1976-Howard Cosell Feature On Yankee Stadium Re-Opening

Two weeks before the Yankees played their first game in the renovated Yankee Stadium, Howard Cosell did this feature story on the changes to the ballpark for "Wide World Of Sports".

[@christopheroliver9854]

This is the first time that I have seen this feature since its original airing on Wide World of Sports. I was eleven years old. Many thanks!

[@ravilcn]

I feel lucky that my dad took me to the last game at the old stadium in 73. It was my first game. I was only 5 and freaked out when the game ended and everybody started ripping up and taking seats including my dad. He passed a few years back but I still have that seat. I was probably at the renovated stadium hundreds of times as we had Sunday home season tickets for almost the entire time the renovated stadium existed. I have been to the new stadium only a handful of times. It's nice. It has convenience and perks the old one didn't but I still like the old one better. You feel so far from the action now and the place doesn't shake like the old one did.

[@israymervalentin-arias6313]

Was born wayyyyy after the renovation happened but I had been to the renovated old Yankee stadium a lot and it just felt different than what I feel when I go to the current Yankee stadium. Like you said it’s nice but it’s like something is missing. I don’t feel the same.

[@epm5433]

I was at the last game at the Old Stadium (and attended Opening Day in 1976 as well). After the last out in 1973, my brother and I ran onto the field with thousands of others. But, unlike everyone else, we brought our gloves and a ball. We played catch in CF while everyone else was looting the place.

[@gman5-035]

Made it to the second to last game at the old Yankee stadium with my late father and older brother. Yanks versus Tigers. Ancient history now

[@Solomongrundy68]

So Probably you remember very well Murcer, The Alou Brothers, etc ...

[@ccth22]

Wow I was in 4th grade and getting sleepy when I realized Chambliss was leading off. As soon as he sent that pitch over the right field fence I ran downstairs to celebrate with pop tarts and juice⚾️

[@davidwadsworth8982]

Went to first night game at this version of the place. Met Steinbrenner by accident as we were lookinh for our seats. He was walking around involved in everthing. He yelled at me and my date, happy with your tickets showed him them, he took them and gave us back box seats two rows behind visitor dugout, He said enjoy the game as he marched away. Absolute truth. My date Marry Pat asked do you know that man? I just said he is the Big Boss. I have been to original Yankee Stadium, the 74,000 seat one in the 1960's saw Mantle and Marris, Yogi Bobby R, Nose at first base

[@VolumedMusicMan]

This Yankee Stadium was like Godfather 2. It was just as good the 1st. It was hallowed ground. Today’s version is good for the modern era, but way too expensive for the average fan.

[@TheLocalLt]

Not really, the only reason the renovation worked is because it was still the same stadium (even though they called it the “new” Yankee Stadium initially). It was still the “house that Ruth built”, even if renovated, similar to Fenway or Wrigley. Tearing it down and building a completely new stadium eliminated all the tradition and history that made the old Yankee Stadium, both pre- and post-renovation, so special.

[@chrispraz877]

Yep, I miss this stadium. Even in the late 80's a upper tier seat was 3 bucks cheaper than a movie. (I saw my old seat in this...upper tier btwn 3rd & home) you could see everything...I loved those padded blue 9ft walls.

[@doublem1975x]

@@TheLocalLtThey needed a new stadium. The old one was falling apart from the inside out.

[@jjgillmen]

The renovated Yankee Stadium, along with DC's Capital Centre, were the first sports facilities to feature the Telscreen (or Telescreen) video replay system, which predated Mitsubishi's DiamondVision and Sony's JumboTron by several years.

[@poolmannocal6299]

I miss Howard Cosell 😢 😪

[@dzanier]

Thanks for this great clip. I was born in 1972 so I never got to see the Yanks at the old stadium. I never developed an affinity for it. But I really do feel that the mid 70s renovation of the stadium was a great idea. They didn't strip the place of it's past charm. They blended contemporaneity and tradition perfectly. Keeping the facade for the top of the stadium was great. I must have seen about 40 games there from 1979-2001, and I can tell you that I could truly feel the history of the place and how special it was. All you had to do was think about who had played there and you realized what a hallowed and sacred place it was. And the sight lines were great. It wasn't like Shea Stadium, where with that pronounced upwards slope in the upper deck you felt like you were going to fall off. Everything seemed close at the renovated stadium. I loved it.

