game. There is more great history to come....Check back soon.

The Yankee have amassed a total of 27 World Championships!

History of the Yankee Uniform

What would become the most recognizable insignia in sports—the interlocking "NY"—made its first appearance on the uniforms of the New York Highlanders in 1909. The design was actually created in 1877 by Louis B. Tiffany for a medal to be given by the New York City Police Department to Officer John McDowell, the first NYC policeman shot in the line of duty. Perhaps because one of the club’s owners, Bill Devery, was a former NYC police chief, the design was adopted by the Highlanders. It first appeared on both the cap and on the jersey’s left sleeve, replacing the separated "N" and "Y" which had appeared on the left and right breast each season since 1903 with the exception of 1905. For that season only, the "N" and "Y" were merged side by side into a monogram on the left breast—actually a forerunner of the now legendary emblem.

In 1912, their final season at Hilltop Park, the Yankees—as they were now commonly known—made a fashionable debut at their home opener on April 11. Their traditional white uniforms were now trimmed with black pinstripes, creating a look that would become the most famous uniform design in sports history. The Yankees, however, were not the first team with pinstripes and would actually abandon the look for the next two seasons. By 1915, though, the pinstripes were back for good and, with the exception of the cap, the uniform would remain relatively unchanged.

The Yankees utilized numerous cap designs—including pinstripes—from 1903 until 1922 when they finally settled on a solid navy cap with the interlocking "NY" insignia. Only one more element would now be needed to achieve a look that remains in place today. In 1917, the Yankees removed the "NY" monogram from the jersey and went with a plain, pinstripes-only look. The "NY" remained off the uniform—except for the cap—for the next 20 years until it was reinstated in 1936. The legendary Babe Ruth, therefore, actually played his entire Yankee career without ever wearing the club’s now-legendary insignia on his jersey. With the exception of minor alterations—including bolder pinstripes in the forties—the Yankee uniform has remained unchanged for more than 60 years and has, of course, grown into another of the team’s great traditions.

YANKEES WERE FIRST TO MAKE UNIFORM NUMBERS PERMANENT
In 1929, the New York Yankees became the first team to make numbers a permanent part of the uniform. Other teams quickly adopted the idea and, by 1932, uniform numbers became standard for all teams. The initial distribution of numbers on the Yankees was made according to the player’s position in the batting order. Therefore, in 1929, leadoff hitter Earle Combs wore #1, Mark Koenig #2, Babe Ruth #3, Lou Gehrig #4, Bob Meusel #5, Tony Lazzeri #6, Leo Durocher #7, Johnny Grabowski #8, Benny Bengough #9, Bill Dickey #10 (Grabowski, Bengough and Dickey shared the catching duties).

WHY THE YANKEES?
When the American League moved the Baltimore Orioles to New York for the 1903 season, the club made its home at 168th Street and Broadway, one of the highest spots in Manhattan. The team would, therefore, be known as the "Highlanders" and their field "Hilltop Park." As early as 1905, however, the name "Yankees" began popping up in newspapers whose editors undoubtedly were searching for a shorter name for their headlines. By the time the franchise moved from decaying Hilltop Park to the Polo Grounds in 1913, it officially changed its name to the by then commonly-used "New York Yankees."

Important Dates in Yankee History

January 9, 1903
Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchase the defunct Baltimore franchise of the American League for $18,000 and then move the team to Manhattan.

March 12, 1903
The New York franchise is approved as a member of the American League. The team will play in a hastily constructed, all-wood park at 168th Street and Broadway. Because the site is one of the highest spots in Manhattan, the club will be known as the "Highlanders" and their home field "Hilltop Park."

April 22, 1903
The Highlanders play their first game, a 3-1 loss at Washington.

April 23, 1903
The Highlanders record the first win in franchise history, a 7-2 decision at Washington. Harry Howell recorded the win.

April 30, 1903
The Highlanders notch a 6-2 win vs. Washington in their inaugural home opener at Hilltop Park.

April 11, 1912
Pinstripes first appear on Highlanders' uniforms, creating a look that would become the most famous uniform design in sports.

April, 1913
The Highlanders are officially renamed the "Yankees" after moving to the Polo Grounds, home of the National League's New York Giants.

January 11, 1915
Col. Jacob Ruppert and Col. Tillinghast L’Hommedieu Huston purchase the Yankees for $460,000.

April 24, 1917
George Mogridge becomes the first Yankee to throw a no-hitter in a 2-1 win at Fenway Park.

January 3, 1920
The Yankees purchase the contract of Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox for $125,000 and a $350,000 loan against the mortgage on Fenway Park.

September, 1921
The Yankees clinch the first of their 35 A.L. pennants.

May 5, 1922
Construction begins on Yankee Stadium.

May 21, 1922
Col. Ruppert buys out Col. Huston for $1,500,000.

April 18, 1923
Yankee Stadium opens with a 4-1 win over the Boston Red Sox before a reported crowd of 74,200. Babe Ruth hits the Stadium's first home run.

October 15, 1923
The Yankees defeat the New York Giants, after World Series losses to their cross-town rivals in 1921 and 1922, for the first of 25 World Championships.

June 1, 1925
Lou Gehrig begins his record streak of 2,130 consecutive games played, pinch-hitting for Pee Wee Wanniger.

September 30, 1927
Babe Ruth breaks his own Major-League record with his 60th home run on the season's final day.

April 20, 1928
The Yankee's sixth season at Yankee Stadium opens with the left-field stands enlarged to three decks.

April 16, 1929
The Yankees become the first team to make numbers a permanent part of the uniform (numbers would become standard for all teams by 1932).

September 25, 1929
Manager Miller Huggins, who guided the Yankees to their first six A.L. pennants and three World Championships, dies of blood poisoning.

June 3, 1932
Lou Gehrig becomes the first player to hit four home runs in a single game in the Yankees' 20-13 win at Philadelphia. He remains the only Yankee to hit four home runs in one game.

July 14, 1934
Babe Ruth hits the 700th home run of his career off Tommy Bridges in the second inning of a 4-2 Yankees' win at Detroit's Navin Field.

November 21, 1934
The Yankees purchase Joe DiMaggio from the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League for $50,000.

April 20, 1937
The Yankees' 15th season at Yankee Stadium opens with the right-field stands enlarged to three decks. The wooden bleachers are replaced by a concrete structure with the distance to center field dropping from 490 to 461 feet.

May 30, 1938
A franchise-record crowd of 81,841 attends a doubleheader sweep of the Boston Red Sox.

May 2, 1939
Lou Gehrig’s playing streak of 2,130 consecutive games ends when he does not make an appearance in a 22-2 Yankees' win at Detroit. Babe Dahlgren plays first base for the Yankees and contributes a double and a home run.

July 4, 1939
"Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" is held at Yankee Stadium. His uniform number (4) is the first to be retired in Major League Baseball and Gehrig makes his famous "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth" speech.

May 15, 1941
Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak begins with a single off Edgar Smith in a 13-1 loss vs. Chicago at Yankee Stadium.

June 2, 1941
Lou Gehrig dies of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis at the age of 37.

July 17, 1941
Joe DiMaggio’s consecutive-game hitting streak ends at 56 when he goes 0-for-3 in a 4-3 Yankees' win at Cleveland. Indians' third baseman Ken Keltner twice robs DiMaggio of hits with great fielding plays. DiMaggio then hits in the next 16 straight games to give him hits in 72 of 73 games.

January 25, 1945
Dan Topping, Del Webb and Larry MacPhail purchase the Yankees for $2,800,000 from the estate of the late Col. Jacob Ruppert. MacPhail replaces Ed Barrow as President and General Manager.

May 28, 1946
The first night game is played at Yankee Stadium and the Yankees suffer a 2-1 loss vs. Washington before 49,917 fans.

April 27, 1947
"Babe Ruth Day" is celebrated throughout Major League Baseball.

June 13, 1948
Babe Ruth’s uniform number (3) is retired at Yankee Stadium's 25th Anniversary celebration. The Babe makes his final Stadium appearance.

