SOX STUFF: GET READY FOR 2019 (Part II)
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| 1946 |
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| 1967 |
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| 1975 |
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| 1986 |
Such sensational reactions to Part I, here is the
promised follow up. Enjoy –and send those reactions in.
Wade
Boggs, he could swing that bat
(9) Legend of the Green Monster
It
was not originally green until 1947. Before that it was blue and covered with
advertisements. Originally constructed to block the view of spectators on the
street, the wall burned down in the 1934 fire at Fenway. It was reconstructed
with tin and painted green. A journalist named it “Green Monster” for its color,
37 foot height and girth. In 1976, it was re-done in hard plastic and painted
green again.
(11) Hitting Bottom –1965
The Red
Sox drew but 652,201—an average of 8,052 a game. On Sept. 28 against
California, only 461 fans showed. The next day was just 409 were in the house.
The worst had actually taken place on the 16th of September, the
smallest crowd of the season made its way into Fenway Park—just 1,247 paid and
1,123 in on passes.
BOB
SULLIVAN: I went to Dartmouth, and we used to road trip down to Fenway and get
standing room without any trouble. It
was eight dollars for grandstand seats. But so many seats were empty. You would flip an usher a quarter and you
could move down into the seats. Then it changed. What happened was ’67. The
Impossible Dream season when the Sox
(12) Signing Baseballs
BOB
SANNICANDRO: In ’72 I was a clubhouse
attendant. I had just graduated from high school. I autographed baseballs for players. This was before sports memorabilia really
hit. If it’s a Yaz ball, it might not be
Yaz. If it’s a Reggie Smith ball, it might
not be Reggie Smith. There was one player,
I’ll leave him nameless, showed me how
he signed his name. He told me to go
home and practice. I went home and the
next day he says, “Not bad, keep working at it.”
(13) “F……g Bucky Dent home run ball- October 2, 1978
JOE
MOONEY: (former Fenway Park head groundskeeper) I got blamed for taking the ball Bucky
Dent hit for the home run. I never touched it. I never spoke to Bucky Dent, but
later I found out that he was accusing me. I know who took that ball
he hit. But I’d never say nothing. We’ll leave that
to history.
(14) Joe DiMaggio
Opening day 1985 Vinnie
Orlando was in his 51st season as a Red Sox clubhouse attendant. "I heard
this loud knock,” Orlando said. The knocker
opened the door to the Red Sox
clubhouse. “And here's this guy,” Orlando continued,” with pant cuffs out to
here, shirt collars down to there, looking like Hollywood in his brown
pinstripe suit. He says, 'My name's Joe DiMaggio and I want to go upstairs. Can
you tell me how to go?
(15)
Rats
TOM
BRUNANSKY: In the 1990s, we’d hit in the batting cages out in center field
during rain delays. You never, however, wanted to be the first group to hit
because once you opened the door and flipped the lights on all the rats would
start running out. You always wanted to
be that second or third hitting group. By then the rats would be gone.
(16)
Green Monster
Dents
The many missed
attempts of home runs over the wall that is the Green Monster has resulted in hundreds
of dents according to the Boston Globe.
Some spots have been banged at least a half dozen times,
(17) The Pesky Pole &
the Fisk Pole
Boston
has the only two named foul poles. The one in right field is named for
legendary Johnny Pesky. The one in left field was named in 1975 after catcher
Carlton Fisk who hit a 12th inning game winner in Game 6 of the World
Series that incredibly stayed fair, ricocheting off the pole.
Pesky did not hit nearly
as many home runs as Fisk
JOHNNY PESKY: The
term “Pesky pole” came from Mel Parnell when he was broadcasting a game with
Ken Coleman and Ned Martin. Someone hit
a home run down the line and right around the pole. And Mel started talking
about the time I hit a homer to win a game past the pole. I guess it was easy
to recall as I only hit 17 home runs in my career.
(18) The Coca-Cola bottle 1997
On March 19, 1997 a 25-foot was unveiled atop Fenway's left-field
Wall. Lots of controversy resulted as traditionalists were aghast. Over time
the single bottle evolved into a three-bottle cluster.
(19) Breaking the “Curse of the
Bambino 2004
DAN
SHAUGHNESSY: 2004 in my view is still the greatest sports story ever told. The idea that you would have the Red Sox win
their first World Series in 86 years, to do it at the expense of the Yankees
and to do it in something that hadn’t been done in 140 years in a seven-game
series in baseball. The World Series was clearly anticlimactic.
The Sox swept the Cards
four straight. The curse was broken.
“Foulke to the set, the 1–0 pitch, here it
is. Swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He under hands to
first. And the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions. For the first time in 86
years, the Red Sox have won baseball's World Championship. Can you believe it?”
(20) 820 Game Sellout Streak at Fenway
On April 10, 2013 only
30,862 were in attendance for a game between Baltimore and the Red Sox. That
game ended an 820 game streak of sold out games that began on May 15, 2003. It
was the longest attendance streak in pro sports. There was something about “the
streak” to some that smacked
of public relations hype and padded figures.
About
Harvey
Frommer
One of the most prolific and
respected sports journalists and oral historians in the United States, author
of the autobiographies of legends Nolan Ryan, Tony Dorsett, and Red Holzman,
Dr. Harvey Frommer is an expert on all
things baseball.
A professor for more than two
decades in the MALS program at Dartmouth College, Frommer was dubbed
“Dartmouth’s Mr. Baseball” by their alumni magazine. He’s also the founder
of www.HarveyFrommerSports.com.
Mint, signed, discounted Frommer books are
available from his site.
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