Birth of an empire
The Baltimore Orioles – the original ones from 1902 – are not good.
Really, not good at all as they lose 87 of 137 games and finish last in the fledgling American League both in the standings and in attendance.
Somehow this happens with four future Hall of Famers – John McGraw, Wilbert Robinson, Roger Bresnahan and Joe Kelley – in the lineup with a fifth future Hall of Famer – pitcher Joe McGinnity – on the mound.
Frank Farrell
No worries as the Orioles, defunct as defunct can be, are revived 121 years ago today when Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchase the paperwork of the franchise for $18,000, move the team to New York and rebrand them as the Highlanders.
They keep the name Highlanders for the next decade, finishing as high as second place in three seasons before once again changing their name after the 1912 season.
The new name?
The Yankees.
Within two years, Farrell and Devery sell the once-destitute franchise from Baltimore for $463,000 to Colonel Jacob Rupert and Tillinghast L’Hommedieu, who shortly thereafter bring in future Hall of Famer Miller Huggins as their manager and acquire another future Hall of Fame in an outfielder-pitcher named George – call me “Babe” – Ruth from the Boston Red Sox.
Dominance follows and, with it, World Series titles. In all, 27 of them from 1923 to 2009 with each one solidifying the Yankees’ legacy as the most recognizable franchise in North American sports.
And, of course, its most valuable franchise.
In its most recent appraisal of baseball franchises, Forbes Magazine values the Yankees’ franchise – under control of the Steinbrenner family since 1973 – at $7.1 billion.
The New York Highlanders’ home opener in 1903 at Hilltop Park