August 16, 1948
Babe Ruth dies in New York of throat cancer at age 53.

October 12, 1948
The Yankees announce that Casey Stengel will replace Bucky Harris as manager.

April 17, 1951
Mickey Mantle makes his Major-League debut, going 1-for-4 in a 4-0 win vs. Boston at Yankee Stadium.

September 28, 1951
In Game One of doubleheader vs. Boston at Yankee Stadium, Allie Reynolds tosses his second no-hitter of the season (he had previously no-hit the Indians at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland on July 12).

December 12, 1951
Joe DiMaggio officially announces his retirement.

April 17, 1953
Exactly two years after his Yankee debut, Mickey Mantle hits what is recognized as the game's first "tape-measure" home run, a 565-foot clout off the Senators' Chuck Stobbs at Washington's Griffith Stadium.

October 5, 1953
The Yankees win a record fifth consecutive World Championship.

October 8, 1956
Don Larsen hurls the only perfect game in World Series history, a 2-0 win over Brooklyn in Game Five at Yankees Stadium.

October 1, 1961
Roger Maris hits his 61st home run in the season's final game to establish a Major-League record.

June 24, 1962
Jack Reed’s two-run, 22nd-inning home run ends the longest game in Yankee history, a 9-7 win at Detroit.

November 2, 1964
CBS purchases 80% of Yankees for $11,200,000. The network later buys the remaining 20%.

June 8, 1969
"Mickey Mantle Day" is celebrated at Yankee Stadium and his uniform number (7) is retired.

August 8, 1972
The Yankees sign a 30-year lease to play in a remodeled Yankee Stadium to be completed in 1976.

January 3, 1973
A limited partnership, headed by George M. Steinbrenner III as its managing general partner, purchases the Yankees from CBS.

September 30, 1973
Ralph Houk resigns as manager.

April 6, 1974
The Yankees begin the first of two seasons at Shea Stadium, playing the first home game outside Yankee Stadium since 1922 (go 90-69 there in 1974-75).

December 31, 1974
Free agent Catfish Hunter signs a then-record five-year contract.

August 1, 1975
Billy Martin replaces Bill Virdon for his first of five stints as manager.

April 15, 1976
Remodeled Yankee Stadium opens with an 11-4 win over Minnesota Twins. The Twins' Dan Ford hits the first home run.

October 14, 1976
Chris Chambliss’ ninth-inning home run off Mark Littell in Game Five of the ALCS vs. Kansas City gives the Yankees their 30th pennant.

November 29, 1976
Free agent Reggie Jackson signs a five-year contract.

October 18, 1977
Reggie Jackson hits three home runs in Game Six of the World Series vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers at Yankee Stadium.

June 16, 1978
Ron Guidry establishes a franchise record by striking out 18 batters in the Yankees' 4-0 win vs. California at Yankee Stadium.

July 24, 1978
Billy Martin resigns as manager.

July 25, 1978
Bob Lemon is named manager, replacing Billy Martin.

July 29, 1978
On Old Timer's Day, the Yankees announce that Billy Martin will return as Yankee manager in 1980 and Bob Lemon will become general manager.

October 2, 1978
The Yankees, 14 games behind Boston at one point, defeat the Red Sox, 5-4, at Fenway Park in only the second playoff game in AL history.

June 18, 1979
Billy Martin returns as Yankee manager, replacing Bob Lemon.

August 2, 1979
Yankees Captain Thurman Munson dies in a plane crash in Canton, Ohio, at age 32 (his number "15" is immediately retired).

December 15, 1980
Free agent Dave Winfield signs a then-record 10-year contract.

September 6, 1981
Bob Lemon is named manager for second time, replacing Gene Michael.

April 26, 1982
Gene Michael becomes manager for second time, replacing Bob Lemon.

August 3, 1982
Clyde King is named Yankee manager, replacing Gene Michael.

July 4, 1983
Dave Righetti pitches only the sixth regular-season no-hitter in franchise history and the first since 1951, a 4-0 win vs. the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.

July 24, 1983
The Yankees and Kansas City play the infamous "Pine Tar" game at Yankee Stadium as George Brett hits a two-out, ninth-inning home run off Goose Gossage to give the Royals an apparent 5-4 lead. The umpires nullify the homer because the pine tar on Brett's bat is above the allowable 18 inches and Brett is called out for using an illegal bat. The Yankees win 4-3 (see August 18, 1983). August 18, 1983
Kansas City's protest is upheld and the "Pine Tar" game concludes with the Royals winning 5-4. When play is resumed, Yankee pitcher Ron Guidry is in center field for the final out of the top of the ninth while left-handed first baseman Don Mattingly is at second. Royals' reliever Dan Quisenberry retires the Yankees in order in the bottom of the ninth.

April 28, 1985
Billy Martin is named manager for fourth time, replacing Yogi Berra.

October 17, 1985
Lou Piniella is named manager, replacing Billy Martin.

December 14, 1985
Roger Maris dies at age 51 in Houston, Texas.

July 18, 1987
Don Mattingly homers off Texas’ Jose Guzman to tie Dale Long’s Major-League record of hitting a home run in eight consecutive games (Mattingly hits 10 home runs during the streak).

September 29, 1987
Don Mattingly hits a grand slam off Boston’s Bruce Hurst, setting a Major-League record with six grand slams in a season.

June 23, 1988
Billy Martin is replaced as manager of the Yankees for the fifth and final time. Lou Piniella is named manager for the second time.

December 9, 1988
The Yankees sign a 12-year television contract with Madison Square Garden Network.

August 18, 1989
Bucky Dent replaces Dallas Green as Yankee manager.

December 25, 1989
Billy Martin dies in an automobile accident at age 61.

June 6, 1990
Stump Merrill replaces Bucky Dent as Yankee manager.

August 14, 1993
"Reggie Jackson Day," his uniform number (44) retired.

September 4, 1993
Jim Abbott pitches a 4-0, no-hit win over the Indians at Yankee Stadium.

May 30, 1995
Derek Jeter records his first career hit.  He gets the hit against the Seattle Mariners in "The Kingdome" in front of only 10,079 fans.

August 13, 1995
Mickey Mantle dies of cancer at age 63 in Dallas, Texas.

September 6, 1995
Lou Gehrig's Major League record of 2,130 consecutive games played is broken when Baltimore's Cal Ripken, Jr. plays in his 2,131st.

May 14, 1996
Dwight Gooden hurls only the eighth regular-season no-hitter in Yankee history, a 2-0 blanking of the Seattle Mariners at Yankee Stadium.

June 16, 1996
Mel Allen, the legendary "Voice of the Yankees" from 1939-64, dies at age 83 in Greenwich, Connecticut.

August 25, 1996
A monument in honor of Mickey Mantle is unveiled in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park.

January 22, 1997
Don Mattingly officially announces his retirement at a media conference at Yankee Stadium.

May 17, 1998
David Wells tosses only the 14th regular-season perfect game in baseball history, the first ever by a Yankee.

September 25, 1998
The Yankees establish an American-League record with their 112th win of the season (a 6-1 win vs. Tampa Bay at Yankee Stadium), breaking the mark of 111 by the 1954 Cleveland Indians (they complete the season with an AL record 114th victory on September 27 vs. Tampa Bay).

October 21, 1998
The Yankees complete an incredible season with a four-game sweep of the San Diego Padres in the World Series to capture the franchise's 24th World Championship. Their 3-0 win gives the club a record of 125-50 (114-48 in the regular season, 11-2 in postseason).

March 8, 1999
Joe DiMaggio dies at age 84 in Hollywood, Florida.

April 25, 1999
A monument in honor of Joe DiMaggio is unveiled in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park.

July 18, 1999
On "Yogi Berra Day," David Cone tosses only the 15th regular-season perfect game in baseball history one season after David Wells accomplishes the feat. Ironically, Don Larsen--who tossed a perfect game in the 1956 World Series--throws out the ceremonial first pitch.

September 9 1999
Jim "Catfish" Hunter dies at age 53 in Hertford, North Carolina.

