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The '76 American League Championship Series between the Yankees and the Royals went the full five games, and the finale was the best of all. The game was a back-and-forth affair, with the Royals leading early and the Yankees owning the middle innings. In the eighth, however, KC rallied to score three runs and tie it. In the top of the ninth, the Royals threatened again, but a controversial out call at second base — Al Cowens was retired on a fielder's choice, but the replays showed him to be safe — left the dangerous George Brett waiting on deck.

Chris Chambliss led off the bottom of the ninth. Chambliss was a skilled hitter, but he didn't have much in the way of power. However, this time he laced Mark Littell's first pitch over the right-field fence for a game- and pennant-winning homer. Just a few months earlier, New York had opened the refurbished Yankee Stadium, and one of the additions was a chain-link fence atop the right-field wall. However, Graig Nettles and a number of the other Yankee left-handed hitters complained that it would diminish their power numbers. So Billy Martin persuaded team brass to take it down. If they hadn't done so, Chambliss' legendary blast would never have been.

Oct. 18, 1977: Reggie Jackson's three home runs in Game 6 of the World Series

The summer of 1977 was a deeply troubling one for New York — the "Son of Sam" murders gripped the city, as did economic decline, a massive blackout, and a divisive mayoral election. So the Yankees' return to glory was most welcome in a city hungry for diversion. The once-mighty Yanks hadn't won it all since 1962, but they claimed their second-straight pennant and, as the series with the Dodgers shifted back to New York for Game 6, they found themselves one win away from a World Series trophy. That season, the Yankees had a complicated stew of personalities in place — George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, Thurman Munson, Sparky Lyle, Graig Nettles, and, of course, Reggie Jackson. There were too many antipathies and jealousies to document, but, in the end, the Yankees had too much talent to let a haywire clubhouse dynamic get in the way.

Jackson, over the objections of Martin and GM Gabe Paul, had been brought in over the winter as the "missing piece," and on the night of Oct. 18 he was that and more. In the second inning he walked on four pitches. In the fourth, with the Yankees down 3-2 and with Munson on first, Jackson pounded the first offering from Burt Hooton just over the right-field wall, putting the Yankees on top. In the fifth, Jackson came up again with one on, two out, and the Yanks on top 5-3. Reliever Elias Sosa made his first pitch, and Jackson hit another line-drive homer to right. He wasn't done. In the eighth, Jackson's prey was Charlie Hough and his knuckleball. This time, he hit the first pitch to deep beyond the wall in center. Three swings, three home runs. Going back to his final plate appearance in Game 5, it was four swings, four home runs. In the process, Jackson set World Series records for homers, total bases, runs scored and consecutive home runs. For his efforts, the Yankees were back on top.

Aug. 6, 1979: Bobby Murcer's seventh-inning homer and game-winning hit on the day of Thurman Munson's funeral

Tragedy was the theme for the Yankees in 1979. The previous winter, manager Bob Lemon's son was killed in a car accident, and by June the grieving Lemon was forced out. From there, things only got worse. The two-time defending champs languished for much of the year and, although they managed to win 89 games, finished the season in fourth place. The most lasting tragedy of that year, however, was the death of catcher and captain Thurman Munson. Munson was a recreational pilot, and on Aug. 2 he was practicing takeoffs and landings at an airstrip in his hometown of Canton, Ohio. On one approach, Munson failed to lower the landing flaps. As a result, the plane came in too low, nicked a tree near the runway, and crashed. The impact broke Munson's back. He was unable to escape before the plane was engulfed in flames.

The stunned Yankees flew to Canton for the funeral on Aug. 6, and returned to New York for a game against the Orioles that night. Before a national-television audience, the Yankees came back from a 4-0 deficit to beat Baltimore 5-4. Bobby Murcer, who that morning had delivered Munson's eulogy, hit a three-run homer in the seventh and in the ninth he ripped a two-run, game-winning single to left. It was cold comfort for the devastated Yankees, but they managed to win one for the fallen captain in dramatic fashion.

To this day, Munson's locker in the Yankee Stadium clubhouse remains unoccupied.

