The Yankees: Tenants of the Giants
The 1922 Yankees in their home, the Polo Grounds
The Yankees had hosted the Giants at Hilltop Park for a month in 1911 after the Polo Grounds had burned down. The Giants soon had the opportunity to return the favor. In 1913, when the Yankee's lease on Hilltop Park was not renewed, the Giants invited the Yankees to use their Polo Grounds until they could find a new stadium. The Yankees stayed for ten years.
In 1915, Ban Johnson, unhappy with current Yankee ownership, searched for new owners and found two men who were willing to buy the team, Colonel Tillinghast L'Hommideau Huston and Colonel Jacob Ruppert. Huston was a civil engineer who had earned a captain's commission in the Spanish American War, and had made a fortune by dredging Havana Harbor and building the sewage system. He became a Colonel during World War I.
Ruppert was a beer baron and a Tammany politician. He referred to himself as a Colonel because he was a ceremonial member of the New York National Guard.
Col. Jacob Ruppert
Ruppert and Huston, both Giants fans, met at Giants games, became friendly, and even shared a private box at the Polo Grounds. Both were friendly with Giant's manager John McGraw, who, upon hearing that the Yankees were searching for new owners, gave word of them to Ban Johnson. Together they purchased the Yankees for $460,000.
Ruppert and Huston wanted to build a new stadium for the Yankees right away. However, it was virtually impossible to find a suitable site. After World War I, Ruppert and Huston would have been willing to stay at the Polo Grounds, if they could secure a long term lease. However, Charles Stoneham refused to let the Yankees stay, and in 1920, told the Yankees that they were no longer welcome at the Polo Grounds. Stoneham felt threatened by the Yankees because they were becoming so popular with their new star player, Babe Ruth, who had just recently been purchased from Boston. Stoneham was also getting pressure from AL President Ban Johnson to cancel the lease. Johnson wanted the lease cancelled because he wanted to force the Huston and Ruppert to sell, because they had been rebelling against the way he managed the league, along with owners Henry Frazee of Boston and Charles Comiskey of Chicago.
Henry Frazee, Red Sox owner, with his players Stuffy McInnis and Jack Barry
Johnson, determined to stop the rebellion, asked Stoneham to cancel the Yankees lease on the Polo Grounds, and in return promised Stoneham that he would have a say in who the new owners would be after Huston and Ruppert sold. However, at the last minute, Johnson's enemies managed to convince Stoneham to renew the lease for $100,000 per year for two more years.
The Boston Yankees?
The Yankees, however, wanted a new stadium for themselves anyway, and they knew that Stoneham would not allow them to stay the Polo Grounds after the new lease expired. Ruppert and Huston did not want to stay at the Polo Grounds anyway, because it was getting too expensive to be the Giant's tenants. However, during World War I, it was a bad time to consider building a stadium. Seasons were cut short by the war, and attendance was falling. The construction industry was also very unsettled. However, in the 1920s, after the War ended, baseball rebounded, and entered its Golden Age. In 1922, after the Giants and Yankees had faced off in two consecutive World Series (both won by the Giants), Charles Stoneham asked the Yankees to leave. They did, and built a new Stadium that would forever change the way baseball games were viewed by their audiences.
Yankees The Polo Grounds and Washington Heights
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