NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Before the turn of the century, it was quite fitting the New York Yankees celebrated yet another World Series title with a ticker-tape parade through Broadway's Canyon of Heroes.

More than a million fans saluted the Yankees, who swept the Atlanta Braves in the World Series for their North American professional sports record 25th championship.

Easily the Team of the Century, New York's 25 World Series titles dwarf the nine won by the St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland-Philadelphia Athletics, who are tied for second on the list. The Montreal Canadiens have won 23 Stanley Cups in the National Hockey League and another before the formation of the NHL.

"There has been an unparalleled legacy of excellence established in the century by the New York Yankees," said New York mayor Rudy Giuliani at today's rally at City Hall. "In the 95 World Series played, 25 have been won by the Yankees and 36 times they were the American League champion.

"The 1999 Yankees tied a major-league record with 12 consecutive World Series victories and back-to-back sweeps, matching records set by Yankee teams led by Ruth, Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. These group of young men has somehow added to the luster of the greatest franchise in sports."

The Yankees nearly have made this an annual event in recent years, with the city honoring the team after its World Series victories in 1996 and 1998.

"This stuff never gets old and you appreciate it every time you do it because you know how hard it is," said Yankees manager Joe Torre, who guided the Yankees to their last three titles. "I know last year we won 125 games and won the World Series in four straight. In '99, they tried to measure us against that other team record-wise. When October came around, I think they found out we may have been a little bit better."

But along with the cheers came tears from Yankees designated hitter Darryl Strawberry, who broke down on the podium as he thanked Torre for helping him through with his off-the-field problems.

Strawberry made a brief appearance at last year's parade while he recovered from colon cancer and was arrested in April for cocaine possession and solicitation of a police officer posing as a prostitute. After being suspended by baseball, Strawberry was welcomed back by Torre and his teammates in September and played in the postseason.

After thanking owner George Steinbrenner, Torre and his teammates and coaches for their support, Strawberry turned to ask Torre to join him on the podium. As Torre approached, 6-6, 215-pound slugger broke down in emotion and was face-down on the podium for about a half-minute.

"I would just like to say to you all, thank you for caring for me," said an emotion-filled Strawberry.

Torre was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in March and missed more than a month of the regular season before returning on May 18.

The year also included the loss of Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio and Catfish Hunter and three players -- Scott Brosius, Luis Sojo and Paul O'Neill -- lost their fathers. A moment of silence was devoted to those who passed on in the Yankee family before the rally.