Yankee Stadium (1923)

==Features==
{{more citations needed section|date = April 2013}}

===Design===
[[File:Yankee Stadium satellite view.png|thumb|right|An aerial view of Yankee Stadium shows the asymmetrical shape of the venue.]]
Yankee Stadium was the first three-tiered sports facility in the United States and one of the first baseball venues to be given the lasting title of ''stadium''. The word ''stadium'' deliberately evoked ancient Greece, where a ''[[Stadion (unit)|stade]]'' was a unit of measure—the length of a footrace; the buildings that housed these footraces were called ''stadia''. Yankee Stadium was one of the first to be designed with the intent to be a multi-purpose facility. The field was initially surrounded by a (misshapen) {{Convert|0.25|mi|km|adj=on}} running track, which effectively also served as a [[warning track]] for outfielders, a feature now standard on all major league fields. The left and right field bleacher sections were laid out roughly at a right angle to the third base stands, to be properly positioned for both track-and-field events and football. The large electronic scoreboard in right-center field, featuring both teams' lineups and scores of other baseball games, was the first of its kind.

As Yankee Stadium owed its creation largely to Ruth, its design partially accommodated the game's left-handed-hitting slugger. Initially the fence was {{convert|295|ft|m}} from home plate down the right-field line, referred to as the "short porch" and {{convert|350|ft|m}} to near right field, compared with {{convert|490|ft|m}} to the deepest part of center field, nicknamed "Death Valley". The right-field bleachers were appropriately nicknamed "Ruthville". Although the right field fences were eventually pushed back after the 1974–1975 renovations, they were still relatively close to home plate and retained the "short porch" moniker, favoring future Yankee lefty sluggers such as [[Graig Nettles]] and [[Reggie Jackson]]. There is an urban legend that the stadium's field level was several feet below sea level, but that is easily disproven by observing how much higher the stadium site was (and is) than the level of the nearby [[Harlem River]]. The altitude of the old ballpark's site is {{convert|39|ft}} above sea level.{{Citation needed|date=December 2017}}

===Monument Park===
[[File:Yankee Stadium Monument Park 2008.jpg|thumb|right|Monument Park featured monuments and plaques dedicated to Yankee greats.]]
{{main|Monument Park (Yankee Stadium)}}
Monument Park was an open-air museum that contained the Yankees' retired numbers, as well as a collection of monuments and plaques honoring distinguished members of the New York Yankees. It was located beyond the left-center field fences, near the bullpens.

The origins of Monument Park can be traced to the original three monuments of [[Lou Gehrig]], [[Miller Huggins]] and [[Babe Ruth]] that once used to stand in-play in center field. Over the years, the Yankees continued to honor players and personnel with additional monuments and plaques. After the 1974–1975 renovations of Yankee Stadium, the outfield fence was moved in, enclosing the monuments and plaques on the old fence and creating "Monument Park". A visual collection of retired numbers was soon added to this location. Monument Park remained there until the stadium's closing in 2008; after the [[Yankee Stadium|new Yankee Stadium]] opened, the retired numbers, plaques, and monuments were moved into a new Monument Park in the new ballpark.

===Façade===
[[File:TheFacade.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The façade over the wall behind the bleachers]]
One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Yankee Stadium was the [[facade|façade]], which consisted of a copper [[frieze]] that originally ran along the front of the roof of the triple-decked grandstand. The copper frieze developed a green [[patina]] over time until it was painted white during the 1960s. After the 1970s renovation, it ran a shorter distance, restricted to the top of the bleacher billboards and scoreboard.<ref name="nytimes-2009-04">{{cite news |last1=Sandomir |first1=Richard |title=A Distinctive Façade Is Recreated at New Yankee Stadium |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/sports/baseball/15facade.html |access-date=June 16, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=April 15, 2009}}</ref>

Until the September 30, 1973 – April 14, 1976 renovation, the Yankees' American League championship pennants hung from the frieze. Tony Morante, who was in charge of tours at the Stadium, found most of these pennants in a box in 2004 and brought them to team executives to have them restored for display at the new Stadium.<ref name="nypost-2008-07">{{cite news |last1=Kernan |first1=Kevin |title=HIDDEN TREASURES OF 161ST AND RIVER |url=https://nypost.com/2008/07/14/hidden-treasures-of-161st-and-river/ |access-date=June 16, 2022 |work=New York Post |date=July 14, 2008}}</ref>

The [[YES Network]] uses the frieze in its graphics. It was incorporated into the logo for the [[2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|2008 All-Star Game]] held at the Stadium. It is also used around the main grandstand at [[George M. Steinbrenner Field|the team's spring training facility]], which has the post-reconstruction dimensions.

===Outfield dimensions===
During its 87-year existence, Yankee Stadium's dimensions were changed several times. The many photographs taken throughout the stadium's history serve as references, especially as the Yankees were among the first to post distance markers on the outfield walls, doing so beginning in 1928.

