Babe Ruth’s Granddaughter Urges New Uses for Endangered Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium will be demolished following the 2008 baseball season but hundreds of baseball fans, including Babe Ruth's granddaughter, are fighting to preserve this historic American landmark for future generations. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) August 27, 2008 - BRONX, N.Y. – America is about to lose one of its irreplaceable historic monuments, warns the granddaughter of one of baseball’s greatest figures.

Linda Ruth Tosetti, whose grandfather was Babe Ruth, perhaps the most gifted player and most charismatic figure in major league history, expressed support for efforts to prevent the destruction of the “old” Yankee Stadium.

She was quickly joined by hundreds of supporters who have signed an online petition in just a few days since the site has “gone live.” New York Sun editorial page columnist Andrew Wolf and his son Erik, a marketing executive based in the Atlanta area, set up the website, http://SaveYankeeStadium.org, so that concerned citizens can sign a petition and keep up with the latest news on the status of the great ballpark.

The historic “House that Ruth Built” is due to be demolished after the current season. It is being replaced by a new Yankee Stadium being constructed nearby.

“All it would take to stop the wrecking ball is for the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to agree to consider our proposal,” said Wolf. “I am sure that once they investigate and hold hearings, they will be reminded of the national historic significance of the building, and the potential for productive future use. How could they not agree that the House that Ruth Built must be saved?”

Yankee Stadium was opened for the 1923 season, and became a showplace for the slugging talents of George Herman “Babe” Ruth. Even the construction of the Stadium, accomplished in just eleven months using the special Portland cement developed by Thomas Alva Edison, is noteworthy. The Yankees brought 26 World Championships to the Stadium, and other great events, including football games, historic prizefights and Papal masses were held there as well. When Babe Ruth died in 1948, thousands of fans paid tribute by viewing his body, lying in state, in the Stadium. Next month, a special mass will be held in St. Patrick’s Cathedral marking the 60th anniversary of the Babe’s death.

The Stadium was renovated in the 1970s, and retains most of the original design. “Yankee Stadium is of important cultural significance not only to the City of New York, but to the country at large,” noted Prof. Lloyd Ultan, the official Bronx County historian, and author of many books.

Wolf proposes a number of new uses for the Stadium which include the possibility of attracting a minor league team to play there, use the stadium for the games of college, high school and even Little League teams, and, most significantly, locate a branch of the baseball Hall of Fame within Stadium walls.

“The Babe would want to save the Stadium to inspire future generations of kids,” noted Linda Ruth Tosetti. “We must not destroy our historic heritage.”

Wolf, a lifelong resident of the Bronx, agreed. “My father told me about watching Babe Ruth play here in Yankee Stadium, along with Lou Gehrig and the greats of “Murderers’ Row” when he was a boy.”

Wolf noted that the proposal to move all or part of the Hall of Fame to the Bronx, would allow millions of fans to visit the shrine, now located in remote Cooperstown, New York. “The Hall, which is privately owned, now draws only 350,000 visitors a year, a tiny number. I predict that if located here in New York City, the Hall would attract millions of visitors each year. Prof. Ultan noted that it is not true that baseball was invented in Cooperstown, the reason for locating the Hall there. “That is nothing but a myth.”

Wolf agreed. “Yankee Stadium is where the modern game took hold. What was started by Ruth and Gehrig, the great players my father saw as a boy, continued on through the decades with Bill Dickey and Joe DiMaggio. I can recall taking the elevated subway train down to the Stadium to watch Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra play during the 1960s, and years later my sons rooted for Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield and Bernie Williams. Great players like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera are continuing the tradition today, all steeped in the great history began here by Babe Ruth.”

“Although the team is moving across the street, we can still honor the history of the greatest game in the world, and the great men whose exploits thrilled us and lives inspired us,” concluded Wolf.

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Visit Saveyankeestadium.org Website

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