October 27, 1999
The Yankees play Baseball's last game of the century and complete a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves to capture their 25th World Championship. The 4-1 win is also the club's 12th straight in World-Series play, tying the record of the 1927, 1928 and 1932 Yankees.

September 21, 2008
The Yankees play their last home game at old Yankee Stadium.

April 16, 2009
The Yankees play their first game at New Yankee Stadium.  C.C. Sabathia makes his Yankee debut in the loss to the Indians.

September 11, 2009
Derek Jeter becomes the All-Time Yankees hit leader with #2,722 off Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman.

November 4, 2009
The Yankees win their 27th World Series Title defeating the Philadelphia Phillies, four games to two at Yankee Stadium.

March 31, 2010
Historic Gate 2 at Old Yankee Stadium comes down, compliments of New York City and Turner Construction.  The effort to preserve Gate 2 was lost.

August 9, 2011
Derek Jeter records his 3,000th hit for the Yankees.  He connects off Rays pitcher David Price for a homerun and #3000!

The First Twenty Years

• January 9, 1903 - Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchase Baltimore franchise of American League and move team to New York City. Cost is $18,000.
• March 12, 1903 - New York Highlanders approved as members of American League.
• April 22, 1903 - Highlanders lose opener at Washington, 3-1, under manager Clark Griffith.
• April 30, 1903 - Highlanders win home opener at Hilltop Park (168th St. and Broad way), 6-2 over Washington.
• April, 1913 - Highlanders change name to Yankees, move to share Polo Grounds with Giants.
• January 11, 1915 - Col. Jacob Ruppert and Col. Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston purchase Yankees for $460,000.
• April 22, 1915 - Pinstripes first appear on Yankee uniforms.

The 1920s

• January 3, 1920 - Yankees purchase Babe Ruth from Red Sox.
• October 29, 1920 - Ed Barrow is appointed general manager of the Yankees.
• September, 1921 - Yankees clinch first American League pennant.
• May 5, 1922 - Construction begins on Yankee Stadium.
• May 21, 1922 - Ruppert buys out Huston for $1,500,000.
• April 18, 1923 - Yankee Stadium opens, Ruth hits first home run.
• October 15, 1923 - Yankees beat Giants for first World Championship.
• June 1, 1925 - Lou Gehrig replaces Wally Pipp at first base.
• September 30, 1927 - Ruth's record 60th home run caps off season for "Murderers' Row" Yankees.
• April, 1928 - Season opens with left-field stands in Stadium enlarged.
• April 16, 1929 - Yankees become the first team to wear uniform numbers.
• September 25, 1929 - Manager Miller Huggins dies.

The 1930s

• April 12, 1931 - Joe McCarthy debuts as Yankee manager.
• July 14, 1934 - Ruth hits 700th career home run.
• November 21, 1934 - Yankees buy Joe DiMaggio from San Francisco (Pacific Coast League).
• April, 1937 - Season opens, right-field stands in Stadium enlarged.
• May 30, 1938 - Record 81,841 attend doubleheader vs Boston.
• January 13, 1939 - Col. Ruppert dies.
• May 2, 1939 - Lou Gehrig's playing streak of 2,130 consecutive games ends.
• July 4, 1939 - Lou Gehrig Day, his uniform is the first to be retired.

The 1940s

• May 15, 1941 - DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak begins.
• June 2, 1941 - Lou Gehrig dies at age 37.
• July 17, 1941 - DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak ends in Cleveland.
• January 25, 1945 - Dan Topping, Del Webb and Larry MacPhail purchase Yankees for $2,800,000.
• May 28, 1946 - First night game played in Yankee Stadium.
• April 27, 1947 - Babe Ruth Day.
• June 13, 1948 - Ruth's uniform number is retired.
• August 16, 1948 - Babe Ruth dies at age 53.
• October 12, 1948 - George Weiss brings Casey Stengel to New York as manager.

The 1950s

• April 17, 1951 - Mickey Mantle makes Yankee debut.
• December 12, 1951 - Joe DiMaggio announces his retirement.
• April, 1953 - Stadium sold to Earl and Arnold Johnson of Kansas City.
• April 17, 1953 - Mantle hits 565-foot home run in Washington.
• October 5, 1953 - Yankees win record fifth consecutive World Championship.
• January 29, 1955 - John Williams Cox buys Yankee Stadium, sells grounds to Knights of Columbus, later leaves structure to Rice University (1962).
• October 8, 1956 - Don Larsen hurls only perfect game in World Series history.
• April, 1959 - First message scoreboard unveiled at Yankee Stadium.

The 1960s

• October 1, 1961 - Roger Maris' 61st home run establishes new record.
• June 24, 1962 - Jack Reed's 22nd-inning HR wins longest Yankee game in history.
• November 2, 1964 - CBS purchases 80% of Yankees for $11,200,000, later buys remaining 20%.
• Winter, 1966-67 - Yankee Stadium painted blue and white.
• June 8, 1969 - Mickey Mantle's uniform number retired on Mickey Mantle Day.

The 1970s

• August 8, 1972 - Yankees sign 30-year lease to play in remodeled Yankee Stadium, beginning in 1976.
• January 3, 1973 - A limited partnership, headed by George Steinbrenner III as its managing general partner, purchases the Yankees from CBS.
• September 30, 1973 - Yankees complete 50th Anniversary season at Stadium; Ralph Houk resigns as manager.
• April 6, 1974 - Yankees begin first of two seasons at Shea Stadium, play first home game outside Yankee Stadium since 1922.
• December 31, 1974 - Free agent Catfish Hunter signs record 5-year contract.
• August 1, 1975 - Billy Martin replaces Bill Virdon as manager.
• April 15, 1976 - Remodeled Yankee Stadium opens.
• October 14, 1976 - Chris Chambliss' 9th-inning HR gives Yankees their 30th pennant.
• November 29, 1976 - Yankees sign free agent Reggie Jackson to 5-year contract.
• October 18, 1977 - The Yankees win their 21st World Championship, 4 games to 2, over the Los Angeles Dodgers - Reggie Jackson hits 3 HR.
• January 13, 1978 - Joe McCarthy dies at age 90.
• July 24, 1978 - Billy Martin resigns as Yankee manager.
• July 25, 1978 - Yankees name Bob Lemon as manager.
• July 29, 1978 - On Old Timer's Day, Yankees announce that Billy Martin will return as Yankee manager in 1980, when Bob Lemon will become general manager.
• October 2, 1978 - Yankees, at one point in the season 14 games behind Boston, beat the Red Sox, 5-4 in Fenway Park, in only the second playoff game in American League history.
• October 17, 1978 - Yankees beat Dodgers for their 22nd World Championship.
• June 18, 1979 - Billy Martin returns as Yankee manager, replacing Bob Lemon.
• August 2, 1979 - Thurman Munson dies in plane crash at age 32.
• October 28, 1979 - Dick Howser is named Yankee manager, replacing Billy Martin.

