The Yankees will play Frank Sinatra's version of the “Theme From New York, New York” only after home wins instead of all games in the Bronx, going back to the original custom set by owner George Steinbrenner in 1980.

The New York Yankees dropped their ban on beards Friday, 49 years after it was imposed by owner George Steinbrenner, in a move aimed to improve player recruitment as the team tries to win its first World Series title since 2009.

The New York Yankees dropped their ban on beards Friday, 49 years after it was imposed by owner George Steinbrenner, in a move aimed to improve player recruitment as the team tries to win its first World Series title since 2009.

Yankees announced the facial policy during spring training in 1976, mandating no long hair or beards — mustaches were allowed.

As recently as Monday, the New York Yankees left reminders on the clubhouse chair of each player to arrive clean-shaven the next morning for photo day.

After nearly 50 years, the Yankees have amended their longstanding facial hair policy to allow "well-groomed beards." The original policy, for Yankees players to be clean-shaven, was implemented by owner George Steinbrenner in the 1970s.

Things are about to get hairier around the Yankees. For the first time in nearly 50 years, the Yankees will allow their players and uniformed staff to grow beards — so long as they are “well-groomed” — as Hal Steinbrenner announced on Friday that the organization was relaxing its facial hair policy that had been instituted by his father,

The Rays won’t have many more days like this at George M. Steinbrenner Field. When the team bus rolled in from Charlotte Sports Park on Friday morning, players and staff piled out and took a quick left turn into the visitor’s clubhouse.

The start time for Monday's spring training game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox has been moved because of expected heavy rainfall, foreshadowing what the Tampa Bay Rays might have to deal with this year as they play a season outdoors.

For decades, the New York Yankees enforced a grooming policy so strict it could make a military dress code look lenient. The post How a Single Player’s Defiance Helped End Unreasonable Yankees Tradition Set Up by George Steinbrenner appeared first on EssentiallySports.