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61-528: The arena is built on the site of the old Huntington Avenue Grounds , where the first-ever World Series baseball game was held in 1903, and is barely over a quarter-mile (402 m) away to the southwest from the Matthews Arena , the original home of the NHL's Boston Bruins ice hockey team in 1924. Solomon Court at Cabot Center is the 1800-seat home to the women's basketball and volleyball teams, as well as

122-518: A batter hits a ball into the balls, strikes, and out lights, it is also ruled a ground rule double. The inside walls of the Green Monster are covered with players' signatures from over the years. Despite the name, the Green Monster was not painted green until 1947; before that, it was covered with advertisements . The Monster designation is relatively new; for most of its history, it was simply called "the wall." In 2003, terrace-style seating

183-567: A center-field fence at least 400 feet (120 m) from home plate. (This rule had the unintended consequence of leading to the "Cookie-Cutter Stadium" era, which ended when Camden Yards opened in 1992.) Regarding the narrow foul territory, Will writes: The narrow foul territory in Fenway Park probably adds 5 to 7 points onto batting averages . Since World War II, the Red Sox have had 18 batting champions (through 1989)... Five to 7 points are

244-706: A commemorative plaque placed at its base. The seat directly on the foul side of Pesky's Pole in the front row is Section 94, Row E, Seat 5 and is usually sold as a lone ticket. In a ceremony before the Red Sox' 2005 game against the Cincinnati Reds , the pole on the left field foul line atop the Green Monster was named the Fisk Foul Pole , or Pudge's Pole , in honor of Carlton Fisk . Fisk provided one of baseball's most enduring moments in Game 6 of

305-486: A consolation game. Boston College , Harvard University , Northeastern University , and the University of Massachusetts Amherst compete in the four-team tournament. Since at least 1997 Neil Diamond 's " Sweet Caroline " has been played at Fenway Park during Red Sox games, in the middle of the eighth inning since 2002. On opening night of the 2010 season at Fenway Park, the song was performed by Diamond himself in

366-586: A larger baseball stadium known as Fenway Park. Taylor claimed the name Fenway Park came from its location in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston, which was partially created late in the nineteenth century by filling in marshland or " fens ", to create the Back Bay Fens urban park. However, given that Taylor's family also owned the Fenway Realty Company, the promotional value of the naming at

427-447: A lot, given that there may be only a 15- or 20-point spread between a good hitting team and a poor hitting team. Will states that some observers might feel that these unique aspects of Fenway give the Red Sox an advantage over their opponents, given that the Red Sox hitters play 81 games at the home stadium while each opponent plays no more than seven games as visiting teams but Will does not share this view. Fenway Park's bullpen wall

488-433: A no-decision that day. The term, though it had been in use since the 1950s, became far more common when Parnell became a Red Sox broadcaster in 1965. Mark Bellhorn hit what proved to be the game-winning home run off of Julián Tavárez in game 1 of the 2004 World Series off that pole's screen. On September 27, 2006, Pesky's 87th birthday, the Red Sox officially dedicated the right field foul pole as "Pesky's Pole", with

549-532: A pole vault pit. Additionally, a turf infield has been included to allow training by many of the University's sports teams. This track is also named for Bernard "Bunny" Solomon as well as his wife, Jolane. The Barletta Natatorium features a 6 lane 25-yard indoor swimming pool that is home to the Northeastern Swimming & Diving team . Dedicated on January 14, 1969, the pool facility

610-425: Is a pending Boston Landmark , which will regulate any further changes to the park. The ballpark is considered to be one of the most well-known sports venues in the world and a symbol of Boston. In 1911, while the Red Sox were still playing on Huntington Avenue Grounds , owner John I. Taylor purchased the land bordered by Brookline Avenue, Jersey Street , Van Ness Street and Lansdowne Street and developed it into

671-522: Is located along Lansdowne Street and Jersey Street in the Kenmore Square area of Boston. The area includes many buildings of similar height and architecture and thus it blends in with its surroundings. When pitcher Roger Clemens arrived in Boston for the first time in 1984, he took a taxi from Logan Airport and was sure the driver had misunderstood his directions when he announced their arrival at

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732-500: Is much lower than most other outfield walls; outfielders are known to end up flying over this wall when chasing balls hit that direction, such as with Torii Hunter when chasing a David Ortiz game-tying grand slam that direction in game 2 of the 2013 ALCS . The Green Monster is the nickname of the 37.167 feet (11.329 m) left field wall in the park. It is located 310 to 315 feet (94 to 96 m) from home plate; this short distance often benefits right-handed hitters. Part of

