Before he was donned "The Hit Man" or "Donnie Baseball", Donald Arthur Mattingly was one of the top prospects in the nation in 1979. Born and raised in Evansville, Indiana, Mattingly played ball at Reitz Memorial High School. He signed a letter of intent with Indiana State University before entering the draft. For this reason most Major League Baseball teams avoided drafting him. The New York Yankees were willing to take a chance and drafted Mattingly in the 19th round of the 1979 amateur draft. This risk would be one of the best the Yankees would take.
Mattingly played most of his rookie season as a part-time first basemen and outfielder. At 21 years of age he made his Major League debut on September 8, 1982.
"Donnie Baseball" remains a fan favorite till this day, playing 13 years for the Yankees (1982 - 1995) and coaching for three (2004 - 2007), although he never won a World Series.
"Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next." - George Steinbrenner (in reference to how he runs the New York Yankees)
George Steinbrenner was born July 4, 1930 in Rocky River, Ohio. His father was a Great Lakes shipping tycoon and he himself went on to build his fortune as chariman of the American Ship-Building Company based in Cleveland. As a young adult he was an assistant football coach at both Northwestern and Purdue Universities and put together national champion teams in the National Industrial and American Baseketball leagues.
Eager to expand into other business ventures that were lucrative, Steinbrenner assembled a private group of investors to buy the New York Yankees. Although he lacked experience he felt that he possessed the business savvy for baseball. The franchise was purchased from CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) and from there Steinbrenner threw himself into the day-to-day operations of the ball club. He set the tone and involved himself in a way that no other owner had done since Connie Mack.
The one sport that still seems to always bring families together is baseball. Families and friends center celebrations, birthdays, engagments, reunions, and many other significant and important moments around America's favorite past time. It appears to have remained a tradition between families and groups of friends from every walk of life. In times of war, struggle and even the great depression, people found a way to come together to cheer on their favorite teams and players. Although during the Depression the teams had to become a little more creative with promotions, giveaways and prizes to draw the crowds in.
In researching the Detroit Tigers we came across this piece of video footage posted to YouTube. This is footage of a family that went to Detroit for the Yankee/Tigers game at Briggs Stadium on August 4, 1956. We loved being able to see not only the players but the fans of that time as well! We hope you enjoy this video as much as we did!
After announcing Lou Gehrig's retirement from baseball on June 21, 1939 the Yankees declared July 4, 1939 "Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day" at Yankee Stadium. Over 60,000 fans showed to wish him farewell and say goodbye to an amazing ball player and man. Then Yankee Manager, Joe McCarthy delievered an intense, emotional goodbye to Gehrig with whom he had a very close relationship.
Struggling to control his emotions, Yankees Manager Joe McCarthy spoke of Lou Gehrig. After describing Gehrig as "the finest example of a ballplayer, sportsman, and citizen that baseball has ever known", McCarthy could stand it no longer. Turning tearfully to Gehrig, the manager said, "Lou, what else can I say except that it was a sad day in the life of everybody who knew you when you came into my hotel room that day in Detroit and told me you were quitting as a ballplayer because you felt yourself a hindrance to the team. My God, man, you were never that."
The Yankees retired Gehrig's number 4 making him the first player in history to be in honored this way. In December 1939, Lou Gehrig was elected unanimously to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in a special election by the Baseball Writers Association, waiving the waiting period normally required after a ballplayer's retirement. At age 36, he was the youngest player to be so honored.
Check out the latest addition to the Mitchell & Ness Authentic collection! We are so excited to be offering these new MLB Authentic Mesh BP Jerseys! We hope that you love them just as much as we do... Even more!