Product Description
It's been eighty-five years since Yankee Stadium opened. Soon the Yankees will leave the field, fans will file out and the lights will fade. But the lights will never go out on the Stadium that has proudly worn the moniker "The House That Ruth Built."Yankee Stadium: The Official Retrospective recounts the story of this extraordinary American landmark. It captures the creation of a home for the New York Yankees that began in 1923 and was driven by co-owner Jacob Ruppert, who envisioned a ballpark grander than any other conceived at the time. It takes the reader from the field to the dugout, from the press box to the clubhouse, from principal owner George Steinbrenner's office to Monument Park. Every corner of the stadium is revealed. But Yankee Stadium is more than a ballpark. The most iconic moments in history have taken place within its walls: Lou Gehrig's poignant farewell to his team and the fans who would never forget him; epic heavy-weight fights, from Louis versus Schmeling to Ali versus Norton; the 1958 National Football League championship, christened the "Greatest Game Ever Played"; exciting college football games, including the one immortalized by Knute Rockne in which he asked Notre Dame to "win one for the Gipper"; and the unrivaled record-breaking successes of the New York Yankees, from the very first home run hit at the Stadium by Babe Ruth to Alex Rodriguez' 500th. With the unprecedented cooperation of the New York Yankees organization, photographs have been culled from every conceivable source. More than 250 photographs - many never before published - will allow you to walk in the Stadium beside Mantle and Maris, witness the only perfect game in World Series history, and see the Stadium during the stirring 2001 World Series. Yankee Stadium: The Official Retrospective is more than just photographs. It is also graced with firsthand accounts of what it was like to be there as history unfolded. Some of the contributors include: George Steinbrenner, Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, former Vice President Dan Quayle, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, Paul McCartney, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Don Shula, Sugar Ray Leonard, Frank Gifford, Regis Philbin, Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, Reggie Jackson, and Cal Ripken Jr. It has been said that the shaded outfield of Yankee Stadium houses the ghosts of long-gone Yankee greats - at least that's what the players swear they feel as the long days of summer wane into the heated race for the pennant. Or could it be the knowledge that, within those walls, they will always be measured against the titans who came before them? It is the power of the place that led Sports Illustrated to call Yankee Stadium the greatest venue of the twentieth century. And only here, within the pages of Yankee Stadium: The Official Retrospective, can you feel what they feel.
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 Great book - Pricey!
Great book. A bit pricey, but what the heck, you only live once. And thank God I'm a Yankees fan. I read some of the other reviews and have to say, I agree with most, this book is a great gift idea. My wife also just bought me New York Yankees: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports (Sports by the Numbers) If you want to make a Yankees fan happy, buy both books as a Christmas or B-Day gift.
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great gift idea
I gave this book to my dad, who used to take me to games in the Bronx when I was a kid. Anyone who ever saw a game at the old Yankee Stadium should buy this book -- it will bring back a lot of great memories. I also recently bought another NYY book through Amazon and read it the last couple of days. If you want the history of the team and care about all the numbers that make the Bronx Bombers such an important part of baseball history, then I'd also recommend this title: New York Yankees: An Interactive Guide to the World of Sports (Sports by the Numbers)
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A stadium with a history like no other ( mach1936 )
Do not be deceived by its appearance. This is in no sense a "coffee table book" except that you will want to have it near at hand on prominent display. Credit Mark Vancil and Alfred Santasiere III with selecting and editing a wealth of information and photographs (most in vivid full-color) that create quite literally both a comprehensive biography and multi-dimensional portrait of Yankee Stadium. Various contributors provide individual retrospective analyses of these segments:
In "A Walk Through Time" (Pages 16-35), Santasiere allows the reader "to take a gander at the ballpark itself" " during an extensive tour (e.g. ushers, the press box, George Steinbrenner's office and its various collection of memorabilia, the stadium's "frieze," the playing field, the clubhouse, the manager's office, the dugout, and Monument Park. The quality of the photographs in this section comes about as close as photographs can to making the viewer feel as if she or he were actually roaming throughout the stadium in person. In this section and in all others, the crisp copy that accompanies the photos creates a context for each.
