 Monument Park atYankee Stadium | |
 | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°49′47.22″N73°55′31.7″W / 40.8297833°N 73.925472°W /40.8297833; -73.925472 |
| Founder | New York Yankees |
Monument Park is anopen-air museum located inYankee Stadium inthe Bronx, New York City. It contains a collection of monuments,plaques, andretired numbers honoring distinguished members of theNew York Yankees ofMajor League Baseball.
The history of the original Monument Park can be traced to theoriginal Yankee Stadium in 1932, when the teamposthumously dedicated an on-field monument to managerMiller Huggins incenter field. Additional team members were honored with monuments and plaques in the area over the years. During the stadium's renovation in the mid-1970s, the center field fence was moved in 44 feet (13 m), enclosing prior monuments, plaques, and the flag pole outside the field of play. Over time, additional plaques were added; in 1985, the park was opened for public access. When the Yankees moved to their new ballpark in 2009, Monument Park was built beyond the center-field fences and the contents of the old one transported over.
Thirty-seven members of the Yankee organization have been honored in Monument Park, while 22 have had their uniform numbers retired. An additional honor, a monument mounted on a large red granite block, has only been awarded to six Yankees: managerMiller Huggins, playersLou Gehrig,Babe Ruth,Mickey Mantle, andJoe DiMaggio, and ownerGeorge Steinbrenner.
Theoriginal Yankee Stadium was built in 1923. As with many otherjewel boxballparks of the era, the flag pole was placed in play. With a 500-foot (150 m) distance to straightawaycenter field, the flag pole rarely interfered in play. Yankees managerMiller Huggins died suddenly in 1929, and the team erected a free-standing monument in front of the flag pole in his honor on May 30, 1932, between games of a Memorial Day doubleheader.[1] The monument consisted of a bronze plaque mounted on an upright block of red granite resembling aheadstone. This, in turn, led many Yankee fans over the years, particularly children, to believe that the players honored were also buried there upon their death.[2][3]
In 1936, the center field fence was moved in from 490 feet (150 m) to 461 feet (141 m) from home plate, but the flagpole and the Huggins monument remained in play. The Yankees dedicated a plaque on the center field fence forJacob Ruppert in 1940[4] and similar monuments forLou Gehrig in 1941 andBabe Ruth in 1949, following their deaths.[1] A plaque was dedicated toEd Barrow in 1954.[5] In 1969,Mickey Mantle andJoe DiMaggio were honored with plaques in the same ceremony; Mantle suggested that DiMaggio's plaque should be hung a little bit higher than his.[6] DuringOld-Timers' Day on July 22, 1972, the Yankees retired No. 8 forYogi Berra andBill Dickey.[7]
Despite the distance, a batted ball still sometimes made it to the monuments. In the 1992 bookThe Gospel According to Casey, byIra Berkow andJim Kaplan, it is reported that on one occasion a Yankees outfielder had let the ball get by him and was fumbling for it among the monuments. ManagerCasey Stengel hollered to the field, "Ruth, Gehrig, Huggins, somebody get that ball back to the infield!"[8]
When Yankee Stadium was remodeled from 1974 to 1975, the center field fence was moved in to 417 feet (127 m). The flag pole and monuments were relocated from center field to an enclosed area, formerly occupied by bleachers, beyond left-center. As this fenced-in area between the two bullpens gathered additional plaques on its wall, it began to be referred to as "Monument Park". It was inaccessible to fans.[9] With the formalization of the area as an official Monument Park as the stadium reopened in 1976, new plaques were announced for managersJoe McCarthy andCasey Stengel, as well as a plaque memorializingPope Paul VI's 1965 visit to Yankee Stadium.[10]
YankeescatcherThurman Munson died in a plane crash on August 2, 1979; the Yankees retired his No. 15 on August 4[11] and dedicated a plaque to him in a pregame ceremony on September 20, 1980.[12] On July 21, 1984, which was Old-Timers' Day, the Yankees retired No. 9 forRoger Maris and No. 32 forElston Howard while also dedicating plaques to both.[13]