The 1980s

• September 20, 1980 - Bronze plaque for left field memorial park is dedicated to the memory of Thurman Munson.
• October 5, 1980 - Yankees finish season with a then-American League attendance record of 2,627,417, breaking record set in 1948 by Cleveland Indians.
• November 21, 1980 - Gene Michael is named 25th Yankee manager, replacing Dick Howser, who resigns.
• December 15, 1980 - Free agent Dave Winfield signs record long-term contract.
• September 6, 1981 - Bob Lemon named Yankee manager for second time.
• October 15, 1981 - Yankees capture 33rd American League pennant, sweeping 3 games from the Oakland A's.
• April 26, 1982 - Gene Michael becomes Yankee manager for second time.
• August 3, 1982 - Clyde King named Yankee manager.
• January 11, 1983 - Billy Martin named Yankee manager for third time.
• June 20, 1983 - Bobby Murcer retires.
• July 4, 1983 - Dave Righetti pitches no-hit win over Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.
• August 7, 1983 - Bobby Murcer Day.
• December 16, 1983 Ð Yogi Berra named Yankee manager for second time.
• August 5, 1984 - Lou Piniella Day.
• September 30, 1984 - Don Mattingly wins A.L. batting title with .343 BA.
• April 28, 1985 - Billy Martin named Yankee manager for fourth time.
• July 13, 1985 - Uniform numbers retired for Roger Maris (9) and Elston Howard (32).
• August 4, 1985 - Phil Rizzuto Day, his uniform number 10 retired.
• October 17, 1985 - Lou Piniella named Yankee manager.
• December 14, 1985 - Roger Maris dies at age 51.
• August 10, 1986 - Billy Martin Day, his uniform number 1 retired.
• July 18, 1987 - Don Mattingly homers off Texas' Jose Guzman to tie Dale Long's Major League record of hitting a home run in 8 consecutive games.
• September 29, 1987 - Don Mattingly hits a grand slam off Boston's Bruce Hurst, setting a Major League record with 6 grand slams in a season.
• October 19, 1987 - Woody Woodward resigns as general manager, Lou Piniella is named general manager, and Billy Martin is named Yankee manager for fifth time.
• October 7, 1988 - Dallas Green named Yankee manager.
• December 9, 1988 - Yankees sign 12-year television contract with Madison Square Garden Network.
• July 12, 1989 - Ron Guidry retires.
• August 18, 1989 - Bucky Dent replaces Dallas Green as Yankee manager.
• October 13, 1989 - Bob Quinn resigns as vice president and general manager. Harding Peterson named vice president and general manager.
• December 25, 1989 - Billy Martin dies at age 61.

The 1990s

• June 6, 1990 - Stump Merrill replaces Bucky Dent as Yankee manager.
• July 1, 1990 - Andy Hawkins throws no-hitter in old Comiskey Park, losing 4-0.
• August 20, 1990 - Gene Michael named vice president and general manager, replacing Harding Peterson.
• September 13, 1990 - Robert E. Nederlander appointed managing general partner.
• October 29, 1991 - Buck Showalter replaces Stump Merrill as Yankee manager.
• December 31, 1991 - Daniel R. McCarthy elected managing general partner.
• March 22, 1992 - Joseph A. Molloy elected general partner.
• September 4, 1993 - Jim Abbott pitches 4-0, no-hit win over Indians at Yankee Stadium.
• February 25, 1994 - Phil Rizzuto elected to Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee, inducted on July 31.
• April 4, 1994 - Opening Day crowd of 56,706 is the largest Opening Day Crowd in Yankee history and the largest regular-season crowd at new Yankee Stadium.
• August 9, 1994 - Phil Rizzuto Hall of Fame Night.
• August 12, 1994 - Members of the Major League Baseball Players Association strike.
• September 14, 1994 - Owners of the 28 Major League teams vote to cancel the remainder of the 1994 season, the Division Series, the League Championship Series and the World Series.
• December 23, 1994 - Major League Baseball, at an impasse in labor negotiations with the players' union, implemented a revenue-sharing plan and salary cap proposal that would provide the players with 50 percent of baseball revenue.

Information and Stats on Current and Former Yankee Greats !

Most Valuable Players

Bold denotes league leader

Yankee Batting Title Champions

Bold denotes league leader

Yankee Captains

1. Hal Chase, 1912
   

2. Roger Peckinpaugh, 1914-1921
   

3. Babe Ruth, 5/20/22-5/25/22
   

4. Everett Scott, 1922-1925
   

5. Lou Gehrig, 4/21/35-6/2/41
   

6. Thurman Munson, 4/17/76-8/2/79
   

7. Graig Nettles, 1/29/82-3/30/84
   

8. Willie Randolph, 3/4/86-10/2/89
   

9. Ron Guidry, 3/4/86-7/12/89
   

10. Don Mattingly, 2/28/91-1995
    

11. Derek Jeter, 6/3/2003-present

20-Game Winners

YEAR    PITCHER                                              SCORE
1917    George Mogridge, at Boston, April 24                 2-1*
1923    Sad Sam Jones, at Philadelphia, September 4          2-0
1938    Monte Pearson, vs. Cleveland, August 27 (2nd game)  13-0
1951    Allie Reynolds, at Cleveland, July 12 (night)        1-0
        Allie Reynolds, vs. Boston, September 28 (1st game)  8-0
1983    Dave Righetti, vs. Boston, July 4                    4-0*
1993    Jim Abbott, vs. Cleveland, September 4               4-0*
1996    Dwight Gooden, vs. Seattle, May 14                   2-0
1998    David Wells, vs. Minnesota, May 17                   4-0*+
1999    David Cone, vs. Montreal, July 18                    6-0+

Post Season (1) 

YEAR    PITCHER                                              SCORE
1956    Don Larsen, vs. Brooklyn, October 8 (Game Five of    2-0+
        the World Series; remains the only perfect game in 
        Series history)

NO-HITTERS VS. YANKEES   (6) 

YEAR    PITCHER                                              SCORE
1908    Cy Young, for Boston at New York, June 30            8-0
1916    Rube Foster, for Boston at Boston, June 21           2-0
1919    Ray Caldwell, for Cleveland at New York,             3-0
        September 10 (first game)
1946    Bob Feller, for Cleveland at New York, April 30      1-0
1952    Virgil Trucks, for Detroit at New York, August 25    1-0
1958    Hoyt Wilhelm, for Baltimore, September 20            1-0
2003     6 Different Pitchers, at NY for Astros June 11      8-0
       
	    * Left-handed pitcher      + Perfect Game

Yankees in the Hall of Fame

According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the New York Yankees have better representation than any other club, with 23 members (the New York Giants have placed the most players in the Hall with 20)....for the purpose of their comparison, games played was the determining factor for position players who suited up for more than one club....for pitchers, games won was the yardstick used....based on the Hall of Fame's criteria, therefore, both Reggie Jackson and "Catfish" Hunter are not counted among the Yankees' 23 representatives as Jackson played more games for Oakland and Hunter won more games with the A's....both players, however, played five distinguished seasons for the Yankees....the former Yankee players, managers and executives in the Hall of Fame are (year of election in parenthesis):

Ed Barrow (1953)      Waite Hoyt (1969)         Joe McCarthy (1957)
Yogi Berra (1972)     Catfish Hunter (1987)     Herb Pennock (1948)
Jack Chesbro (1946)   Miller Huggins (1964)     Phil Rizzuto (1994)
Earle Combs (1970)    Reggie Jackson (1993)     Red Ruffing (1967)
Bill Dickey (1954)    Willie Keeler (1939)      Babe Ruth (1936)
Joe DiMaggio (1955)   Tony Lazzeri (1991)       Casey Stengel (1966)
Whitey Ford (1974)    Larry MacPhail (1978)     George Weiss (1970)
Lou Gehrig (1939)     Lee MacPhail (1998)
Lefty Gomez (1972)    Mickey Mantle (1974)

Other members of the Baseball Hall of Fame who also played for or managed for the Yankees are: Frank "Home Run" Baker" (1955), Frank Chance (1946), Stan Coveleskie (1969), Clark Griffith (1945), Burleigh Grimes (1964), Bucky Harris (1975), Bill McKechnie (1962), Johnny Mize (1981), Phil Niekro (1996), Gaylord Perry (1991), Branch Rickey (1967), Joe Sewell (1977), Enos Slaughter (1985), Dazzy Vance (1955), Paul Waner (1952) and Dave Winfield (2000).