793-459: Is named in memory of members of the Barletta family and seats over 500 fans. The facility also offers racquetball courts, a swim center, workout facilities and other modern athletic amenities. 42°20′23″N 71°05′23″W  /  42.339609°N 71.089837°W  / 42.339609; -71.089837 Huntington Avenue Grounds Huntington Avenue American League Baseball Grounds

854-406: Is no distance posted on the wall. Despite the short wall, home runs in this area are relatively rare, as the fence curves away from the foul pole sharply. The pole was named after Johnny Pesky , a light-hitting shortstop and long-time coach for the Red Sox, who hit some of his six home runs at Fenway Park around the pole but never off the pole. Pesky (playing 1942 to 1952, except for 1943 to 1945)

915-448: Is now 4 Jersey Street. Some of the changes include: On May 15, 1999, then-Red Sox CEO John Harrington announced plans for a new Fenway Park to be built near the existing structure. It was to have seated 44,130 and would have been a modernized replica of the current Fenway Park, with the same field dimensions except for a shorter right field and reduced foul territory. Some sections of the existing ballpark were to be preserved (mainly

976-599: Is the full name of the baseball stadium that formerly stood in Boston , Massachusetts , and was the first home field for the Boston Red Sox , known informally as the "Boston Americans" before 1908, from 1901 to 1911 . The stadium, built for $ 35,000 (equivalent to $ 1.28 million in 2023), was located on what is now Northeastern University , at the time across the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad tracks from

1037-456: The 1975 World Series against the Reds. Facing Reds right-hander Pat Darcy in the 12th inning with the score tied at 6, Fisk hit a long fly ball down the left field line. It appeared to be heading foul, but Fisk, after initially appearing unsure of whether or not to continue running to first base, famously jumped and waved his arms to the right as if to somehow direct the ball fair. It ricocheted off

1098-684: The Boston Redskins , Boston Yanks , and the Boston Patriots ; concerts; soccer and hockey games (such as the 2010 NHL Winter Classic ); and political and religious campaigns. On March 7, 2012 (Fenway's centennial year), the park was added to the National Register of Historic Places . It is a landmark at the end of the Boston Irish heritage trail . Former pitcher Bill Lee has called Fenway Park "a shrine ". It

1159-477: The First Amendment protecting magazines and that Rutstein's employees were operating on the streets without a permit. Despite a lot of attention in the news, Rutstein said the charges were not pursued and no further legal action was taken. In 2012, one of Rutstein's long time employees Sly Egidio quit Boston Baseball to start "The Yawkey Way Report" named after Yawkey Way . By that time, Boston Baseball

1220-640: The Green Monster in left field. It is the fifth-smallest among MLB ballparks by seating capacity, second-smallest by total capacity, and one of nine that cannot accommodate at least 40,000 spectators. Fenway has hosted the World Series 11 times, with the Red Sox winning six of them and the Boston Braves winning one. Besides baseball games, it has also been the site of many other sporting and cultural events including professional football games for

1281-645: The New York Highlanders , 7–6 in 11 innings. Newspaper coverage of the opening was overshadowed by continuing coverage of the Titanic sinking five days earlier. In June 1919, a rally supporting Irish Independence turned out nearly 50,000 supporters to see the President of the Irish Republic, Éamon de Valera , and was allegedly the largest crowd ever in the ballpark. The park's address

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1342-609: The South End Grounds , home of the Boston Braves . The stadium was the site of the first World Series game between the modern American and National Leagues in 1903 , and also saw the first perfect game in the modern era, thrown by Cy Young on May 5, 1904. The playing field was built on a former circus lot and was extremely large by modern standards - 530 feet (160 m) to center field, later expanded to 635 feet (194 m) in 1908. It had many quirks not seen in modern baseball stadiums, including patches of sand in

1403-481: The ballpark of Major League Baseball 's (MLB) Boston Red Sox . While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantially rebuilt in 1934, and underwent major renovations and modifications in the 21st century. It is the oldest active ballpark in MLB. Because of its age and constrained location in Boston's dense Fenway–Kenmore neighborhood , the park has many quirky features, including "The Triangle", Pesky's Pole, and

1464-417: The "600 Club", were added above the home plate grandstand replacing the existing press box. The press box was then added to the top of the 600 Club. The 1988 addition has been thought to have changed the air currents in the park to the detriment of hitters. In 2002, the organization renamed the club seats the ".406 Club" (in honor of Ted Williams ' batting average in 1941). Between the 2005 and 2006 seasons