July 24, 1983: George Brett's "pine tar" home run

For his illustrious career, Brett hit 29 home runs against the Yankees. One of those home runs, however, was one of the most controversial in the history of the game. In the top of ninth on July 24, Brett blasted an apparent two-run homer off Goose Gossage to put the Royals up 5-4. After the home run, however, Yankees manager Billy Martin made his way to home plate and asked the umpires to measure the pine tar on Brett's bat. Pine tar was legal for hitters to use, but they could cover only 18 inches of the bat with it. Brett, it so happened, had exceeded 18 inches. Home-place umpire Tim McClelland called Brett out, and Brett charged from the dugout, enraged beyond solace or reason. Had he not been restrained by a small battalion of teammates and umpires, he would've attacked McClelland.

The Yankees went on to win the game, but L'Affaire Pine Tar, thanks to an official protest by Kansas City, made its way to the desk of AL president Lee MacPhail. MacPhail sided with the Royals, upheld the home run, and ordered the bottom of the ninth replayed at a later date. Just before the final inning was about to be relived, Martin went to the umpires again and protested that they had no way of knowing whether both runners had touched all bases after the home run. To Martin's shock, the umpires had affidavits stating that the runners had, in fact, touched all the bases. The Royals won 5-4.

Oct. 9, 1996: Jeffery Maier interferes with Derek Jeter's fly ball in the ALCS

Yes, it's possible for a fan to be complicit in the making of a champion. Young Jeffrey Maier, an unassuming 12-year-old Yankee fan from New Jersey, was seated just beyond the right-field fence for Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS, which pitted the Yankees against the Orioles. In the bottom of the eighth, with the Yanks down 4-3, Derek Jeter lofted a deep fly to the warning track in right. Baltimore right fielder Tony Tarasco settled under the ball, just in front of the fence, but then Maier reached over, tried to catch ball and fumbled it into the stands. Tarasco protested vigorously, claiming the ball was bound for his glove, but umpire Rich Garcia ruled it a home run. The Orioles played the rest of the game under protest, but the American League let Garcia's ruling stand. The Yankees went on to win the game, the ALCS and the World Series.

'House' rules: Yankee Stadium's greatest moments
FOXSports.com
58 days ago 		 
Legendary Yankee Stadium is drawing its final breaths, and the 2008 season will be the final one there for the stadium's titular residents, the New York Yankees.

As such, it's time to reflect upon some of the great moments that the "House That Ruth Built" has given us. Over the years, it's played host to one of the most famous games in NFL history, a Joe Louis-Max Schmelling title fight, several Army-Notre Dame games, Pele and the New York Cosmos, countless concerts, and a handful of papal visits.

Of course, Yankee Stadium, appropriately enough, is best known for baseball. With the exception of the 1974 and 1975 seasons, when the Stadium was being renovated, baseball's most successful franchise has played its home games here. Needless to say, over the years the making of history at Yankee Stadium has become somewhat commonplace. So in this, the last season for one of the game's most hallowed venues, we're going to recall the most compelling and unforgettable baseball moments that ever went down at the corner of 161st and River. Let's get to it ...

Sept. 30, 1927: Babe Ruth's 60th home run

Prior to the 1927 season, Yankees manager Miller Huggins made a critical decision to bat Babe Ruth in front of Lou Gehrig. In moving Gehrig to the clean-up spot in place of Bob Meusel and leaving Ruth in the three hole, Huggins gave his star slugger the best chance to succeed. And succeed he did. In '27, Ruth reached the unthinkable total of 60 home runs, more than any other team in the American League. He culminated his efforts against the Washington Senators on the final day of the regular season. Ruth had cracked two homers the previous day to bring his seasonal total to 59 (tying his career high set back in 1921), but he still needed one more. When came up in the eighth, lefty Tom Zachary threw him a screwball, and Ruth launched it, just fair, into the right-field bleachers. Number 60. After the game, Ruth was his typically humble and understated self. "Sixty, count 'em, sixty," he said. "Let's see some son-of-a-bitch match that."

To reach the unprecedented mark, Ruth went on a tear and hit 17 home runs in September. Thanks mostly to Ruth's, well, Ruthian efforts, the Yankees won 110 games and swept the Pirates in the World Series. To this day, the '27 Yanks are on the short list of the greatest teams.

