what year did yankees win their first world series?
1923 World Series
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 The Yankees won their first World Series in 1923 , preventing the Giants from repeating as champions for the third consecutive season . They were unable to retain their title the following season however , finishing second in the AL to the Washington Senators . 

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 The Yankees won the World Series every year from 1936 to 1939 with a team that featured Gehrig and outfielder Joe DiMaggio , who recorded a record hitting streak during New York 's 1941 championship season . New York set a major league record by winning five consecutive championships from 1949 to 1953 , and appeared in the World Series nine times during the next 11 years . Mickey Mantle , Yogi Berra , and Whitey Ford were among the players fielded by the Yankees during the era . After the 1964 season , a lack of effective replacements for aging players caused the franchise to decline on the field , and the team became a money @-@ loser for owners CBS while playing in an aging stadium . 

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 The Yankees won 103 games in 1954 , the most yet for a Stengel @-@ managed team , but the Indians took the pennant with a then @-@ AL record 111 wins . One year later , the 1955 Yankees faced the Dodgers in the World Series . After the teams split the first six games of the Series , the Yankees lost the seventh and final game 2 – 0 , giving the Dodgers their first Series win . Elston Howard , the first African American player in Yankees history , made his debut in 1955 . His arrival came eight years after MLB 's color line had been broken , as the Yankees ' management had sought to avoid integrating the club 's roster . As teams such as the Dodgers added black players , the Yankees turned down numerous opportunities to acquire Negro league talent . Management feared alienating white fans and harbored stereotypes of African American players . Author Robert Cohen called these views " symbolic of the overall arrogance of Yankee ownership and management , as well as their prevailing racial attitudes . " 

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 The Yankees 's status as tenants of the Giants at the Polo Grounds had become increasingly uneasy , and in 1922 Giants owner Charles Stoneham stated that the Yankees 's lease , expiring after that season , would not be renewed . Ruppert and Huston had long contemplated a new stadium , and had taken an option on property at 161st Street and River Avenue in the Bronx . Yankee Stadium was completed in time for the home opener on April 18 , 1923 , at which the Babe hit the first home run in what was quickly dubbed " the House that Ruth Built " . The ballpark was designed with Ruth in mind : although the venue 's left @-@ field fence was further from home plate than at the Polo Grounds , Yankee Stadium 's right @-@ field fence was closer , making home runs easier to hit for left @-@ handed batters . To spare Ruth 's eyes , right field – his defensive position – was not pointed into the afternoon sun , as was traditional ; left fielder Meusel was soon suffering headaches from squinting toward home plate . 

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 The Yankees sought to develop their own players , rather than buying them from other teams , especially after the investment of $ 100 @,@ 000 ( $ 1 @,@ 362 @,@ 261 in current dollar terms ) in Lyn Lary and Jimmie Reese in 1927 . However , Weiss and Bill Essick convinced Barrow to approve the purchase of Joe DiMaggio from the Pacific Coast League . 
