Most fans know George M. Steinbrenner Field as the Yankees’ spring training venue. However, the Yankees moved to the field only in 1996 even though they had an on-off presence in Florida since the early 1900s. Here is the history of the Yankees’ spring training and the places they adopted since their early days.
1903-1904
The early years witnessed Atlanta in Georgia hosting the Yankees’ spring training. In 1903, the Yankees moved to Hilltop Park in Manhattan. However, they used to travel south for their training.
1905-1906
In 1905, the Yankees, then known as the Highlanders, opted for Montgomery, Alabama, and played the local team called the Senators of the Southern Association. From there, they traveled to the Gulf Coast. The 1905 Yankees’ spring training saw the arrival of a great first baseman named Hal Chase, who became “the first real star of the team that would become the New York Yankees.”
Next year, they played the Barons in Birmingham, Alabama at Slag Pile Field.
1907-1908
The Highlanders had their 1907 and 1908 spring training in Atlanta, Georgia. The ballpark they selected was the home to the AA Atlanta Firecrackers until 1964. It was then named as Spiller Park and was also called Ponce Del Leon Park. It also hosted the Negro Southern League in 1919.
The Yankees’ spring training memories returned to Ponce Del Leon in 1935 when the team returned to play an exhibition game at the baseball stadium.
1909
The Yankees’ spring training venue was Central City Park, Macon, Georgia, with George Stallings as their new manager. They trained there after a tour of the Gulf Coast and played the New Jersey Skeeters.
1910-1911
The team opted for a football field named Herty Field in Athens, Georgia, to start training. However, the Yankees’ spring training saw them traveling a lot. Then known as the New York Highlanders, they played multiple preseason games were played in Atlanta, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Nashville, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Indianapolis.
1912
It was their last year under the name the Highlanders. The Yankees’ spring training began in Atlanta, Georgia. However, they traveled north to open the season. In 1912, Fenway Park in Boston was opened with the team playing the inaugural game. The Red Sox won 7-6.
1913: First Yankees’ spring training after the name change
The Highlanders changed their name to “the New York Yankees” during the 1912 season. For the first time, the Yankees’ spring training went to Hamilton Cricket Grounds, Hamilton, Bermuda, in 1913. The island seemed like the best place to “keep the players away from the temptations of American city nightlife” and to make them focus on their baseball basics.
Like the pre-season of 1909, the club brought the New Jersey Skeeters to play against. The club ended up in seventh place, 38 games behind the leader, with a record of 57-94, so the beautiful setting may not have helped them much in the long run.
1914
For the first time, the Yankees’ spring training moved to Houston, TX in 1914. They selected West End Park in Houston as the venue. Before the Yankees moved in, the site was home to the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns, as well as NCAA college football. West End was demolished in 1942 and gave way to Texas Interstate 45.
1915
Savannah, GA, has a history of hosting spring training since 1889. The Baltimore Orioles, the forefathers of the Yankees, had their training in the town in 1902. The Yankees’ spring training returned to the city in 1915.
1916-1918
Georgia was still a popular place for major league teams to train, and the Yankees had it in Macon from 1916 to 1918. Aside from having one of the best early-century baseball names, the 1918 team also had the tallest pitcher ever in the sport at the time. Slim Love, who was 6 feet, 7.5 inches tall, made his debut during the Yankees’ spring training. In 1918, Miller Huggins took over as manager.
1919-1920
In 1919, the Yankees’ spring training moved to Jacksonville, FL. The New York Giants were the first team to train at the place. The Bombers selected Rose Field, on the south side of Jacksonville. They returned to there in 1920 and got off to a great start.
The Yankees got Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox during the off-season between 1919 and 1920. He joined the Yankees here.
1921
The 1921 Yankees’ spring training began at Gassers Park, Shreveport, LA. Their main opponent was the Gassers, who played in the Texas League.
1922-1924
In 1922, New Orleans, LA, hosted the Yankees’ spring training at Pelican Stadium, also called Heinemann Park. The ballpark existed until 1957 when it was brought down and replaced by the Fontainebleau Motor Hotel. Later, it was turned into a storage business and dormitories for the Xavier University of Louisiana.
