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Yankee Stadium is the home of the New York Yankees, a major league
baseball team. Located at East 161st Street and River Avenue in the
Bronx, New York City, it originally opened on April 18, 1923 and
reopened on April 15, 1976 after an extensive three year renovation. The
first night game was played on May 28, 1946. Yankee Stadium is often
referred to as the "house that Ruth built," the "Home of Champions" or
simply the Stadium. It is the first baseball arena to be labeled a
Stadium. Yankee Stadium favors left-handed hitters because of a shorter
right-field fence, although the field has become much more symmetric
over the years. The seats behind center field are painted black and not
occupied during baseball games; this allows batters to track the ball as
it is pitched, as the "black seats" section is directly in front of
them. If fans were allowed to sit in this section, it would create an
unfair home team advantage, as the fans in that section could wear white
shirts and move around, making it virtually impossible for the batters
of the opposing team to track the ball. Perhaps the best known of all
baseball stadiums, Yankee Stadium is the scene of such memorable events
as Don Larsen's perfect World Series game in 1956, Roger Maris'
then-record 61st home run in 1961, and Reggie Jackson's three home runs
in a World Series game in 1977. The New York Giants American football
team played at Yankee Stadium from 1956 to 1973. Many boxing matches
have been held at the stadium, notably Joe Louis's victory over Max
Schmeling in 1938. Billy Graham held larger gatherings at the Stadium.
The 1930 and 1931 Army-Navy Games were played at Yankee Stadium. The New
York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League used Yankee Stadium for
home games in 1971 and then again in 1976. Yankee Stadium last played
host to a football game in 1987. One of its distinguishing features is
the white facade that hangs over the outfield bleacher billboards and
scoreboard . Also notable is the exhaust stack that stands outside the
main entrance gate, constructed in the shape of a baseball bat. While
elements of the Stadium are decidely modern, its asymmetry, monuments in
left-center field and exterior arches give fans a reminder of the
Stadium during its most golden period. (Even the blue YANKEE STADIUM
letters over the main gate are longtime features; they're the same
letters that first appeared there in white in the early 1960s. One
hypothesis is that the "Bronx cheer" was so named because of its
popularity among Yankee fans.
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