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Fans' Ashes in Limbo as Yankee, Shea Shut Doors

As Shea and Yankee stadiums shut, relatives fret over final resting places

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 11, 2008 3:43 PM CDT

(Newser) – Now that Yankee Stadium and Shea have shut their doors forever, people who scattered ashes in their favorite ballpark worry that their loved ones may spend eternity in a parking lot, the New York Times writes. Some are searching for a way to get some dirt out of the hallowed grounds before demolition begins. The Mets and Yankees officially forbid scattering ashes, but many fans have managed to stealthily slip them in.

Some have kept ashes in reserve for the new stadiums, while others accept that in baseball and even in death, nothing is forever. "The nature of stuff is so flimsy, so of course things are going to get torn down and built up,” said one man who scattered his grandmother's ashes at home plate after the Yankee's 1996 World Series win. “That’s how it goes.”

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Fans begin to file into Gate 2 of Yankee Stadium to tour Monument Park and the field hours before a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

A member of Yankee Stadium's grounds crew transports a wreath of flowers honoring New York Yankees Hall of Fame shortstop Phil Rizzuto into Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

A Yankees fan write a note on the wall of Yankee Stadium wall following the team's final regular season game in the stadium in New York, Monday, Sept. 22, 2008. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera gathers dirt from the pitcher's mound after the Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles 7-3 on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008, in the final game at Yankee Stadium. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Fans watch from the upper deck as past greats are introduced during a ceremony before a game between the Yankees and the Orioles on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008, at Yankee Stadium. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Fans cheer during postgame ceremonies after the New York Mets played their last game in Shea Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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It’s sad. I’ve been thinking they’ll be tearing up where he is. The question is, can I convince myself they’re taking the ground to the new stadium, so that’s Grandpa? - Jeff Marvin, who scattered his grandfather's ashes in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park

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Fans' Ashes in Limbo as Yankee, Shea Shut Doors