 

 

ALL-TIME YANKEES MANAGERS

Name	Years managed	Record
Joe Girardi	2008-present	TBD
Joe Torre	1996-2007	1173-767
Buck Showalter	1992-95	313-268
Stump Merrill	1990-91	120-155
Bucky Dent	1989-90	36-53
Dallas Green	1989	56-65
Lou Piniella	1986-87, 1988	224-193
Clyde King	1982	29-33
Gene Michael	1981, 1982	92-76
Dick Howser	1980	103-60
Bob Lemon	1978-79, 1981-82	99-73
Billy Martin	1975-78, 1979, 1983, 1985, 1988	556-385
Bill Virdon	1974-75	142-124
Johnny Keane	1965-66	81-101
Yogi Berra	1964, 1984-85	192-148
Ralph Houk	1961-63, 1966-73	944-806
Casey Stengel	1949-60	1149-696
Bucky Harris	1947-48	191-117
Johnny Neun	1946	8-6
Bill Dickey	1946	57-48
Joe McCarthy	1931-46	1460-867
Bob Shawkey	1930	86-68
Art Fletcher	1929	6-5
Miller Huggins	1918-29	1067-719
Bill Donovan	1915-17	220-239
Roger Peckinpaugh	1914	10-10
Frank Chance	1913-14	117-168
Harry Wolverton	1912	50-102
Hal Chase	1910-11	85-78
George Stallings	1909-10	153-138
Norm Elberfeld	1908	27-71
Clark Griffith	1903-08	419-370

ALL-TIME YANKEES COACHES

Name	Years served
Joe Altobelli	1981-82, 1986
Loren Babe	1967
Yogi Berra	1963, 1976-83
Clete Boyer	1988, 1992-94
Cloyd Boyer	1975, 1977
Jimmy Burke	1931-32
Brian Butterfield	1994
Jose Cardenal	1996-99
Chris Chambliss	1988, 1996-00
Tony Cloninger	1992-01
Earle Combs	1935-44
Mark Connor	1984-85, 1986-87, 1990-93
Billy Connors	1989-90, 1994-95, 2000
Nardi Contraris	1995
Pat Corrales	1989
John Corriden	1947-48
Bobby Cox	1977
Frank Crosetti	1946-68
Cot Deal	1965
Gary Denbo	2001
Rick Down	1993-95, 2002-03
Bill Dickey	1949-57, 1960
Chuck Dressen	1947-48
Dave Eiland - Pitching Coach	2008-2010
Lee Elia	1989
Sammy Ellis	1982-84, 1986
Darrell Evans	1990
Mike Ferraro	1979-82, 1987-91
Art Fletcher	1927-45
Whitey Ford	1964, 1968, 1974-75
Art Fowler	1977-79, 1983,1988
Charlie Fox	1989
Jimmy Gleason	1964
Mike Harkey - Bullpen Coach	2008-2010
Jim Hegan	1960-73, 1980
Tommy Henrich	1951
Marc Hill	1991
Ralph Houk	1953-54, 1958-60
Elston Howard	1969-80
Frank Howard	1989, 1991-93
Dick Howser	1969-79
Mickey Kelleher - First Base Coach	2009-2010
Charlie Keller	1957, 1959
Clyde King	1978, 1981-82
Charlie Lau	1980-81
Bob Lemon	1976
Kevin Long - Hitting Coach	2007-2010
Eddie Lopat	1960
Mickey Mantle	1970
Harry Mathews	1929
Lee Mazzilli	2000-2003
Fred Merkle	1926
Stump Merrill	1985, 1987
Russ “Monk” Meyer	1992
Gene Michael	1978, 1984-86
Geo. Mitterwald	1988
Bill Monboquette	1985-86
Tom Morgan	1979
Wally Moses	1961-62, 1966
Ed Napolean	1992-93
Graig Nettles	1991
Tom Nieto	2000-01
Johnny Neun	1946
Charlie O’Leary	1921-30
Tony Pena - Bench Coach	2009-2010
Tony Pena - First Base Coach	2006-2008
Cy Perkins	1933
Lou Piniella	1985
Willie Randolph	1994-Present
Frank Roth	1921
Glenn Sherlock	1995
Buck Showalter	1991
Joe Sparks	1990
John Stearns	1989
Mel Stottlemyre	1996-Present
Champ Summers	1990
Rob Thomson - Third Base Coach	2009-2010
Rob Thomson - Bench Coach	2008
Jeff Torborg	1979-88
Mickey Vernon	1982
Jerry Walker	1982
Jay Ward	1987
Roy White	1983-84, 1986
Stan Williams	1980-82, 1988
Mel Wright	1974
Don Zimmer	1983, 1986, 1996-2003

 

 

ALL-TIME YANKEES OWNERS

Owners	Years
Hal Steinbrenner	2008-Present
George M. Steinbrenner	1973-2008
CBS	1964-73
Dan Topping, Del Webb, and Larry MacPhail	1945-64
Colonel Jacob Ruppert	1922-45
Col. Jacob Ruppert and Col. Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston	1915-22
Frank Ferrell and Bill Devery	1903-15

Main article: History of the New York Yankees

Original Baltimore Orioles logo

Origins: the Baltimore Era (1901-1902)

At the end of 1900, Western League president Ban Johnson reorganized the league, adding teams in three Eastern cities, forming the American League. Plans to put a team in New York City were blocked by the National League's New York Giants, who had enough political power to keep the AL out. Instead, a team was put in Baltimore, Maryland, a city which had been abandoned when the NL contracted from 12 to 8 teams in 1900.

The team, known as the Baltimore Orioles, began playing in 1901. In the middle of the 1902 season, the Giants gained controlling interest of the team and began raiding it for players, until the AL stepped in and took control of the team. In January 1903, a "peace conference" was held between the two leagues to settle disputes and try to coexist. One of the results of the conference was that the NL agreed to let the "junior circuit" establish a franchise in New York. The Orioles' new owners, Frank J. Farrell and William S. Devery, found a ballpark location not blocked by the Giants, and Baltimore's team moved to New York.

Hilltop Park, home of the Highlanders

Move to New York: the Highlanders Era (1903-1912)

The new ballpark was constructed in northern Manhattan, at one of the island's highest points, between 165th and 168th Streets. Hilltop Park, (formally known as "American League Park") was much smaller than the Polo Grounds, the Giants' home just a few blocks away. The team came to be known as the New York Highlanders for two reasons: a reference to the team's elevated location and to the noted British military unit The Gordon Highlanders, which made sense, as the team's president from 1903 to 1906 was Joseph Gordon.

The most success the Highlanders had was finishing second in 1904, 1906 and 1910; 1904 was the closest they would come to winning the AL pennant. That year, they would lose the deciding game on the last day of the season to the Boston Americans, who would later become the Boston Red Sox. This had much historical significance, as the Highlanders' role in the pennant race caused the Giants to announce that they would not play the World Series against the AL pennant winner. 1904 was the last year no World Series was played until 90 years later in the strike-truncated 1994 season. It would also be the last time Boston would beat New York in a pennant-deciding game for a full century (2004).

New owners, a new home, and a new name: the Polo Grounds Era (1913-1922)

The Polo Grounds, home of the Yankees from 1913 to 1922

The Polo Grounds burned down in 1911 and the Highlanders allowed the Giants to play in Hilltop Park during reconstruction. Relations between the two teams warmed, and the Highlanders would move into the newly rebuilt Polo Grounds in 1913. Now playing on the Harlem River, a far cry from their high-altitude home, the name "Highlanders" no longer applied, and fell into disuse among the press. The media had also called the team the "Yankees" (a synonym for "Americans", the team being an American League franchise) for a number of years, so in 1913 the team became known exclusively as the New York Yankees.

By the mid 1910s, owners Farrell and Devery had become estranged and were both in dire need of money. At the start of 1915, they sold the team to Colonel Jacob Ruppert and Captain Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston. Ruppert inherited a brewery fortune, providing the Yankees with an owner who possessed deep pockets and a willingness to dig into them to produce a winning team. This would lead the team to more success and prestige than Ruppert could ever have envisioned.

