April 17th

On this day in Yankee history... 


1929: Babe Ruth marries actress and model Claire Merritt Hodgson. The ceremony is held at five o'clock in the morning on Opening Day to avoid crowds. 

1939: On the morning of Opening Day in Washington DC, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Yankees visit Abner Doubleday's grave at Arlington National Cemetery. Roosevelt is also scheduled to throw out the first pitch at Griffith Stadium, but the game is rained out,  and Vice President John Nance Garner will do the honors four days later. 

 


1951: Mickey Mantle plays his first major league game. With Joe DiMaggio still ensconced in center field, the rookie touted as the Commerce Comet makes his Yankee debut in right. Mantle will single and drive in a run as the Yankees blank the Red Sox 5-0. 

                 http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1951/B04170NYA1951.htm  


1953: Mickey Mantle clears the bleachers at Griffith Stadium with a 565-foot home run off Chuck Stobbs. The shot comes in the 5th inning of a 7-3 Yankees victory over the Washington Senators. It is believed to have been the longest home run in Griffith Stadium history. 

                     http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1953/B04170WS11953.htm