[@wiedep]

I went to many games at OYS '68-'73 and the place had a vastly different feel than the original. The brutalist architecture, plastic seats, higher upper deck were far different than the detailed filigree (exterior & facade) from the 20's. There wasn't 'charm' for either unlike some of the early 20th century bandboxes. It was meant to be imposing with owners who could afford the extravagance then, the first to be called a 'stadium' so it could also overshadow the Polo Grounds across the river. RYS looked and was an early 70's creation with all the flaws of that era mixed in (politics, greed etc.). PS - Funny thing was that after the NL teams left Wagner was re-elected to another term but JVL was too scared to run that risk.

[@stever7157]

I was born around the same time as you and saw about a dozen games at the old stadium. You could appreciate the charm and history of the past there. I went to the “new” stadium once and found it very corporate and sterile. The hard rock music played each at bat and not hearing the voice of Bob Sheppard (except for Derek Jeter’s at bats) showed me that it was not my father’s Yankee Stadium anymore but rather a money making palace that’s unaffordable to most casual fans.

[@dzanier]

@@stever7157 I haven’t been there but nothing you said surprised me.

[@macmiles278]

My Lord Yankees mid to late 70's. What a time the Yankee rebirth to come. Thanks for an amazing download. WOW!!😉

[@NeoTurboManiac78]

I love the overlay they used to compare the dimensions between the old and re-modeled stadium. They were shorter for the most part, save for right field, but by today's standards, they are very deep. Using the same overlay to compare 1976 Yankee Stadium and 2009 New Yankee Stadium, would make the new stadium feel like a little league park. The $19,000 luxury box is a great price, if you break it down by the cost per game and per person, if 14 people were to chip in for a box. ($16.75 per person, per game)

[@tvgator1]

Yep. A luxury box today has to be north of 100k for 81 games.

[@NeoTurboManiac78]

@@tvgator1 I would say well north of 100K, considering that $19K in Apr 1976 would be about $90K today, when adjusted for inflation. I would think at least half a million or in that range. I was thinking about ticket prices past and present and I just don't get the justification (I know why it's expensive) for the insane prices these days, considering the quality of play you are getting in return.

[@untexan]

They ended up bringing the fences in some more after a few years. By the late 1980s the deepest part of the park was 408. The dimensions of the current Yankee Stadium are supposed to be the same as the last dimensions at the previous Yankee Stadium but clearly they’re not. Those power alleys are a joke.

[@NeoTurboManiac78]

@@untexan Oh yeah. The fences in the older stadium are still deeper, as the power alleys were curved outward and the fences were higher. The position of the distance markers may not be the same, even if the distance numbers are.

[@illinialumni]

@@tvgator1 At 2023 Yankee Stadium I'm guessing way more than 100k - possibly closer to 7 figures.

[@mikeroperti37]

1st baseball game I ever went to ever was with the Cub Scouts 1973 Yankee stadium in loss to the Kansas City Royals 3 to 2. I'm so happy I was able to go in to that original Shrined of a baseball field it was.

[@JohnSmith-zw8vp]

3:29 -- When Bob Costas went to the original Yankee Stadium (pre-renovation) he honestly thought Ruth/Gehrig/Huggins were buried under those monuments! I wonder if others thought the same? Come to think of it it's a wonder they weren't buried there!!

[@VolumedMusicMan]

I never forgot when Don Baylor Cracked a homerun to left center and it just barely cleared to 430 sign by inches the whole stadium went crazy!

[@kjorlaug1]

Had they not done the renovation, it's sadly likely that the Yankees would've built a new stadium at the Meadowlands. We like to think that the old configuration would've stuck around, but unlikely. The Yankees wanted to do something different and the gut job was the only way to make sure they stayed in the Bronx. New Jersey had plans to build a Baseball stadium next to Giants stadium if the Yankees wanted it

[@SlausonAve60s]

New Jersey should get a expansion team in Newark

[@acousticshadow4032]

And the new Yankee Stadium? "Just a shadow of its former self."

