With Fenway Park turning 100 years old next year, you can count on a steady stream of publications, specials and documentaries on the history of the ballpark.
I mentioned one a few weeks ago (Remembering Fenway Park
Fenway Park:The Centennial
This beautifully illustrated 176-page coffee-table style book captures the feel and spirit of Fenway Park which has been home to the Red Sox since April 1912. Fenway has also seen its share of pro and college football games, major cultural and civic events, an international soccer game in 2010 between Celtic and Sporting Lisbon, and even the New Year’s Day 2010 NHL Winter Classic game won by the Boston Bruins and played on a specially built hockey rink in the middle of the field.
The book includes over 200 images, including many from the archives of the Boston Public Library – as well as rarely seen artifices and memorabilia from the decades of events held in Fenway.
While the book naturally focuses on the Red Sox, there a photos of the NFL’s Boston Yanks, who played in Fenway from 1944-1948 as well as the AFL Boston Patriots, who called Fenway home from 1963 to 1968. Even soccer legend Pele played a game at Fenway when the Boston Beacons of the North American Soccer League hosted Pele’s Santos club from Brazil in 1968.
The book includes sections on:
- The inception, construction, and early years of Fenway
- Detailed looks at Red Sox legends from Babe Ruth to Ted Williams to Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz
- The greatest moments of the Green monster, Fenway’s most famous feature
- A trip inside the Monster’s manually operated scoreboard
- Fenway fans and their love affair with the legendary stadium through the years
- Unforgettable seasons, including the 1967 Impossible Dream team and the 2004 World Series champs
