Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of the House That Ruth Built

This compelling book captures the history and spirit of New York City, Yankee Stadium, and baseball through a decade by decade history of the team and its unforgettable home - the "house that Ruth built." From the moving opening words of Thomas Wolfe, to the memorable stories of New Yorkers set against evocative historical photographs, Harvey Frommer has created a beautifully written exquisite book that will captivate not just Yankee but all baseball and - New York City - fans. This is a treasure not to be missed. Caroline Katz-Mount

I remember the first time I walked into Yankee Stadium in 1960. It was larger than life, captivating and thrilling. The facade, the field, the sounds, the smells. Later I became a Mets fan, and experienced the same sensation upon entering Shea Stadium. To this very day,I have never lost that feeling of expectation when entering a ballpark. The little boy in me has never left. Over the past two weeks, New York City has lost both of these Baseball landmarks. The final games have been played, and they will fade into history. That's why Harvey Frommer's "Remembering Yankee Stadium" is a welcome addition to my Baseball library. It captures the essence and magic of Yankee Stadium. The winning combination of outstanding photographs and engaging annecdotes allow the reader to experience once again the excitement that permeated Yankee Stadium. Great books engage, entertain, and teach. They're like a friend that's always there for you. This is a great book.

The beauty of this book is the fact that the author Harvey Frommer, and publisher Stewart, Tabori and Chang have captured amazing fan memories and pictures and added them to this coffee table release. The photography in this book is unparalleled and I have never seen so many amazing shots of the world's most famous baseball stadium. When you read the back cover there are endorsements from George F. Will, Regis Philbin and Nolan Ryan to name a few. As a matter of full disclosure I have a few stories in this book as well. I love the shot of Roger Maris that takes up two pages and the shot of Bob Sheppard, the legendary PA announcer who to be honest doesn't have a lot of pictures out there. He wrote the foreword in this soon to be classic. I almost fell over when I saw myself listed in the glossary and because I am a "CO" my listing came before the great Jerry Coleman. When you hit the first chapter and see the original shots of this baseball palace it's amazing to me that the author has quotes from Yankee skipper Miller Huggins about his player Babe Ruth! Fans will learn that the Yankees actually started out in the Polo Grounds until their stadium was built. I love the pictures of fans sitting there in hats, suits and coats. I always wonder when was active wear created? What about blue jeans? There are some stunning team pictures in this book and the one of the 20-something Yanks is worth $400,000! This book leaves no stone unturned as it goes through the decades of this storied franchise in amazing detail. Fans who consider themselves Yankee experts can learn from this book. The Joe DiMaggio chalkboard shot that states "44 Equals Record" is brilliant and his record 56 is cataloged game-by-game, pitcher-by-pitcher and that's a record that may never be broken. What stands out here is he generally faced just one pitcher per game and now a player would face 2-3 every game. The famous 1955 Jackie Robinson steal of home plate against the Yankees in the World Series is in there and I have seen this play many times. I have to disagree with Yogi Berra who states to this day that Robinson was out, to me it looked like he got his foot in there just before the tag. My parents were Brooklyn Dodgers' fans and they were certainly happy when they beat the Yankees that one time! I love the Mike Piazza picture from the 2000 Subway World Series when Roger Clemens threw a piece of a splintered bat at the Mets catcher. What a picture and I am honored that my mention of this was used. In the chapter "Stadiumology" (hey we never thought of that one) the facts about the famous stadium are staggering! The irony about two of the nine no-no's that were pitched at the stadium makes me laugh since Dwight Gooden and David Cone are the pitchers that I am speaking about. The Mets just closed Shea Stadium without having one of their starters accomplishing that feat. This book will remain in my personal collection until the end of time and all baseball fans will be i

Well it was the book that took 86 years in the making but Harvey Frommer's Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of "The House That Ruth Built" has finally hit the shelves. While most of the Yankee Stadium tributes hit shelves in the spring, it was only fitting that RYS waited until now to become a Fall Classic. Yes Bomber Buddies it was well worth the wait. My initial reaction was that the official release had better photos than this fantastic release but after closer review RYS beats any Yankee Book out there hands down. You go deeper than the aerial view of a packed stadium or the cars lined up in the once vacant Bronx on Opening Day 1923. Every picture in this book triggers off a string of memories. You get up close and dirty with everything from Derek Jeter diving head first into the stands to the ground breaking at the new stadium himself. The 9-11 photos can make you tear up all over again. Mickey Mantle, his swing never looked so sweet. Who better to write and compile a tribute to an icon such as Yankee Stadium than renowned baseball/Yankee author Harvey Frommer? Frommer makes great use of every Yankee and baseball player he either wrote about or met over his illustrious career. Who else can have a forward written by the Voice of Yankee Stadium, Bob Sheppard? If I have to explain who he is you are reading the wrong book, but Harvey explains who he is as well as his son Paul (Sheppard). The body of the book like any good Yankee History book is the life of Yankee Stadium from 1923 through today. What makes RYS different is that the glue holding or bridging these stories together is made up of what Harvey Frommer refers to as the voices. The voices are players, celebrities, broadcasters, writers or fans just like you and me. He has documented the people's memories and used them to personalize the history. By doing this it brought out memories in my mind that I haven't thought about in years. As a matter a fact BehindtheBombers.com is proud to have four of us fans who had their voices heard (and sent forth). Sharing their Yankee memories from BTB were Dan "Knuckles" McCourt, Gary "Lefteroo" Lefkowitz, Sue Tucker and myself. It was an honor being interview for such a strong tribute to "the cathedral in Da Bronx". There is also a section what he calls Stadiumology, where he gives stats like all time Yankee attendance, Plaques in Monument Park and when they were dedicated, the all time Yankee Broadcasters, Stadium Firsts and much, much more. This is all topped off by one of my favorite, yet minor sections of the book is where the author takes a number and associates it with a player or record or some sort of stat. For example he mentions the 1½ is for the number on the late opera singer Robert Merrill. Who version of the Star Spangled Banner was played at the stadium for as long as I can remember and often sung live by the singer/fan himself. Even for the number 28 which he associates to Thurman Munson's rookie numb

Harvey Frommer's "Remembering Yankee Stadium," captures the very essence of everything good and great about baseball. It is so vibrant and real that you can smell the delicious and pungent aroma of hot dogs and beer in the Bronx. Every base was magnificently covered!