World Series championships
1923, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937,1938, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953,
1956,1958, 1961, 1962, 1977, 1978, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009
Nicknames: Baltimore Orioles, Damn Yankees, New York Highlanders, The Bombers, The Bronx Bombers, The Bronx Zoo, The Evil Empire,The Pinstripes, The Yanks, Yankees
While officially known as Highlanders, local sportswriters often referred to them as the Yankees or Yanks because it was much easier to type, and fit in headlines. The name Yankees comes from the fact they were the American League team, and Americans are often referred to as Yanks by the British and the same thought process was applied. The team decided in 1913 to make Yankees its official nickname.
History
The New York Yankees began their storied history as the New York Highlanders, in 1903. The distinctive pinstripe uniforms were introduced in 1912, and one year later, in 1913, the Highlanders became New York Yankees.
Over the next 80 years, the Yankees have gone on to become one of the most recognised teams in all of Sports, making history and shattering records all along the way.
In 1913, the Highlanders abandoned their stadium and their name, by moving into the Polo Grounds as the New York Yankees. Two years later, the Yankees got a new owners when Col. Jacob Ruppert and Col. Tillinghast L´Hommedieu Huston purchased the team for the sum of $460,000. In 1920, the new owners made one of the best decisions in the history of sports when they bought Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox for $125,000! In 1903, Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the down and out Baltimore Orioles, for $18,000. Moving it to Manhattan, the new owners renamed the team the New York Highlanders. They opened their home season at "Hilltop Park" with a 6 - 2 win against Washington. Thus began the winning tradition of the soon to be New York Yankees.
Babe Ruth was signed to a two year contract for $20,000 per year. This move instantly doubled the attendance at Yankee games, as thousands flocked to see his tremendous home runs.
In 1923, Yankee Stadium opened its doors for the first time with a 4 -1 win over the Boston Red Sox. Babe Ruth hit the first homerun in the Stadium's history that same day, and soon gained its famous nickname, "The House that Ruth Built".
In 1925, Lou Gehrig began his streak of 2,130 consecutive games played by pinch hitting for Pee Wee Wanniger. Then, in 1929 the Yankees set a precedent by becoming the first team to make numbers a permanent part of the team uniform. This late became a standard among all teams by 1932.
I n 1932 Lou Gehrig becomes the first player to hit four home runs in a single game in the Yankees' 20-13 win at Philadelphia. He remains the only Yankee to hit four home runs in one game. Two years later in 1934, Babe Ruth hit the 700th Home Run of his career. He would hit just 14 more before the end of his career. Just four months later, the Yankees made another incredible deal when the purchased Joe DiMaggio from the San Francisco Seals for $50,000.
In 1939, Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130 consecutive games came to an end in Detroit, as the Yankees beat the Tigers 22 - 2. One month later, "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" was held at Yankee Stadium. Gehrig's number, 4, was retired, making it the first number retired in the History of sports. Later that day he speaks his famous words "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth".
1941-1980
On May 14, 1941, Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak began with a single off Edgar S mith in a game against Chicago at Yankee Stadium. Two months, and 56 games later, his streak came to an end in a 3-1 Yankee victory after Cleveland. DiMaggio went on to hit safely in the next 16 consecutive games, giving him a total of hits in 72 of 73 consecutive games. That same year, Lou Gehrig died of the disease that bore his name, at the age of 37.
In 1945, Dan Topping, Del Webb and Larry MacPhail purchased the Yankees for $2,800,000 from the estate of the late Col. Jacob Ruppert (Ruppert had bought out his partner Huston for $1,500,000 in 1922).
In 1947, Major League Baseball celebrated "Babe Ruth Day". A little more than one year later, on the 25th anniversary of Yankee Stadium, Ruth's number, 3, was retired. On that same day, he made his final appearance in Yankee Stadium. He died two months later at the age of 53.
In 1951, the next great Yankee made his debut. Mickey Mantle played in his first game on April 17, going 1 for 4 in a 4-0 win over Boston. Two years to the day after his debut, Mantle hit the first "tape measure" homerun in Major League History, with a 565ft shot against the Washington Senators. Later that year, the Yankees won a Major League record 5th consecutive World Series title.
In 1961, Roger Maris beat out his teammate Mickey Mantle for the single season homerun record, by hitting a whopping 61 homeruns. Mantle finished with 58.
In 1964, CBS purchased 80% of the Yankees, for the staggering sum of $11,200,000. They later purchased the remaining 20%.
On August 8, 1972, the Yankees signed a 30 year lease to play in a renovated Yankee Stadium. As a result, the Yankees were forced to play their 1974 and 1975 seasons in Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets.
The Year before the Yankees moved into Shea Stadium, the Yankees current owner, George Steinbrenner III (aka The Boss) purchased the controlling interest of the Yankees from CBS.
On April 15, 1976 the remodeled Yankee Stadium saw its first game, with the crowd enjoying an 11 - 4 rout of the Minnesota Twins. Later that year, Chris Chambliss (The current Yankee Batting Coach) hit a Walkoff homerun in the 9th inning of game 5 of the American League Championship Series winning the Yankees their 30th Pennant.
Later in 1976, the Yankees signed Free Agent Reggie "Mr. October" Jackson to a five year contract. This proved to be a great move, as just one year later, Jackson hit an incredible 3 homeruns in game 6 of the World Series.
On June 16, 1978 Pitcher Ron Guidry struck out a Franchise Record 18 batters in a 4 - 0 win over the California Angels. Trailing the Red Sox by as many as 14 games, the Yankees season came to a climax when they beat the Red Sox in a Divisional Playoff, clinching the AL East Title.
The seventies ended on a sad note for the Yankees as their team captain, Thermon Munson was killed in a plane crash on August 2, 1979. A little over a year later, the Yankees signed future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield to a ten year contract.
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1980-Present
| | The Early 80s were an uneventful time for the Yankees, characterized by frequent hirings, and the subsequent firings of countless managers by "The Boss".
On December 14, 1985, Yankee great Roger Maris died at the age of 51 at his home in Huston, Texas.
Things started to look up for the Yankees in 1987, as the new first baseman, Don Mattingly, began to set the American League on fire with his outstanding offense and defense. On July 18, 1987, Mattingly homered in his 8th straight game, tying the AL Record held by Dale Long. Later that year, Mattingly set a Major League Single Season Record by hitting his 6th Grand Slam that year.
December 9, 1988 saw the signing of a 12 year television contract with the Madison Square Garden Network.
August 14, 1993 was declared "Reggie Jackson Day". On this day, "Mr. October's" jersey number 44 was permanently retired from the Yankees. Later that season, Yankees one-handed pitcher Jim Abbot tossed a No Hitter in a 4-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. This began an amazing run for Yankee Pitchers in which they threw a total of 2 no hitters, and 2 perfect games.
August 13, 1995 was a dark day for the Yankees as Mickey Mantle died of Cancer at the age of 63. A little more than one year later Dwight Gooden threw the 8th no hitter in Yankee History, shutting out the Seattle Mariners 2 - 0.
On January 22, 1997, Don Mattingly officially announced his retirement from Major League Baseball, after a career of only 14 years.
 May 17, 1998 was a day that would go down in Baseball history as David Wells pitched the 14th perfect game in regular season history. 14 months later on Yogi Berra Day, Well's teammate David Cone pitched the 15th regular season perfect game.
On October 21, 1998, the Yankees began their 3 year run of consecutive World Series Victories, sweeping the San Diego Padres. They went on to sweep the Atlanta Braves in 1999, and defeat the New York Mets in 5 games in 2000.
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