I was born in Queens, NY and like my dad, I became a Yankee fan. It’s sad to see the old stadium go, but I have fond memories of Yankee stadium and all that I have witnessed as a fan.

My memories:

Thurman Munson helped lead his team to three consecutive World Series (1976–78). Thurman Munson was the first captain named by the Yankees since Lou Gehrig. He was an All Star, Gold Glover and he is the only Yankee ever to win both the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards. Munson was killed on August 2, 1979 when he was practicing takeoffs and landings in his new Cessna Citation jet.

Munson inspired me to be a catcher when I was in Little League. I always tried to copy the way he approached the game.

Reggie Jackson’s arrival in 1977 was a difficult one. Billy Martin was not a fan of Jackson, but that all changed when October rolled around and Reggie was named “Mr. October” bringing two championships back to New York. I still remember sitting in the right field seats and people would throw quarters at Reggie and he would just pick them up and put them in his pocket.

Donny baseball – I remember in 1984 attending the last game of the regular season when Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield were battling for the batting title. Donny baseball as most of us called him, collected four hits to Winfield’s one. Donnie Baseball finished with a .343 average, three points higher than Winfield.

These are just a few things that really standout in my mind that I will never forget.

Yankee Records that still stand:

• 26 World Series Championships
• 39 American League pennants
• Roger Maris 61 home runs in 1961 (Sorry steroid boys- Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, it’s still a record)
• Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak
• Highest batting average in a season by a switch hitter Mickey Mantle .365 (1957)

Goodbye to “The House that Ruth Built”