Jacob Ruppert Jr. was an American brewer, businessman, National Guard colonel and politician who served for four terms representing New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1899 to 1907. He also owned the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball from 1915 until his death in 1939.
Ruppert in 1923
Ruppert (second row, second from left) with Albert Lasker and US President Warren G. Harding at Yankee Stadium in 1923
Ruppert's plaque in Monument Park
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based in New York City alongside the National League (NL)'s New York Mets. The team was founded in 1903 when Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the franchise rights to the defunct Baltimore Orioles after it ceased operations and used them to establish the New York Highlanders. The Highlanders were officially renamed the Yankees in 1913.
Hilltop Park, home of the Highlanders
The Polo Grounds, home of the Yankees from 1913 to 1922, was demolished in 1964, after the Mets had moved to Shea Stadium in Flushing.
With his hitting prowess, Babe Ruth (1895–1948) ushered in an offensive-oriented era of baseball and helped lead the Yankees to four World Series titles.
Lou Gehrig (1903–1941) was the first Yankees player to have his number retired, in 1939, which was the same year that he retired from baseball due to a crippling disease.
