Yankee Stadium has been site of many great moments

After acquiring Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox before the 1920 season, the New York Yankees set out to build a stadium. They bought 10 acres of land in the Bronx in 1921 from the estate of William Waldorf Astor for $675,000. Two years and $2.5 million later, Yankee Stadium opened. Next season, the Yankees will open a new, $1.2-billion stadium and tear down the old one.

Tonight, baseball’s elite return for the final All-Star game in the original “House That Ruth Built,” and return to a place that has housed some of the most memorable moments in sports history. Here are a few of them, in chronological order:

Sultan of Swat – Babe Ruth barely kept his 60th home run fair down the right-field line on Sept. 30, 1927. With that blast, Ruth broke his own single-season home run record of 59, set in 1921.

Gipper game – George Gipp, an offensive star at Notre Dame, received a visit on his deathbed from his coach, Knute Rockne. Gipp told the coach, “Sometime, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys – tell them to go in there with all they’ve got and win just one for the Gipper.” Rockne decided that day was Nov. 10, 1928, when his Irish traveled to Yankee Stadium to play undefeated Army. Notre Dame won, 12-6.

“Down goes Schmeling!” – In their first match in 1936, Max Schmeling defeated Joe Louis, a win that Nazi leader Adolph Hitler used to propagandize his belief in Aryan superiority. Two years later, they met again at Yankee Stadium. Hitler called Schmeling before the fight, asking him to win for the Third Reich, but this time, Louis knocked Schmeling out in the first round.

“Luckiest Man … ” – In 1939, Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease that bears his name today. But Gehrig made one last trip to Yankee Stadium to bid fans farewell on July 4. A tearful Gehrig proclaimed to the crowd, “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.” Gehrig died nearly two years later.

Brooklyn’s year – It was 1955 that “next year” finally arrived. The popular mantra of Dodgers fans, “Wait till next year,” began to sound hollow after the Yankees defeated Brooklyn five times in the fall classic (1941, ‘47, ‘49, ‘52, ‘53). But in 1955, the Dodgers finally got back at their crosstown foes, thanks to a game-saving catch by Dodgers outfielder Sandy Amoros with the tying runs on base in the sixth inning, and won the deciding Game 7 in the Bronx.

Thrice perfect – Just after Game 5 of the 1956 World Series ended, and exuberant Yogi Berra leaped into the arms of pitcher Don Larsen. Larsen, a graduate of Point Loma High School in San Diego, had just pitched the only perfect game in World Series history. Thirty-two years later, David Wells, who also attended Point Loma, would take the hill against the Minnesota Twins and pitch a perfect game of his own. Then, on July 18, 1999, it was Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium. Before the game, Berra crouched down behind home plate and caught the ceremonial first pitch from none other than Don Larsen. Larsen and Berra then watched as Yankees hurler David Cone went out and pitched the 16th perfect game in Major League history.

“The greatest game ever played” – Facing the host New York Giants, the Baltimore Colts won the NFL championship, 23-17, on Dec. 28, 1958, on Alan Ameche’s one-yard touchdown run in sudden-death overtime, culminating the game that many consider the greatest in football history.

61* – On Oct. 1, 1961, Yankees outfielder Roger Maris eclipsed Babe Ruth’s single-season home run mark with a shot to right field. Baseball’s commissioner at the time, Ford Frick, said Maris did not break Ruth’s record because the Yankees played 162 games in 1961, eight more than Ruth played in 1927.

The Jackson Three – Facing the Dodgers in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, Reggie Jackson tied Babe Ruth’s series record by hitting three home runs in one game, lifting the Yankees to their first world title since 1962.

Munson tribute – On Aug. 6, 1979, just hours after speaking in Canton, Ohio, at the funeral of his friend and Yankees captain, Thurman Munson, Bobby Murcer drove in all five runs in New York’s 5-4 win over Baltimore, including a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. After the game, Murcer cried in the arms of teammate Lou Piniella and gave his bat to Munson’s widow, Diana.

A little help from a friend – On Oct. 9, 1996, Derek Jeter hit a deep fly ball to right with the Yankees trailing, 4-3, in eighth inning of Game 1 in the ALCS. Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco reached up at the warning track, but Jeffrey Maier, 12, reached over the wall and caught the ball before Tarasco could. The umpires ruled it a home run, and the Yankees won the game on their way to winning their first of four World Series titles in five seasons.

A city on the mend – Just weeks after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, the Yankees made it to the World Series. In Game 4, played on Halloween, the Yankees found themselves down by two runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. But Tino Martinez hit a two-run home run to tie the game. Then, in the early morning of Nov. 1, Jeter homered in the 10th to give the Yankees the win. The next night, the Yankees were down two runs again with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Jorge Posada stood on second base and Scott Brosius stood at the plate. Brosius homered to left to tie it. The Yankees would win that game in the 12th. Even though they lost the series, their two comeback victories provided much-needed relief to a suffering city.

Boston’s year – After winning the first three games of the 2004 American League Championship Series, the Yankees thought they were on their way to another World Series. But Boston took the next three, setting up Game 7 at Yankees Stadium. A stunned crowd watched in disbelief as the hated Red Sox won, 10-3, ending the curse of the Bambino and completing the worst playoff collapse in baseball history.

 chris.hine@latimes.com