Growing up within walking distance of the Bronx Bomber's stadium, Vincent Luisi was, of course, a Yankee fan. Now, with the baseball franchise celebrating its 100th anniversary, Luisi, a baseball historian and resident of Hicksville for the past 42 years, has brought the first 25 years of the team's history to life through the pages of a book.

New York Yankees: The First 25 Years, published in March by Arcadia Publishing, is a compilation of the photos and text about the team from 1903 to 1928. With over 200 rare photographs, many of which are published for the first time, Luisi's book takes sports fans on a journey through the formative years of the team commonly referred to as the greatest winning team of the 20th Century. The First 25 Years is the first of four books to be published by different authors on the history of the 100-year-old baseball franchise.

The New York Yankees first began in 1903 when, two years after the establishment of the American Baseball League, New Yorkers Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the Baltimore Orioles for $18,000. They moved the franchise to New York and called it the Highlanders because the stadium was located on a piece of "high land" on the banks of the Hudson River in Washington Heights.

The book highlights the team's rivalry with the New York Giants; pitcher Jack Chesbro who, despite a record 41 wins, lost the pennant because of a wild pitch during the last game of the season; the construction of Yankee Stadium; and Babe Ruth's and Lou Gehrig's roles with the team.

"There are so many diehard Yankee fans who do not even know how the team really began," said Luisi. "[There is so] much surprising information about the players and how the organization developed to the way it is today. Most people do not know that for the first 10 years the Yankees had to share a stadium with the New York Giants. They always took it for granted that they were there at Yankee Stadium."

In researching the book, Luisi said he found there were a lot of things about the Yankees he'd never known. "Everyone is talking about how people are paying big money for players today, but the Yankees were doing that in the late 1920s," he said. "By the late 1920s, the Yankee organization was already looking at buying high profile players." Luisi added he also found there to be a strong resemblance between William "Birdie" Cree, an outfielder with the Yankees from 1908 to 1915, and Derek Jeter, the current-day Yankee's top shortstop.

Luisi, a resident of Hicksville since 1960, attended Lee Avenue School, Hicksville Junior High (now the middle school) and graduated from Hicksville High School in 1972 before going on to earn a bachelor's degree in history from Oneonta and a master's degree in museum studies from Denver University. He worked as a museum director in the Nassau County Museum System, which includes the Cradle of Aviation Museum and the Old Bethpage Village, and created the 1880s Vintage Baseball League. Luisi is currently director of the Dunedin Historical Society and Museum in Dunedin, FL.

"I always wanted to write," he said. "I worked at a museum and all I wanted to do in my spare time was local and sports history. The Yankees 100th anniversary helped push this book along." Luisi, who in researching his book, had the opportunity to meet most of the Yankees, their managers and owners, said his greatest moment was sitting next to legendary baseball great Whitey Ford and giving him a copy of his book.

In addition to The First 25 Years , Luisi has written three other books, including Pinellas County, Dunedin and Tampa Bay Baseball, which were all published by Arcadia. In 10 years, Luisi said he may write a book on the 50-year history of the New York Mets. In the meantime, he is working with organizers on bringing the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame exhibit to St. Petersburg, FL next year and possibly a book on sports in New York as well as one about the Boston Red Sox.

When asked how that will go over with Yankee fans since the teams are bitter rivals, Luisi said, "The teams are closer than most people think. Most great Yankee players started on the Red Sox."

Luisi lives between Hicksville and Florida with his wife, Lucy, and 12-year-old daughter, Erin.

New York Yankees: The First 25 Years can be purchased at Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, BaseballLibrary.com and through Arcadia Publishing.