Lou Gehrig, to coordinating uniforms with Pete Sheehy, to preparing lineups for the game and assisting the “managers” (who barely paid attention), to arranging transportation and the post-game party at Toots Shor’s or the Friar’s Club, with a separate party for the wives. An incredible amount of detail went into the planning, from doing a souvenir program, to writing the introductions, to arranging travel and hotel, to finding old time umpires, to enlisting a band and a color guard, to a national anthem singer, to inviting the Commissioner and League Presidents, to stocking the clubhouse with extra beer, to arranging for old New York Times’ writer John Drebinger to keep an official box score in the press box, to getting fill-in broadcasters to cover for Phil Rizzuto (who never made it back upstairs), or Jerry Coleman, to hiring limos for Mrs. I had the privilege of serving as Bob Fishel’s assistant in preparing the events from 1968-73, before taking over myself after he moved to the American League. The gifts ranged from oil paintings to rocking chairs to television sets to watches to clock radios, and always had a personalized engraved plate on them. When it turned out there were too many former players being introduced whose contracts Gabe had cut over the years, the practice ended. The practice made it into the ‘70s when George Steinbrenner asked general manager Gabe Paul to represent him on the field. They would stand with the Yankee management – be it Dan Topping, Del Webb or Michael Burke, to personally greet each player and hand them a special gift. Each year, the Director of the Hall of Fame – first Paul Kerr, then Ed Stack, would be part of the receiving committee on the field to greet each guest. In fact, whatever each year’s theme was, until the Yankees practically ran out of themes (so long as whatever it was included DiMaggio and Mantle), the new Hall of Famers were always invited, making the Yankee Stadium stop an essential part of their induction experience. Under public relations directors Red Patterson and Bob Fishel, the event became an enormous summer attraction, bringing back the game’s greats in a Saturday that often preceded the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, so that people might stop in New York, en route to Cooperstown. The Yankees, it is clear, did not invent, Old Timers Day.īut when promotion minded co-owner Larry MacPhail decided to make it an annual event in 1947, he really did start something. Some players are in old uniforms, some in civilian clothing. In the “team photo” are such future Hall of Famers as Tommy McCarthy, Orator Jim O’Rourke, and Spalding himself. In fact, if you browse through Albert Spalding’s 1911 book, Base Ball: America’s National Game, there is a fold-out photograph of a 1908 old timers gathering featuring college and professional players from as far back as 1871. By the time the Yankees moved to make a reunion an annual summer event in 1947, it was decided to call the ’39 affair “the first” and the ’47 gathering “the second annual.”Īnd with that, many came to think that the Yankees created Old Timers Days. That day, which was officially called Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day, brought back Lou’s 1927 Murderer’s Row teammates in tribute to their fallen comrade. Single game tickets are available on /tickets and gates will open at 3:30 p.Since the Yankees are credited with so many innovations over the years – from numbers on uniforms to triple-decked ballparks – it has become somewhat fashionable to think they invented the concept of Old Timers’ Day back on July 4, 1939. Fans will be able to watch select Mets Alumni as they walk into the ballpark with a red-carpet entrance starting at approximately 2 p.m. The introductions for the Old Timers’ Day Game Presented by Citi will begin at 4:30 p.m. The 2022 Old Timers’ Day will be held on August 27 prior to the 7:10 p.m. You can view the complete roster for the Old Timers’ Day game here. Eleven members of the Mets Hall of Fame ( Ed Kranepool, Cleon Jones, Mookie Wilson, Keith Hernandez, Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, John Franco, Mike Piazza, Jon Matlack, Ron Darling and Edgardo Alfonzo ) and three members of the Baseball Hall of Fame (Piazza, Pedro Martínez and Joe Torre) will all be at Citi Field on August 27. The New York Mets (Thursday) announced that 65 former players and managers will be in attendance for Old Timers’ Day. Here are some of the (older) old timers who will be in attendance this year, via a press release sent out by the team:
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