Memories of Yankee Stadium

In Memories of Yankee Stadium, award-winning columnist and best-selling author Scott Pitoniak will provide fans with hundreds of anecdotes about the iconic ballpark through the eyes of both those who performed there and many others who were spectators

The book includes an eclectic mix of people, including Reggie Jackson, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Cal Ripken Jr., Bob Costas, and Ernie Harwell.

  As the Yankees open their final season at the House that Ruth Built, MLB.com and Doug Miller profile Scott Pitoniak and his new book, Memories of Yankee Stadium.

  Jared Max interviews Scott Pitoniak about his new book on WCBS.

YANKEES BOOK INSPIRATION FOR JAPAN TV SPECIAL
The translation of Memories of Yankee Stadium into Japanese inspired the production of a widely-viewed and critically-acclaimed documentary about the historic ballpark which aired on Japanese television three times in December.
“This show owes very much to your book in terms of inspiration,’’ director Hideo Nakamura told Pitoniak in a recent e-mail. The documentary, titled “Yankee Stadium on My Mind,” was produced by NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation, the largest broadcaster in Asia.
Pitoniak’s book included scores of memories from people who made and witnessed history at Yankee Stadium. The documentary focused on several people highlighted by the author, including blind sportswriter Ed Lucas as well as an Upstate New York man who spread his late wife’s ashes at the ballpark.
“I am proud that the show helped not only baseball fans, but also general viewers in Japan to better understand the background of American history of the 20th century,’’ Nakamura said. “Your book planted the seed for that to happen.’’
Memories of Yankee Stadium was Pitoniak’s 10th book overall and his second published by Triumph. The Rochester, N.Y.-based author wrote the The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Heart-Pounding, Jaw-Dropping and Gut-Wrenching Moments in Buffalo Bills History in 2007.

Memories of Yankee Stadium

The home of the most successful franchise of all time is Yankee Stadium, and at the end of the 2008 season it will be reluctantly closing its doors. In memory of this illustrious stadium, award-winning author and sports columnist Scott Pitoniak commemorated the stadium in a new book Memories of Yankee Stadium.

Yankee Stadium exudes such marvel and allure that it has become an icon in New York, one that can never be replaced. Stories shared by those who worked, played, rooted or cheered there, grace the pages of this memento. Pitoniak reveals some of the fondest memories of the Stadium including:

• Billy Crystal witnessing a monster home run by Mickey Mantle at his first game at Yankee Stadium on May 30, 1956
• Bob Costas following the Yankees and his favorite player Mickey Mantle in the 1950s
• Ernie Harwell calling both football and baseball games at Yankee Stadium
• Dick Vitale growing up in New Jersey and making several trips across the bridges in the 1950s and ‘60s
• Keith Olbermann going to games and chasing foul balls in the late-1960s
• George Vecsey attending the 1956 World Series

Test your knowledge with “off the wall” facts, read the heart-warming stories by fans, media personalities, and celebrities. Reminisce with stories from Reggie Jackson, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle, Cal Ripken Jr., and more. Look back at other great events such as the heavyweight title match between Joe Louis and Max Schmeling and the first mass by Pope John Paul II at Yankee Stadium.

While glancing at the historic photos, Memories of Yankee Stadium will take you back to yesteryears, a time of Ruth, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Berra and other baseball giants. Memories of Yankee Stadium is a special gift for all of those who want to remember forever the beloved Yankee Stadium the way it was, and the way it is today.

About the author

A native of Rome, New York, and a magna cum laude graduate of Syracuse University, Scott Pitoniak has received more than 100 journalism awards. He has been named one of the top columnists in the nation by the Associated Press Sports Editors and is the author of 10 books, including The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: Buffalo Bills in 2007. Scott attended his first game at Yankee Stadium in 1966, and he has been making annual pilgrimages to The House That Ruth Built ever since. He is married to the former Beth Adams and has two children, Amy and Christopher.

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Memories of Yankee Stadium

The Buffalo News, 6/8/08 - by Mike Harrington

Full Article

There are plenty of books out there to celebrate the final year of Yankee Stadium. The team’s official retrospective is a beautiful coffee table variety and I’m partial to the panoramic spread of the view in the press box during a recent Red Sox game.

But I got my hands on another gem recently, called “Memories of Yankee Stadium” and written by longtime Rochester Democrat and Chronicle columnist Scott Pitoniak. He made his first trip to the House That Ruth Built in 1966 and recounts how he took his kids there for their first time in 1998.

This one is a little different than your garden-variety history refresher. After a super 40- page list of great baseball and non-baseball moments in the park, the book takes an interesting turn with largely first-person accounts of days spent there from current and former players and media members, celebrities and common fans.

There are plenty of good anecdotes that make for some breezy reading as the stadium’s final days approach.