- List of New York Yankees team captains
-
In baseball, a captain is an honorary title sometimes given to a member of the team to acknowledge his leadership. In the early days of baseball, a captain was a player who was responsible for many of the functions now assumed by managers and coaches, such as preparing lineups, making decisions about strategy, and encouraging teamwork.[1] The New York Yankees of Major League Baseball have had 11 officially recognized captains in team history.
After the death of captain Lou Gehrig, then manager Joe McCarthy declared that there would never be another Yankee captain.[citation needed] The position remained vacant until team owner George Steinbrenner named Thurman Munson as captain in 1976,[2] a position he held until his death in 1979.
There is, however, some controversy over the official list. Howard W. Rosenberg, a baseball historian and author of Cap Anson 1: When Captaining a Team Meant Something (Tile Books, 2003) has found that the official count of Yankee captains failed to include Clark Griffith, the captain from 1903-1905, and Kid Elberfeld, the captain from 1906-1907, while manager Frank Chance may have served as captain in 1913. Rosenberg also found a 1916 article that said Roy Hartzell had been a captain earlier in franchise history. Griffith, Elberfeld, Chance and Hartzell were mentioned in an article on Yankee captains in the New York Times on March 25, 2007, by Vincent M. Mallozzi.[3] Willie Keeler was added to the unofficial list, believed to have served as captain for 1908-1909, having been first located in a full-text database in late 2006 by Society for American Baseball Research member Clifford Blau and confirmed by Rosenberg subsequent to the March 25, 2007 article.[4] Therefore, the Yankees may have had at least 14 captains in franchise history.
Captains
Lou Gehrig served as Yankees captain from 1935 through his retirement in 1939.
Key 
Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame 
Denotes a co-captain # Captain Position Years active Tenure as captain Ref 1 Clark Griffith Pitcher 1891–1914 1903–1905 [3] 2 Kid Elberfeld Shortstop 1898–1914 1906–1909 [3] 3 Hal Chase First baseman 1905–1919 1910–1912 4 Frank Chance First baseman 1898–1914 1913 5 Roger Peckinpaugh Shortstop 1910–1927 1914–1921 6 Babe Ruth Outfielder 1914–1935 1922 [5][6] 7 Everett Scott Shortstop 1914–1926 1922–1925 [7] 8 Lou Gehrig First baseman 1923–1939 1935–1939 [8] 9 Thurman Munson Catcher 1969–1979 1976–1979 [2] 10 Graig Nettles Third baseman 1967–1988 1982–1984 [9] 11 Willie Randolph Second baseman 1975–1992 1986–1988 [10] 12 Ron Guidry Starting pitcher 1975–1988 1986–1988 [10] 13 Don Mattingly First baseman 1982–1995 1991–1995 [11] 14 Derek Jeter Shortstop 1995–present 2003–present [12] References
- General
- "New York Yankee Captains". Baseball Almanac. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/teams/yankcapt.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
- In-line citations
- ^ Dickson, Paul (1999). The New Dickson Baseball Dictionary. Mariner Books. p. 101. ISBN 0156005808.
- ^ a b Associated Press (April 20, 1976). "Yankees decide upon a captain". Eugene Register-Guard. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nycRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_OADAAAAIBAJ&pg=6589,5350304. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- ^ a b c Vincent M. Mallozzi (March 25, 2007). "Author Says Yankees Are Missing Something". The New York Times. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40F15F73E540C768EDDAA0894DF404482. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
- ^ Howard W. Rosenberg. "Derek Jeter Isn’t New York Yankees’ 11th Captain". capanson.com. http://www.capanson.com/pressrelease4.html. Retrieved May 20, 2007.
- ^ "RUTH MADE CAPTAIN; ROTH IS SUSPENDED; Babe Chosen to Fill Vacancy Caused by Transfer of Peckinpaugh to Boston.ROTH'S BAN IS INDEFINITE Yankees' Veteran Outfielder Severely Penalized for Violation of Training Rules". New York Times. March 15, 1922. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D07EFD71F30EE3ABC4D52DFB5668389639EDE. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- ^ "MANY FANS THINK RUTH WAS LUCKY; Majority of Local Baseball Men Call Sentence by Johnson a Light One". The New York Times. May 27, 1922. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9805E5DE1231EF33A25754C2A9639C946395D6CF. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- ^ "RUTH REGRETS ACTION; RESENTS FANS' STAND; Declares New York Rooters Have Not Given Him 'Square Deal' Since Return" (PDF). New York Times. May 27, 1922. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B05E5DE1231EF33A25754C2A9639C946395D6CF. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- ^ "Lou Gehrig To Captain Yanks Team". Hartford Courant. Associated Press: p. 13. April 13, 1935. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/827869322.html?dids=827869322:827869322&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+13%2C+1935&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=Lou+Gehrig+To+Captain+Yanks+Team&pqatl=google. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
- ^ Associated Press (January 30, 1982). "Nettles Yanks' Captain". Ocala Star-Banner. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FxwVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kAYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3175,7343293. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- ^ a b Vecsey, George (April 12, 1986). "New Co-Captain: It's Randolph". Wilmington Morning Star. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PeUVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IRQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6114,3457047. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- ^ Martinez, Michael (March 1, 1991). "BASEBALL; Mattingly Is Named Captain; Will He Go Down With Ship?". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/01/sports/baseball-mattingly-is-named-captain-will-he-go-down-with-ship.html. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
- ^ Kepner, Tyler (June 4, 2003). "Baseball: Steinbrenner appoints Jeter captain of the Yankees". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/04/sports/baseball-steinbrenner-appoints-jeter-captain-of-the-yankees.html. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
See also
New York Yankees team captains * denotes co-captainCategories:- New York Yankees
- Major League Baseball lists
- Leadership positions in sports
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