Bringing down the 'House'


In honor of the final season at the "House that Ruth Built," MLB on FOX will feature a highlight from Yankee Stadium's storied history each week, culminating in the announcement of the greatest moment at the MLB All-Star Game in Yankee Stadium on July 15.

July 4, 1939: Lou Gehrig's farewell speech

Anyone of a certain age can recite the words — "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth" — and hear them echoing through the rafters. Gehrig's farewell speech has earned its place in the pantheon of American oratory, so it's not surprising that his words still resonate today. July 4, 1939, was Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee, and a large and adoring crowd turned out. Gehrig had retired from baseball less than a month before because the disease ALS was, slowly but certainly, killing him. No one at Yankee that day — not even Gehrig himself — realized the gravity of his malady, but so adored was Gehrig that the prospect of never again seeing him on the diamond made it a day of mourning. On that day, he became the first player in major-league history to have his number retired.

Less than two years later, the Iron Horse was dead at the age of 38. However, he remains a symbol of grace, dignity and perspective in the face of impossible circumstances.

Oct. 5, 1947: Al Gionfriddo's catch of Joe DiMaggio's drive to left field in Game 6 of the World Series

In 1947, Gionfriddo was a little-known, diminutive outfielder with a weak bat and a nifty glove. In the World Series that year, however, he shoehorned his way into the history books. Earlier that season, the Brooklyn Dodgers had acquired Gionfriddo from the Pirates, but he played sparingly and batted just .177. In the sixth inning of Game 6, with the Dodgers protecting an 8-5 lead, Gionfriddo was dispatched to left field in his customary role as a defensive replacement. It turned out to be a most timely substitution.

In the home half of the inning, the Yankees got two runners on, and the inestimable Joe DiMaggio strode to the plate with two outs. DiMaggio lined a Joe Hatten pitch to deep left field. Gionfriddo was playing him shallow — too shallow — but he broke quickly on the ball. As DiMaggio's smash curved toward the 415 sign in the left-field corner, Gionfriddo raced toward the fence. He spun awkwardly, stuck his glove out, and, somewhat haphazardly, robbed DiMaggio of a three-run homer. DiMaggio, in a rare show of emotion, kicked the dirt in frustration. The Dodgers won the game, but the Yankees prevailed in Game 7.

Monument Park in Yankee Stadium, which honors Yankee greats including Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. (David Leeds / Getty Images)

May 30, 1956: Mickey Mantle's home run off the right-field facade

For all his off-field episodes and personal failings, few could match Mickey Mantle when it came to raw baseball tools. Chief among those tools was his devastating power from both sides of the plate. In 1956, the 24-year-old Mantle was healthy and the best player in baseball. Mantle spiced up his high level of production that season with a few tape-measure home runs, and the greatest of those was the one he hit off the Senators' Pedro Ramos. With two on and a 2-2 count, Mantle, batting from the left side against the right-handed Ramos, thundered the pitch high and deep. So high and deep, in fact, that it cleared the upper deck, bounced off the distant facade, and missed becoming the first fair ball hit out of Yankee Stadium by only 18 inches. Later, physicists estimated that if the ball had been able to travel unimpeded, then it would have gone almost 600 feet.

Oct. 8, 1956: Don Larsen's perfect game in the World Series

By falling to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955, the Yankees went title-less in consecutive seasons for the first time under Casey Stengel. So when they squared off against the Dodgers again in '56, the Yanks were spoiling for a championship. But they'd need great pitching to get it done. Don Larsen, overshadowed by the great Whitey Ford since joining the Yankees, was on his game in September, thanks in part to a change in his delivery. Still, when he took the mound for the critical Game 5, no one could imagine what was in store. The Yankees won, 2-0, and took a 3-2 lead in the Series (they'd go on to win in seven games). Larsen's impossible brilliance was the story. For the first time since 1922, for just the fourth time in baseball history and for the only time in a World Series contest, a pitcher tossed a perfect game. Only Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, and Sandy Amoros managed to make good contact. Perhaps most impressive is that it took Larsen only 97 pitches to dominate the powerful Brooklyn offense.

Oct. 1, 1961: Roger Maris' 61st home run

In his pursuit of Babe Ruth's single-season home run record, Roger Maris had to overcome the forces of history, the ill wishes of commissioner Ford Frick and a hostile press corps. Few wanted to see Ruth's record fall, but those who did wanted Mickey Mantle, and not the dour, taciturn Maris, to do it. Nevertheless, it was Maris who pulled it off. Besides the crushing pressure, Maris also had to play the stretch drive without being protected in the lineup by Mantle, who went down with an abscessed thigh. Still, Maris soldiered on.

