Prepping Home Plate by Dog Company on Flickr.
As Yankee and Shea Stadiums enter their last year of service, worry is beginning to build about the prospect of fans trying to steal their own little piece of history.
The Yankees and the Mets working with the city government to try to arrange a deal to let them to purchase the rights to sell physical momentos from their respective stadiums. But if past stadium closings have been any guide, fans take it upon themselves to “rescue” significant or historic artifacts as stadium demolitions draw near.
The last few games may be particularly troublesome for ball clubs, as “there have been full-scale riots at some ballparks,” said Mike Heffner, of Lelands.com, an auction house that has handled several stadium sales. On Sept. 30, 1973, after the home team lost the final game at Yankee Stadium before it shut for renovations, some 20,000 fans stormed the field. Stadium security guard Harvey Levene was told to protect home plate. “I stood on the plate and people came running at me with shovels,” said Levene, now 69 and living in Las Vegas.”
