In February 1921, the New York Yankees announced the purchase of 10 acres of property in the Bronx from the estate of tycoon William Waldorf Astor that would be home to New York’s storied baseball team for the next 86 years. The land was purchased for $675,000 and the stadium was built by White Construction Company for $2.5 million. The sparkling new Yankee Stadium hosted its first game between the Yankees against the Boston Red Sox on April 18, 1923 (the Yankees won 4-1 and Babe Ruth homered for the first time at Yankee stadium).
For nearly nine decades, the Yankees would bring 26 World Championship trophies home to Yankee stadium and provide countless memories for New York fans (151,959,005 fans to be exact). On April 16, 2009, nearly 86 years after the first home opener at the old Yankee stadium, the New York Yankees took the field for the new stadium’s inaugural game against the Cleveland Indians. The new stadium, across 161st Street from its predecessor, was designed as a state of the art facility, costing $1.3 billion. To cap off the Yankees first season in their new home, the team would win the stadium’s first and the Yankees’ 27th championship trophy on Nov. 4, 2009, beating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games in the World Series. Attorneys who follow the Yankees as either casual observers or diehard fans are undoubtedly familiar with the exploits that have occurred on the field. However, they may not be aware of the various legal issues which have sprung from those events, or with the business of operating the Yankees and the stadium. Here is our list of the top 10 unique and interesting cases in Yankee history.
10. Stop the Music!
