Yankee Road Trip
27 Places Every Yankee Fan Should See (Part 2)
By Chris Jensen
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For die-hard Yankee fans who can’t get enough of their favorite team, the next game can’t come soon enough. The team’s storied history comes alive in ballparks, museums and memorabilia-packed venues around the country, filling fans with nostalgia over the feats of their idols. What follows are 27 special places every Yankee fan should take the time to visit—one for each of the team’s 27 world championships.
10. George Steinbrenner gravesite—Trinity, FL
The Boss is laid to rest in a large but not ostentatious marble mausoleum at Trinity Memorial Gardens, about a half hour north of Tampa. Its design is remarkably similar to the mausoleum of former owner Jacob Ruppert in New York. Steinbrenner’s final resting place features a stained glass window that overlooks the Garden of Innocence, where about 50 children are buried. That seems fitting, as the kind-hearted Boss spent just as much time and money looking out for the interests of disadvantaged children as the bombastic Boss did cajoling the star players on his baseball team. Fans feel compelled to travel to his gravesite, some from quite a distance, to pay their respects to the hard-driving man who restored the Yankees to prominence.
11. Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum—Baltimore, MD
Baseball’s greatest star deserves an appropriate shrine to his legacy, and Yankee fans will appreciate the chance to learn more about the Babe’s formative years in Baltimore as well as his amazing feats on the field. Located three blocks west of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in a restored brick-row house, you can view the upstairs bedroom where the rambunctious Ruth was born to a saloon keeper. New exhibit galleries created during a 2015 remodel showcase Babe Ruth as an American icon.
12. Catfish Hunter gravesite at Cedarwood Cemetery—Hertford, NC
Catfish was a nickname made up by Charlie Finley for marketing purposes, but Jim Hunter was a country boy who was not one to raise a fuss. He was born in tiny Hertford and he died in Hertford of complications from Lou Gehrig’s disease. In between he crafted a Hall of Fame career as a big-game pitcher, winning five World Series titles with the Yankees and A’s. His large headstone stands in the middle of Cedarwood Cemetery with a baseball adorned with his signature and the Yankees and A’s logos—below is the inscription “Baseball Hall of Fame 1987.”
The cemetery is just a long toss away from the Perquimans County High School field where Hunter attracted the attention of scouts by throwing five no-hitters. A monument to Catfish can be found on the grounds of the Perquimans County Courthouse on North Church Street.
13. Roger Maris Museum—Fargo, ND
Journey to Holy Cross Cemetery in Fargo and you will find Maris’ diamond-shaped headstone inscribed with “61” as well as “Against All Odds.” That seems an apt description of Roger’s baseball career, which is on full display six miles away at the West Acres Shopping Center. Maris had reluctantly agreed to have a museum open in his honor, as long as it was free to the public. See film highlights from Roger’s career (including video of home run number 61 in 1961) while sitting on authentic Yankee Stadium seats. The displays also include a replica of his Yankee Stadium Monument and 1961 locker, his 1960 Gold Glove Award and several of the balls he hit during his record-breaking season, with pennants hanging down that detail each of the 61 home runs he hit that year.
14. Mickey Mantle Monument Park at Mickey Mantle Field—Commerce, OK
Just off Mickey Mantle Boulevard in Commerce, a nine-foot-tall statue of Mickey swinging a bat can be found behind the center field fence of the high school field, which was rededicated as Mickey Mantle Field in 2000. The statue was unveiled in June 2010 with members of the Mantle family in attendance. One side of the statue pays tribute to his local roots with an inscription noting his nickname, “the Commerce Comet,” while the other side reflects what was most important to Mantle—to be considered “a great teammate.”
15. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark—Oklahoma City, OK
This retro ballpark is located at 2 South Mickey Mantle Drive. Outside the third base entrance to the stadium is Mickey Mantle Plaza, which is dominated by a large statue of the Mick swinging for the fences left-handed. Inscribed into the base are his career accomplishments as well as a set of his handprints.
Walk across the street to Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse, which has an understated elegance. The entry features glass display cases with a bronze bust of the Mick along with trophies, bats, jerseys and other artifacts from his career.
16. Mickey Mantle gravesite—Dallas, TX
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American folk hero who transcended sports, a revered yet tragic figure who was not able to fully mask the physical and emotional pain that tormented him through much of his life. When he died of liver cancer in 1995, an entire nation mourned. Fans still regularly make the trek to Saint Matthew Mausoleum within Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park and pay their respects to their idol, leaving behind all matter of notes and trinkets. He is entombed there with his wife and two sons.
17. National Ballpark Museum—Denver, CO
Bruce Hellerstein’s fascination with ballparks led him to develop such an extensive collection he turned his basement into a museum. Then his museum outgrew his basement, so he moved to a location across from Coors Field. National Ballpark Museum is dedicated to ballparks everywhere including the 14 “classics” and the old Yankee Stadium, but Hellerstein’s collection of artifacts extends beyond vintage ballparks.
On display is the “NY” drainage cover that Mickey Mantle tripped over in the 1951 World Series, permanently injuring his leg. The collection also includes a turnstile, an authentic seat and a piece of the third-deck façade from the old Yankee Stadium, an original postcard of Yankee Stadium from the 1930s, a piece of Babe Ruth’s bat and home flannel Yankee jersey, paintings of Yankee Stadium and Mickey Mantle, and a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig that can be traced back to the 1932 World Series when the Babe hit his famous “called shot.”
18. Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory—Louisville, KY
It’s larger than life, but then again so was the Babe. We’re referring to the world’s biggest bat towering outside the Louisville Slugger Museum, a 120-foot tall exact-scale replica of the 34-inch Louisville Slugger used by the Sultan of Swat. Once inside you can pose for a picture holding a replica of Mickey Mantle’s bat or beside a mannequin of the Bambino. On display is the third of three bats Joe DiMaggio used during his 56-game hitting streak in 1941 and one of the bats the Babe used during his 60-home run season of 1927. You can even take a turn in the batting cage with a replica Ruth or Jeter bat.
Don’t miss the opportunity to take the factory tour, where you can see how the bats are manufactured and take home your own miniature Louisville Slugger. During my family’s visit in October 2009, they were making the bats the Yankees would use to win the World Series a few weeks later.
The Louisville Slugger Walk of Fame can be found on the sidewalks outside the museum. Yankee greats Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, Maris, DiMaggio, Berra, Winfield, Mize and Boggs are among the players immortalized with a bronze caste of the Louisville Slugger model bat they used along with a bronze home plate that summarizes their career accomplishments.
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Chris Jensen is a lifelong Yankees fan who grew up near Cooperstown, N.Y. A SABR and IBWAA member, he is the author of Baseball State by State and Baseball’s Two-Way Greats: From Ruth and Rogan to Ohtani.
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