On Sept. 20, Yankee Stadium, “The House That Ruth Built,” closed its doors, 85 years after they opened them. It was never meant to end this way.

On April 18, 1923, Babe Ruth, weakened by the flu, led the opening ceremonies at the most magnificent ballpark in the country. He put his personal stamp on it by hitting a home run with two men on to beat the Red Sox 4 to 1.

Back in the 50s, when my dad was instructing me in the wonderful world of sports, listening to a baseball game from Yankee Stadium was the best. Babe Ruth had been replaced by Joe DiMaggio, and then Mickey Mantle — one power hitter after another. One thing never changed — Yankee Stadium. Yes, there’s a new ballpark across the street, but it’s not the same. It will never be the same.

My generation and my dad’s generation are tied to those walls the home runs sailed over. The sounds of the fans, the formal style of the clothes they wore and, if you’ve ever been fortunate enough to have been there, the hard cold feel of George Herman Ruth Jr.’s statue. Will they put it in front of the new stadium?

Yankee Stadium was built in the beginning of the greatest era in major league baseball. Just you, the announcer and the radio. We all had “our” teams. Fans lucky enough to live near a team lined up at the gate to buy tickets. Those of us in the South hurried through supper to make it to the living room to hear, “Play ball!”

We fought over who the best player was. The only time I ever hit a kid was in a yelling match over Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle. Ted was good, but nobody was going to say he was better than Mickey Mantle — not under my shade tree. Daddy had never told me I couldn’t hit a boy, so I doubled up and smacked him in the nose and blood flew.

I was fortunate to meet Mickey in a bowling alley he owned in Dallas in the 60s. He very graciously presented me with a signed picture of himself.

Progress must go on; most things do not weather the storms well. But, is there no longer a place for the treasures of our heart? The House That Ruth Built was surely one of them.

Babe Ruth contracted a severe case of the flu each spring, and in 1925, his weight ballooned to over 250 pounds. He collapsed at a railroad station in North Carolina. The doctors sent him to New York by helicopter, where surgery and a long rehabilitation ensued. Before details of his condition could be verified, rumors of his death flew around the world. That’s how well known the man that built Yankee Stadium was.

The other stadium will open 86 years to the day that Babe Ruth threw open the gate to Yankee Stadium. To fans of yesteryear, it will not be the same.

Jean Cornelius lives in Abilene.