1925-1942
The Yankees’ spring training was moved to Crescent Lake Field, St. Petersburg, FL, in 1925. In 1931, the park was renamed in the honor of Miller Huggins, who was the manager of the Yankees from 1918 until his death in 1929. Rumors were there Babe Ruth once refused to catch fly balls because alligators were sunning themselves on the edge of the lake, which was part of the outfield.
1943-1945
In 1943, when World War II was going on, the Yankees opened their first Spring Training camp in Asbury Park, New Jersey, just 60 miles south of The Bronx. They did this to save money and supplies. However, terrible weather and poor training facilities forced then the Yankees’ spring training to select Atlantic City, NJ, in 1944. They used the indoor 112th Field Artillery Armory and Bader Field.
1946-1950
In 1946, the Yankees’ spring treating returned to St. Petersburg, FL, and they started at Huggins Field, then renamed where they had trained from 1925 to 1942. At this baseball park, Joe DiMaggio played in the center field. There were reports that a brown spot appeared on the grass in the center on the next days after the deaths of DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. The field is still there, and high school and college teams from the area play on it.
Yogi Berra and Bobby Brown played in the MLB team for the first time in 1946. Legendary pitcher Red Ruffing and catcher Bill Dickey, whose number “8” is also retired at Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park, were at the end of their careers.
In the spring of 1947, the Yankees moved to St. Petersburg’s Al Lang Field, which would be their home for most of the next 14 seasons.
1951
The Yankees went west and had their spring training at Phoenix, AZ. It was the only time the Yankees went west. This Yankees’ spring training was Joe DiMaggio’s last and Mickey Mantle’s first.
1952-1961
The Yankees’ spring training returned to Al Lang Field, St. Petersburg, FL, in 1952. The ground was named after the former mayor of St. Petersburg who helped bring MLB spring training to the area. During the 1955 offseason, the Yankees went on a six-week, 25-game exhibition tour of the South Pacific. The tour included 16 games in Japan, as well as stops in Okinawa, Manila, and Guam. During the tour, the Yankees played against some of the best baseball players in Japan. For the record, the Yankees went 24-0-1 on the tour.
1962-1995
Fort Lauderdale Stadium, Florida, hosted the Yankees’ spring training in 1962. The Yankees made it their spring home for the next 33 years. The organization also moved its Single A team, which was called the St. Petersburg Saints at the time, from Al Lang Stadium to the facility in Ft. Lauderdale.
Fans used to love the baseball stadium thanks to the opportunity they had to interact with many Yankee greats during the spring training.
1996-Present
The Yankees’ spring training has been held at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Tampa, FL, following its opening in 1996. It first opened in March 1996 as Legends Field. In March 2008, it was renamed to honor George.
Inspired by the look of Yankee Stadium, it is home to where the Yankees’ Advanced-A team, the Tampa Tarpons, play their games. It can hold up to 11,076 people, including those who have to stand, making it the largest park in the Grapefruit League. The playing field was made to the same size as Yankee Stadium after it was remodeled in 1976.
On March 1, 1996, the Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 5-2 in the first official spring training game. David Cone was the one who threw the first pitch and Bob Wickman got the win.
The legend of George M. Steinbrenner Field
When Steinbrenner bought the team in 1973 for less than $10 million, the team trained in Fort Lauderdale. “The Boss,” as people called him, moved his team’s Spring Training to the brand-new Legends Field in Tampa. On a rainy day in 1996 in Tampa, when the Yankees’ spring training home opened, team owner George Steinbrenner was there. Though he gave autographs, he didn’t sign his name on them.
Impressed by his action, city leaders pushed to change the name of Legends Field to Steinbrenner Field to honor him. They cited his charity works to bestow him this honor. But his family says that he turned down the honor for a long time. He finally gave up. One of the last times George Steinbrenner was seen in public was when the new name of the stadium was announced in 2008.
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