Tradition!

The Yankees wrote the book about celebrating their own history, with the annual Old Timer's Day being a special treat. The tradition was born of tragedy, as Lou Gehrig's former teammates were assembled on the 4th of July, 1939, as the ALS-stricken star's uniform became the first ever retired by the team. And fans, while not aware of the disease that sapped the big man's strength, packed the house to say goodbye.

I probably attended my first at Yankee Stadium in the early '60s, when such luminaries of the past as Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Keller, Tommy Henrich, Lefty Gomez and Eddie Lopat would attend. Phil Rizzuto and Jerry Coleman would come down from the broadcast booth. The widows of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig would be introduced. And the alumni would play a couple of innings for fun. A celebration of past heroics at the place they originally took place. Roll forward to the 1990s, and the greats of the past now featured those whom I grew up watching, plus the immortal Joe DiMaggio, impeccable in his business suit. Look at this lineup: Joe "D," Whitey Ford, Phil Rizzuto, Reggie Jackson, Don Larsen, Ron Guidry, Chris Chambliss... Now, a decade has passed and DiMaggio and Rizzuto are gone.

This summer, the last Old Timer's Day will be celebrated in the current (I can't honestly call it the "original") Yankee Stadium. For the final time, the pinstripes of the past will stand on that field, that exact location where the Babe and Lou began to build the tradition. I'll go, because that's the best way to connect the past and present -- and look down the block to see the future, as the next Yankee Stadium is readied for its opening in April 2009.