May 30, 1932. Memorial Day, Yankee Stadium, between games of a doubleheader. A crowd of 42,990 watched the New York Yankees unveil a bronze plaque mounted on a five-foot slab of red granite in deep center field -- a tribute to Miller Huggins, the manager who'd died nearly three years earlier and built the roster that made the Yankees the Yankees. Nobody called it Monument Park that day. It was just a monument, alone near the flagpole, sitting in fair territory like it belonged there (a strange place to put a five-foot granite slab, but nobody asked the outfielders). It didn't have a name yet because nobody knew it was the start of anything.
Three Monuments, In Play
Huggins' monument stood about 460 feet from home plate, deep enough that it rarely bothered anyone. That changed as the fences crept in over the years. Outfielders had to learn the monuments the way infielders learn a bad hop -- Charlie Keller reportedly hit two of them with batted balls in a single game, and Dom DiMaggio, chasing flies out there for the visiting Red Sox, remembered it plainly: "They were pretty deep out there in left-center, almost dead center. Heck, Keller, one day, hit two of them out there." A ball could vanish behind granite and come out somewhere nobody expected.
The Yankees added to the group twice more, both times after a death. Lou Gehrig died June 2, 1941. The dedication was supposed to land on the two-year anniversary of his "Luckiest Man" speech -- July 4 -- but rain pushed it to July 6. Mayor Fiorello La Guardia presided. Connie Mack and Eleanor Gehrig stood by. Joe McCarthy and Bill Dickey pulled the cover off a monument reading: "A man, a gentleman and a great ballplayer whose amazing record of 2,130 consecutive games should stand for all time." The Yankees swept a doubleheader from Philadelphia that day, and Joe DiMaggio stretched his hitting streak to 48 games in the process. Even the tribute couldn't slow the season down.
Babe Ruth got his monument on Opening Day 1949, eight months after his death -- the same afternoon Casey Stengel managed his first game in pinstripes. Mayor William O'Dwyer and Governor Thomas Dewey were there. Three monuments now, Huggins-Gehrig-Ruth, still standing in the field of play like nobody had thought to move them.
The Fence Comes In
They finally did move them, though not really on purpose (the Yankees weren't renovating the Stadium to save some outfielders a headache). The 1974-75 renovation of Yankee Stadium brought the center field fence in by 44 feet, and the monuments -- along with the flagpole and a growing collection of plaques, including one for Jacob Ruppert added back in 1940 -- ended up enclosed behind it instead of in front of it. The fence move was about sightlines and dimensions. Taking the monuments out of play was just what happened along the way.
That enclosed space, tucked behind the new left-center fence, is what people started calling Monument Park when the Stadium reopened in 1976. It wasn't yet a place you could walk into. Fans could see it from the stands or on TV, and that was it, for almost a decade.
From Fenced Off to Fan-Friendly
The Yankees opened Monument Park to the public in 1985, letting fans line up before games and walk the same ground where Keller once lost a ball among the granite. Two more monuments joined the original three in the years after -- Mickey Mantle's in 1996, upgraded from his retired-number plaque after he died in 1995, and Joe DiMaggio's in 1999, the same treatment after his death that March. George Steinbrenner got the sixth monument in 2010, the biggest one in the park (of course it's the biggest one), positioned behind the original quintet like the Boss was still watching over things.
That's the distinction worth knowing: only six men have an actual granite monument. Everybody else -- every retired number, the 9/11 memorial plaque, the tributes to managers and broadcasters and popes -- gets a plaque on the wall. Dozens of them by now. Monuments are rare. Plaques, the Yankees hand out more freely than any team in the sport.
A Bigger Home in 2009
When the new Yankee Stadium opened in 2009, the actual monuments -- not replicas -- got trucked across 161st Street and reassembled in a larger plaza behind the outfield wall, on the Field Level between the bullpens. More room this time, built to keep growing instead of running out of wall space the way the old one eventually would have.
It still works the same way it has since 1985. Gates open, and Monument Park opens with them. Forty-five minutes before first pitch, it closes again -- back behind the fence, back out of play, the same way it's been since 1932, just with better sightlines.
| First Monument | Miller Huggins, May 30, 1932 |
| Original Trio Completed | Huggins, Gehrig (1941), Ruth (1949) |
| Monuments Today | 6 (Huggins, Gehrig, Ruth, Mantle, DiMaggio, Steinbrenner) |
| Plaques Today | Dozens -- retired numbers plus other honorees |
| Moved Out of Play | 1976 stadium renovation |
| Opened to Public | 1985 |
| Current Location | Field Level, Section 36, between the bullpens (since 2009) |
Huggins Monument Dedicated
The first monument in what becomes Monument Park is unveiled in deep center field, honoring manager Miller Huggins in front of 42,990 fans -- in fair territory, near the flagpole.
Gehrig Monument Joins Huggins
Rescheduled from a rainout on July 4, the Yankees dedicate Lou Gehrig's monument before a doubleheader sweep of Philadelphia. Mayor La Guardia presides; DiMaggio's hitting streak reaches 48 games that day.
Ruth Monument Completes the Original Trio
Babe Ruth's monument is dedicated on Opening Day, also Casey Stengel's managerial debut. Mayor O'Dwyer and Governor Dewey attend.
Monuments Moved Out of Play
The stadium renovation brings the center field fence in 44 feet, enclosing the monuments and plaques behind it. The space is named Monument Park at the reopening.
Opened to the Public
Fans are allowed to walk into Monument Park before games for the first time.
Three More Monuments
Mickey Mantle's plaque is upgraded to a monument in 1996, Joe DiMaggio's in 1999, and George Steinbrenner is added in 2010 -- bringing the total to six.
Relocated to the New Stadium
The original monuments -- not replicas -- are moved across 161st Street into a larger, dedicated Monument Park behind the outfield wall.
They were pretty deep out there in left-center, almost dead center. Heck, Keller, one day, hit two of them out there.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many monuments are in Monument Park?
Six: Miller Huggins (1932), Lou Gehrig (1941), Babe Ruth (1949), Mickey Mantle (1996), Joe DiMaggio (1999), and George Steinbrenner (2010). Everyone else honored in the space gets a plaque, not a free-standing monument.
Can fans visit Monument Park?
Yes. Monument Park has been open to the public since 1985. It's located on the Field Level, Section 36, between the bullpens. It opens when the stadium gates open and closes 45 minutes before first pitch, and entry is free with a game ticket but first-come, first-served.
What's the difference between a monument and a retired-number plaque?
A monument is a free-standing granite block with a bronze relief portrait -- only six Yankees have one. A plaque is a flat bronze marker mounted on the wall, used for every retired number and additional honorees like the September 11 memorial. There are dozens of plaques and only six monuments.
Were the Monument Park monuments ever actually on the field of play?
Yes. From 1932 until the 1976 stadium renovation, the Huggins, Gehrig, and Ruth monuments stood in fair territory in deep center field, along with the flagpole. Outfielders had to play caroms off them. The 1976 renovation moved the fence in and enclosed the monuments behind it, taking them out of play for good.
The monuments don't get hit by fly balls anymore. They just stand there behind the fence, granite and bronze, waiting for the gates to open and the line to start forming.