Happy Birthday Fenway!!

One of baseball's most hallowed and treasured ball parks turns 100 years old today.  Congratulations Fenway Park!  You look mahvelous!!

I'm not even going to try to give y'all a history lesson on Fenway.  I have way too many friends who are Red Sox fans and I don't want to embarrass myself!  I will tell you that Fenway is the oldest working ball park in the major league and it represents one of the things that I love most about baseball, the game's respect for its own history.  Fenway is sacred ground.  When fans step through the gate, they are almost stepping back into another era.  They may be sitting in wooden seats, but they are looking onto a field where Babe Ruth actually played.  Fans in New York can't say that anymore.

Think of the players who played on that very field and called it home!  Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, Bobby Doerr, Carlton Fisk, Johnny Pesky...and those are just the Hall of Famers.  Dennis Eckersley, Pedro Martinez, Luis Tiant, Nomar Garciaparra, Mo Vaughn, Tony Pena, Lee Smith, Roger Clemens, Dom DiMaggio, Dwight Evans and Wade Boggs. 

Fenway came close to being no more on two occasions.  Both times it was saved.  Sure it's small and it doesn't have the amenities that many of the newer parks have.  But what it does have is a very unique and special feel that the newer parks are desperately trying to recapture.  Fenway never lost it. 

How did it start?  On April 20, 1912 the New York Highlanders (later called the Yankees) visited the brand new ball field called Fenway Park.  There were 24,000 fans in attendance.  The game went 11 innings and the Red Sox won 7-6.  There were some amazing players on the field that day, including Tris Speaker.  Cy Young was in attendance.  According to the Boston Globe, "There was no time wasted in childish parades" and "Mayor Fitzgerald dignified the occasion by tossing out the new ball."  My how times have changed! 

Today both teams wore the 1912 uniforms and I believe this is the first time the Yankees have worn throw backs.  That shows a lot of respect for Fenway.  The pre-game ceremony included over 200 former Red Sox players and it was a who's who of Red Sox greats.  Unfortunately for the Red Sox, they didn't get the W in this one.  The final score was 6-2. 

But that's the great thing about baseball.  There's another game tomorrow!!

Fenway Park 1912