New York Yankees players and employees will finally be able to sport beards, the team announced on Friday, adjusting a long-standing, one-of-a-kind grooming policy.
Managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said he spoke to “a large number of former and current Yankees” about the archaic rule against beards set by his late father George Steinbrenner nearly half a century ago.
While a final policy is still being drawn up, the younger Steinbrenner made it clear that some beards will soon be allowed inside the Yankees clubhouse.
“Ultimately the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward,” he said in a statement. “It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.”
The policy dates back to 1973 shortly after a group of investors, including George Steinbrenner, purchased the struggling franchise from CBS.
The man who’d later be called “The Boss” immediately targeted some of the most famous Yankees of that era — Sparky Lyle, Thurman Munson, Bobby Murcer, Fritz Peterson and Roy White — to clean up unkempt mustaches, mutton chops and long hair.
The rule was eventually tweaked to allow for mustaches, but no beards. Hair from the scalp could not touch collars.
For generations, Yankees players — often grudgingly — complied with the rule that seemed to have no equivalent in baseball or any other pro sport.
When Yankees ace Gerrit Cole signed a nine-year, $324 million Bronx contract in the winter of 2019-20, he knew a price of that deal included losing his beard.
“I haven’t shaved in like 10 years, but you know what? So be it,” Cole said at the time. “That’s the way it is. If you’re a Yankee, you shave. That’s what’s up.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
