June 13, 1948: Babe says goodbye

NEW YORK - Where once he stood tall, waving his bat as easily as if it were a toothpick, he now slumped over, using his bat as a cane to support his weight. Where once he filled his jersey to its max - first with a perfect athlete's body, later with the extra layers of fat from years of overindulgence - he now stood frail, his jersey seemingly hanging off him as it would a hanger.

The Babe Ruth that appeared at Yankee Stadium on June 13, 1948, bore little resemblance to the one who first stepped through its doors 25 years earlier, the man who helped make the stadium, and the team that played there, an American icon. But one thing was instantly recognizeable despite the ravages of age and cancer: the pinstriped jersey with the number 3 on the back.

Ruth was only months away from death when he returned to Yankee Stadium for the final time that day. He was there as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the stadium. The Yankees started the day with an old-timer's exhibition, with the stars from the 1923 Yankees team - the first one to win the World Series - playing the current Yankees team. But the fans weren't there to see the old-timer's game; they came to see Ruth, to give one more standing ovation to the icon of their franchise.

The fans sang "Auld Lang Syne" as one. Ruth's number was retired and place alongside the number 4 of Lou Gehrig in the pantheon of Yankee greats. The old slugger himself even spoke a few words, surprising people with how frail and broken his voice had become. Everybody knew Ruth was dying; many didn't know exactly how close he was.

The day was bittersweet for Ruth. While he enjoyed seeing his old teammates, he also broke down, knowing it was likely the last time he'd gather with them. He had trouble getting to home plate that day, and when he got there, he took off his cap and looked toward right field, "Ruthville." The photo of him looking toward his old stomping ground won the Pulitzer Prize.

That day was one of Ruth's final public appearances. He appeared one more time, in July to attend the premier of the movie based on his life. He died on August 16, at the far too young age of 53.

April 18, 1923: Some Ball Yard

BRONX, N.Y. - It became the most iconic stadium in America, the most well-known sports venue in the country. Built extra large to accomodate the crowds who wanted to see the biggest star in the game, it was the first ballpark to be called a Stadium. For 85 years, it stood guard over the Harlem River in New York City, the jewel of the Bronx, and it saw more historical sports moments than any venue perhaps anywhere.

Yankee Stadium opened on April 18, 1923, drawing a major-leage record crowd of more than 58,000 people for its first game. The Yankees beat the Red Sox 4-1 that day in the first of 6,581 regular-season games that would be played there. It was only fitting that Babe Ruth, whose popularity made the park possible, hit the deciding three-run home run, the first home run hit in the park. His blast, and the large crowd there to see it, inspired a New York sports writer to call it The House that Ruth Built, a name that stuck for the next 85 years.

It's hard to believe the Yankees ever played anywhere else, but Yankee Stadium was their third home in New York City. Their first, Hilltop Park, was deemed outdated by 1912, and the Yankees moved to the Polo Grounds, leasing the space from the Giants. When the Yankees and Ruth became more popular than the Giants, the National Leaguers kicked the Yankees out, forcing them to build their own ballpark.

Yankee owners Tillinghast L'Hommedieu Huston and Jacob Ruppert privately funded the $2.4 million stadium, which was built in 11 months (contrasted to the new Yankee Stadium, which was built for $1.5 billion in public money and took three years to build). They wanted the stadium to be able to hold 60,000 fans, and when asked why they would risk doing so, when most stadiums then were built to hold 30,000, they replied, simply, "Babe Ruth."

So the Yankees had their cathedral in the Bronx. They won their first World Series in 1923 and have dominated baseball ever since. In all, Yankee Stadium hosted 100 World Series games and played host to 26 World Series champion Yankee teams.

It wasn't just baseball that made Yankee Stadium famous, either. The Notre Dame-Army college football series was held there for decades, with many of that sport's most famous early games taking place there. The New York Giants football team played in Yankee Stadium, including during the 1958 season when the "Greatest Game Ever Played" decided the championship. Many legendary boxers fought there, including Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, and Sugar Ray Robinson. And religious figures including Billy Graham and popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI held services there.

But the stadium will always be associated with baseball, and more specifically with Ruth. After winning the opening game with a home run, Ruth was asked his opinion of the Yankees' new home. His response: "Some ball yard."

That it was.