Customer Reviews

Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of "The House That Ruth Built"

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Well it was the book that took 86 years in the making but Harvey Frommer's Remembering Yankee Stadium: An Oral and Narrative History of "The House That Ruth Built" has finally hit the shelves. While most of the Yankee Stadium tributes hit shelves in the spring, it was only fitting that RYS waited until now to become a Fall Classic. Yes Bomber Buddies it was well worth the wait. My initial reaction was that the official release had better photos than this fantastic release but after closer review RYS beats any Yankee Book out there hands down. You go deeper than the aerial view of a packed stadium or the cars lined up in the once vacant Bronx on Opening Day 1923. Every picture in this book triggers off a string of memories. You get up close and dirty with everything from Derek Jeter diving head first into the stands to the ground breaking at the new stadium himself. The 9-11 photos can make you tear up all over again. Mickey Mantle, his swing never looked so sweet.



Who better to write and compile a tribute to an icon such as Yankee Stadium than renowned baseball/Yankee author Harvey Frommer? Frommer makes great use of every Yankee and baseball player he either wrote about or met over his illustrious career. Who else can have a forward written by the Voice of Yankee Stadium, Bob Sheppard? If I have to explain who he is you are reading the wrong book, but Harvey explains who he is as well as his son Paul (Sheppard).
The body of the book like any good Yankee History book is the life of Yankee Stadium from 1923 through today. What makes RYS different is that the glue holding or bridging these stories together is made up of what Harvey Frommer refers to as the voices. The voices are players, celebrities, broadcasters, writers or fans just like you and me. He has documented the people's memories and used them to personalize the history. By doing this it brought out memories in my mind that I haven't thought about in years. As a matter a fact BehindtheBombers.com is proud to have four of us fans who had their voices heard (and sent forth). Sharing their Yankee memories from BTB were Dan "Knuckles" McCourt, Gary "Lefteroo" Lefkowitz, Sue Tucker and myself. It was an honor being interview for such a strong tribute to "the cathedral in Da Bronx".



There is also a section what he calls Stadiumology, where he gives stats like all time Yankee attendance, Plaques in Monument Park and when they were dedicated, the all time Yankee Broadcasters, Stadium Firsts and much, much more.



This is all topped off by one of my favorite, yet minor sections of the book is where the author takes a number and associates it with a player or record or some sort of stat. For example he mentions the 1½ is for the number on the late opera singer Robert Merrill. Who version of the Star Spangled Banner was played at the stadium for as long as I can remember and often sung live by the singer/fan himself. Even for the number 28 which he associates to Thurman Munson's rookie number.



This book was truly a labor of love, both on the parts of every fan or player he interviewed and especially of Mr. Frommer himself. Will there ever be another stadium that will demand the documentation that Yankee Stadium has gained respect for? Probably not, with Remembering Yankee Stadium on your bookshelf, Yankee Stadium will live on for decades to come. This book is so good I could have filled it with clichés. My Yankee Cap is tipped to Harvey Frommer who has outdone himself once again.

This is the best of the books serving as a retrospective of Yankee Stadium, much better, in fact, than the "Official Retrospective." The interviews, photos, and layout are superior. The visual representation of ticket stubs and Stadium programs is a welcome bonus. The interviews and anectodes are pithy and insightful. As a Stadium authority (present at the Chambliss, Reggie 3-home run, and Boone games among others) I can tell you this should be the choice of those books saying a last good-bye.

"Remembering Yankee Stadium - The House That Ruth Built" by Harvey Frommer is ia wonderful book bringing back all the great history of Yankee Stadium. It depicts beautiful pictures and interesting stories that tells the reader that there is no other Stadium, nor will there ever be another Stadium like Yankee Stadium. "Remembering Yankee Stadium by Mr. Frommer is a "must have" memento of the legendary Yankee Stadium.
Caroline Enright

This compelling book captures the history and spirit of New York City, Yankee Stadium, and baseball through a decade by decade history of the team and its unforgettable home - the "house that Ruth built." From the moving opening words of Thomas Wolfe, to the memorable stories of New Yorkers set against evocative historical photographs, Harvey Frommer has created a beautifully written exquisite book that will captivate not just Yankee but all baseball and - New York City - fans.

This is a treasure not to be missed.

Caroline Katz-Mount

I remember the first time I walked into Yankee Stadium in 1960. It was larger than life, captivating and thrilling. The facade, the field, the sounds, the smells. Later I became a Mets fan, and experienced the same sensation upon entering Shea Stadium. To this very day,I have never lost that feeling of expectation when entering a ballpark. The little boy in me has never left. Over the past two weeks, New York City has lost both of these Baseball landmarks. The final games have been played, and they will fade into history. That's why Harvey Frommer's "Remembering Yankee Stadium" is a welcome addition to my Baseball library. It captures the essence and magic of Yankee Stadium. The winning combination of outstanding photographs and engaging annecdotes allow the reader to experience once again the excitement that permeated Yankee Stadium. Great books engage, entertain, and teach. They're like a friend that's always there for you. This is a great book.

