List of events at Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium is a stadium that opened in 1923 and closed in 2008. It was primarily the home field of the New York Yankees professional baseball club for over eight decades, but it also hosted football games, boxing matches, live concerts, and Papal visits in its 85 years of existence.

1920s

*April 18, 1923: Yankee Stadium officially opens for the Yankees' home opener. Babe Ruth hits the ballpark's first home run as the Yankees defeat the Boston Red Sox, 4-1.
*October 8, 1926: the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Yankees 3-2 to win the 1926 World Series, four games to three.
*September 30, 1927: Yankees player Babe Ruth hits his 60th home run of the season, setting a new single season record that would stand until 1961.
*October 8, 1927: the Yankees defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 to sweep the 1927 World Series.
*November 10, 1928: the University of Notre Dame football team defeats favored Army 12-6, after coach Knute Rockne gives his famous "Win one for the Gipper" pep talk to the team. [http://und.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/allambios/nd-m-footbl-gipp.html]

1930s

*June 19, 1936: German ex-heavyweight champion boxer Max Schmeling defeats American and not-yet-champion Joe Louis, in an upset that was used as propaganda by the Nazi regime. [cite book | title = Yankee Stadium: Fifty Years of Drama | first = Joseph | last = Durso | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | date = 1972 p. 90-91]
*August 27, 1938: Yankees pitcher Monte Pearson throws a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians.
*June 22, 1938: Now-heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis defeats Max Schmeling, in a rematch of their 1936 bout, again played up by both countries for propaganda purposes. [cite book | title = Yankee Stadium: Fifty Years of Drama | first = Joseph | last = Durso | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | date = 1972 p. 91-93]
*October 9, 1938: the Yankees defeat the Chicago Cubs 8-3 to win the 1938 World Series, four games to none.
*July 4, 1939: the Yankees celebrate "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day". Gehrig, up until months prior had put together a career-spanning streak of 2,130 consecutive games played, but was now forced out of action permanently by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and was unbeknownst to the public to be dying. Gehrig delivered his famous "Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth" speech in pregame ceremonies dedicated to him.

1940s

*October 5, 1942: the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Yankees 4-2 to win the 1942 World Series, four games to one.
*April 30, 1946: Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller throws a no-hitter against the Yankees.
*May 28, 1946: First night game at Yankee Stadium; Washington Senators defeat the Yankees 2-1.
*October 6, 1947: the Yankees defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers 5-2 to win the 1947 World Series, four games to three.
*June 13, 1948: the Yankees hold a tribute to Babe Ruth and the 25th anniversary of the opening of Yankee Stadium; the event yields a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of a dying Ruth, from behind, facing right field and using a bat as a cane.

1950s

*October 7, 1950: the Yankees defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-2 to win the 1950 World Series, four games to none.
*September 28, 1951: Yankees pitcher Allie Reynolds throws a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox.
*October 10, 1951: the Yankees defeat the New York Giants to win the 1951 World Series, four games to two.
*August 25, 1952: Detroit Tigers pitcher Virgil Trucks throws a no-hitter against the Yankees.
*October 5, 1953: the Yankees defeat the Brooklyn Dodgers 4-3 to win the 1953 World Series, four games to two.
*October 4, 1955: the Brooklyn Dodgers defeat the Yankees 2-0 to win the 1955 World Series, four games to three.
*October 8, 1956: Yankees pitcher Don Larsen throws a perfect game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series, becoming the only pitcher to ever pitch a no-hitter in postseason play.
*December 30, 1956: the Giants defeat the Chicago Bears in the NFL Championship Game, a 47-7 rout.
*October 10, 1957: the Milwaukee Braves defeat the Yankees 5-0 to win the 1957 World Series, four games to three.
*December 28, 1958: the Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants in the now-legendary NFL championship game, 23-17 in overtime.

1960s

*October 1, 1961: Yankees player Roger Maris hits his 61st home run of the season, surpassing Babe Ruth for most home runs in a single season.
*December 30, 1962: Giants defeat the Green Bay Packers 16-17 in the NFL Championship game.
*May 22, 1963: Mickey Mantle drills a pitch from Bill Fischer off the top of the facade of the right field roof, the closest verifiable instance of a home run ball nearly exiting the Stadium. [cite book | title = Yankee Stadium: Fifty Years of Drama | first = Joseph | last = Durso | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | date = 1972 p. 56]
*October 2, 1963: In Game One of the World Series, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax achieves a then-record 15 strikeouts against the Yankees.
*October 4, 1965: Pope Paul VI leads Mass at the Stadium. [cite book | title = Yankee Stadium: Fifty Years of Drama | first = Joseph | last = Durso | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | date = 1972 p. 134-138]
*May 14, 1967: Yankees player Mickey Mantle hits his 500th career home run.