[@basswacker6927]

Howard Cordell was pure class

[@Mario-cv5el]

Never forget the MNF game where Howard was drunk and they ended up sending him home

[@trevorhembrough1290]

Except when he wasn’t, which was fairly regularly

[@habyss]

@@trevorhembrough1290 Ha, no kidding. I wonder if the OP was around when Howard broadcasted games. I sure was.

[@OroborusFMA]

Cosell was hardly class. He was one of the very first media people who engaged in what we now call self-branding.

[@jayclarke5466]

@@OroborusFMA he n Ali were magic

[@christhee68]

I grew up in the 70's and 80's, so this was the only Yankee Stadium I ever knew. It kind of looks like they converted the original to look more like Riverfront or Three Rivers.

[@bobmilin]

I was at that stadium in early April 1976 the only billboard that they had was the Marlboro sign which they obviously took down later.

[@johncassani6780]

That was the same at Fenway Park. The Marlboro sign probably came down in the late ‘90s.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

Air date, April 3, 1976 (first game at renovated Yankee Stadium was April 15, with Yankees beating the Twins).

[@jamescolquhoun9200]

But it was a Twin that hit the 1st HR in the renovated stadium...

[@jayclarke5466]

@@jamescolquhoun9200 vFord hit 1st HR

[@realandrewcinque22]

My parents remember Howie from ABC sports those were the good old days in fact i am good friends with his grandson Collin the Mets emcee through my dads friend who djs the mets

[@charleswinokoor6023]

Howard was the man. No one like him.

[@tvgator1]

We never fully appreciated how great he really was. Dude is royalty compared to today’s fare.

[@DowntownCanon]

@@tvgator1 He was, by his own admission, obnoxious.

[@2000toddowen]

Howard...I have never loved another man the way I have loved you,

[@paleo704]

It was never the same after these awful renovations. The greatness was gone

[@rmartin7558]

Great stuff. 430 ft. to deep left center was still quite a poke after the renovation. It wouldn't be until the early '80's when they'd finally move the wall in to 399 which still wasn't a cheap home run.

[@NeoTurboManiac78]

The deep left-center field wall was moved in from 430' to 411' and finally 399'. You're referring to the deep right-right center field wall, which stayed at 385' for the entire run of the remodeled stadium.

[@raygordonteacheschess5501]

Munson's HR in the 1978 playoffs cleared that wall.

[@sherri419]

I remember Dave Winfield always complaining abou that 430' L-CF the funny thing is they didn't move the fence in until a couple of years after he was traded.

[@sherri419]

@@raygordonteacheschess5501 Not only did it clear that wall but it went about 30 more feet I never saw Thurman hit a ball that far.

[@dr.migilitoloveless2385]

Howard Cosell was once a figure Americans loved to hate. Today, Some 45 to 50 years later he almost forgotten.

[@webstedge1099]

The Yankees christened this era with several great seasons. Although fans had to watch them get swept out of the World Series by the exact same Cincinnati team that their archrivals from Boston took to 7 the year before, they would then go back to back, beating the Dodgers in 6 both times.

[@adm712]

Aside from Eddie Layton playing the organ and Bob Sheppard as the PA, I much prefer the current version of Yankee Stadium as opposed to the '76-'08 version.

[@mattdon2164]

I really miss that place. So many happy memories for me and my family. My first baseball game was July 1977 Sunday afternoon Yankees v Royals. Saw Don Gullet pitch a gem and a guy named George Brett get four hits. July 4 2008 was my daughter's first game 12:00 noon start Yankees v Bosox. New place? looks nice but sterile as can be.

[@TheVCRTimeMachine]

And then the next time it needed a renovation, it was more revered than it was in 1977, had even more history behind it, and then they tore it down and built a glitzy, expensive, badly miscalculated replica.

[@israymervalentin-arias6313]

I still hate the fact that they tore it down instead of just gutting it and rebuilding from within. At least had they done that then the original standing structure would still be in place.

[@Mistachill]

Funny how the arguments against building new stadiums and arenas never change.

[@acousticshadow4032]

Right. They remain solid and sound in logic.

[@Mistachill]

@@acousticshadow4032 No doubt. Charity to millionaires will likely always be unpopular.