In its 1923 incarnation, the right and left field foul lines hit the box seat railings at a distance of only about 257 feet from home plate.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34944955/|title=Can He Swat 'Em in New Park as He Swatted in Old?|date=February 4, 1923|work=New York Daily News|access-date=August 15, 2019|page=84|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> This did not pose too much of a problem for pitchers, as the seating angled away sharply, especially in left field. The right field corner was a problem for the outfielders, as its construction tended to make a bounding fair ball take an unpredictable carom. This problem, dubbed the "bloody angle" by the players, was solved prior to the 1924 season by moving the infield some ten feet toward center and rotating it slightly. That resulted in a new left field distance of {{convert|281|ft|1|in}}, and a new right field of {{convert|294|ft|6|in}} (eventually posted as 295).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34944913/|title=Longer Right Field at Yankee Stadium Blow to Babe Ruth|date=February 9, 1924|work=The Buffalo Commercial|access-date=August 14, 2019|page=8|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref>

By 1928 some of the box seats had been chiseled away in the left field corner, allowing a somewhat longer foul line distance of {{convert|301|ft}}. The seating curved away sharply and the far corner of the lower left stand was {{convert|402|ft}} away. The large wooden bleachers remained well out of reach to most batters hitting toward left and center fields. In 1928 the deep left-center field corner was marked as {{convert|490|ft}}, with the deep right-center field corner 429. The "straightaway" right field distance (at an exit gate) was marked 350 and the right field foul line 295. The right field area would remain the only hitter-friendly portion of the outfield before its 1970s remodeling.

When the wooden bleachers were replaced by a concrete structure in the 1930s, its left corner (now aligned with the main stand) was marked as {{convert|415|ft}}. Deep left center shrank to a mere {{convert|461|ft}}, behind the flagpole. As the monuments began to accumulate, the 461 sign was moved a few feet to the right. The deep right-center corner was 407, the right corner of the bleacher area was 367, and the right field line 296, with a 344 sign about halfway between them. A 457 sign was eventually added to left-center's "Death Valley", between the 402/415 pair and the 461.

The 415 sign in deep left field appears in clips of [[Al Gionfriddo]]'s catch of [[Joe DiMaggio]]'s long drive in the [[1947 World Series]]. That sign, and its 367 counterpart in right field, were both covered by auxiliary scoreboards during the 1949 season. Those boards displayed the current game inning-by-inning along with runs-hits-errors.

When the stadium reopened in 1976, the distance in straight-away center field was {{convert|417|ft|m}}. The deepest part of the outfield was in left center at {{convert|430|ft|m}}. The most recent field dimensions were reached primarily by moving the Yankee bullpen to left-center from right and making a few other changes so as to bring the left-center field wall in. The 1973-era left-center field wall locations could still be seen in 1976, as this is where the outfield bleacher seats began.

The following is a partial list of the stadium's dimensions throughout the years:<ref>Lowry, Phil. ''Green Cathedrals''.</ref><ref>Durso, Joseph. ''Yankee Stadium: Fifty Years of Drama''.</ref><ref>Robinson, Ray and Christopher Jennison. ''Yankee Stadium: 75 Years of Drama, Glamour and Glory''.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" size="100%;" style="font-style:bold; border:3px;"
|-  style="text-align:center"
! style="background:#132448;color:#FFFFFF;|Year
! style="background:#132448;color:#FFFFFF;|Left Field<br>Line
! style="background:#132448;color:#FFFFFF;|Straightaway<br>Left Field
! style="background:#132448;color:#FFFFFF;|Left Center
! style="background:#132448;color:#FFFFFF;|Deepest<br>Center Field
! style="background:#132448;color:#FFFFFF;|Right Center
! style="background:#132448;color:#FFFFFF;|Straightaway<br>Right Field
! style="background:#132448;color:#FFFFFF;|Right Field<br>Line
! style="background:#132448;color:#FFFFFF;|Backstop
|- style="text-align:center;"
!1923
| {{convert|257|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|?
|?
| {{convert|498|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|?
|?
| {{convert|257.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|?
|- style="text-align:center;"
!1924
| {{convert|281|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|395|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|460|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|490|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|429|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|350|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|295|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|82|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
!1937
| {{convert|301|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|402|ft|m|abbr=on}} /<br> {{convert|415|ft|m|abbr=on}}.
|{{convert|457|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|461|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|407|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|367|ft|m|abbr=on}} /<br> {{convert|344|ft|m|abbr=on}}.
| {{convert|296|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|82|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
!1976
| {{convert|312|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|387|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|430|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|417|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|385|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|353|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|310|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|84|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
!1985
| {{convert|312|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|379|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|411|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|410|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|385|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|353|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|310|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|84|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
!1988
| {{convert|318|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|379|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|399|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|408|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|385|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|353|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| {{convert|314|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|{{convert|82|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|}

After a mid-1960s remodeling, the 461 marker<ref name="ggpht">{{cite web|url=http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Q_Zerpnj63I/ShCwgpSDo_I/AAAAAAAAGHk/KEXqA7glZyQ/s800/c.jpg|title=Image: c.jpg, (800 × 519 px)|publisher=lh6.ggpht.com|access-date=September 17, 2015}}</ref> was replaced by a 463 marker slightly farther to the left of the pair of double doors<ref name="thejoekorner">{{cite web|url=http://www.thejoekorner.com/yankee-stadium/ys-73-08.jpg|title=Image: ys-73-08.jpg|publisher=thejoekorner.com|access-date=September 17, 2015}}</ref> and a 433 marker was added between the 463 and 407 markers<ref name="thejoekorner2">{{cite web|url=http://www.thejoekorner.com/yankee-stadium/ys-73-02.jpg|title=Image: ys-73-02.jpg|publisher=thejoekorner.com|access-date=September 17, 2015}}</ref> ostensibly to represent true straightaway center field (being roughly at the midpoint of the batter's-eye screen).