1970s

*October 14, 1976: Yankees player Chris Chambliss hit a "walk-off" home run to win Game 5 of the 1976 American League Championship Series by a score of 7-6 and clinch a World Series berth for the Yankees. As Chambliss rounded the bases, thousands of fans stormed the field in celebration, impeding Chambliss' trip to home plate.
*October 21, 1976: the Cincinnati Reds defeat the Yankees 7-2 to win the 1976 World Series, four games to none.
*October 18, 1977: the Yankees defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-4 to win the 1977 World Series, four games to two. Reggie Jackson hit three home runs on three consecutive pitches, including a third home run that reached "the black" section in the center field bleachers.
*August 6, 1979: in a nationally televised game, the Yankees defeat the Baltimore Orioles 5-4. The game was the same day as the funeral for departed Yankees captain Thurman Munson. The team attended the funeral in Canton, Ohio earlier in the day and flew to New York for an emotional game. Bobby Murcer drove in all five runs for the Yankees, including a "walk-off" two-run single.

1980s

*October 28, 1981: the Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Yankees 9-2 to win the 1981 World Series, four games to two.
*July 4, 1983: Yankees pitcher Dave Righetti throws a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox.
*July 24, 1983: the Pine Tar Incident involving Kansas City Royals player George Brett occurred. Brett hit a "go-ahead" home run in the eighth inning of the game to give the Royals a 5-4 lead. Billy Martin protested that Brett's bat had too much pine tar on it. The umpires overturned the home run and ruled Brett out, resulting in him furiously charging out of the dugout. The Royals' protest of the game was eventually upheld.

1990s

*September 4, 1993: Yankees pitcher Jim Abbott throws a no-hitter against the Cleveland Indians.
*May 14, 1996: Yankees pitcher Dwight Gooden throws a no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners.
*October 9, 1996: in Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series between the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles, Derek Jeter hit a controversial home run. Jeter hit a fly ball to right-field towards Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco, but a fan named Jeffrey Maier reached over the outfield fence to catch the ball, interfering with Tarasco's ability to catch it. The umpires ruled it to be a home run, which tied the game. Bernie Williams would later hit a "walk-off" home run in the eleventh inning to win the game for the Yankees, 5-4.
*October 26, 1996: the Yankees defeat to the Atlanta Braves 3-2 to win the 1996 World Series, four games to two. The title is the Yankees' first since 1978.
*May 17, 1998: Yankees pitcher David Wells throws a perfect game against the Minnesota Twins. Coincidentally, Wells and Larsen attended the same high school.
*July 18, 1999: Yankees pitcher David Cone throws a perfect game against the Montreal Expos. Coincidentally, it occurs on "Yogi Berra Day", with a pregame ceremony featuring Don Larsen throwing out the first ball, with Berra catching; Berra caught Larsen's perfect game in 1956.
*October 27, 1999: the Yankees defeat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 to win the 1999 World Series, four games to none. It is the second consecutive title the Yankees have swept and overall, dating back to the 1996 World Series, the twelfth straight World Series game the Yankees have won.

2000s

*October 30, 2001: six weeks after the September 11 attacks, Game 3 of the 2001 World Series is held. President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch for a strike, becoming the first President since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at the World Series.
*October 31, 2001: in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series, Tino Martinez hit a game-tying home run off Arizona Diamondbacks closer Byung-Hyun Kim with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Derek Jeter hit the winning "walk-off" home run in extra innings off of Kim to win the game 4-3, earning Jeter the nickname "Mr. November".
*November 1, 2001: Game 5 of the 2001 World Series is the first World Series game to be held in November. Scott Brosius repeats the Yankees' heroics of the previous night by hitting a game-tying home run off Byung-Hyun Kim with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Alfonso Soriano hit the game-winning single in extra innings to win the game for the Yankees, 3-2.
*June 11, 2003: six pitchers from the Houston Astros throw a no-hitter against the Yankees.
*October 16, 2003: in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series between the Yankees and Red Sox, the Yankees rally in the eighth inning off Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez to tie the score after trailing 5-2. After Yankee pitcher Mariano Rivera threw three shutout innings of relief, Aaron Boone hit a "walk-off" home run in the eleventh inning to clinch the series and send the Yankees to the World Series.
*October 25, 2003: the Florida Marlins defeat the Yankees 2-0 to win the 2003 World Series, four games to two.
*October 20, 2004: in Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Boston Red Sox defeat the Yankees 10-3 to become the first team in Major League history to win a seven-game series after losing the first three games.
*July 14, 2008: the 2008 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby takes place. Josh Hamilton hits a record 28 home runs in the first round of the competition, drawing chants of his name from the Yankee Stadium crowd. Justin Morneau defeats Hamilton in the final round of the competition.
*July 15, 2008: the 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game takes place. The American League defeats the National League 4-2 in 15 innings, after Michael Young hits the game-winning sacrifice fly. The game was the longest All-Star Game in history, lasting 4 hours and 50 minutes, while the 15 innings tied the previous All-Star Game record.
*September 21, 2008: the Yankees defeat the Baltimore Orioles 7-3 in the last baseball game in Yankee Stadium history. In pregame ceremonies, former Yankees players were honored and took their positions on field. Babe Ruth's daughter threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Jose Molina hit the final home run while Mariano Rivera threw the final pitch in the stadium's history. After the game, the Yankees gathered in the infield while Derek Jeter made a speech to honor the fans' support of the team.

References

*"Sports Illustrated", September 22, 2008; "It's Gone: The Passing of Baseball's Cathedral", p.52-62
*Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. "The World Series." 1st ed. New York: St Martins, 1990. (Neft and Cohen 76-81)