[@rxpro19]

the façade over the scoreboard was not the original.....it was a replica...the original was scrapped....and I don't remember individual seats in those bleachers.,, New walls were 11 feet high (the field was lowered by 7 feet to make that happen....lots of errors by howard

[@TheLocalLt]

Sure it’s a “replica” in that it’s not the exact same pieces of white-painted bronze, but in effect it was moved. There was never a time when Yankee Stadium did not have the frieze, either around the roof or the outfield.

[@rxpro19]

@@TheLocalLt howard said "retained and transplanted".....thats my beef

[@charleswinokoor6023]

Howard Cosell

[@tomb4575]

Howard's classic line from the 76 playoffs. Ladies and Gentleman The Bronx is Burning. $19,000 for the season for a luxury box (for the MAN who can afford it.)bleachers where $1 originally with a chain link fence and barbed wire GA seats upstairs $2.50 they raised the subway fare over the summer from $.25 to $.35.

[@ronmackinnon9374]

*'77 World Series, Game 2 (except, though mentioning a nearby fire, he didn't actually use those words).

[@rustynail9077]

I wish they would’ve kept the old stadium but I guess after all those years it had to come down. I’m still a Yankee fan I love the new stadium here’s to you Yankee boys kick ass 2022 season hopefully

[@lsmftymf]

Clearly remember watching this bit of Heavy-Handed Howard overhype with my brothers as a nine years old back when it originally aired a few months after his variety show got canceled. Most memorable was the sight of Bobby Murcer comically allowing an extra-base hit to bounce in back of the monuments.

[@charleswinokoor6023]

lsmftymf Cosell wasn’t “heavy handed,” he was informative and very insightful. Some people didn’t like his persona, and, yes, he could be pompous. But that was half the fun of listening to him. And Cosell was versatile. I’ve heard quite a few interviews of John Lennon, and the one done by Cosell was hands down the best.

[@seanwebb605]

It sounds like a lot of money for a luxury box, but with 81 games and 14 seats that's only $16.75 a person per game. That's about $67 per person today.

[@chadbuarsons8551]

I wonder how many suites the stadium had. It can't have been that many. Maybe 10? This was a big reason why they built the new place.

[@Joeelectronicschematicsforauto]

I really thought this was a great illustration and explanation by Howard cosell of this new stadium I don't really care too much for him but this was pretty good

[@adamtparker6515]

With the advent of the sneaky Tampa Bay Baseball Group, attempted modernization of Fenways scoreboard mid season 1975, known neutral site game at Comiskey feat MIN KCR, USBank Stadium "in play" as a modern play fair venue for #MLB. Would still need some "tweaks" but it got 300 min 400 min center field, etc. Just had a blizzard here, hope for warm weather #Openingday2024. Plus the 344 4ft RF power alleys given to NYY Maris and Mantle until 76 would be neutralized by US Bank Stadium 20+ft wall, should it ever be needed. The KZbin vids showing HS and college kids playing real baseball sure seem to enjoy it and scores are commensurate to similar big 12 schools playing outside❤

[@partyguy9]

So when did the outfield individual seats change back to bleachers?? Because i remember sitting on bleachers there

[@tomb4575]

The right field bleacher seats had individual fanny molds along a bench these did not have backs on them. The bleachers in left field were traditional bench type bleachers. For the first few months there was actually a wire fence with barbed wire on top of the right field wall in front of the bleachers, NYC and that area of The Bronx was a high crime area. You had to hit the ball over that fence for a HR. I believe the fence came down by June that season.

[@irt3rdavenueel172]

