26 Rings and a Pocket Watch (Day V of VI)

The New York Yankees have won the most World Series (27) in MLB history. Though, while the presentation of a ring is common in todays sporting world, the Yankees have only awarded 26 rings to their players.

This week we go year-by-year and showcase each team and what the players were rewarded for each World Series win.

1956 World Series

Keep going…

1958 World Series

Don’t stop yet…

1961 World Series

Not here…(though this is a replacement ring, cast in ten-karat gold)

1962 World Series

Finally! We have reached the end of the 2nd “variation” of the New York Yankees World Championship ring design. After 20 World Series wins and 19 rings issued, the Yankees had mainly two designs in their history: 10 rings from 1927-1947 and 7-9 more (depending on how you feel about 1949 and 1953) from 1949-1962.

In that second variation of ring, each was cast by the L.G. Balfour Company, each in fourteen-karat-gold (the ring I’ve shown from 1961 is a replacement ring that was cast in ten-karat gold), and each with the same diamond in a diamond design on the face and the hat and bat logo on each shank.

After this, however, the World Series rings got to be more exciting.

1977 World Series:

The 1977 World Championship ring was a huge step forward for the New York Yankees, and it marked a lot of firsts. It was the first use of the interlocking NY logo (also known as the cap insignia), it was the first time the ring featured different designs on each shank, the first to include more than one diamond, the first feature the players name on the visible portion of the ring when wearing, and the first to add in additional gemstones for color. However, it was still made by the L.G. Balfour Company and cast in fourteen-karat-gold. (Not everything has to change at once!)

With this ring, the interlocking NY logo is donned with 19 genuine diamonds (no symbolism there) on top of a blue gem with the words “YANKEES” and “WORLD CHAMPIONS” surrounding the logo on the ring face. On the left shank features the year “1977” above the words “PRIDE” and “TRADITION” each on a banner above the Commissioners trophy in front of a background of the grandstands at Yankee Stadium. On the top of the right shank comes the players last name (here shown for RHP Ed Figueroa) above a stylized version of the Yankees hat and bat logo interconnecting with the phrase “21st WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP”.

1978 World Series:

The 1978 World Championship ring took the step from the 1977 ring and made some more changes.

Still made by the L.G. Balfour Company, the interlocking NY insignia was quickly moved away from the ring face as they went back to placing a single genuine diamond on top of a figural baseball diamond (YES!), both of which were placed on a blue gem. For the first time, the Yankees also utilized the crown of the ring to inlay 21 diamonds on the inside (maybe this is significant for its being the 21st ring?) and the words “WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP” on the outside.

On the left shank, like the year before, the Yankees placed the Commissioner’s Trophy, though with the hat and bat logo placed over it and the iconic Yankee Stadium frieze above it. On the right shank first comes the players name (here shown for C Thurman Munson), the year “1978” split up on either side near the top and two banners with the words “PRIDE” and “TRADITION” on either side near the bottom of an interlocking NY insignia and the players number on a baseball diamond on the bottom.

Come back tomorrow to see the Yankees rings from 1996, 1998-2000, and 2009!