Remembering The House That Ruth Built

When the Boston Red Sox won their first World Championship in almost 90 years, it opened the door for a cottage industry in the publishing world. It seems like everyone, from the sportswriters who covered the team to the players themselves, was taking advantage of the historic occasion to write a book.

The final season of Yankee Stadium is another such occasion.

Time marches on and the old ballpark is no longer economically viable, much to the sorrow of stalwart fans. A miracle that would’ve propelled the Yankees into the playoffs this year didn’t happen, as they played their last game ever at the Stadium on Sunday, September 21st.

So, as could be expected, several titles have been released to mark the passing of the landmark in the Bronx. Most follow the same path, chronicling the (mostly) highlights of the Yankees in a straightforward timeline, while reminding the reader that there were other momentous events hosted therein. Popes and musicians, boxers and footballers shared their moment in the spotlight.

Leading off is MEMORIES OF YANKEE STADIUM by Scott Pitoniak. This modest little volume has no pretension of grandeur, delivering exactly as advertised: the recollections of the author as he strolls down memory lane. Pitoniak bounces back and forth focusing on themes rather than a strict chronology, and his offering is much heavier on the narrative and lighter on the graphics, which, compared with the others, puts him at a disadvantage. After all, a single picture can evoke a flood of memories.

Batting second is THE YANKEE STADIUM SCRAPBOOK: A Lifetime of Memories by David Fischer. This one is just as the name implies, down to the illusion of tape to hold down the scores of photographs. There isn’t much in the way of deep text here, as there is in some of the other books, but it’s nevertheless enjoyable to thumb through, seeing what images within the reader they might invoke.

As we move to the middle of the batting order, we reach the heavy hitters: the Ruth, Gehrig and DiMaggio of the offerings. The books become larger, glossier and more involved in an effort to drive home their points.

Since they’ve won more World Championships than any other professional team, YANKEE STADIUM: A TRIBUTE: 85 Years of Memories, 1923-2008 by Les Krantz focuses on specific aspects of the Stadium, including “magical moments” and star athletes. Some of the chapter headings are applicable to multiple players/occasions. There’s also a chapter on the non-baseball events, including the ceremonies following 9/11 (the only book of the bunch to do so). This one includes a DVD hosted by former Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson.

Batting cleanup is REMEMBERING YANKEE STADIUM: An Oral History of the House That Ruth Built, 1923-2008 by Harvey Frommer. The publisher, Stewart, Tabori & Chang, continues to uphold its reputation for putting out handsome books that any reader of whatever subject matter is at hand --- movies, art, sports --- would enjoy. Frommer, who lives and teaches in the heart of “Red Sox Nation,” is once again dead solid perfect in conveying the image the Yankees had on not only sports but the all-American ideal (if you overlook their policy on minority players) for much of the 20th century. He enlists the help of dozens of players (both Yankees and their opponents), journalists, politicians and just plain folks for the oral history aspects. The artwork is amongst the best ever put down on paper for this type of book. One would expect to find the same familiar pictures they’ve seen for years, but the editors have managed to unearth photos heretofore unbound in a baseball volume.

In the very respectable fifth spot is YANKEE STADIUM: THE OFFICIAL RETROSPECTIVE by Mark Vancil and Alfred Sanatsiere III, which is everything you should expect from a book with the “official” imprimatur. There’s a marvelous “virtual tour” of the stadium, including areas most fans would never get a chance to visit, such as George Steinbrenner’s office and the Yankees clubhouse. Several writers such as Bill Madden and Bob Klapisch contributed. In addition, numerous players and other personalities offer their “first person” impressions of specific events or the stadium in general. Visually gorgeous and narratively engaging, this one is sure to drive home what The Yankee Stadium, as it is formally referred to, has meant to the city, the country and, without being overly dramatic, the world.

It would have been a storybook ending having the Yankees get into the 2008 World Series and winning the affair in dramatic seventh-game, come-from-behind fashion. Alas, barring a miracle, it seems unlikely. Still, stranger things have happened. Veteran sportswriter Maury Allen hasn’t seen ’em all, but he has watched every World Series in which the Bronx Bombers have participated since 1947, when he was a teenager munching on salami sandwiches while waiting to buy tickets. He has collected his thoughts in YANKEES WORLD SERIES MEMORIES. While nowhere near as flashy as the aforementioned stadium books, his nevertheless seems more heartfelt in its simplicity.

Allen --- who has written more than 30 books on baseball --- ranks each Fall Classic in terms of its “merits of excitement, drama, heroics, and history,” beginning with that 1947 showdown with the Brooklyn Dodgers and winding up with a (relatively) ho-hum four-game sweep of the San Diego Padres in 1998.

The sparse book could have benefited from a few more photos to spruce it up a bit, but given the current circumstances, fans will have to be content with YANKEES WORLD SERIES MEMORIES since there will be none of their own in 2008 to recall in years to come.

--- Reviewed by Ron Kaplan