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Show Friday, Sept. 26, 2008 Spgc/g/Features Page 10 Ill ill inmiill liiiiinil FROM RUTH TO REGGIE Yankee Stadium's 20 greatest moments OAVID L POKRESS/NEWSDAY Built in 1923, New York's Yankee Stadium hosted many famous events including the 2008 MLB All-Star game, the 1958 NFL championship game, several World Series and papal visits. The opener By Joe Christensen, Minneapolis Star-Tribune April 18, 1923 Stepping inside Fenway Park and Wrlgley Field is like stepping back in time for a baseball fan. Yankee Stadium doesn't have their character or charm. It was built in 1923 and modernized with a major renovation in the mid-1970s. But there's a reason Yankee Stadium is arguably the most famous sporting venue on Earth. It has been the site of so many famous events. As the stadium's final season winds to a close, we picked 20 great moments to help tell the story. I Three years after being sold from Boston to the Yankees, Babe Ruth homered into the right field stands, and New York defeated the Red Sox 4-1 in the first game at 'The House that Ruth Built." 2 Ruth hits No. 60 Sept. 30, 1927 The "27 Yankees were one of the greatest teams in baseball history, going 110-44. Lou Gehrig hit 47 home runs, and Babe Ruth hit 60, with the last one sent into the right field bleachers against Washington's Zach Zachary. 3 Rockne's 'Gipper' Speech 4 Negro League showcase Nov. 10, 1928 Notre Dame trailed Army 6-0 when Irish coach Knute Rockne urged his squad to "win one for the Gipper." The Irish rallied for a 12-6 victory in honor of former Ail-American George Gipp, who died in 1920. Sept. 9, 1934 Pittsburgh Crawfords ace Satchel Paige and Philadelphia Stars ace Slim Jones pitched to a 1-] lie in a game called because of darkness. Jones struck out nine batters, including Cool Papa Bell, Bill Perkins, Oscar Charleston and Josh Gibson. 5 Big loss for Seven Blocks of Granite Nov. 22, 1936 Yankee Stadium used to be a showcase for college football each Thanksgiving. This time, undefeated Fordham and its famous defensive front, featuring Vince Lombard!, needed one more win to reach the Rose Bowl. But with 50,000 watching. New York University (4-3-1) dashed its rival's hopes with a 7-6 victor)' in the sleet and mud. 6 Louis vs. Schmeling June 22,1938 Joe Louis not only won the heavyweight title against Max Schmeling, but he also gave the United States a point of pride against Hitler's Nazi Germany. Louis was another African-American standing tall, just like Jesse Owens at the I936 Olympics in Berlin. 7 'Luckiest man' speech July 4, 1939 One month after being diagnosed with ALS at the Mayo Clinic, Lou Gehrig told a crowd of more than 60,000: "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth." 8 p Oct. 4, 1965 The reopening April 11, 1976 June 17, 1941 After a SI60 million renovation that forced the Yankees to play the 1974 and 1975 seasons at Shea Stadium, the stadium reopened with a game against the Twins. Minnesota's (Disco) Dan Ford hit a first-inning homer in an 11-4 Yankees victory. 4 ^ Mr. October I § Oct. 18, 1977 9 Ruth farewells Reggie Jackson hit three home runs to lead the Yankees over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the clinching Game 6 of the World Series. The home runs came on three consecutive swings against Burt Hooton, Elias Sosa and Charlie Hough. April 27, 1947, and June 13, 1948 Hobbled with cancer, Babe Ruth spoke in a raspy voice to a crowd of 60,000 on "Babe Ruth Day," April 27, 1947. He returned one last time, on June 13, 1948, for a ceremony honoring the stadium's 25th anniversary. A photo by Nat Fein from that last appearance won the Pulitzer Prize. Mr. November Oct. 31, 2001 4 ft 'Voice of God' debuts April 17, 1951 Reggie Jackson called Yankees public address announcer Bob Sheppard "The Voice of God." In his first game, the 1951 opener, Sheppard called the names of seven future Hall of Famers: Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Mize, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, along with Boston's Ted Williams and Lou Boudreau. 4 tM Mantle hits the facade I I May 30, 1956 Mickey Mantle hit many of the longest homers in the stadium's history. This one came off Washington Senators righthander Pedro Ramos. The ball hit the stadium's famed facade, hanging down from the right field roof, and came about 18 inches from leaving the entire ballpark. Larsen's perfect game Oct. 8, 1956 With the World Series deadlocked at two games apiece, Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in Scries history, blanking the rival °P e Paul Vls visit One of three papal visits at Yankee Stadium, this one brought about 90,000 to see Pope Paul VI. Pope John Paul II visited Yankee Stadium in 1979, and Pope Benedict XVI visited this year, on April 20. DiMaggio's streak Joe DiMaggio's major league-record 56-game hitting streak ended on July 17, 1941, at Cleveland's League Park. A key moment, however, came one month earlier at Yankee Stadium, when official scorer Dan Daniel gave DiMaggio a hit on a ball that bounced off Chicago shortstop Luke Appling's shoulder, extending the streak to 30 games. I V set by Babe Ruth in 1927. Commissioner Ford Frick said Maris' record deserved an asterisk because Ruth achieved 60 in a 154-game season, compared to 162 games for Maris. COURTESY OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE In 1956, Mickey Mantle hit one of the longest home runs in Yankee Stadium history. Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0. Two days later, the Yankees won the series with a 9-0 victory in Game 7. 'Greatest Game Ever Played' Dec. 28, 1958 In a game that changed the sports landscape, the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants in overtime 23-17 for the NFL title. Johnny Unitas, Raymond Berry and Alan Ameche became household names. Maris hits No. 61 Oct. 1 , 1 9 6 1 Roger Maris hit his 61 si home run of the season into the right field stands, breaking the record After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the postseason was moved back a week. Game 4 of the World Series went past midnight, meaning it was Nov. 1 when Derek Jeter hit his game-winning, lOth-inning homer off Arizona's Byung-Hyun Kim. Boone's game-winner Oct. 16, 2003 After Red Sox manager Grady Little pulled Pedro Martinez from Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, the Yankees came back to force extra innings. New York's Aaron Boone won it with a home run off Tim Wakefield in the 11th inning. A A Schilling's bloody sock mm\3 Oct. 19, 2004 Pitching with sutures in his right ankle and red splotches on his white sock. Curt Schilling held the Yankees to one run over seven innings in Game 6 of the ALCS. That forced Game 7, which the Red Sox won en route to their first World Series title since they had Babe Ruth, in 1918. |