In "The Birth of a Ballpark" (Pages 36-75), Bob Klapich reviews the team's history since 1912 when its name was the Hilltoppers (the team's home field was Hilltop Park) and finished in last place. Renamed the Yankees, they later played their home games at the Polo Grounds (also home of the Giants), were also-rans from 1916-1920, acquired George Herman ("Babe") Ruth from the Boston Red Sox, and finally the franchise had a permanent home when Yankee Stadium was built. The opening day was April 18, 1923. Construction requirement included removal of 45,000 cubic yards of dirt, 800 tons of rebar, 2,300 tons of mechanical steel, 116,000 square feet of sod, 13,000 yards of topsoil, 950,000 three million board feet of lumber for the bleachers, and 284 days to complete. There are dozens of archival photos of various stages of construction. Also included in this section are "First Person" reminiscences such as those provided by Ray Robinson, Phil Rizzuto Mario Cuomo, and Ernie Acorsi, Regis Philbin, Michael Bloomberg, and Dan Quale.
In "Iconic Moments at the Stadium" (Pages 76-137), Klapich provides a retrospective commentary on Lou Gehrig's memorable farewell and then Babe Ruth's farewell eight years later, the 1928 game when Knute Rockne's Notre Dame team defeated favored Army 12-8 and won it "for the Gipper," Frank Gipp, Joe DiMaggio's record of getting a hit in 56 consecutive games (a record that still stands 67 years later), Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers (with a mini-commentary provided by Dick Young), arguably the greatest NFL game ever when the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants in overtime for the league championship in 1958 (23-17), Joe Louis' defeat of Max Schmeling (1938) and Muhammad Ali's defeat of Ken Norton (1976), Roger Maris' 61st homerun in 1961 to break Babe Ruth's record of 60 in 1927 (with a mini-commentary provided by Phil Pepe), Pope Paul VI's visit in 1965, the Army-Notre Dame football game in 1946 (with a mini-commentary provided by Johnny Lujack), and Pope Paul II's visit in 1979 (with a mini-commentary provided by Edward Cardinal Egan). Once again, as elsewhere throughout the book, the photographs are stunning.
In "Yankee Stadium Baseball History" (Pages 138-185), Bill Madden reviews some of the greatest highlights of a history that is probably unsurpassed among Major League Baseball in terms of great players, great games, and memorable moments. The reader is briefed on "Home Run Factoids" accompanied by "First Person" observations by Hank Aaron, Al Kaline, Jerry Coleman, Lou Piniella, Chris Chambliss, Reggie Jackson, David Cone, George H. W. Bush (whose son threw out the first pitch - a strike - during the third game of the 2001 World Series following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon), Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neil, Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Brian Cashman, Joe Torre, Dave Winfield, Paul McCartney, Whitey Ford, and Jose Pasada. I identify these contributors because almost all of them were directly involved in some of the memorable moments while playing or managing some of the greatest Yankee teams. Again, the photographs are superb.
In Section Four, "America's Amphitheater" (Pages 186-230), Ira Berkow takes a somewhat different approach as he reviews impressions of first visits to Yankee Stadium and favorite memories of it that are shared in "First Person" reminiscences by Bobby Murcer, Rich Gossage, the Rev. Billy Graham, Don Mattingly, Bill Clinton, Joseph P. Kennedy III, Lance Armstrong, Steve Richardson, Charlie Weis, Frank Gifford, Jim Brown, Don Shula, Sam Huff, Roger Clemens, Bob Sheppard, Alex Ridriguez, Bert Randolph Sugar (who also lists what he considers to be the ten most memorable fights), Angelo Dundee, and Ron Guidry.
No commentary such as this could possibly do full justice to the scope and depth of the text, nor to the quality and diversity of the photographs that are seamlessly integrated with the narrative. Perhaps the best way to express my appreciation of this book is to say that if it were only a text without photographs, I would rate it Five Stars and wish there were a higher rating available. And if it were only a collection of photographs with brief captions, I would have the same opinion when rating it. Thank you, Mark Vancil, Alfred Santasiere III, and your associates.
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 Excellent Book
I gave this to my son for his birthday present and he loved it. Lots of pictures and historical data.
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GREAT READING
All true NYY fans will love this book. This "coffee table" book has great insight into the history of Yankee Stadium. The photography alone is worth the price of the book - it makes you realize what a tremendous part of baseball, and history, this stadium has been. The interviews and memories of many great Hall Of Famers and future Hall Of Famers are a joy to read. I highly recommend this retrospective on an American treasure. What a loss!!!
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