The left-handed slugger failed to break the record within 154 games (the length of schedule in Ruth's day), which gave Frick, once a ghostwriter for Ruth, the cover he needed to place a short-lived asterisk by Maris' name. However, on the final day of the regular season Maris was sitting on 60. In the fourth inning, he dug in against Boston right-hander Tracy Stallard and launched a pitch six rows deep into the right-field stands. It was the only run in a 1-0 Yankees victory. Most importantly, though, Maris established a record that would stand for 37 years. Despite Frick's wishes, of course.

Oct. 14, 1976: Chris Chambliss' home run to win the ALCS against Kansas City

Yankee Stadium in photos

Yankees PHOTOS: From Babe Ruth and Roger Maris to Reggie Jackson and all the way up to A-Rod, Yankee Stadium has been a cathedral for the best baseball. Check out some of the memorable images right here.
President George W. Bush. (Luke Frazza / Getty Images)

As for Maier, he became a hero in New York, making the talk-show rounds and even getting the key to the city from Mayor Giuliani. Meanwhile, the Yankees installed a barrier beyond the outfield wall to ensure that there will be only one Jeffrey Maier.

Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2001: President George W. Bush's throwing out the first pitch before Game 3 and the Yankees' coming from behind in Games 4 and 5 of the World Series

Because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the start of the World Series was delayed until Oct. 27, which was the latest date ever for a Game 1. The Series opened in Arizona, but it was when the Yankees came back to New York down 0-2 that the real drama began. President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch. In doing so, he became the first sitting president to throw out the first pitch at a World Series game since Dwight Eisenhower in 1956. As well, Bush shirked common practice by throwing the pitch from the mound rather than in front of it. Rising to the moment, he delivered a perfect strike to the catcher amid deafening chants of "USA! USA!" and in the process sported the best breaking stuff the executive branch had ever seen. Regardless of your politics, it was a deeply galvanizing moment for Americans.

The Yankees then went on to win Game 3 by the score of 2-1. Then in Game 4, they came back in improbable fashion. The D-backs were nursing a two-run lead in the ninth. Closer Byung-Hyun Kim had looked dominant in the eighth by striking out the side, so Arizona manager Bob Brenly opted to send him out for the (presumed) final frame. With one out and a man on, Tino Martinez homered to right-center to tie the score and send the game into extra innings. Brenly stuck with Kim for the 10th, but, with a full count, Derek Jeter touched him for a walk-off opposite field shot. Game 5 was no less dramatic. Once again Arizona led for most of the game, and once again they held a two-run lead going into the ninth. Kim was on the mound again, and this time it was Scott Brosius who hit the two-run shot to tie it. The Yanks prevailed in the 12th on an RBI single off the bat of Alfonso Soriano. Arizona went on win the series in seven games, but what unfolded in the Bronx will never be forgotten.

Aaron Boone celebrates his winning HR. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

Oct. 16, 2003: Aaron Boone's walk-off home run in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Red Sox

Think of this one as the last gasp of the "Curse of the Bambino." In the 2003 ALCS, the Yanks and Sox were engaging in one of their serialized classic encounters. This hostile series (the one that brought us the Pedro Martinez-Don Zimmer donnybrook) went to seven games, and in that seventh game the Red Sox stunned the Yankee Stadium crowd by charging to a 4-0 lead. With Pedro Martinez in vintage form, the Yankees appeared to be doomed. However, they began to rally in the eighth. Boston manager Grady Little abetted the comeback by allowing Martinez to pitch beyond the point of fatigue, and the Yankees made him pay. With one out, Derek Jeter doubled to right, Bernie Williams singled him home, Hideki Matsui doubled, and then Jorge Posada doubled home two runs to tie the score. The game lumbered on until the bottom of the 11th, when Aaron Boone, a most unlikely hero, made history. Tim Wakefield was on the mound, and he'd thrown a perfect 10th inning. However, Boone drove the first pitch he saw deep into the left-field seats and notched the series win for the Yankees.

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