JUMP TO:
- Are Yankees allowed to have facial hair?
- When did the Yankees facial hair policy begin?
- Why do the Yankees have a facial hair policy?
- Yankees facial hair policy 2025
- Yankees facial hair policy history timeline
- Notable players who had to shave for Yankees
- Has anyone ever challenged the Yankees beard policy?
- Do other teams have facial hair policies?
The New York Yankees are one of the most storied franchises in sports, but for 50 years they were known for one policy in particular.
The Yankees facial hair policy was the longest-standing of its kind in sports, as owner George Steinbrenner was adamant about players shaving their beards and cutting their hair. Even when Steinbrenner died in 2010, New York kept the policy until deciding to amend it in 2025.
While the policy was in place, it forced some players to completely change their look upon arriving to the organization. It also led to a few disputes between Yankees players who wanted to keep their facial hair and management.
Here's a full history of the Yankees' facial hair policy.
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Are Yankees allowed to have facial hair?
In February of 2025, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner announced that he was changing the Yankees facial hair policy to allow beards for the first time since the 1970s.
"We will be amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward," Steinbrenner said in a statement. "It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy."
Steinbrenner referenced how more players now view having facial hair as "part of their persona" and there was a concern that some players wouldn't play for the team under the previous rule.
While Yankees are now allowed to wear beards, they still must keep the hair on their heads cut above the collar.
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When did the Yankees facial hair policy begin?
George Steinbrenner first instituted the Yankees facial hair policy in 1976. That policy lasted for 49 years until George's son, Hal, lifted it before the 2025 season.
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When did Yankees stop allowing beards?
New York's facial hair policy first began in 1976, three years after he first bought the team. While George Steinbrenner asked players to cut their hair and shave their beards during his first season as owner, the policy wasn't official until three years later.
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Why do Yankees have a facial hair policy?
George Steinbrenner, who served in the air force when he was younger, believed that the ban on facial hair would help produce "order and discipline" within the team.
"I have nothing against long hair per se," George Steinbrenner said at the time, according to The New York Times, via the Associated Press. "But I'm trying to instill certain sense of order and discipline in the ballclub because I think discipline is important in an athlete."
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Yankees facial hair policy 2025
In 2025, Hal Steinbrenner altered the team's facial hair policy to allow players to grow "well-groomed" beards. So, while players can now wear beards while on the Yankees, they still can't grow either their hair or their beards too long.
Statement from Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner on the alteration of Yankees facial hair policy: pic.twitter.com/UdEuAg3gZy
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) February 21, 2025
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Yankees facial hair policy history timeline
- 1973: George Steinbrenner buys the Yankees and begins to ask players to shave their beards.
- 1976: The Yankees officially make it a policy to ban players from wearing beards and long hair.
- 2025: The Yankees amend their policy to allow "well-groomed" beards.
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Notable players who had to shave for Yankees
The first big-name player who had to shave upon arriving to the Yankees was Reggie Jackson, who played for the team from 1977-81.
Arguably, the most notable player who had to shave for the Yankees was Johnny Damon. The outfielder, who signed with New York after playing for the rival Boston Red Sox, had a big beard with long hair in Boston but was clean shaven with New York.
Damon, however, had no issues shaving his beard and cutting his hair.
Another former Red Sox player who joined the Yankees was Kevin Youkilis, who joined New York in the 2013 season. While Youkilis only played a handful of games with New York, he did so without his own signature beard.
In 2018, the Yankees acquired Andrew McCutchen off of waivers, which meant the outfielder had to shave his beard. After leaving the Yankees, McCutchen was outspoken about how much he disagreed with the team's hair policy.
Andrew McCutchen: "To hear that I was going to be a Yankee, it's kind of a surreal feeling." pic.twitter.com/YHZzUw7c5Z
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 1, 2018
Most recently, Gerrit Cole had to shave his beard and cut his hair when he signed a nine-year deal with the Yankees in 2019.
Introducing the newest New York Yankees ace, Gerrit Cole 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZSeVuUgJO0
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) December 18, 2019
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Has anyone ever challenged the Yankees beard policy?
There have been a few instances when a player challenged the Yankees on their beard policy. In 1983, when closer Goose Gossage was told to shave his beard, he left a unique mustache that became his signature look.
In 1991, the Yankees benched star first baseman and captain Don Mattingly because he was letting his hair grow too long. After two days, Mattingly cut his hair and auctioned it off to charity.
Most recently, in 2024, the Yankees traded for reliever Devin Williams who had sported a beard for his entire career prior. Williams shaved his beard, but his resistance to do so likely spurred the organization's change in policy.
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Do other teams have facial hair policies?
There have been times in MLB history where other teams also banned facial hair. The Cincinnati Reds forced their players to shave until 1999, when new outfielder Greg Vaughn defied the policy by refusing to shave his goatee. As a result, Cincinnati dropped its policy.
The Miami Marlins briefly instituted a facial hair policy a few times in their history, last being in 2016 before dropping it a year later.
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How many MLB teams do not allow facial hair?
Now that the Yankees allow facial hair, there are no other major league teams with active facial hair policies.