Yankee Stadium is known as “the house that Babe Ruth built.”
The nickname reflects Ruth’s enormous impact on the New York Yankees after he joined the club in 1920. His power hitting transformed the Yankees into baseball’s biggest attraction, greatly increasing attendance and helping justify construction of a much larger stadium in the Bronx.
Yankee Stadium opened on April 18, 1923, against Ruth’s former team, the Boston Red Sox. Ruth hit a three-run home run in the Yankees’ 4–1 victory, providing a dramatic opening-day moment. Sportswriter Fred Lieb soon popularized the phrase “The House That Ruth Built.”
A common mix-up is assuming Ruth literally financed or designed the ballpark. The stadium was built by Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, but Ruth’s popularity and record-setting offense helped create the demand and revenue associated with it. The original stadium closed in 2008, while the current Yankee Stadium opened nearby in 2009.