1525-467: The Green Monster, which would have cleared the park had it missed. The park's official estimate placed the home run one foot short of Williams' record at 501 feet (152.7 m). An April 2019 home run by Rowdy Tellez of the Toronto Blue Jays was initially reported as 505 feet (154 m), but later found to be significantly shorter, approximately 433 feet (132 m). Pesky's Pole is

1586-477: The Sox. The Boston Globe has described Smith as "the architect credited with saving Fenway Park." At completion of the renovations, it was reported that Fenway Park remains usable until as late as 2062. Fenway's capacity differs between day and night games because, during day games, the seats in center field (Section 35) are covered with a black tarp in order to provide a batter's eye . Fenway's lowest attendance

1647-422: The base of the wall, so that Duffy's Cliff no longer existed. The base of the left field wall is several feet below the grade level of Lansdowne Street, accounting for the occasional rat that might spook the scoreboard operators. There has been debate as to the true left field distance, which was once posted as 315 feet (96 m). A reporter from The Boston Globe was able to sneak into Fenway Park and measure

1708-473: The beginning of the 1912 season to play at Fenway Park . The Cabot Center , an indoor athletic venue belonging to Northeastern University , has stood on the Huntington Grounds' footprint since 1954. A plaque and a statue of Cy Young were erected in 1993 where the pitchers mound used to be, commemorating the history of this ballpark in what is now called World Series Way. Meanwhile, a plaque on

1769-520: The building included a dirt floor track & field facility, not uncommon at the time. Now known as the Solomon Indoor Track , the facilities have undergone a number of renovations, including the installation of a 120-yard banked track in 1971, followed by the installation of a flat rubber surface track. In 2008 the facilities were revamped once again, installing an embedded granule track featuring four-lane straightaways, two-lane ovals, and

1830-422: The center field flag pole (and thus under "The Triangle" of today). As a result, a left fielder had to play part of the territory running uphill (and back down). Boston's first star left fielder, Duffy Lewis , mastered the skill so well that the area became known as "Duffy's Cliff". The incline served two purposes: it was a support for a high wall and it was built to compensate for the difference in grades between

1891-408: The distance title. In the 2007 book The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs , researcher Bill Jenkinson found evidence that on May 25, 1926, Babe Ruth hit one in the pre-1934 bleacher configuration which landed five rows from the top in right field. This would have placed it at an estimated 545 feet (166 m) from home plate. On June 23, 2001, Manny Ramirez hit one that struck a light tower above

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1952-410: The distance. When the paper's evidence was presented to the club in 1995, the distance was remeasured by the Red Sox and restated at 310 feet (94 m). The companion 96-meter (315 ft) sign remained unchanged until 1998, when it was corrected to 94.5 meters (310 ft). In 1983, private suites were added to the roof behind home plate. In 1988, 610 stadium club seats enclosed in glass and named

2013-624: The existing .406 club was rebuilt as part of the continuing ballpark expansion efforts. The second deck now features two open-air levels: the bottom level is the new " Dell EMC Club" featuring 406 seats and concierge services and the upper level, the State Street Pavilion, has 374 seats and a dedicated standing room area. The added seats are wider than the previous seats. Outside Gate 5 is The Teammates statue, by Antonio Tobias Mendez, which depicts Red Sox players Bobby Doerr , Dom DiMaggio , Ted Williams , and Johnny Pesky . It

2074-400: The field and Lansdowne Street on the other side of that wall. The wall also served as a spectator-friendly seating area during the dead ball era when overflow crowds, in front of the later Green Monster , would sit on the incline behind ropes. As part of the 1934 remodeling of the ballpark, the bleachers, and the wall itself, Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey arranged to flatten the ground along

2135-447: The first thing fans see when they approach the stadium on game-day. The Red Sox' one-time cross-town rivals, the Boston Braves , used Fenway Park for the 1914 World Series and the 1915 season until Braves Field was completed; ironically, the Red Sox would then use Braves Field – which had a much higher seating capacity – for their own World Series games in 1915 and 1916 . Since 1990 (except in 2005 when, because of field work, it

2196-413: The foul pole, winning the game for the Red Sox and sending the series to a seventh and deciding game the next night, which Cincinnati won. Like Johnny Pesky's No. 6, Carlton had his No. 27 player number retired by the team. From 1912 to 1933, there was a 10-foot (3.0 m) high incline in front of the then 25-foot (7.6 m)-high left field wall at Fenway Park, extending from the left-field foul pole to

