Introduction
New York Yankees is a name that is used to refer to the baseball professional players in the New York City. The club was founded in 1901 in Baltimore and later relocated to New York City in 1903. “They were previously referred to as the New York high Landers and later they were nicknamed the Yankees,” (Greenberger, p20). They have occupied the Yankee Stadium in New York since 1923 to last year. They have now moved to a new stadium which has also been named the Yankee Stadium. The group is a member of the Major League Baseball in America. They have actually been involved in many champions’ leagues in the history of American sports in regard to baseball. “From the period of the 1920’s, the Yankees started to make a remarkable record on their success in the baseball games,” (
Twins, p35). This followed the move to purchase high quality players from other teams which included the Red Sox and the Chicago white sox.
Red sox were the major team that was involved in trading its players through its owner Harry Frazee to clear some debts. One of the players who were greatly talented and gifted in the game was Babe Ruth. “His trade to the Yankees really affected the performance of the Red Sox since they did not win any games for the following eighty six years,” (Jim, p17). This one trade of the Red Sox became like a curse to the team as it tremendously turned out to be a supernatural reinforcement for the Yankees who were now very famous of their success. In 1921, The Yankees faced another great team, “the Giants” and their defeat saw their removal from the World Series. They however returned in 1922 but suffered yet another defeat from the Giants.
The rise of the Yankees
“The period of the 1920’s to 1930’s were great years for the Yankees with the honor owed to the two champions of the team Babe Ruth and Gehrig,”(Joe, p27). During this period the team hired a new manager by the name Miller Huggins and a general manager who was Ed Barrow. Barrow was also a former member of the Red Sox and he served the Yankees for a period of 25 years. His service was greatly credited for the success of the Yankees. The 1927 team of the Yankees was very successful making continuous wins remarkably in 1939, 1961 and 1998. This earned the Yankees another nickname as the murderers. Ruth’s total home runs amounted to 60 in 1927 which made history for the next thirty four years. “This period also saw Gehrig make his first big season by managing forty seven round trippers,” (Robinson, p9). In 1928, the Yankees faced the Philadelphia and the St Louis Cardinals in the World Series. In these series, Babe Ruth made 625 hits with three home runs. On the other hand Lou Gehrig made 545 hits and four round trippers. The Yankees then returned to the World Series after three years under a new manager Joe McCarthy where they won over the Chicago clubs with consecutive twelve wins. During this season Ruth became very famous of his called shot home run in the third series on the Wrigley Field.
Yankee stars of the 1920’s and 1930’s
Babe Ruth
Ruth was born in 1895 in a place called Baltimore in Maryland. He started his career as a baseball player at the age of 20. Initially he played for the minor leagues in Baltimore and later he joined the Boston Red Sox. Ruth was one of the greatest stars in the history of American baseball. His presence in the team as an outfield player led the Yankees to the headlines. “He made baseball to become a fun to many and for this reason he earned himself various nicknames such as Bambino, sultan of Swat among others,” (Jim, p23). He had great ability for the home runs and he left a record of success during the period. In 1923 when a new base ballpark was opened it was named the Yankee stadium but the funs preferred to call it, “The House That Ruth Built.” as a tribute to him. His presence in the team drew large crowds to the stadium just to see the Yankees play. He led the American league 11 times in the walks and six times in the runs where he worn eight times. He was also a pitcher of the Yankees five times and he was always successful in these games.
Lou Gehrig
Lou was born on June, 19, 1903. He is remembered as a great champion in the history of the American baseball especially for the contribution he made in the period between 1920 and 1930. He joined the Yankees in 1923 as a pinch hitter. He was a great hitter in the game and this game him the nickname “The iron Horse.” (Robinson, p15). He played various American Baseball Leagues all of which he made record of success. He still remains a great hero to many of the American baseball funs. In his career statistics as a baseball player, he managed to leave a record of.340 battling average, 493 home runs, 2,721 hits and 1,995 runs battled in. He played for the Yankees from the period of 1923 to 1939. He played in the World Series champion in 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937 and 1938. His career in baseball was cut short by his deteriorating health which later claimed his life.
Contribution of the Yankees to the American Culture
The popularity of sports in America was seen in the period of the 1920’s. During this time, America became very proud of its rising heroes in sports especially in baseball, football, golf among other sports. The period has been referred to as the Golden age of Sports since it saw the rise of extraordinary success in the American sports. The rise of heroes in baseball such as Ruth and Lou made a great difference in the teams they played for and this came to change the American sports culture. There were major technological and social changes in regard to sports. “One of the influences on sports culture was the changes in the textile and clothing that was used for sports,” (
Twins, p47). The teams that were involved in sports made different uniforms some which were used to symbolize important occasions. The garments or clothes that were used to make these uniforms were different and this displayed a lot of meaning to the society. The reflections that were displayed in the uniforms were used to indicate the ever evolving changes in baseball both to the teams and also to the funs. Uniforms were recognized as an important symbol for the recognition of the teams and the players by the funs especially in the field. This was a great step in the culture of sports since most funs came to fields just to watch the teams play. “The Yankees were especially very famous of their ever changing uniforms,” (Greenberger, p31). Fashion of the uniforms was especially important to them with some of them having attached emblems for easy recognition of the teams. Later they introduced Numbers and also names of the players to the uniforms. The society was quick to adopt this culture as most schools introduced the game. School teams were formed for the students and they also made their own uniforms. Uniforms in the American sports culture were a reflection of what was happening in the society.
The success of the Yankees during this period also led to the recognition of baseball as a professional career in American sports culture. Professionalism was introduced owing to the various changes in the rules of the game and also the involvement of the World Series championship. Most individuals in the society were now able to see sports as a lifetime career especially with the success of Ruth who earned a lot from the game. The success of the Yankees drew many crowds to the field and this made the owners and also the managers of the game to see the importance of support of the funs in winning the games. “Success of teams is now believed to depend on the number of funs coming to the team,” (Joe, p39). It also created a culture of purchasing excellent players from other teams. This was because the success of the Yankees was greatly owed to the purchase of Ruth from the Red Sox team. Today we see the culture still very common in sports where teams purchase players from other teams to enhance their performance.
Conclusion
The period of 1920 to 1930 was a great period for the Yankees. The two heroes Ruth and Gehrig were the greatest players during the period. Their remarkable wins and success in the game drew so many funs to baseball and this came to change the American baseball culture besides other sports. The golden age of sports saw America rise greatly in sports and the society and also communities became very alert about sports. During this period the culture of American sports was greatly changed especially in the social and political approach. “The importance of funs in the games became highlighted as most individuals helped to build the morale of sports,” (Twins, p55). It also helps to change the society’s mind and view sports as a lifetime career.
Work Cited
Greenberger. All-Star Game History. Baseball History. Rosen Publishing Group, 2007, p17-32.
Jim Reisler. Babe Ruth: Launching the Legend McGraw-Hill, 2004, p12-29.
Joe Torre. The Yankee Years. Prentice Hall, 2009, p22-41.
Robinson. Iron Horse: Lou Gehrig in His Time. Sage publications, 2004, p8-17.
Twins. New York Yankees Franchise Fitted Baseball. Routledge, 2001, p34-56.