A century ago on Tuesday, the New York Yankees came out of the shadow of their Manhattan landlords to christen the ballpark that would be known as “The House That Ruth Built” in the Bronx.
On 18 April 1923, 60,000 fans jammed into “The Yankee Stadium,” as it was originally called, to see the American League defending champions take on their rival Boston Red Sox.
Batting third for the Yankees and playing right field on the historic Opening Day was their star slugger, Babe Ruth, just a few years after New York had acquired him from Boston in December 1919. “I’d give a year of my life if I can hit a home run in the first game in this new park,” Ruth said before the game.
Anyone familiar with Ruth’s career will have a fair idea of what happened next. The Yankees had started out as the New York Highlanders in 1903, and played most of their first decade of mediocre baseball at Hilltop Park in upper Manhattan.