Babe Ruth in 1920, the first year he joined the Yankees

Sluggers and the Stadium: the Ruth and Gehrig Era (1923-1935)

In the years around 1920, the Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Chicago White Sox had a detente. Their actions, which antagonized Ban Johnson garnered them the nickname the "Insurrectos". This detente paid off well for the Yankees as they enlarged the payroll. Most new players who would later contribute to the team's success came from the Red Sox, whose owner, Harry Frazee, was trading players to them for large sums of money. Other important newcomers in this period were manager Miller Huggins and general manager Ed Barrow. The hiring of Huggins by Ruppert would cause a break between the owners that eventually led to Ruppert buying Huston out in 1923. But pitcher-turned-outfielder Babe Ruth was the most talented of all the acquisitions from Boston. The outcome of the trade would haunt the Red Sox for the next 86 years. They would not win a World Series after 1918 until 2004, often finding themselves eliminated from the hunt as a result of the success of the Yankees. This phenomenon eventually became known as the Curse of the Bambino as the failure of the Red Sox and the success of the Yankees seemed almost supernatural, and all seemed to stem from that one trade.

Ruth's multitude of home runs proved so popular that the Yankees began drawing more people than their landlords, the Giants. In 1921, when the Yankees made their first World Series appearance, which was against the Giants, the Yankees were told to move out of the Polo Grounds after the 1922 season. Giants manager John McGraw was said to have commented that the Yankees should "move to some out-of-the-way place, like Queens", but they instead broke ground for a new ballpark in the Bronx, right across the Harlem River from the Polo Grounds. In 1922, the Yankees returned to the World Series again, facing a second defeat at the hands of the Giants.

Yankee Stadium as it looked during 1928-1936.

In 1923, the Yankees moved to their new home, Yankee Stadium. It was the first triple-deck venue in baseball and seated an astounding 58,000. In the first game at Yankee Stadium, Babe Ruth hit a home run, which was fitting as it was his home runs and drawing power that paid for the stadium, giving it its nickname "The House That Ruth Built". At the end of the year, the Yanks faced the Giants for the third straight year in the World Series, and finally triumphed for their first championship. Prior to that point, the Giants had been the city's iconic or dominant team. From 1923 onward, the Yankees would assume that role, and the Giants would eventually transfer out of the city.

The 1927 Yankees lineup was so potent that it become known as "Murderers' Row", and some consider the team to be the best in the history of baseball (though similar claims have been made for other Yankee squads, notably those of 1939, 1961 and 1998).^[1] The Yankees won an AL then-record 110 games with only 44 losses, and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1927 World Series. Ruth's home run total of 60 in 1927 set a single-season home run record that would stand for 34 years. Meanwhile, first baseman Lou Gehrig had his first big season, batting .373 with 47 round-trippers and 175 RBIs, beating Ruth's single-season RBI mark (171 in 1921). In the next three years, the Philadelphia Athletics would take the AL pennant and two world championships.

In 1931, Joe McCarthy came in as manager, and would bring the Yankees back to the top of the AL. They met the Chicago Cubs in the 1932 World Series, sweeping them and bringing the team's streak of consecutive World Series game wins to 12. This series was made famous by Babe Ruth's famous "Called Shot" in game three of the series at Wrigley Field. This would be a fitting "swan song" to his illustrious postseason career, as Ruth would leave the Yankees, going to the NL Boston Braves after 1934, and would never see the postseason again.

The Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio

Joltin' Joe: the DiMaggio Era (1936-1951)

With Ruth retired, Gehrig finally had a chance to take center stage, but it was only one year before a new titan appeared: Joe DiMaggio. The team would win an unprecedented four World Series wins from 1936 to 1939. For most of 1939, however, they would have to do it without Gehrig, who was forced by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to retire. The Yankees declared July 4, 1939 to be "Lou Gehrig Day", where they retired his number 4 (the first retired number in baseball), and which was made famous by Gehrig's speech, in which he declared himself "the luckiest man on the face of the earth".

Often described as the last year of the "Golden Era" before World War II and other realities intervened, 1941 was a thrilling year as America watched two major events unfold: Ted Williams of the Red Sox hunting for the elusive .400 batting average and Joe DiMaggio hitting in game, after game, after game. By the end of his hitting streak, DiMaggio had hit in 56 consecutive games, the current major league record.

Two months and one day after the Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1941 World Series, the Pearl Harbor attacks occurred, and many of the best players, including DiMaggio himself, went off to serve in the military. The Yankees still managed to pull out a win against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1942. McCarthy was fired early in 1946, after a few slumping seasons, and after a few interim managers, Bucky Harris took the job, righting the ship and taking the Yankees to a hard fought series against the Dodgers.

Despite finishing only three games behind the first place Cleveland Indians in 1948, Harris was released in favor of Casey Stengel, who had a reputation of being a clown and managing bad teams. His tenure as Yankee field manager, however, was marked with success, and the "underdog" Yankees came from behind to catch and surprise the then powerful Red Sox on the last two days of the season, a face off that fueled the beginning of the modern Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. By this time, however, DiMaggio's career was winding down, and the "Yankee Clipper" retired after the 1951 season. This year also marked the arrival of the "Oklahoma Kid", Mickey Mantle, who was one of several new stars that would fill the gap.

Stengel's squad in the 1950s: the Stengel Era (1951-1959)

Casey Stengel on a 1955 cover of Time Magazine

Bettering the clubs of the McCarthy era, the Yankees won the world series five consecutive times (1949-1953) under Stengel, which continues to be the major league record. Led by players like center fielder Mickey Mantle, pitcher Whitey Ford, and catcher Yogi Berra, Stengel's teams won 10 pennants and seven World Series titles in his twelve seasons as the Yankees manager. Casey Stengel was also a master at publicity for the team and for himself, even landing a cover story in Time magazine in 1955.

The team won over 100 games in 1954, but the Indians took the pennant with an AL record 111 wins. In 1955, the Dodgers finally beat the Yankees in the World Series, after five Series losses to the Yankees, but the Yankees came back strong the next year. On October 8, 1956, in Game Five of the 1956 World Series against the Dodgers, pitcher Don Larsen threw the only perfect game in World Series history, which also remains the only no-hitter of any kind to be pitched in postseason play.

The Yankees lost the 1957 World Series to the Milwaukee Braves. Following the Series, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers left for California, leaving the Yankees as New York's only team. In the 1958 World Series, the Yankees got their revenge against the Braves, and became the second team to win the Series after being down three games to one. For the decade, the Yankees won six World Series championships ('50, 51, '52, '53, '56, '58) and eight American League pennants (those six plus '55 and '57). Led by Mantle, Ford, Berra, Elston Howard (the Yankees' first African-American player), and the newly acquired Roger Maris, the Yankees entered the 1960's seeking to replicate the remarkable success of the 1950s.

The M&M Boys, Roger Maris (left) and Mickey Mantle (right)

The M&M Boys: the Mantle and Maris Era (1960-1964)

Arnold Johnson, owner of the Kansas City Athletics, former owner of the Stadium and longtime business associate of then-Yankees co-owners Del Webb and Dan Topping, had a "special relationship" with the Yankees. He would trade young players for cash and aging veterans. Invariably, these trades ended up being heavily tilted in the Yankees' favor, leading to accusations that the Athletics were little more than a Yankee farm team at the major league level. Ironically, Kansas City had been home to the Yankees' top farm team for almost 20 years before the Athletics moved there from Philadelphia in 1954. In 1960, Charles O. Finley purchased the A's, and put a cease to the trades. However, before this, the Yankees strengthened their supply of future prospects, including a young outfielder, Roger Maris. In 1960, Maris led the league in slugging percentage, RBIs, and extra base hits, finished second in home runs (one behind Mantle), and total bases, and won a Gold Glove and the American League MVP award.

The year 1961 would prove to be one of the most memorable in Yankee history. Throughout the summer, Mantle and Maris hit home runs at a fast pace, the media calling them the "M&M Boys". Ultimately, a severe hip infection forced Mantle to leave the lineup and drop out of the race. Maris continued, and on October 1, the last day of the season, hit home run number 61, surpassing Babe Ruth's single season home run record of 60. However, Commissioner Ford Frick (who, as it was discovered later, had ghostwritten for the Babe during his career) decreed that, since Maris had broken the record on the last day of a season that was eight games longer than the season Ruth hit his 60, two separate records would be kept. It would be 30 years before the dual record would be done away with, and Maris would hold the record alone until Mark McGwire broke it in 1998. Maris still holds the AL record.