The Yankees moved the center field fence in to 410 feet (120 m), so that the Yankees could make Monument Park accessible to fans prior to most games at Yankee Stadium.[14] Monument Park was also part of the public tour of the venue.[15] The Yankees retired No. 10 forPhil Rizzuto in August 1985 and No. 1 forBilly Martin in August 1986, while dedicating plaques for both.[16][17] The Yankees dedicated plaques to Ford andLefty Gomez on August 1, 1987.[18] The Mantle and DiMaggio plaques were removed from the wall upon their deaths in 1995 and 1999, respectively, and mounted on red granite blocks matching the original three of Huggins, Gehrig, and Ruth.[19][20]
In honor ofJackie Robinson, his No. 42 was retired throughout baseball on April 15, 1997, the 50th anniversary of his major league debut. The Yankees erected a plaque for Robinson.[21] Players active at the time of the number's retirement in 1997 were granted aspecial exemption permitting them to continue wearing the number for the remainder of their careers; the last such active player to wear No. 42 was Yankeerelief pitcherMariano Rivera.[22]
WhenRed Ruffing's plaque was dedicated in 2004, his son called it "the second-greatest honor you can have in baseball, in my opinion" trailing only induction into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.[23]
In addition to baseball related recognitions, theKnights of Columbus donated plaques in honor of the Masses celebrated at Yankee Stadium byPope Paul VI on October 4, 1965,Pope John Paul II on October 2, 1979, andPope Benedict XVI on April 20, 2008.[24] The Yankees also dedicated a monument to the victims and rescue workers of theSeptember 11 attacks on September 11, 2002, the first anniversary of the attacks.[25]
When the Yankees moved intothe new Yankee Stadium after the 2008 season, the Yankees established a new Monument Park behind the fence in straightaway center field, below the Center Field Sports Bar that serves as thebatter's eye.[26] Built of pearl blue granite from Finland,[27] this new monument park features the five Yankee monuments in a central area around a black marble Yankees logo. This is flanked by two short stone walls which hold the retired numbers. The plaques are mounted on the back wall and the September 11 monument is on one end of the park.
In contrast to the old stadium, the new Monument Park is not readily visible from the field, and its relatively drab appearance and inconspicuous placement have led some to derisively nickname it "Monument Cave". Spectators can visit Monument Park prior to the beginning of each game. It closes 45 minutes before first pitch.[28][29]
The Yankees honored Rivera by retiring his uniform number on September 22, 2013, during his final season, making him the first active player to be enshrined in Monument Park.[30] Mantle wore his No. 7 when he coached the Yankees in 1970, even though it was retired the previous year, while Berra wore his No. 8 while he coached the Yankees from 1976 through 1985, though it was retired in 1972. Similarly, when Martin returned to manage the Yankees in 1988, he wore his No. 1, which had been retired in his honor in 1986.[31]
In 2014, the Yankees dedicated plaques in Monument Park forJoe Torre,Paul O'Neill,Tino Martinez, andGoose Gossage, and retired No. 6 in honor of Torre.[32] In 2015, the team dedicated plaques forJorge Posada,Andy Pettitte,Bernie Williams,Mel Stottlemyre, andWillie Randolph, and retired the numbers of Pettitte (No. 46), Posada (No. 20), and Williams (No. 51).[33] The Yankees dedicated a plaque to Rivera on August 14, 2016,[34] and retiredDerek Jeter's No. 2 and dedicated a plaque for him on May 14, 2017.[31] They retired No. 21 for O'Neill on August 21, 2022.[35]
The Yankees dedicated a plaque toNelson Mandela on April 16, 2014, to commemorate his life and 1990 visit to Yankee Stadium.[36][37][38][a] On June 25, 2019, the Yankees dedicated a plaque commemorating the 50th anniversary of theStonewall Inn Uprising, which sparked the modern day movement forLGBT rights in the United States.[39]
The following players and other Yankees personnel are honored with monuments or plaques in Monument Park. Monuments are considered a greater honor than plaques, and have only been awarded posthumously.[40]
