Being graceful at his position and coming from Massachusetts earned him the nickname The Yankee Clipper.
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Here's Joe Dimaggio. He's best known for marrying, for a while anyway, Marilyn Monroe. Oh, he also got a hit in 56 consecutive games. Here he's being photographed during the hit streak. Being graceful at his position and coming from Massachusetts earned him the nickname The Yankee Clipper. |
| Here's the legendary Babe Ruth. It was the gate he brought in in the early 1920's that financed the construction of Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY. Hence its sobriquet - The House That Ruth Built. Most people remember him as the Bambino, so they think he was Italian. He was actually all German. His real name was Georg Hermann Ruth. In German one pronounces Ruth as if it was spelled root. |
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Here's Yogi Berra, hall of fame catcher and quotemeister. He said once that the visiting catcher was so dumb that he couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time! |
| Here's "Mr October" Reggie Jackson. I remember in one season, on two occassions he lost track of the count of outs. He cost NY both games. Such a Hall of Famer! But he did essentially save two World Series for the Yanks. All is forgiven! |
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Casey Stengel's distinguished professional career spanned fifty-four years. He played 14 seasons in the majors hitting .284 . It was as a manager, though, that he earned Hall
of Fame recognition. His feat of guiding the Yankees to 10 pennants and seven world titles in a
12-year span earned him admission to the hall. He was also a great quotemeister. Here's one - "The trouble is not that players have sex the night before a game. It's that they stay out all night looking for it." |
| Here's Mickey Mantle a Yankee switch-hitter who belted 536 homers, won the American League home run and slugging titles four times, collected 2,415 hits, and batted .300 or more 10 times. This picture was taken at the start of his career, at nineteen years of age. |
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This is future hall of famer, Derek Jeter. He was actually born in New Jersey, and he always says - " New Jersey is a great state to be from, far from!" |
| Whitey Ford was the "money pitcher" of the great Yankee teams of the 1950s and early 1960s. The wily southpaw's lifetime record of 236-106 gives him the best winning percentage (.690) of any 20th century pitcher. He still holds many World Series records, including most wins (10), most consecutive scoreless innings (33) and most strikeouts (94). |
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Here's a shot of Yankee Hall of Fame first baseman Lou Gehrig. Durable Lou Gehrig played in an amazing 2,130 consecutive games. A product of Columbia University, he teamed with Babe Ruth to form the greatest one-two punch in Baseball history. In 1932 he became the first 20th century player to hit four consecutive homers in one game. |
| Lefty Gomez baffled the opposition with his fastball and curve while he entertained his teammates with his wit and good humor. He was a 20-game winner four times during the 1930s in helping the Yankees to seven pennants. He twice led the league in winning percentage and in ERA, and three times in strikeouts. |
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Phil Rizzuto overcame his diminutive size to anchor the superb New York Yankee teams which won
nine pennants and seven World Series during his 13 big league seasons. He was an
outstanding shortstop, with a solid .273 lifetime batting
average.
I think his image was tarnished when he stooped to becoming the huckster for the Moneystore. Thus it was a long time before he made the Hall, even though he earned it at Yankee Stadium. |
| Here's a shot of Yankee Hall of Fame shortstop Johnny "Beetle" Lennon. He was a teammate of Yogi Berra. His incredible career featured the winning of nine Gold Glove Awards. Theres a place in Central Park NYC named after the Passaic ballfield where he played Little League - Strawberry Fields. |
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