The untold story of Babe Ruth's Yankees, John McGraw's Giants, and the extraordinary baseball season of 1923. Before the 27 World Series titles -- before Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Derek Jeter -- the Yankees were New York's shadow franchise. They hadn't won a championship, and they didn't even have their own field, renting the Polo Grounds from their cross-town rivals the New York Giants. In 1921 and 1922, they lost to the Giants when it mattered most: in October. But in 1923, the Yankees played their first season on their own field, the newly-built, state of the art baseball palace in the Bronx called "the Yankee Stadium." The stadium was a gamble, erected in relative outerborough obscurity, and Babe Ruth was coming off the most disappointing season of his career, a season that saw his struggles on and off the field threaten his standing as a bona fide superstar. It only took Ruth two at-bats to signal a new era. He stepped up to the plate in the 1923 season opener and cracked a home run to deep right field, the first homer in his park, and a sign of what lay ahead. It was the initial blow in a season that saw the new stadium christened "The House That Ruth Built," signaled the triumph of the power game, and established the Yankees as New York's -- and the sport's -- team to beat. From that first home run of 1923 to the storybook World Series matchup that pitted the Yankees against their nemesis from across the Harlem River -- one so acrimonious that John McGraw forced his Giants to get to the Bronx in uniform rather than suit up at the Stadium -- Robert Weintraub vividly illuminates the singular year that built a classic stadium, catalyzed a franchise, cemented Ruth's legend, and forever changed the sport of baseball.

The untold story of Babe Ruth's Yankees, John McGraw's Giants, and the extraordinary baseball season of 1923. Before the 27 World Series titles -- before Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Derek Jeter -- the Yankees were New York's shadow franchise. They hadn't won a championship, and they didn't even have their own field, renting the Polo Grounds from their cross-town rivals the New York Giants. In 1921 and 1922, they lost to the Giants when it mattered most: in October. But in 1923, the Yankees played their first season on their own field, the newly-built, state of the art baseball palace in the Bronx called "the Yankee Stadium." The stadium was a gamble, erected in relative outerborough obscurity, and Babe Ruth was coming off the most disappointing season of his career, a season that saw his struggles on and off the field threaten his standing as a bona fide superstar. It only took Ruth two at-bats to signal a new era. He stepped up to the plate in the 1923 season opener and cracked a home run to deep right field, the first homer in his park, and a sign of what lay ahead. It was the initial blow in a season that saw the new stadium christened "The House That Ruth Built," signaled the triumph of the power game, and established the Yankees as New York's -- and the sport's -- team to beat. From that first home run of 1923 to the storybook World Series matchup that pitted the Yankees against their nemesis from across the Harlem River -- one so acrimonious that John McGraw forced his Giants to get to the Bronx in uniform rather than suit up at the Stadium -- Robert Weintraub vividly illuminates the singular year that built a classic stadium, catalyzed a franchise, cemented Ruth's legend, and forever changed the sport of baseball.

It’s Opening Day! Yankee Stadium towers grand, gleaming, and ready! On April 18, 1923, the New York Yankees played against the Boston Red Sox in their very first game in the brand-new Yankee Stadium. All the key players were there—future Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Waite Hoyt, Bob Shawkey, Miller Huggins—and so were the supporters—Eddie Bennett, the legendary Yankee batboy; Jack Lenz, Yankee Stadium’s first public announcer; five-year-old Little Ray Kelly, Babe’s lucky charm; and more than 70,000 fans! Every person in the stadium on opening day was part of this legendary event, and now you can be too. With beautiful, true-to-event illustrations reminiscent of Norman Rockwell, and with facts on every page about the stadium, the teams, and that very first fateful game that christened the original Yankee Stadium, The House That Ruth Built is the perfect book for kids and baseball fans everywhere. Take a step into the past and watch the baseball greats make history!

Throughout the 2008 season, each game played at the world’s most beloved stadium brought “The House That Ruth Built” closer to shutting its gates forever. Players envisioned running off the field one last time. Vendors anticipated selling their last bags of peanuts. Fans readied themselves to raise their voices in one final cheer. In Remembering Yankee Stadium, Harvey Frommer—one of the country’s leading baseball authorities—takes us on a journey through the stadium’s storied 85-year old history, from 1927’s unstoppable Murderers’ Row, to Joe DiMaggio’s unfathomable hitting streak, to Maris and Mantle’s thrilling race for the home-run record, to the hirings—and the firings—of Billy Martin, to Derek Jeter’s rise to greatness. The moments and the magic that filled this great stadium are brought alive again through dozens of interviews, a gripping narrative, and a priceless collection of photographs and memorabilia. As the new stadium steps into the forefront, the old ballpark across the street recedes into memory, taking with it the glory and grandeur, the history and heroics, the magic and the mystique of its nearly nine decade-long life. This book captures that time and is at once an album, a keepsake, and a record of its fabulous run.

In Lasting Yankee Stadium Memories, editor Alex Belth of BronxBanterBlog.com collects personal essays by some of the most well-known and respected voices in sportswriting and entertainment today. In these revealing, sometimes hilarious, oft-touching essays, the contributors recount their favorite moments inside the most famed of all American stadiums. The book also includes a special chapter on the new Yankee Stadium. Contributors include: Bob Costas (NBC, HBO) • Richard Ben Cramer • Pete Hamill • Tony Kornheiser (ESPN) • Tom Boswell (Washington Post) • Dave Kindred (Washington Post) • Leigh Montville (Sports Illustrated) • William Nack (Sports Illustrated) • Joe Posnanski (Sports Illustrated) • Jane Leavy • Pat Jordan • Maury Allen (New York Post) • Bob Klapisch (Bergen Record) • Tyler Kepner (New York Times) • Allen Barra (Wall Street Journal) • Marty Appel • Jeff Pearlman • Alan Schwarz (New York Times) • Charles Pierce (Boston Globe) • Steve Rushin (Sports Illustrated) • Nathan Ward • Mike Vaccaro (New York Post) • Rob Neyer (ESPN.com) • Ken Rosenthal (ESPN) • Scott Raab (Esquire) • Luis Guzman

Traces his mischievous childhood in Baltimore before his life-changing enrollment in Saint Mary's Industrial School for Boys, where a strict code of conduct and his introduction to baseball inspired his historic career.

The triumphant story of baseball and America after World War II. In 1945 Major League Baseball had become a ghost of itself. Parks were half empty, the balls were made with fake rubber, and mediocre replacements roamed the fields, as hundreds of players, including the game's biggest stars, were serving abroad, devoted to unconditional Allied victory in World War II. But by the spring of 1946, the country was ready to heal. The war was finally over, and as America's fathers and brothers were coming home, so too were the sport's greats. Ted Williams, Stan Musial, and Joe DiMaggio returned with bats blazing, making the season a true classic that ended in a thrilling seven-game World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. America also witnessed the beginning of a new era in baseball: it was a year of attendance records, the first year Yankee Stadium held night games, the last year the Green Monster wasn't green, and, most significant, Jackie Robinson's first year playing in the Brooklyn Dodgers' system. The Victory Season brings to vivid life these years of baseball and war, including the littleknown "World Series" that servicemen played in a captured Hitler Youth stadium in the fall of 1945. Robert Weintraub's extensive research and vibrant storytelling enliven the legendary season that embodies what we now think of as the game's golden era.