Yankee Stadium closed for renovation in 1973 to be renovated in 1974 until 1975 then came back for the 1976 season, until the stadium closed permanently in 2008, then in 2009 they moved to the new stadium across the street on 161st Street between River Avenue and Jerome Avenue, near the Grand Concourse, Derek Jeter gave his speech at the old stadium as they got ready to move out to the new stadium, they rebuilt the original style of yankee stadium with the facade above the fans heads but the extra trimming of the facade is long gone, the pillars in the seat sections dividing the sections are gone, a new Jumbotron, a new scoreboard, new computerized ads, and anthem/god bless america flag animation, the lyrics of take me out to the ballgame (yankees style), from 1926-1929 the yankees had a football team for the nfl and played in the bronx for 3 short years and were discontinued in 1929 not making enough room for a baseball team and a football team on the yankees, so the yankees returned to just baseball permanently, in 1999 the yankees added their own minor league team to be in staten island and they were discontinued in 2020 as the major league yankees team didn’t support their minor league team anymore and so later on in 2020 the staten island yankees tried to sue the yankees to get their support back in order to continue being a minor league baseball team for the yankees, after the final game at the old yankee stadium in 2008 the yankees said their final goodbyes just before they played at the current stadium and then the old stadium was being prepared to be demolished and then making the old stadium site into heritage park with 3 new baseball sand diamonds for minor league baseball players leaving a portion of the original stadium facade outside the batter’s cage of the north side of heritage park

[@jakubwidlarz]

That $234,57 per game for that suite. That's $1.182,67 in today's money. A single front row ticket these days costs $1250.

[@Zickcermacity]

2:47 - FALSE: That is a replica of the original Frieze that hung abovd the grandstand from 1923 until the early '70s.

[@jamesdavis6036]

Cosells opening statement says it all. Only after the Roman Colusium, Yankee stadium is the most renowned stadium in the world. Today the Roman Colusisium is still standing while the original Yankee Stadium was torn down. Yes, the House that Ruth built was torn down by the Cancer of Baseball. The same man who ruined baseball for ever.

[@vikings844]

Howard said not a bad seat in the house! He obviously never sat in the bleachers in center behind the monuments. Might as well watch the game from the observation deck at the world trade center!

[@chrisbyrne6808]

Or in the 2nd deck. Your view was blocked from the 3rd deck. Every pop fly you couldn't see.

[@yell0wberry]

Wow, 45 million for a renovation, they sure drive a hard bargain, lol. 19,000 for a luxury suite, that cost was very “interesting” . These days, those seats behind home plate during the playoffs are probably more than triple that price........ Per game. The fences were pulled in since the renovated Yankee stadium was built right after they signed free agent Jack Clark in 1988

[@epaddon]

The fences were first moved in for the 1985 season (which allowed Monument Park to be accessible to the public) and then again in 1988.

[@user-fy7xt6px1c]

Cosell was fantastic. Compare him to what we have now. Joe Buck?

[@trevorkilb5475]

They should have kept the outside the same instead of that ugly glass structure and they should have kept the facade around the top of the stadium and they should have never knocked it down

[@allisons3663]

Agree. By the early 70's, the stadium in need of repair, but they completely changed the ballpark and after two years it barely resembled the stadium where Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle called home. Can you imagine if the original stadium (pre-1973) was still standing with all the great players and moments that happened since 1976? The historical charm would be dripping from every inch of the stadium.

[@JohnSmith-4U]

3:27 Monuments in the middle of the playing field….talk about some bulls***t. 5:35 $19,000 in 1976 or $102,000 in 2023…..thats actually a bargain!!!!

[@jsivco3sivco785]

A super box with 14 seats cost a whopping $19,000 per season!! That comes out to $16.75 per seat per game.

[@mattthornton8474]

I can't speak of Yankee ticket prices in 1976, but Tiger Stadium in Detroit had it's highest price of $7.50 and one could get a bleacher seat for $1.25. Most boxes today don't have 14 seats in them so for it's time, I'm sure that was a considerable cost.

[@dr.migilitoloveless2385]

That stadium 🏟️ is now a ghost.

[@WinkDaMan07]

Wait, the bleachers were actually replaced by individual seats at that point?

[@tomb4575]

Well individual forms for the right field bleachers still had benches in left.

[@VolumedMusicMan]

I thought they still kept the bleachers and lowered the playing field by 5 to 6 feet

[@davezanko9051]

Not so much individual seats as the bench had an uneven surface to give distinct spots for an individual. If you've ever been on the Subway cars with the red and orange seats, it was like that.

[@user-sy6zp6yp4s]

they wrecked it when they renovated. too bad.

[@austindreyer2930]

Still better than the current stadium. Plus i still believe they could've done another renovation of it.

[@user-sy6zp6yp4s]

@@austindreyer2930 the new place is terrible. The House that Greed Built..plus it's a little league park. Hrs there are a joke

[@jmad627]

Nice that they had a fucking Brooklyn Dodger fan talking about the fucking dodgers.

