<P> The history of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball ( MLB ) team spans more than a century . Frank J. Farrell and William Stephen Devery bought the rights to an American League ( AL ) club in New York City after the 1902 season . The team , which became known as the Yankees in 1913 , rarely contended for the AL championship before the acquisition of outfielder Babe Ruth after the 1919 season . With Ruth in the lineup , the Yankees won their first AL title in 1921 , followed by their first World Series championship in 1923 . Ruth and first baseman Lou Gehrig were part of the team 's Murderers ' Row lineup , which led the Yankees to a then - AL record 110 wins and a Series championship in 1927 under Miller Huggins . They repeated as World Series winners in 1928 , and their next title came under manager Joe McCarthy in 1932 . </P>
<P> The history of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball ( MLB ) team spans more than a century . Frank J. Farrell and William Stephen Devery bought the rights to an American League ( AL ) club in New York City after the 1902 season . The team , which became known as the Yankees in 1913 , rarely contended for the AL championship before the acquisition of outfielder Babe Ruth after the 1919 season . With Ruth in the lineup , the Yankees won their first AL title in 1921 , followed by their first World Series championship in 1923 . Ruth and first baseman Lou Gehrig were part of the team 's Murderers ' Row lineup , which led the Yankees to a then - AL record 110 wins and a Series championship in 1927 under Miller Huggins . They repeated as World Series winners in 1928 , and their next title came under manager Joe McCarthy in 1932 . </P>
when did the yankees become a baseball team
when did the yankees become a baseball team
after the 1902 season
after the 1902 season