New York Yankees Captains Year by Year

Clark Griffith (1903 to 1905)

Clark Calvin Griffith served as the first captain of the New York Yankees, then known as the New York Highlanders from 1903 to 1905. He also served as an on-field manager for the team during the same time.

Kid Elberfeld (1906 to 1908)

Norman Elberfeld, also known as “Kid Elberfeld” served as the second captain of the New York Yankees from 1906 to 1908. The team was known as the New York Highlanders during his time.

Willie Keeler (1909)

Willie Keeler served as the third captain for the New York Highlanders, the former name of the New York Yankees, during the 1909 season.

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Hal Chase (1910 to 1911)

Hal Chase was both the fourth captain as well as the manager of the New York Highlanders from 1910 to 1911. He was notable for being a first baseman during his games.

Frank Chance (1913)

Frank Chance was the fifth captain of the New York Yankees. He remained as the team captain for the first half of the 1913 season.

Rollie Zeider (1913)

Rollie Zeider served as the sixth captain of the New York Yankees for the remainder of the 2013 season. He played 50 games for the team.

Roger Peckinpaugh (1914 to 1921)

Roger Peckinpaugh served as the captain of the New York Yankees from 1914 to 1921. He was also the team manager in 1914.

Babe Ruth (1922)

Babe Ruth, nicknamed, “The Bambino”, was the captain of the New York Yankees for about two months in 1922. However, he was more notable for his 659 home runs with the team and winning four World Series titles with the team.

Lou Gehrig (1935 to 1939)

The next captain of the New York Yankees was Lou Gehrig and he served from 1935 to 1939. Nicknamed “The Iron Horse”, he held the record for most consecutive games with 2,130 games in his career, until it was broken by Cal Ripken in 1995. He was notable for 493 home runs in seventeen seasons and his #4 jersey was the first one to be retired by the team. He retired in 1939 due to ALS.

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Thurman Munson (1976 to 1979)

The late Thurman Munson was chosen as the next captain of the New York Yankees in 1976 after the team was without a captain for the previous thirty-seven years. He stayed as the team captain until he tragically passed away in a plane crash in 1979.

Graig Nettles (1982 to 1984)

Graig Nettles served as the captain for the New York Yankees from 1982 to 1984. He stayed with the team for eleven seasons, during which time, he became a six-time MLB All-Star player.

Willie Randolph (1986 to 1988)

The next captain of the New York Yankees was Willie Randolph. He was a second baseman, who played thirteen seasons with the team. He won the World Series with the team in 1997 and also became a five-time MLB All-Star player with them.

Ron Guidry (1986 to 1989)

Ron Guidry was the captain of the New York Yankees from 1986 to 1989. He shared captaincy of the team with Willie Randolph. Nicknamed “Gator”, Ron Guidry won the World Series title with the team twice in 1977 and 1978. He also won the AL Cy Young Award in 1978. He stayed as the team captain until he retired in 1989.

Don Mattingly (1991 to 1995)

Don Mattingly was the next captain of the New York Yankees, serving in the role from 1991 to 1995. He became a six-time MLB All-Star player and also won the AL MVP award in 1985. He also scored 222 home runs during his career with the team.

Derek Jeter (2003 to 2014)

Derek Jeter is notable for being the longest-tenured captain of the New York Yankees from 2003 to 2014 when he retired. He became a fourteen-time MLB All-Star player on the team. Additionally, he also won five World Series titles with the New York Yankees throughout his career.