2012: Party Poopers

Visiting Boston, the Yankees provided the opposition for the Red Sox, who were celebrating 100 years since the very first game at Fenway Park. Both teams wore throwback uniforms and a pregame ceremony included numerous Red Sox legends, but when the action started, the Yankees ruined the celebration by beating Boston, 6-2. Eric Chavez went deep twice as one of four Yanks who hit home runs off Sox starter Clay Buchholz. With a second-inning single, Derek Jeter passed his favorite player growing up -- Dave Winfield -- for 18th place on the all-time MLB hits list by recording hit No. 3,111.

1988: CW10K

As part of a 7-6 extra-inning victory over the Twins in Minnesota, Claudell Washington hit the 10,000th home run in Yankees history. He did so pinch-hitting for Joel Skinner with one out in the top of the ninth. The blast was given up by Twins closer Jeff Reardon, who was in the midst of one of his four career All-Star seasons.

1977: Billy Ball

After his Yankees began the season with eight losses in 10 games, manager Billy Martin shook things up by pulling his lineup out of a hat for a home game against the Blue Jays. Changes included top-of-the-order speedster Mickey Rivers batting fifth and heart-of-the-order hitter Chris Chambliss dropping down to eighth. The Yanks won, 7-5, kicking off a six-game winning streak and starting a stretch in which the club won 14 out of 16. The season would end with the Yanks winning their first of back-to-back World Championships.

1961: The Birth of Donnie Baseball

Don Mattingly was born in Evansville, Indiana. A 19th-round Yankees draft pick in 1979, Mattingly made his MLB debut with a seven-game cameo late in the 1982 season, the beginning of a journey that saw him spend his entire career in pinstripes. One of the most beloved players in franchise history, Mattingly’s resume includes the 1985 AL MVP Award, the 1984 AL batting title, nine Gold Glove Awards at first base and six All-Star nods. He was also named the 14th captain in team history on Feb. 28, 1991, holding the role until he ended his career after the 1995 season and serving as the last captain for the franchise until Derek Jeter was given the title in 2003. Mattingly’s number 23 was retired Aug. 31, 1997, and he went on to become a member of the Yankees’ coaching staff from 2004-2007.

1957: Tony Time

In a 10-7 Yankees win over the Red Sox in Boston, Tony Kubek made his MLB debut as a pinch-hitter. He would go on to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award in runaway fashion, batting .297 with 27 extra-base hits and 56 runs scored in 127 games. Kubek spent his entire nine-year career with the Yankees, making four All-Star teams and helping the Yanks win three World Series. Coincidentally, Kubek went on to become a broadcasting icon just like the player he pinch-hit for in his debut, Jerry Coleman -- in 2009, Kubek received the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award in recognition of nearly 30 years calling games for the Yankees, Blue Jays and NBC.

1951: Gil’s First Game

During the front end of a doubleheader between the Senators and Yankees in Washington, Gil McDougald makes his MLB debut as a pinch-runner and second baseman in a 5-3 Yanks loss. McDougald went on to edge out Minnie Monoso to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award, batting .306 with 14 home runs, 63 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 131 games. He also helped the Yankees win a World Series in his very first season. A six-time All-Star, McDougald was part of five title-winning teams while spending his entire 10-year career in pinstripes.

1949: Hang A Star on That One!

In a 3-0 Yankees win over the Washington Senators in the Bronx, Jerry Coleman made his MLB debut, leading off and playing second base. The only Major League player to see combat in both World War II and the Korean War, Coleman spent his entire career as a Yankee and was part of six World Series winners, including champions in 1952 and 1953 when he was limited to just 19 games combined due to his military service. Coleman would later broadcast Yankees games, although he would become an icon in the booth for the Padres, for whom calls like “Oh, doctor” and “You can hang a star on that” made him beloved to generations of San Diego fans for over four decades. In recognition of his career behind the mic, Coleman was honored with the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award in 2005.

1939: Yanks Ruin Williams’ Debut

On Opening Day at the Stadium, the Yankees won, 2-0, over a Red Sox team that included the legendary Ted Williams making his MLB debut. Lou Gehrig was in the lineup for the Yanks, and due to his retirement shortly thereafter, this is the only time in which the Yankees legend, Gehrig, and the Red Sox icon, Williams, both appeared in the same game.

1923: The First Stadium Walk-Off

The third regular season game ever played at the original Yankee Stadium ends with its first “walk-off,” even if the term wasn’t around back then. In fitting fashion, Babe Ruth ended things at “The House That Ruth Built"; in fact, he was involved in all four runs the Yanks put up in the game, scoring on two RBI singles hit by Bob Meusel and then delivering the game-ending hit himself -- a two-run double off Bill Piercy, scoring Hinkey Haines and Whitey Whitt to give the Yanks a 4-3 victory.