Yankees Break Tradition With “No Beard” Rule
A mural for the Yankees located near the staidum. Photo by Ted Wang on Flickr
The New York Yankees, one of sports' most iconic franchises, are breaking tradition with the changing of their infamous “no beard” rule for players’ appearances. The tradition of players having a military-esque appearance of being clean-shaven has been axed.
On Feb. 21, Yankees current Chairman and Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner announced in a statement:
"In recent weeks, I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees–spanning several eras–to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback. These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years,” he said.
For one, if not the most, historic and traditional teams, not just baseball, but all sports, this is a big deal.
“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,” Steinbrenner continued. “It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.”
In 1973, George Steinbrenner, father of Hal Steinbrenner, bought the Yankees and implemented the rule three years later in 1976. The rule was influenced by Steinbrenner’s military background in the Air Force, as he wanted order and discipline instilled into the team’s values.
After Steinbrenner passed in 2010, his son kept the tradition going. For nearly 50 years, the policy for Yankees players has stated: “All players, coaches and male executives are forbidden to display any facial hair other than mustaches [except for religious reasons], and scalp hair may not be grown below the collar.”
This policy has stirred controversy in the past, most notably in 1991 with fan favorite Don Mattingly, who was benched and fined by the team for his mullet. Famously, Lou Piniella, who was a Yankees Manager in the 1980s, challenged the rule by saying, "Jesus Christ had long hair and a beard, why can't we have beards and long hair?" in which Steinbrenner responded with "You see that pond? Walk across that pond, and you can have a beard and long hair."
Like it or not, this rule has been synonymous with the Yankees and their brand. Typically, the Yankees brand is all about winning and tradition. With 27 World Series Championships and 27 Hall of Famers and Legends, the Yankees are the epitome of sports franchises. The jerseys have been nearly untouched in their history, and they are the only team to have no names on the back, only having a home and road jersey - no alternates.
However, times are changing. The Yankees aren’t really the Yankees anymore. They haven’t won since 2009 and lost embarrassingly in this past year’s World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 Games.
Most of today’s generation of baseball players and fans were only told of the hatred and dominance of the Yankees and their dynasty in the 1990s and didn’t experience it for themselves.
The Yankees were once the premier team in the MLB, who spent the most money every year, but teams like the Dodgers, and the crosstown rivals New York Mets have caught up with their spending, as the Mets stole Juan Soto from the Yankees this offseason in a 15 year, $765 million dollar mega deal.
The Yankees have also broken tradition slowly over recent years. This past season, the Yankees altered their gray road jersey to a more minimalistic and throwback-inspired look. The road jersey design has been unchanged since 1973. In 2023, the Yankees surprisingly added a jersey advertisement to the sleeve with Starr Insurance, after the league announced they would allow them that same year. This move was very shocking to fans as the Yanks added an ad to such a sacred sports jersey- the last team you’d expect to do something like this.
A couple of years prior, from 2017 to 2019, the Yankees had special jerseys and nicknames on the back for MLB’s Player Weekend, the only time in history the Yankees have had names on the jerseys. The Yankees also opened the brand new Yankee Stadium 2.0 in 2009 after 85 years in the original Yankee Stadium from 1923 to 2008, where the Bronx Bombers won 26 of their 27 World Series Championships playing in the ballpark.
Ultimately, the writing was on the wall with this policy change, especially with all of these changes in tradition these last few years. In my opinion, it was a controversial rule, but it was a part of the Yankees' tradition and brand.
Interestingly enough, the Yankees changed this rule just months after trading for star closing pitcher Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers in December. Williams reportedly played a role in this change, only being on the team for not even three months. A new player with that kind of organizational impact, especially for the Yankees, is rare but also odd. After a photo of him in his new pinstripes were released, there was some skepticism about his appearance. He also arrived at spring training with a full beard, which he eventually shaved before the rule change.
I never thought the Yankees would change it, but the Yankees haven't won anything in 15 years. They are not the dominant force they once were, and times are different. Steinbrenner also has the fear that the Yankees would miss out on potential free agents because they didn't want to shave, but if you don’t want to shave for the Yankees, then don’t play for the Yankees.
You either embrace the culture and tradition, or you don’t. However, with the recent changes that ditch tradition, such as the ad on the jersey, a change of heart with this beard policy was bound to happen.
With these new changes to the culture, it might be the time to add a potential alternate jersey. You could either go with a navy road alternate jersey, an off-white throwback home pinstripe look or even add a City Connect jersey.
The MLB created the City Connect Series under Nike in 2021, where each team unveiled a fun and special jersey that connects to the city. Every team except for the Athletics, who are moving from Oakland to Las Vegas, and the Yankees, have one – some even have two.
At this point, why not? If you have the jersey ad and the changing of the beard rule, why not get an alternate jersey?