| Honoree | Name of the honoree |
|---|---|
| Position(s) | Fielding position(s) or role in the organization |
| Number retired (x) | Date number retired (and number), if applicable |
| Plaque | Date plaque dedicated, if applicable |
| Monument | Date monument dedicated, if applicable |
† | Elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame |
‡ | Recipient of the Hall of Fame'sFord C. Frick Award |
| Honoree | Position(s) | Number retired | Plaque | Monument | Career w/ Yankees | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miller Huggins† | Manager | — | May 30, 1932 | May 30, 1932 | 1918–1929 | [41] |
| Lou Gehrig† | First baseman | July 4, 1939 (No. 4) | July 6, 1941 | July 6, 1941 | 1923–1939 | [42] |
| Jacob Ruppert† | Owner | — | April 19, 1940 | — | 1915–1939 | [4] |
| Babe Ruth† | Outfielder | June 13, 1948 (No. 3) | April 19, 1949 | April 19, 1949 | 1920–1934 | [43] |
| Ed Barrow† | General manager | — | April 15, 1954 | — | 1921–1945 | [44] |
| Joe DiMaggio† | Outfielder | April 18, 1952 (No. 5) | June 8, 1969 | April 25, 1999 | 1936–1942, 1946–1951 | [45] |
| Mickey Mantle† | Outfielder | June 8, 1969 (No. 7) | June 8, 1969 | August 25, 1996 | 1951–1968 | [46] |
| Joe McCarthy† | Manager | —[b] | April 29, 1976 | — | 1931–1946 | [47] |
| Casey Stengel† | Manager | August 8, 1970 (No. 37) | July 30, 1976 | — | 1949–1960 | [48] |
| Thurman Munson | Catcher | August 2, 1979 (No. 15) | September 20, 1980 | — | 1969–1979 | [11] |
| Elston Howard | Catcher /Outfielder | July 21, 1984 (No. 32) | July 21, 1984 | — | 1955–1967 | [49] |
| Roger Maris | Outfielder | July 21, 1984 (No. 9) | July 21, 1984 | — | 1960–1966 | [49] |
| Phil Rizzuto† | Shortstop /Broadcaster | August 4, 1985 (No. 10) | August 4, 1985 | — | 1941–1942, 1946–1956 (as player) 1957–1996 (as broadcaster) | [16] |
| Billy Martin | Second baseman /Manager | August 10, 1986 (No. 1) | August 10, 1986 | — | 1950–1957 (as player) 1975–1979, 1983, 1985, 1988 (as manager) | [17] |
| Lefty Gomez† | Pitcher | — | August 1, 1987 | — | 1930–1942 | [18] |
| Whitey Ford† | Pitcher | August 3, 1974 (No. 16) | August 1, 1987 | — | 1950, 1953–1967 | [18] |
| Bill Dickey† | Catcher | July 22, 1972 (No. 8) | August 21, 1988 | — | 1928–1943, 1946 | [7][50] |
| Yogi Berra† | Catcher /Outfielder | July 22, 1972 (No. 8) | August 21, 1988 | — | 1946–1963 | [7][50] |
| Allie Reynolds | Pitcher | — | August 27, 1989 | — | 1947–1954 | [51] |
| Don Mattingly | First baseman | August 31, 1997 (No. 23) | August 31, 1997 | — | 1982–1995 | [52] |
| Mel Allen‡ | Broadcaster | — | July 25, 1998 | — | 1939–1964, 1976–1990 | [53] |
| Bob Sheppard | Public addressannouncer | — | May 7, 2000 | — | 1951–2007 | [54] |
| Reggie Jackson† | Outfielder | August 14, 1993 (No. 44) | July 6, 2002 | — | 1977–1981 | [55] |
| Ron Guidry | Pitcher | August 23, 2003 (No. 49) | August 23, 2003 | — | 1975–1988 | [56] |
| Red Ruffing† | Pitcher | — | July 10, 2004 | — | 1930–1942, 1945–1946 | [23] |
| Jackie Robinson† | Second baseman | April 15, 1997 (No. 42) | April 17, 2007[c] | — | 1947–1956 (Brooklyn Dodgers) | [21] |
| George Steinbrenner | Owner | — | September 20, 2010 | September 20, 2010 | 1973–2010 | [58] |
| Mariano Rivera† | Pitcher | September 22, 2013 (No. 42) | August 14, 2016 | — | 1995–2013 | [34][59] |
| Tino Martinez | First baseman | — | June 21, 2014 | — | 1996–2001, 2005 | [60] |
| Goose Gossage† | Pitcher | — | June 22, 2014 | — | 1978–1983, 1989 | [60] |
| Paul O'Neill | Outfielder | August 21, 2022 (No. 21) | August 9, 2014 | — | 1993–2001 | [60] |
| Joe Torre† | Manager | August 23, 2014 (No. 6) | August 23, 2014 | — | 1996–2007 | [60] |
| Bernie Williams | Outfielder | May 24, 2015 (No. 51) | May 24, 2015 | — | 1991–2006 | [61] |
| Willie Randolph | Second baseman /Coach | — | June 20, 2015 | — | 1976–1988 | [62] |
| Mel Stottlemyre | Pitcher /Coach | — | June 20, 2015 | — | 1964–1974 | [63] |
| Jorge Posada | Catcher | August 22, 2015 (No. 20) | August 22, 2015 | — | 1995–2011 | [64] |
| Andy Pettitte | Pitcher | August 23, 2015 (No. 46) | August 23, 2015 | — | 1995–2003, 2007–2010, 2012–2013 | [65] |
| Derek Jeter† | Shortstop | May 14, 2017 (No. 2) | May 14, 2017 | — | 1995–2014 | [66] |
Media related toMonument Park at Wikimedia Commons
