New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are arguably the most popular professional sports team. Throughout their 80-season history, they have won 26 World Series Championships. This level of success is unmatched in any other professional sport in the United States.

The team that is now known as the New York Yankees originally began in the late 1800's in Minneapolis, in the minor Western League. Then, in 1899, the Baltimore franchise in the National League was dissolved. The Minneapolis team decided to move to Baltimore, where they became the Orioles. They won their first home game in 1901, beating Boston 10-6 at Orioles Park. Shortly after, the Western League became the American League and achieved major league status. It didn't take long for the new league to start competing with the long-established National League.

The team played in Baltimore for two years. Then, in 1903, the team was purchased by Frank Farrell and Bill Devery. They wanted to move the team to New York City, which they figured was a more lucrative market than Baltimore. As their home field, an all-wood park was built at 168th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. The site just happened to be one of the highest spots in the city. From this, the club became known as the New York Highlanders, and their park was named Hilltop Park.

Their first game on April 22, 1903, was a 1-3 loss at Washington. Their first home game came on May 1 of that same year. The game also happened to be against Washington. This time, however, the Highlanders came away with a 6-2 win. It was around this time, on April 11, 1912, that pinstripes became part of the Highlanders' uniforms. This created what would become one of the most famous uniform designs in professional sports history.

The New York Highlanders enjoyed a few brief moments of success. They finished in second place in the American League in 1904 and 1910. Despite these brief moments, the Highlanders spent most of the 1900's and 1910's in the basement of the American League. In 1913, the team was moved to the Polo Grounds, where the National League's Giants played their home games. That's when the team officially changed their name to the New York Yankees. 

Numerous Hall of Fame members have played for the New York Yankees. Among them are Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Lou Gehrig, Lefty Gomez, Reggie Jackson, Mickey Mantle, Gaylord Perry, Babe Ruth and Dave Winfield. Several former Yankees have also had their numbers retired. Among them are Babe Ruth (3), Lou Gehrig (4), Joe DiMaggio (5), Mickey Mantle (7), Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey (8), Whitey Ford (16), Don Mattingly (23), Casey Stengel (37) and Reggie Jackson (44).