The Yankees won the pennant with a 109-53 record and went on to defeat the Cincinnati Reds in the 1961 World Series. The team finished the year with a then record 240 home runs. In 1962, the sports scene in New York changed when the National League expanded to include a new team, the New York Mets of nearby Flushing, Queens. The Mets would lose a record 120 games while the Yankees would win the 1962 World Series, their tenth in the past sixteen years, defeating the San Francisco Giants in seven games.

The Yankees would reach the 1963 Fall Classic, but only to be swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers. After the season, Yogi Berra, who had just retired from playing, took over managerial duties. The aging Yankees returned the next year for a fifth straight world series, but were felled in seven games by the St. Louis Cardinals. It would be the last appearance for the Yanks in the World Series for over ten years.

New ownership and a steep decline: the CBS Era (1964-1972)

After the 1964 season, CBS purchased 80% of the Yankees from Topping and Webb for $11.2 million. With the new ownership, the team would begin to decline. In fact, the Yankees finished in the second division for the first time in 40 years in 1965. This was made worse by the introduction of the major league amateur draft that year, which meant that the Yankees could no longer sign any player they wanted. Webb sold his 10 percent stake to CBS before the year was out.

In 1966, the Yankees finished last in the AL for the first time since 1912. After they finished next-to-last in the 1967 season, the team's fortunes improved somewhat, but they would not become serious contenders again until 1974. Various reasons have been given for the decline, but the single biggest one was the Yankees' inability to replace their aging superstars with new ones, as they had done consistently in the previous five decades. Topping and Webb had owned the Yankees for 20 years, missing the World Series only five times and going 10-5 in the ones they did get to. By contrast, the CBS-owned teams never went to the World Series.

Also during this period the Yankees lost two of their signature broadcasters. The legendary "Voice of the Yankees", Mel Allen, was fired after the 1964 season, supposedly due to cost-cutting measures by long time broadcast sponsor Ballantine Beer. Two years later, Red Barber was let go. Some say this was because of his on-air mention of a paltry showing of 413 fans at then 67,000-seat Yankee Stadium during a game against the White Sox. Sports biographer David J. Halberstam also noted Barber's less-than-happy relationship with Joe Garagiola and even Phil Rizzuto, ex-major leaguers with whom he shared the booth.

Steinbrenner, Martin, Jackson, and Munson: the Bronx Zoo Era (1973-1981)

A group of investors, led by Cleveland-based shipbuilder George Steinbrenner, purchased the club from CBS on January 3, 1973 for $8.7 million. Mike Burke stayed on as president until he quit in April. Within a year, Steinbrenner bought out most of his other partners and became the team's principal owner, although Burke continued to hold a minority share into the 1980s.

One of Steinbrenner's major goals was to repair the Stadium, which had greatly deteriorated (along with the surrounding area) by the late 60's. CBS had suggested renovations, but the team would have to play elsewhere, and the Mets refused to open their home, Shea Stadium, to the Yankees. A new stadium in the Meadowlands, across town in New Jersey was also suggested. Finally, in mid-1972, Mayor John Lindsay stepped in. The city bought the Stadium, and began an extensive two-year renovation period. Since the city also owned Shea, the Mets had to allow the Yankees to play the two seasons out there. The renovations modernized the look of the stadium and reconfigured some of the seating.

During 1974 and 1975, Yankee Stadium was renovated into its current shape and structure shown here.

After the 1974 season, Steinbrenner made a move that started the modern era of free agency, signing star pitcher James Augustus "Catfish" Hunter away from Oakland. Midway through the 1975 season, Steinbrenner made another move, hiring former second baseman Billy Martin as manager. With Martin as the helm, the Yankees reached the 1976 World Series, but were swept by the Cincinnati Reds, the famed "Big Red Machine".

Steinbrenner then added star Oakland outfielder Reggie Jackson to his roster. Jackson made a controversial comment during spring training, about the Yankee captain, catcher Thurman Munson, and he already had bad blood with Billy Martin, who had managed the Detroit Tigers and met Jackson in the 1972 postseason. Jackson, Martin, and Steinbrenner would repeatedly feud throughout Jackson's five-year contract. Martin was hired and fired by Steinbrenner five times over the next 13 years. This conflict, combined with the extremely rowdy Yankees fans of the late 1970s and the bad conditions of the Bronx, led to the organization and stadium being referred to as the "Bronx Zoo". Despite the turmoil, Jackson proved his worth in the 1977 World Series when he hit four home runs on four consecutive pitches from four different Dodgers' pitchers, three of them in the same game. Jackson's great performance in the postseason earned him the nickname "Mr. October".

Throughout the late 1970s, the race for the pennant often came to a close competition between the Yankees and the Red Sox. In the 1950s and early 1960s, the Yankees had been dominant while the Red Sox hadn't been a factor. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Yankees had been in last place while the Red Sox took charge. This was one of the first times that the two were contending and locked in a close fight, and every game between the two suddenly became important. The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry was at its helm, and was often bitter and ruthless, with brawls frequently erupting between players and fans.

On July 14, 1978, the Yankees were 14.5 games behind the Red Sox. Suddenly, the Yanks went on a winning streak, and by the time they met up for a pivotal four-game series at Fenway Park in early September, they were only four games out. The Yankees would sweep the Red Sox in what would become known as the "Boston Massacre", winning the games 15-3, 13-2, 7-0, and 7-4. The third game was a shutout pitched by "Louisiana Lightning" Ron Guidry, who would lead the majors with nine shutouts, 25 wins (only three losses), and a 1.74 ERA. Guidry also finished with 248 strikeouts, but Nolan Ryan's 260 strikeouts deprived Guidry of the pitching Triple Crown.

On the last day of the season, the two clubs finished in a tie for first place in the AL East. A one-game playoff (the 163rd game of the regular season) between the two teams was held to decide who would go on to the playoffs, with the game being held at Boston's Fenway Park. With Guidry matched up against former Yankee Mike Torrez, the Red Sox took an early 2-0 lead. In the seventh inning, the Yankees drove a stake through the hearts of their rivals' fans when Bucky Dent drove a three-run home run over the "Green Monster" (Fenway Park's famed left field wall), putting the Yankees up 3-2. Reggie Jackson's solo home run in the following inning would seal the eventual 5-4 win that gave the Yankees their 100th win of the season and their third straight AL East title; it also gave Guidry his 25th win. (The outcome of this game, for Red Sox fans, was one of several emotional moments in their team's history that had their fans wondering if the Red Sox were under some kind of Yankee curse.)

Thurman Munson's mask and mitt on display in Cooperstown .They previously hung in his unused locker as a memorial.

After beating the Kansas City Royals for the third consecutive year in the 1978 ALCS, the Yankees faced the Dodgers again in the World Series. They lost the first two games on the West Coast, but then came home to win all three games at Yankee Stadium. The team then would wrap up their 22nd World Championship in Game Six back in Los Angeles.

The 1970s would end on a tragic note for the Yankees. Munson, a devoted family man, attained a pilot's license and a private plane so that he could fly home on off days. On August 2, 1979, Munson was doing some test flights of his plane and crashed, dying from his injuries. Four days later, the entire team flew out to Canton, Ohio for the funeral, despite having a game later that day against the Orioles. Martin adamantly stated that the funeral was more important, and that he didn't care if they made it back in time, but they did return in time to play. It was a nationally televised game, and the emotional contest was highlighted by Bobby Murcer, a close friend of Munson's who was one the Yankees chose to give a eulogy that morning at the funeral. He used Munson's bat (which he gave to his fallen friend's wife after the game), and drove in all five of the team's runs in a dramatic 5-4 victory.

Before the game, Munson's locker sat empty except for his catching gear, a sad reminder for his teammates. His locker, labeled with his number 15, stands empty in the Yankee clubhouse to this day as a memorial. The number 15 has also been retired by the team.

The Mattingly Era (1982-1995)

Following the team's loss to the Dodgers in the 1981 World Series, the Yankees would go into their longest absence from the playoffs since 1921.

