Whitey Ford

Jim Leyritz

Goose Gossage

Yankee legends connect with Central Park crowd
Results are official and include team results | See the 2003 Photo Gallery

NEW YORK, June 3, 2003 – The only professional baseball scheduled to be played in New York City on this night was postponed. Across the East River in Queens, the Mets contest versus Milwaukee became a victim of the elements. Somehow, that was appropriate.

After all, the Big Apple belonged to the Yankees on this night. At the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge®, 16,705 participants from 560 companies turned out in Central Park, braved a steady rainfall, and paid adoring respects to three pinstripers – Hall of Fame pitcher Whitey Ford, all-star relief pitcher Rich “Goose” Gossage, and the charismatic Jim “The King” Leyritz.

JPMorgan Chase brought together the legends – heroes from three different World Series eras – to provide Corporate Challenge runners an up close opportunity to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Yankee baseball. The raucous applause at the starting line and the post-race reactions indicated that the decision was a popular one.

As Whitey Ford applauds (left foreground), Julia Stamps breaks the finish line tape in a fast time of 20:20.

“I grew up in Indiana but I’m a huge Yankees fan,” said Aaron Moody of Super Runners Shop, the first individual finisher over the 3.5-mile course in 17:27. “They are just the personification of excellence. Seeing these three guys as I crossed the finish line really made this victory a thrill.”

“My dad just loves Whitey Ford,” said Linda Lydon of Fortune Magazine. “And I love Jim Leyritz. There were memories for everybody here.”

It was a perfect marriage. New York’s most successful sports franchise in its most beloved park at the city’s most popular and enduring road race. And it was all for a good cause, as JPMorgan Chase made a donation to the Central Park Conservancy, the organization overseeing the 150th Anniversary of Central Park.

“You know,” Leyritz told the crowd at the starting line, “with this weather, it feels just like 1995 when I hit that playoff home run in the rain versus the (Seattle) Mariners.”

Leyritz is best known for his World Series-turning home run versus the Atlanta Braves in 1996, paving the way for the Yankees’ first Series win in 18 years. Gossage was the lights-out closer for the 1977 and 1978 Series champs. Ford is the only Yankee pitcher to have his number retired by the franchise, a 25-game and Cy Young Award winner for the 1961 champs. And this impressive trio was introduced by Bob Sheppard, the Yankees’ Public Address announcer for the last 53 seasons.

It was also a night for new champions. Moody a former Division 3 collegiate All-American from Super Runners Shop and Julia Stamps of Bear Stearns both earned their first individual JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge titles. Moody defeated teammate Rafael Veras by nine seconds while Stamps edged Lesley Higgins of Micromuse, Inc. by 13, crossing the finish line as the first woman in 20:20, the fastest time run by a woman in a Corporate Challenge U.S. race this year.

Ramchan and Mariela Deochan of Davis Polk share an umbrella on their way to the finish line.

“I’m very impressed by the runners out here,” said Gossage, a nine-time All-Star with more than 300 career saves. “And it’s a pleasure to be rooting for them for a change. They are the best baseball fans in the world and it’s great to give something back to them.”

Ford is Yankee royalty, with 236 career wins and an all-time best 10 World Series victories. One participant in the race brought a cell phone to the left-hander and requested that he say hello to his father. Ford, as gracious as he was effective, happily complied.

“You can’t imagine how happy you just made him,” the participant said.

This was the second of three events in Central Park this season. The third and final event on June 25 will celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the last New York Knicks’ NBA basketball title. Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Earl “The Pearl” Monroe – the Hall of Fame backcourt for that team – will be the celebrity starters.

“It’s all about making a connection with our customers,” said Maria Elena Lagomasino, Chairman and CEO of the JPMorgan Private Bank. “By sharing the Yankees with the participants here, we are saying we understand what your passions are and what a special place sports holds in our lives. It’s a great association.”

The New York Times Most Senior Executive titles went to a pair of runners building their own dynasty. Tom Phillips of the New York Society of Security Analysts and Jackie Kern of Main Street Direct have won a combined eight titles in the category and easily trumped their competitors on this night.

Stamps and Dan Kleinman of JPMorgan Chase were the winners of the Fortune Financial Fitness Awards as the first female and male finishers from financial service companies.

Also on hand to enjoy the night was Adrian Benepe, Commissioner of New York Parks and Recreation. He was pleased that the Central Park throng was nearly equally split between men and women – with 8,840 men at the starting line and 7,865 women. Benepe, an enthusiastic runner, competed for the second consecutive year.

Morgan Stanley had the largest team with a whopping 1,357 total participants. To put that number in perspective, note that the very first Corporate Challenge held in Central Park in August, 1977 drew exactly 200 runners total.

The JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge heads 200 miles north Thursday to Boston – the Yankees’ long-time rival. The Hub will celebrate its 20th consecutive year of hosting the Corporate Challenge with a 7:15 p.m. start at the Boston Common, featuring Grete Waitz, the world’s greatest women’s marathoner ever.