New York Yankees drop beard ban after 49 years

    NEW YORK, NY (WCBS) -- The New York Yankees are changing their long-standing facial hair policy and will let players and coaches have "well-groomed beards" from now on.

Owner Hal Steinbrenner announced the Yankees were rolling back the 49-year-old no-beard rule in a statement Friday morning.

"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," Steinbrenner's statement said. "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. It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy."

Steinbrenner's father, the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, enacted the beard ban in 1976. Since then, and as recently as Monday, players were routinely reminded to be clean-shaven when entering the clubhouse.

"Winning was the most important thing to my father," Steinbrenner said at Friday's news conference. "I think if somebody came and told him that they were very sure that this could affect us getting the player we want to get. All we're trying to do every offseason is put ourselves in the best position to get a player that we're trying to get. And if something like this would detract from that, lessen our chances, I think he might be a little more apt to do the change that I did than people think, because it was about winning."

The Yankees' new closer Devin Williams, who was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers in December, shaved his beard before taking the field for his first Spring Training workouts in pinstripes. The team's ace Gerrit Cole played with a beard on the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros before signing with New York in 2019.

Former outfielder Johnny Damon was famously forced to trim his locks when he left the Boston Red Sox and signed with New York in 2005.

Steinbrenner declined to say which players he discussed changing the team's appearance policy with.

"But I will tell you it was a diverse group in that all of them have been here for a different period of time, some longer than others. And I felt that was important to get a good sampling, if you will," he said.