April 20, 1912 was a big day for sports news when the Boston Red Sox officially opened Fenway Park. They beat the New York Highlanders, who would later be named the New York Yankees, 7-6.
Here is a story excerpt and headline from the April 21, 1912 edition of the Boston Sunday Post:
“Into the mammoth stand, out upon the sun-kissed bleachers and swarming over the field, forming a human fringe to the expansive playing space where the Red Sox were to make their initial bow of the 1912 season, the fans of Boston forced their way, until when the umpire gave the word for play to begin more than 24,000 loyal Red Sox supporters were waiting to pass judgement upon park and team.”
Exactly 100 years later the Boston Globe published an article called, “Fenway Park shines in 100th anniversary.” This is how the story ends:
“…A century ago, Mayor John ‘Honey Fitz’ Fitzgerald threw out the game’s first official pitch.
Friday, that honor fell to his heirs and successor as the threesome of Caroline Kennedy, a great-granddaughter, current mayor Thomas Menino, and Thomas Fitzgerald, grandson of the former mayor. They threw out the first pitch – to Carlton Fisk, Rice, and Carl Yastrzemski, respectively – from the first row of seats near the home dugout, where they were flanked by Sox principal owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner, and president/CEO Larry Lucchino.
….’I know there’s some people out there that criticize it because it’s not state-of-the-art and all that stuff but, man, it’s Fenway. It’s as state-of-the-art as it needs to be. It does everything and more. I don’t care what they build and I don’t care how fancy they may make other stadiums, it’ll never be Fenway. It’s a real jewel.'”
Take a look at some early photos of the park and images from Fenway’s 100th anniversary:
See Also:
Fenway Park Timeline:
— Through the Years
— Features of Fenway Park
— Personalities
— Where Everyone Knows Your Name
