New York Yankees Say Goodbye to Cathedral of Baseball

When the New York Yankees step up to the plate against the Baltimore Orioles tomorrow night, the occasion will be so much more than just a game of baseball. It will be a celebration of 85 years of devotion from their fans, the end of an era and a wake, all rolled into one.

After the last ball has been pitched, the floodlights turned off, and the fans all drifted away, the Yankee Stadium, one of the world's most famous sporting amphitheaters, will close its doors for the last time.

Nostalgia will be in the air on the final day of such an embodiment of sporting passion, which New Yorkers often refer to as the cathedral of baseball. Each fan will have their own memories of victory and despair, but all of them will be thinking of one man above all others.

This was, after all, the House That Ruth Built. The stadium that opened on April 18 1923 was a monument to the superstar Babe Ruth in a literal sense: it was his ability to attract supporters that funded the Yankees' move to the Bronx and justified the construction of what ranked for its day as a gigantic 60,000-seater facility. The ground was designed to accentuate the Bambino's extraordinary powers as a hitter. The distance from the home plate to the right boundary where the left-handed Ruth tended to slug his balls was kept deliberately short, giving him an advantage over his right-handed rivals.

From the off, the Yankees' investment paid off. In the opening game, Ruth hit a home run that helped the team to victory against the Boston Red Sox - from whom he had been poached three years before.

Joe Mignogna was there that day, aged five, having been taken by his grandfather, who had worked as a foreman on the site. "It was a very unusual day," Mignogna recalled, speaking from his home in Wilmington, Delaware. "People were dressed up like they were going to church rather than a ball game."

Mignogna was mesmerized the minute he stepped out into the crowd and heard the roar. "We didn't need any amplification in those days. The natural force of the voice was enough."

Over the years the stadium settled into its traditions. Frank Sinatra's New York, New York would be played at the end of each game, and the Westminster chime every time the Yankees scored.

There have been moments of great rejoicing. Over the 85 years the team has won 26 World Series - more than any other. There have also been moments of sorrow, none more poignant than the day in July 1939 when the player Lou Gehrig, a steady fixture at the stadium throughout the 20s and 30s, stood at the home plate and said goodbye. He knew, and he knew that the fans knew, that he had been diagnosed with a fatal disease. He died two years later from what is to this day called Lou Gehrig's disease.

For all the outpouring of emotion this weekend, you might have thought the Yankees were moving to join Sarah Palin in Alaska. In fact, they will be relocating to a purpose-built $1.6bn (about £885m) stadium with 51,000 seats next door.

Joe Mignogna, now 90, will be there to see the last game, as he was to see the first. "I'm not going to bring a handkerchief. I'm going to bring a towel."

High points

April 18 1923 Yankee Stadium opens with Babe Ruth hitting his first home run in the new ballpark against his old team the Boston Red Sox

February 1935 Ruth sold to Boston Braves

July 1939 Lou Gehrig makes emotional retirement speech from home plate

1949-53 The golden years. Yankees win five World Series in a row

October 1961 Roger Maris beats Ruth's record, with 61st home run of season

1972 Yankees bought by current owner George Steinbrenner for $10m

1974-75 Stadium closed for renovation

2006 Work begins on new stadium in adjacent plot

April 16 2009 First game scheduled at new Yankee Stadium