2257-431: The head. A confounded Boucher was later quoted as saying: How far away must one sit to be safe in this park? I didn't even get the ball. They say it bounced a dozen rows higher, but after it hit my head, I was no longer interested. I couldn't see the ball. Nobody could. The sun was right in our eyes. All we could do was duck. I'm glad I did not stand up. There have been other home runs hit at Fenway that have contended for

2318-448: The left end of the bleachers in center field, posted as 388 feet (118 m). The end of the bleachers form a right angle with the Green Monster and the flagpole stands within that little triangle. That is not the true power alley, but deep left-center. The true power alley distance is not posted. The foul line intersects with the Green Monster at nearly a right angle, so the power alley could be estimated at 336 feet (102 m), assuming

2379-731: The middle of the eighth inning. Beginning in 2006, the Red Sox have hosted the " Futures at Fenway " event, where two of their minor-league affiliates play a regular-season doubleheader as the "home" teams. Before the Futures day started, the most recent minor-league game held at Fenway had been the Eastern League All-Star Game in 1977. From 1970 to 1987, the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) played its annual all-star game at various major league stadiums. The games were interleague contests between

2440-511: The name for the pole on the right field foul line, which stands 302 feet (92 m) from home plate, the shortest outfield distance (left or right field) in Major League Baseball. Like the measurement of the left-field line at Fenway Park, this has been disputed. Aerial shots show it to be noticeably shorter than the (actual) 302 foot line in right field, and Pesky has been quoted as estimating it to be "around 295 feet". There

2501-528: The non-game day home of the men's basketball team. In the late 1990s, the facilities underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation culminating with the dedication of the court to long-time fan Bernard "Bunny" Solomon on November 28, 2000. The venue hosted the championship game of the ECAC North, now America East Conference men's basketball tournament in 1981. When the Cabot Center opened in 1954

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2562-430: The original Green Monster and the third base side of the park) as part of the overall new layout. Most of the current stadium was to be demolished to make room for new development, with one section remaining to house a baseball museum and public park. The proposal was highly controversial; it projected that the park had less than 15 years of usable life, would require hundreds of millions of dollars of public investment, and

2623-409: The original ballpark construction of 1912, the wall is made of wood, but was covered in tin and concrete in 1934, when the scoreboard was added. The wall was covered in hard plastic in 1976. The scoreboard is manually updated throughout the game. If a ball in play goes through a hole in the scoreboard while the scorers are replacing numbers, the batter is awarded a ground rule double . Similarly, if

2684-412: The outfield where grass would not grow, and a tool shed in deep center field that was in play. The park was built on a large plot of land bounded by Huntington Avenue (northwest, left field); Rogers (now Forsyth) Street (southwest, third base); railroad tracks (southeast, first base); and various buildings to the east (right field). The Huntington Avenue Grounds was demolished after the Red Sox left at

2745-453: The park. Clemens recalled telling the driver "No, Fenway Park, it's a baseball stadium ... this is a warehouse." Only when the driver told Clemens to look up and he saw the light towers did he realize he was in the right place. Fenway Park is one of the two remaining jewel box ballparks still in use in Major League Baseball, the other being Wrigley Field ; both have a significant number of obstructed view seats, due to pillars supporting

2806-422: The pole after Pesky won a game for Parnell in 1948 with a home run down the short right field line, just around the pole. However, Pesky hit just one home run in a game pitched by Parnell, a two-run shot in the first inning of a game against Detroit played on June 11, 1950. The game was eventually won by the visiting Tigers in the 14th inning on a three-run shot by Tigers right fielder Vic Wertz and Parnell earned

2867-439: The power alley is 22.5° away from the foul line as measured from home plate. "Williamsburg" was the name, invented by sportswriters, for the bullpen area built in front of the right-center field bleachers in 1940. It was built there primarily for the benefit of Ted Williams , to enable him and other left-handed batters to hit more home runs , since it was 23 feet (7.0 m) closer than the bleacher wall. The lone red seat in

2928-471: The record previously held by Jacobs Field in Cleveland . On June 17, 2009, the park celebrated its 500th consecutive Red Sox sellout. According to WBZ-TV, the team joined three NBA teams which achieved 500 consecutive home sellouts. The sellout streak ended on April 10, 2013 (with an attendance of 30,862) after the Red Sox sold out 794 regular season games and an additional 26 postseason games. The park

2989-446: The right field bleachers (Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21) signifies the longest home run ever hit at Fenway. The home run, hit by Ted Williams on June 9, 1946, was officially measured at 502 feet (153 m), well beyond "Williamsburg". According to Hit Tracker Online, the ball, if unobstructed, would have flown 520 to 535 feet (158 to 163 m). The ball landed on Joseph A. Boucher, penetrating his large straw hat and hitting him in

