Surprisingly, he Yankees extended home stand in Shea Stadium during 1974 and 1975 has been rarely mentioned this year.
During those two years when Yankee Stadium was being modernized, the Spanks played in our beloved ballpark. Bill Virdon was manager for the 74 team that went 89-73. Virdon was replaced by Billy Marin during the 1975 season.
I remember seeing the Yankees twice during those years, against the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals.
Over at a blog called Bronx Banter, they are launching a tribute to all the
Yankee players who never played in Yankee Stadium.
The first candidate: Walt "No Neck" Williams. He played two seasons for the Yankees and never got to see the Bronx. He's a better man for the experience.
Comments
You're right. The Yankees' time at Shea has been ignored. Sort of airbrushed from history by the Yankees because they don't want too many people to consider the fact that their ballpark was not built in the 20s, but in the 70s.
The only time this season when I heard a lot about the Yankees at Shea was when Bobby Murcer died. Howie noted that Murcer couldn't hit the homers down the line as he did in Yankee Stadium and the Yankees traded him to SF when his numbers sagged.