Out in front of “The House That Ruth Built”
In honor of the baseball season starting, we will be running Uptown in the northern section of Manhattan to highlight the New York City history of one of the MLB’s most iconic teams—the New York Yankees. We begin on Broadway and 165th Street in Washington Heights.
Let’s start with what we all know:
The Bronx-based Yankees are one of the most successful teams in baseball history, with 27 World Series titles and 40 American League pennants. However, the Yankees didn’t start out in the Bronx.
Here is where it gets interesting:
The story of the Yankees begins in Baltimore, Maryland, where the Yankees competed as the Orioles in 1901. In 1903, the Orioles were bought by Frank Farrell and Bill Devery, who moved the team to New York City and changed their name to the New York Highlanders. Part of the American League, the Highlanders were often nicknamed “Yanks,” and, in 1913, the team officially became the Yankees.
This new team originally played its games at Hilltop Park in Washington Heights, which is now the location of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital at Broadway between 165th & 168th Streets. In fact, there is a garden on the Fort Washington Street side of the hospital. In 1993, the Yankees dedicated a bronze plaque in the shape of home plate to Hilltop Park, that has been placed in the exact location that home plate originally was. The Highlanders continued to play in Hilltop Park until 1912 when they moved to a newly rebuilt Polo Grounds just a short distance away and soon after as mentioned above, officially became the Yankees.
From Broadway and 165th Street we will run southeast to Highbridge Park.
The lower section of the park is known as Coogan’s Bluff, named after James Coogan the owner of land, overlooking the most eastern part of Washington Heights, the Harlem River and the western section of the Bronx. It was this land just below the Bluff that was the location of the Polo Grounds. From the Bluff you could see right into the stadium. Home plate was on the near side and centerfield was on the far side. Even if you did not have tickets you could still catch a glimpse of a game. Within Coogan's Bluff a memorial plaque honoring the field and an old stairway remain that would take you down the hill to the stadium. The stairway located at 157th Street and Edgecombe Avenue is closed off because it is in disrepair. On one of the landings is a marker that states, “The John T. Brush Stairway presented by the New York Giants.” The stairway honors Brush, the owner of the Polo Grounds, and was used by fans to get to the ticket booth behind home plate. On a rock outcropping facing the Harlem River Drive is the plaque honoring the New York Giants. The Yankees played in the Polo Grounds between 1912 and 1922.
View of the Polo Grounds from Coogan’s Bluff
In 1915, Jacob Ruppert Jr. and Tillinghaust Huston purchased the Yankees for $450,000. Jacob Ruppert, Jr. was a National Guard colonel; a U.S. Representative from New York and brewery owner. Ruppert's 24 years as a Yankee owner saw him build the team from near moribund to a baseball powerhouse. His own strength as a baseball executive — including his willingness to wheel and deal — was aided by the business skills of general manager Ed Barrow and the forceful field managing of Miller Huggins and Joe McCarthy. By the time of his death, the team was well on its way to becoming the most successful in the history of Major League Baseball, and eventually in North American professional sports. They hired pitcher Carl Mays from the Boston Red Sox in 1918, and purchased Babe Ruth in 1919. and he became the sole owner. During these early years, the Yankees never had a ballpark of their own. This all changed in 1922 when Ruppert bought our Huston to become the sole owner.
Babe Ruth and Jacob Ruppert Jr.
We continue running down the hill on Edgecombe Avenue to 155th Street, over the Macombs Dam Bridge into the Bronx to finish our tour at the current Yankee Stadium.
In 1923, the Yankees moved to their first stadium of their own, the original Yankee Stadium, fondly known as “The House that Ruth Built” and the rest is history. 27 Championships, and names like Gerhig, Dimaggio, Mantle, Berra, Munson, Mattingly, Rivera, Jeter...we could go on and on. In 2009, then owner of the Yankees since 1973, George Steinbrenner followed in the footsteps of Ruppert and created a new home for the Yankees across the street from the original one and the tradition continued as they won their 27th Championship in the first year of residence.
Just off of Macombs Dam Bridge to today’s Yankee Stadium
As much as The Yankees are a fundamental element of New York’s identity, we feel that the city is an equal part to who they are. A story like this wouldn’t just happen anywhere because when you win in this city you are forever remembered as a New Yorker!
Thanks for running with us. We look forward to you next time!!
