Fenway Park Turns 100
The 100 most fascinating characters, moments, and tales in our beloved ballpark's history.
73. The ratio of male to female visitors to the park is 60 to 40.
74. Mayor James Michael Curley throws out the first pitch on Opening Day in 1924..jpg)
75-77. Fenway Police Blotter
The Town has nothing on these real-life Fenway crime stories.
- Foiled Robbery, September 11, 1919: A plot to rob the box office and Sox payroll is thwarted when Captain John Goode of Station 16 receives a tip about the planned heist. Goode sends 100 officers and two companies of state guardsmen to line the route from Kenmore Station to the park. No arrests are made, but no money is lost.
- Illegal Gambling, April 26, 1936: Police Captain Francis Tiernan leads three squads of plainclothes officers to Fenway, where nine men are arrested for reportedly using finger signs as a silent system of registering bets.
- Possession of Stolen Property, May 12, 2011: Nahant resident Jamie Pritchard Holland is arrested for allegedly attempting to sell $25,000 worth of memorabilia that baseball officials say has been stolen from Fenway: a home plate from the bullpen, an outfield distance marker signed by Johnny Pesky, and a glove used by Kevin Youkilis. (The case is ongoing.)
79-81. The Park in Politics
Fenway has been the site of appearances by dignitaries of all stripes. .jpg)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt: FDR delivers the final campaign speech of his career on November 4, 1944, putting a twist on his famous maxim by telling the nation that “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” The national broadcast is preceded by a program that includes Morton Downey Sr., Orson Welles, Kate Smith, and Frank Sinatra.
- John F. Kennedy: During a 1946 campaign stop at Fenway, JFK chats with Ted Williams and Eddie Pellagrini of the Red Sox, and Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers.
- Eamon de Valera: An overflow crowd of 60,000 jams Fenway on June 27, 1919, to hear the Irish leader call for American support in the country’s battle for independence from Great Britain.
- Barry Goldwater: On September 24, 1964, the former GOP presidential candidate speaks to a throng of supporters, who pay a dollar each to hear the Arizona senator. Outside, detractors surround the park to protest his stand on civil rights.