for Gothamist: Meet the New York Yankees’ biggest fan by José A. Alvarado Jr.

News

for Gothamist: Meet the New York Yankees’ biggest fan

josé a. alvarado jr.

Oct 24, 2022

Location: The Bronx

Summary

On Saturday morning, Yankee fan Don Bridges landed at LaGuardia Airport, wearing a team jersey and a Yankees cap, holding a small duffel bag for his three-night stay.

On Saturday morning, Yankee fan Don Bridges landed at LaGuardia Airport, wearing a team jersey and a Yankees cap, holding a small duffel bag for his three-night stay.

Surely, there are folks who love the team as much as he does, but it’s hard to imagine anyone putting in more work to see them play. Bridges may be the Yankees’ biggest fan – though he’s never lived in New York.

For starters, Bridges, who is 78, lives about a thousand miles from Yankee Stadium in Lake Wales, Fla. He flies into La Guardia Airport in Queens 13 weekends a year to root for his team in person. And he’s been doing this for about a decade.

A few years ago, when he had a detached retina and couldn't fly, he took the train to New York. The journey was 22 hours one way.

“Other people go fishing, or play tennis. He likes to watch baseball,” said Joe Bastone, who owns the Yankee Tavern and has known Bridges for years.

Photographed for Gothamist/WNYC with words by Kerry Shaw

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José A. Alvarado Jr.

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