This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 5/11/2001.
Erected on the site of a Bronx lumber yard, Yankee Stadium opened its gates on April 18, 1923, when a capacity crowd of over 65,000 people were treated by a Babe Ruth home run that won the game. For half a century, those seats that were occupied on that opening day remained in place within the stadium's three tiers. Then, in 1973, the stadium underwent a renovation in which the old, decaying seats were ripped out and replaced by comfortable plastic ones. For diehard Yankee fans and collectors, this pair of curved-back seats aren't just fanny-holders but part of a baseball shrine. The seats in the original House That Ruth Built were painted dark blue and while the paint has chipped in spots and the surface is scratched and buffeted, the wood and metal of the railings and base are in overall good condition, enhancing the wondrous history they impart. Indeed, if these seats could talk they'd tell several lifetimes worth of memories. Even in stately silence, they do just that.