Fenway Park celebrates its 100th anniversary today. The first game, between the Boston Red Sox and Harvard, actually occurred on 9 April 1912. The first major league game took place on 20 April 1912 when the Sox beat the New York Highlanders (now the Yankees), 7-6, in 11 innings.
Of the true 'old-time' ballparks, only Fenway and Wrigley Field (1914) remain. Each has its quirks: Wrigley, its ivy-covered outfield walls; Fenway, its Green Monster (the left field wall, shown below).
Although I am a native New Yorker and fan of the hated Yankees, I have a bond with the Red Sox and Fenway Park. My father, a native Bostonian, was a rabid (is there any other kind) Red Sox fan. He was so fanatical that at the end of each season, he would write (this was pre-email) Tom Yawkey, then the owner, and tell him what was wrong with the team: who was a slacker, why the GM (general manager) should be fired, who had a good season only because they started hitting after the Sox had once again blown the season (the so-called 'contract drive' as he called it). I don't think he ever got a response (the Sox front office probably noted the New York return address).
My father died in 1984 at age 70. Sadly, the Sox did not win a World Series in his lifetime but finally did in 2004 and 2007. He did miss the 1986 debacle versus the Mets. I was actually happy to see the Sox win in 2004 and 2007, so I guess I can't be a real Yankee fan.
I saw four Sox games in Fenway Park, one with my father in late summer 1965 (Yankees) and three with friends in 1963 (Tigers), 1964 (White Sox), and 1967 (Orioles). Fenway is a cozy place; you're right on top of the field. In the 1964 game against the White Sox we were right down by third base, second row of box seats. We rode the White Sox third baseman, Pete Ward, unmercifully.
I saw Dick Stuart, the infamous Dr. Strangeglove, play (or what passed for playing). I think he made a couple of errors, but did hit a home run. He probably struck out several times. Stuart's lack of fielding skills was the stuff of legend. I recall one teammate saying that Stuart 'had a glove contract with U.S. Steel'. He had a particular aversion to bending or stretching for errant throws from infielders.
I also saw some of my favorite players at Fenway: Norm 'Stormin' Norman' Cash, Al Kaline, Rocky Colavito (all with the Tigers) and Frank Robinson (Orioles) come to mind.
I never saw Ted Williams (shown to the left) play at Fenway Park. I did see him play at the old Yankee Stadium. My father, who was often annoyed at Williams' indifferent fielding, called him the greatest hitter of all time (I agree) and told me that were it not for almost five years in the Marine Corps, Williams would've been the all-time home run leader instead of Babe Ruth. I saw Carl 'Yaz' Yastrzemski play several times. He was one
of my favorite Red Sox players; after all, he was a Long Island boy and his middle name was my first name.
I am glad the Red Sox owners decided a few years ago to renovate the park instead of building a new one. Some things just have too much character and deserve to remain. Hope I get there again before I leave this Earth.
So who won today's game, a rematch between the Red Sox and the Yankees? Why, those damn Yankees, of course: 6-2.
"All literary men are Red Sox fans - to be a Yankee fan in a literate society is to endanger your life." - John Cheever
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