Harvey Frommer's "Remembering Yankee Stadium," captures the very essence of everything good and great about baseball. It is so vibrant and real that you can smell the delicious and pungent aroma of hot dogs and beer in the Bronx. Every base was magnificently covered!

The beauty of this book is the fact that the author Harvey Frommer, and publisher Stewart, Tabori and Chang have captured amazing fan memories and pictures and added them to this coffee table release.

The photography in this book is unparalleled and I have never seen so many amazing shots of the world's most famous baseball stadium. When you read the back cover there are endorsements from George F. Will, Regis Philbin and Nolan Ryan to name a few. As a matter of full disclosure I have a few stories in this book as well. I love the shot of Roger Maris that takes up two pages and the shot of Bob Sheppard, the legendary PA announcer who to be honest doesn't have a lot of pictures out there. He wrote the foreword in this soon to be classic.

I almost fell over when I saw myself listed in the glossary and because I am a "CO" my listing came before the great Jerry Coleman.

When you hit the first chapter and see the original shots of this baseball palace it's amazing to me that the author has quotes from Yankee skipper Miller Huggins about his player Babe Ruth!

Fans will learn that the Yankees actually started out in the Polo Grounds until their stadium was built. I love the pictures of fans sitting there in hats, suits and coats. I always wonder when was active wear created? What about blue jeans?

There are some stunning team pictures in this book and the one of the 20-something Yanks is worth $400,000!

This book leaves no stone unturned as it goes through the decades of this storied franchise in amazing detail. Fans who consider themselves Yankee experts can learn from this book.

The Joe DiMaggio chalkboard shot that states "44 Equals Record" is brilliant and his record 56 is cataloged game-by-game, pitcher-by-pitcher and that's a record that may never be broken. What stands out here is he generally faced just one pitcher per game and now a player would face 2-3 every game.

The famous 1955 Jackie Robinson steal of home plate against the Yankees in the World Series is in there and I have seen this play many times. I have to disagree with Yogi Berra who states to this day that Robinson was out, to me it looked like he got his foot in there just before the tag. My parents were Brooklyn Dodgers' fans and they were certainly happy when they beat the Yankees that one time!

I love the Mike Piazza picture from the 2000 Subway World Series when Roger Clemens threw a piece of a splintered bat at the Mets catcher. What a picture and I am honored that my mention of this was used.

In the chapter "Stadiumology" (hey we never thought of that one) the facts about the famous stadium are staggering! The irony about two of the nine no-no's that were pitched at the stadium makes me laugh since Dwight Gooden and David Cone are the pitchers that I am speaking about. The Mets just closed Shea Stadium without having one of their starters accomplishing that feat.

This book will remain in my personal collection until the end of time and all baseball fans will be interested in this one. Sadly when the stadium is torn down all that will remain will be memories and this book.

Whether you are a Yankee fan or not, this is one gorgeous book. Quality binding and printing. Photographs are excellent quality. Great for the coffee table. Bought this for my husband for Christmas 2008 and my son wanted one too--will probably be buying another one this Chrstmas for him! There are lots of Yankee books out there but none quite like this. Would recommend to anybody who has a true Yankee fan to buy a gift for.

Bought this for my father....He loved it....brought back many childhood memories. He couldn't believe the quality of the photos. Also, he loved the stories and the comments from people who were involved in the photos or wrote about them in the daily newspapers of the time.

At this point, I've read enough of Harvey Frommer's books to anticipate the excellent history and writing that is to be found in this one. But what I wasn't prepared for is just how beautiful the design of the book is; the bounty of photographs of the park, players, and action; and the images of memorabilia--like ticket stubs and posters--scattered throughout. If you're a Yankee fan or have read much about them, there won't necessarily be a lot that's new to you here, but you can't be enough of a fanatic to know all the great anecdotes and the oral histories from players and others with memories of and ties to the Stadium are wonderful. What seals the deal though is the visual experience and, since we soon won't have the park itself to refer to anymore, that makes this book a must have.

Just as everyone has their own special memory of The Stadium, in such a rich collection of stories and pictures, everyone is likely to find their own favorite tidbit. Here's mine. In the middle of Mr. Frommer's discussion of Babe Ruth's record 60 homerun season of 1927, we come upon a list of the pitchers off of whom he went yard that year. A simple enough thing you think, eh? But check out these names: Sloppy Thurston (3 times!), Rube Walberg (4 times!), Rip Collins, Garland Buckeye (twice on June 11th), Hal Wiltse, Slim Harriss, Hod Lisenbee, Lefty Stewart, Sarge Connally, Milt Gaston, Willis Hudlin, Lefty Grove... If a fiction writer used all those magnificent monikers in a baseball novel you'd criticize him for going over the top. Make room on your coffee table, because you'll want to keep this beauty there.