The most memorable moments at Yankee Stadium for Baltimore sports fans
1 1958 NFL Championship
It’s regarded as “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” On Dec. 29, 1958, the Colts defeated the New York Giants, 23-17, in overtime before a crowd of 64,185 and a national television audience on NBC. Alan Ameche’s one-yard touchdown run gave Baltimore its first professional championship. The game included 15 future Hall of Famers.
2 Game 1, 1996 ALCS
To Orioles fans, it’s simply known “The Jeffrey Maier Game.” On Oct. 9, the Orioles led, 4-3 in the eighth inning, when Derek Jeter’s fly ball to deep right field was deflected — not caught — by Maier, a 12-year-old Yankee fan. It was a ruled a home run by umpire Richie Garcia, much to the dismay of Tony Tarasco, who was in position to catch the ball a few feet in front of the fence. The “home run” tied the score, 4-4, and the Yankees eventually won the game, the series and the World Series — sparking a run of four championships in five years.
3 Babe hits 60
On Sept. 30, 1927, Baltimore native Babe Ruth smacked his then-record-setting 60th home run of the year off the Washington Senators’ Tom Zachary. To put Ruth’s feat into perspective, just three teams hit 60 home runs that season.
4 Basebrawl
On May 19, 1998, Armando Benitez, the Orioles’ unpredictable fireballer, hit his spot — between the numbers of Tino Martinez’s jersey. Benitez’s beaning of Martinez in the back caused both dugouts and bullpens to empty. Several Yankees swung wildly at Benitez, and Orioles reliever Alan Mills sucker-punched Darryl Strawberry. After the dust had settled on the skirmish that made national news, the Orioles fell into a swoon that turned into a streak of 11 consecutive losing seasons.
5 Army vs. Navy, 1930
After the Army-Navy football game in 1927, the annual meeting between the Black Knights and Midshipmen was not held for two years because of the Great Depression. But in 1930, President Herbert Hoover asked the service academies to play to raise funds for the Salvation Army. Army running back Ray Stecker’s 56-yard run down the sideline lifted the Black Knights to 6-0 win in a game that raised $600,000, which is the equivalent to more than $7.4 million today.