3050-516: The side of the Cabot Center (1956) marks the former location of the left field foul pole. The Cabot facility itself is barely over a quarter mile away to the southwest from another, still-standing Boston area sports facility of that era, Matthews Arena (built in 1910), the original home of the NHL's Boston Bruins when they started play in 1924. Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston , Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square . Since 1912, it has been

3111-580: The time has been cited as well. Like many classic ballparks, Fenway Park was constructed on an asymmetrical block, with consequent asymmetry in its field dimensions. The park was designed by architect James E. McLaughlin , and the General Contractor was the Charles Logue Building Company . The first game was played April 20, 1912, with mayor John F. Fitzgerald throwing out the first pitch and Boston defeating

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3172-503: The upper deck. These are sold as such, and are a reminder of the architectural limitations of older ballparks. George Will asserts in his book Men at Work that Fenway Park is a "hitters' ballpark", with its short right-field fence (302 feet), narrow foul ground (the smallest of any current major league park), and generally closer-than-normal outfield fences. By Rule 1.04, Note(a), all parks built after 1958 have been required to have foul lines at least 325 feet (99 m) long and

3233-402: Was a contact hitter who hit just 17 home runs in his career (6 at Fenway Park). It's not known how many of these six actually landed near the pole. The Red Sox give credit to pitcher (and later, Sox broadcaster) Mel Parnell for coining the name. The most notable for Pesky is a two-run homer in the eighth inning of the 1946 Opening Day game to win the game. According to Pesky, Mel Parnell named

3294-474: Was added on top of the wall. "The Triangle" is a region of center field where the walls form a triangle whose far corner is 420 feet (130 m) from home plate. That deep right-center point is conventionally given as the center field distance. The true center is unmarked, 390 feet (120 m) from home plate, to the left of "the Triangle" when viewed from home plate. There was once a smaller "Triangle" at

3355-524: Was held in a minor league ballpark, and 2020, as the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic ), Fenway Park has also hosted the final round of a Boston-area intercollegiate baseball tournament called the Baseball Beanpot, an equivalent to the more well-known hockey Beanpot tourney . The teams play the first rounds in minor league stadiums before moving on to Fenway for the final and

3416-400: Was later revealed to be part of a scheme by current ownership to increase the marketable value of the team as they were ready to sell. Several groups (such as "Save Fenway Park") formed in an attempt to block the move. A significant renovation of Fenway Park stretched over a 10-year period beginning around 2002 headed by Janet Marie Smith , then Vice President of Planning and Development for

3477-451: Was originally 24 Jersey Street . In 1977, the section of Jersey Street nearest the park was renamed Yawkey Way in honor of longtime Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey , and the park's address was 4 Yawkey Way until 2018, when the street's name was reverted to Jersey Street in light of current Red Sox ownership distancing itself from Yawkey due to his history of racism (the Red Sox were the last team in Major League Baseball to integrate). The address

3538-594: Was recorded on October 1, 1964 , when a game against the Cleveland Indians drew only 306 paid spectators. On May 15, 2003, the Red Sox game against the Texas Rangers sold out, beginning a sellout streak that lasted until 2013. On September 8, 2008, when the Red Sox hosted the Tampa Bay Rays , Fenway Park broke the all-time Major League record for consecutive sellouts with 456, surpassing

3599-463: Was selling for $ 3 per program, $ 2 cheaper than the in-park programs selling for $ 5. The Yawkey Way Report cost $ 1 and Egidio stationed his hawkers close to Boston Baseball's hawkers, starting a "hawker war." The Yawkey Way Report also came with baseball cards, ponchos and tote bags, which caused Rutstein to file his own complaints with Boston city code enforcement. Despite the rivalry, both programs continue to be hawked outside of Fenway Park and are often

3660-399: Was sold for $ 1, half the cost of the programs inside the park. To sell the program, Rutstein's employees would stand outside the park wearing bright red shirts and greet fans by holding a program up and shouting "Program, Scorecard, One Dollar!". By 1992, the Red Sox organization filed complaints with the city code enforcement arguing that the scorecard inside the magazine was not covered under

3721-432: Was unveiled in 2010. There is also a solo statue of Williams, unveiled in 2004, depicting him placing his cap on the head of a young boy. In 1990, Mike Rutstein started handing out the first issue of Boston Baseball Magazine (originally called Baseball Underground ) outside of the park. He was frustrated with the quality of the program being sold inside the park, which also came out once every two months. The program

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