[@thomasn3882]

1. It's a shame the Giants couldn't have come back to the Stadium after it reopened. 2. Good ole Howard never missed an opportunity to shit on NYC in general and the Bronx, in particular. Are we absolutely sure that Howard himself didn't set the South Bronx fire during game 2 of the "77 World Series - just to give himself something to talk about?

[@adm712]

Agreed about the NY football Giants. It would be cool if they played a few games on their schedule in the Bronx similar to how the Packers used to play in Milwaukee

[@gman5-035]

Howard talking smack about the new stadium . The bleachers were not individual seats. The facade was a replica, not transplanted from the original stadium. In 1976 there was no intention to play football in the stadium. His comment about football seating capacity was total fiction . Saw a lot of great games in Yankees Stadium ll- starting with game five of the ‘76 ALCS

[@KAnderson-gb1fg]

Question; I’m not up on baseball as much as other sports. When they change the dimensions of the field does it make it easier/harder for players? And also does each team have to be same or similar in stadium build dimensions?

[@gman5-035]

@@KAnderson-gb1fg part of the beauty of baseball is the lack of uniformity (dimensions ) across each of the 30 major league stadiums . Unlike say American football where the field is 120 yards long and 53+ yards wide - the distances of the fence from home plate are not prescribed The most iconic example of a stadium built to play to the strength of one player was the original Yankee Stadium. It was built in 1923 . Ruth hit left handed . The right field wall was about 296 feet away from home plate straight down the line . So in a word - yes . The dimensions of a particular stadium can play to a player’s strength . Interestingly , this season the Baltimore Orioles made significant changes to the dimensions of their left field wall in an effort to reduce the number of home runs being hit against them in their own stadium. Here’s a snippet from their PR on the justification for the change : "For the start of the 2022 season, the distance from home plate to the left field wall will be pushed back as much as 30 feet, in varying increments at different points in the wall, and the height will raise approximately 5 feet," the email said. "By pushing back the left field wall, we've created a playing field that is fair for both pitchers and hitters."

[@anthonyinzerillo3882]

Never understood the monuments in the field of play ?

[@wiedep]

Where else to put them but at the flag pole where the flag/pennant raising would happen most years. Not only would there be a band for the anthem but both teams would walk out for the ceremony. Events honoring Huggins, Gehrig & Ruth and others were in full view of the crowd. No room on the sidewalks outside for these memorials. On top of all that, at games end customers were allowed to walk across the outfield thru large gates just to the right of the monuments to get to the subway stations. At 460 ft.+ calling that area the 'field of play' was a stretch, rare any balls ended up near there.

[@charleswinokoor6023]

Did any outfielder ever bang into a monument while chasing a ball?

[@tomb4575]

The balls where never hit there on the fly.

[@jayclarke5466]

@@tomb4575 incorrect, first inn of gm 1 of WS in63 …Frank Howard reached em on a fly off Whitey Ford…and only got a Dbl out of it!

[@jerseyfky]

"Individual seats in the bleachers" ....... nahhhh lol

[@FatPigInTheHouse]

FALSE: The bleachers were not individual seats, they were metal benches

[@FatPigInTheHouse]

@Jared Sterling no I sat in thode bleachers

[@frankdel24]

THEY WERE INDIVIDUAL PLASTIC SEATS . THEY CHANGED IT TO METAL BENCHES IN THE EARLY 2000'S

[@privatepenguin3137]

Now the Yankees have the 6th newest stadium in baseball. Embarrassing. Even the Tampa Ray Rays have more tradition in their park 😪

[@brianfarkas8172]

Not really since they have not won a World Series.

[@OroborusFMA]

Cosell was one of the very first media people who engaged in what we now call self-branding. It was more about him than the event he was supposed to be "reporting" on. If he were around today he'd be sending out endless twitter posts about himself.

[@andreww3621]

LMAOOO😂

[@raybon7939]

people painting the 310 retired with the ultimate nyc 1980s....pension prob retired to florida in the 1990s and are living a tremndous retirement. we however will be working to those numbers falll off.

[@SwaggerNuggetz]

Well the stadium was demolished in 2010 soo...