Any discussion of the history of New York City without a history of the New York Yankees would be like describing Pavarotti without mentioning his voice. And any discussion of the Yankees without including Yankee Stadium would be farcical. And when you get right down to the nitty-gritty of historical realities encompassing the Yankees and Yankee Stadium you have to include Babe Ruth. The Babe, the "Bambino," the "Sultan of Swat," was the reason the Yankees built Yankee Stadium, and that is why they call it "The House That Ruth Built." .

             The Yankees are beyond any reasonable doubt the premier team in Major League Baseball. They have been in the World Series 39 times since the American League was fashioned in 1900 - and they have won 26 of them. The teams tied for second most World Series Championships are the Cardinals and Athletics with 9.

             The Yankees have been in New York since 1903; previously they were in Baltimore known as the Baltimore Orioles. They started out in New York as the Highlanders, playing at Hilltop Park (today, the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center sits where Hilltop Park was located). They played in the Polo Grounds (sharing it with its home team, the National League New York Giants) from 1913 to 1920.

             The Yankees became popularly known as the "Yankees" around 1904; and when the New York Herald reported on April 15, 1906, "Yankees win opening game from Boston, 2-1," it was more or less official they were no longer the Highlanders.

             Babe Ruth and Yankee Stadium.

             Meanwhile, tracing the origins of Yankee Stadium properly includes a brief recounting of how Babe Ruth got to the Yankees; he was the spark that lit the fire that put Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. By 1919, a strong rivalry had existed between the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees for several years. A young Boston pitcher who was also an unbelievable slugger, Babe Ruth, hammered the Yankees on many occasions, including Opening Day at the Polo Grounds on April 23, 1919.