The Yankees of the 1980s, led by their All-Star first baseman Don Mattingly, had the most total wins of any major league team but failed to win a World Series (the first such team since the 1910s). They consistently had powerful offensive teams: Mattingly at various times was teammate to Dave Winfield, Rickey Henderson, Mike Pagliarulo, Steve Sax and Jesse Barfield, but the starting pitching rarely matched the team's performance at the plate. After posting a 22-6 record in 1985, arm problems caught up with Ron Guidry, and his career went into a steep decline in the next three years. Dennis Rasmussen, who won 18 games in 1986, could never match the feat. Rick Rhoden, acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1987, won 16 games that year but went only 14-14 in 1988.

The team came close to winning the AL East in 1985 and 1986, finishing second to the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox respectively, but fell to fourth place in 1987 and fifth in 1988, despite having mid-season leads in the AL East standings both years.

By the end of the decade, the Yankees' offense was also on the decline. Henderson and Pagliarulo had departed by the middle of 1989, while back problems caught up with both Winfield (who missed the entire '89 season) and Mattingly (who missed almost the entire second half of 1990). Winfield's tenure with the team ended when he was dealt to the California Angels in May 1990 for Mike Witt. From 1989 to 1992, the team had a losing record, having spent large amounts of money on free-agent players and draft picks that did not meet up to expectations. In 1990, the Yankees had the worst record in Major League Baseball, and their first last-place finish since 1966.

On July 1, 1990, pitcher Andy Hawkins became the first Yankee ever to lose a no-hitter. Third baseman Mike Blowers committed an error, followed by two walks and an error by the left fielder Jim Leyritz with the bases loaded, scoring all three runners and the batter. The 4-0 loss to the Chicago White Sox was the largest margin of any no-hitter loss in the 20th century. Ironically, the Yankees (and Hawkins) were again no-hit for six innings in a rain-shortened game against the White Sox eleven days later.

The poor showing in the 1980s and 1990s would soon start to change as Steinbrenner hired Howard Spira to uncover damaging information on Winfield; Steinbrenner was suspended from day-to-day team operations by then-Commissioner Fay Vincent when the plot was revealed. This allowed management to implement a coherent acquisition/development program without interference. General managers Gene Michael and Bob Watson, along with manager Buck Showalter, shifted the club's emphasis from buying talent to developing talent through the farm system, and then holding on to it. This new system brought up key players such as Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera, who might have been traded away early for big-name talent had Steinbrenner remained in charge.^[2] The first significant success came in 1994, when the Yankees had the best record in the AL. However, the season was cut short by the 1994 baseball strike, and there were no playoffs. A year later, they made it to the playoffs in the new wild card slot, and were eliminated only after a memorable 1995 American League Division Series against the Seattle Mariners where the Yankees won the first two games at home and dropped the next three in Seattle.

Mattingly, suffering greatly from his back injury, retired after the 1995 season. He had the unfortunate distinction of beginning and ending his career on years bracketed by Yankee World Series appearances (1981 and 1996).

A new dynasty: the Torre, Jeter, and Rivera Era (1996-2000)

The cover of Newsday, showing closer John Wetteland jumping into the arms of catcher Jim Leyritz after the final out of the 1996 World Series.

After the Yankees fell to the Mariners, Steinbrenner replaced Showalter with Joe Torre, who brought in Don Zimmer as bench coach and former Yankees pitching star Mel Stottlemyre as pitching coach. One of Showalter's coaches, popular former Yankees second baseman Willie Randolph, was retained by Torre as a third-base coach. Torre had a mediocre run as a manager in the National League, and the choice was initially derided ("Clueless Joe" ran the headline on the New York Post). However, his smooth manner proved to be what the team needed, and his tenure would prove to be, by far, the longest under Steinbrenner's ownership.

The Yankees not only made it to the 1996 playoffs, but they went 8-0 on the road. Following a win in the ALCS against the Baltimore Orioles (which included an instance of fan interference by young Jeffrey Maier, which was called a home run for the Yankees), the team went to the World Series against the Atlanta Braves. Despite losing the first two games at home by a combined score of 16-1, they won in six games and ended the team's 18-year championship drought. Homegrown shortstop Derek Jeter was named Rookie of the Year, an auspicious start to his career with the Yankees. After their first World Series win since 1978, the Yankees signed lefties David Wells and Mike Stanton to improve the pitching staff. They also allowed closer (and Series MVP) John Wetteland to leave as a free agent. The empty spot was filled with Wetteland's setup man, Mariano Rivera.

In 1997, the team made it to the playoffs again, but lost in the 1997 ALDS to the Cleveland Indians. Watson was fired as GM, and was replaced by Brian Cashman, a former Yankee intern. Cashman made many key acquisitions to improve the team, including third baseman Scott Brosius, second baseman and leadoff man Chuck Knoblauch, outfielder Darryl Strawberry and starting pitcher Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez.

An iconic image of Joe Torre as he is carried off the field after the Yankees won the 2000 World Series. Bernie Williams is visible in the bottom left corner.

The 1998 Yankees are widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest teams in baseball history, compiling a then-AL record 114 regular season wins against just 48 losses and then sweeping the San Diego Padres in the 1998 World Series. They went 11-2 in the playoffs for a combined record of 125-50. Their 125 wins is a major league record, though their AL regular season record was surpassed by the 2001 Seattle Mariners, who went 116-46. On top of all this, on May 17, 1998 David Wells, who would later claim to have been hung-over that day, pitched a perfect game against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium. After the 1998 season, Wells would be traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Roger Clemens, who had just completed two consecutive Cy Young Award and pitching triple crown seasons.

A little over a year later, on July 18, 1999, which was "Yogi Berra Day" at the Stadium, David Cone pitched a perfect game against the Montréal Expos. Coincidentally, Don Larsen, who pitched the perfect game in the 1956 World Series, was in attendance and had thrown out the ceremonial first pitch to Berra, his catcher for that storied game. Another coincidence is that Larsen and Wells both attended Point Loma High School in San Diego, California.

After winning the Eastern division that year, and defeating the Texas Rangers for the third time in the ALDS, the Yankees met up with their longtime rivals, the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, the first meeting of the two in a true post-season series. Clemens, a former Red Sox star pitcher, pitched in the third game against new pitching star Pedro Martinez, who was the year's winner of the Cy Young Award and pitching triple crown. The greatly hyped matchup was billed "Cy Young vs Cy Old" by Red Sox fans. The Sox would blast Clemens 13-1, but it was the only win they had, as they lost the series in five games. the Yankees would go on to win the 1999 World Series, Clemens winning the clinching fourth game in the Bronx. This gave the 1998-1999 Yankees a 22-3 record (including four series sweeps) in six consecutive post-season series.

In 2000, the Yankees battled through the post-season, winning the ALDS against the Oakland A's after the full five games, and beating the Mariners in the sixth game of the ALCS. This led to a much anticipated meeting with cross-town rivals and National League Champions, the New York Mets, in the first Subway Series championship since 1956. The Yankees won the first two, but a Mets win in the third game snapped their streak of World Series wins at 14 (from 1996-2000). This beat the club's previous record of 12 (in 1927, 1928, and 1932). A run scored by the Mets off of Rivera snapped his string of 34⅓ consecutive scoreless innings in the playoffs, which broke Whitey Ford's streak, a record he took from Ruth. The team would go on to win the fourth game and then, in the fifth game, Mets star catcher Mike Piazza would hit a long fly ball to deep center in the bottom of the ninth, which would just miss leaving Shea, instead landing in Bernie Williams' glove and completing the Yankees' threepeat. During this feat, the total post-season record was 33-8. The Yankees are the most recent major league team to repeat as World Series champions and after the 2000 season they joined the Yankee teams of 1936-1939 and 1949-1953, as well as the 1972-1974 Oakland Athletics as the only teams to win at least three consecutive World Series.

Falling just short: the Torre, Jeter, Rivera, and A-Rod Era (2001-2007)