Which of the 10 Never Before Seen Facts on Fenway Park Will Impress You the Most? Those 10 Facts on Fenway Park are…
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10 Never Before Seen Facts on Fenway Park
Fenway Park is one of the great destination venues every baseball fan has on their bucket list. In fact, the Red Sox stadium is the oldest MLB ballpark in America (1912) ahead of Wrigley Field (1914) and Dodger Stadium (1962). Any Boston fan that bleeds Red Sox red will know every information possible, from the team winning four world championships since 2004 to Mookie Betts winning the 2018 MVP. However, there are new Fenway Park facts that many baseball supporters never knew or never heard of in their lives. For details on what facts baseball fans rarely knew about, please refer to 10 Never Before Seen Facts on Fenway Park below!
10: Construction Accident at Fenway Park
After being swept by the eventual World Series Champion Chicago White Sox in the 2005 Division Series, the Red Sox were having their ballpark refurbished. Fenway Park was getting rid of the glassed-in home plate seating section on the second floor called the .406 club. It was named after Ted Williams’ batting average of .406 in 1941. Williams is the last baseball player to hit over .400 in a season. The Red Sox were replacing the .406 club with a new experience called the EMC2 Club with new seats and a full-service restaurant. One day, during construction, the scaffolding structure that would support the workers collapsed from the second level to the main floor. Luckily, there were no injuries nor casualties. The EMC2 Club (which opened in time for the 2006 season) is now known as Dell Technologies Club that serves burgers, lobster rolls, salads, and desserts.
9: Jimmy Buffet Recorded a Live Album from Fenway
2004 was a historic moment for Red Sox fans as they saw their team end the 86-year World Series drought. In fact, Boston made history when they became the 1st team (and only so far) to rally from a 3-0 series deficit in the Championship Series vs. New York Yankees. But not many people remembered another major moment that happened in 2004. That’s when Jimmy Buffett and the Parrot Heads came to Boston. During the Red Sox’ road trip in Fall 2004, Buffett performed a live album from Fenway Park. The main stage was set to the right of the Green Monster in the outfield. The album cover is a must see as we see Jimmy poking his head out of the Green Monster. The live album was eventually released in late 2005.
8: The Origin for “Sweet Caroline” at Fenway Had Nothing to do with Baseball
Interestingly, the Red Sox’ origin of playing “Sweet Caroline” in the first place had nothing to do with baseball. In 1997, Fenway Park’s Director of Music Amy Tobey played a song to congratulate her friend for giving birth to a baby girl named Caroline. The tune would be played on select nights during the late 1990s before executive changes took place. When Dr. Charles Steinberg became the Vice President for Public Affairs in 2002, it became a full-time stable. Steinberg decided to make the song an every-game thing due to its power to energize and motivate the ballpark crowd. “Sweet Caroline” plays during the 8th inning of each game at Fenway Park, and it has been a tradition for over 20 years. A touching moment occurred in 2013 when the song’s singer (Neil Diamond) performed the tune live at Fenway Park. The city of Boston was recovering from the Boston Marathon bombings.
7: The Red Sox Ballpark is a Place for LEGO® Fans, Too!
Not only is Fenway Park a landmark for baseball fans, but the stadium is also a destination for LEGO® toy bricks fans. Over at the Kids Concourse (Entering Gate K where the Four Teammates Statue is), there is a life-sized LEGO® Statue of Red Sox Hall of Famer David Ortiz. The builders took nearly 300 hours and over 34,000 pieces to construct the masterpiece. There is also a replica of the David Ortiz structure at the Red Sox Spring Training at JetBlue Park (Ft. Myers, FL) in the Home Plate Concourse near the team store. In addition to the David Ortiz Statue, there is a LEGO® Wall Mural of Fenway Park’s “Final Season of the Century.” The wall is located in the 1st Base Concourse on the left side. The LEGO® Mural is over 7 feet tall and it has over 10,000 pieces. Fenway Park hosted the All-Star Game in the Final Season of the Century in 1999.
6: The Home of the Red Sox Hosted Professional Basketball Games
Fenway Park hosts non-baseball events throughout the year, ranging from concerts to the upcoming 2023 NHL Winter Classic. In fact, the ballpark is going to host a seasonal college bowl game called the Fenway Bowl. But did you know that Fenway Park was the home for professional basketball games? That’s right! During the 1950s and 1960s, the Harlem Globetrotters® played three games at “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark.” More than 13,000 spectators showed up to see the comedic side of professional basketball. Harlem is notable for winning nearly every game as well as their gameplay mixed with comedy. Fenway Park was not the only baseball stadium to host the Globetrotters, as Dodger Stadium hosted them in the past.
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5: Before Fenway Park, the Site was Occupied by a Trash Landfill! Really!
Before Wrigley Field was the site for a church & priest school. Before Dodger Stadium was a canceled townhome housing project. However, did you know that there was a garbage landfill on the site where Fenway Park sits today? That is no joke! The city dump first opened for public use in the early 1890s. Nearly 20 years later, the owners of the Red Sox decided to build Fenway Park on the landfill site due to the area’s strong connection with railroad transportation. So the new stadium soon began construction and opened to the baseball community in 1912. Remember that railroad reference? That’s still relevant today as there is an underground subway train station located in Kenmore Square across the David Ortiz Bridge from Fenway Park.
4: What’s Inside the Green Monster at Left Field?
Going inside the Green Monster is a must-do thing that every Red Sox fan wants to accomplish in their lives. They want to know if they get the chance to encounter the Monster’s mouth or in other words: what’s in the Green Monster? The inside of the left field scoreboard consists of the following: rack of number scorecards, name plates for the home and visiting teams, player signatures, chairs, and even a television installed near the ceiling. The monster also has a square window where fans can poke their heads out of and see the Fenway Park field. As we mentioned before, Jimmy Buffet got to poke his head out for his live album. Even ballhawker Zack Hample got to visit inside the Green Monster.
3: Carlton Fisk’s Iconic Home Run Almost Wasn’t Caught on Camera
Remember watching old baseball highlights where Red Sox player Carlton Fisk was waving for the home run to stay fair? In Game 6 of the 1975 World Series? Well, that film footage almost didn’t happen! When the hall of fame catcher hit that famous home run, the left field cameraman (Lou Gerard of NBC) was advised to follow that baseball. Then, out of nowhere, a large rat was spotted by the camera guy as the rodent crawled around the left field area. Feeling that following the home run ball would catch the glimpse of the off-putting rat, he focused on just Carlton Fisk. The move turned out to be a turning point not only for the camera guy, but for the baseball media forever. Even though Boston lost the series in seven games vs. Cincinnati Reds, the home run remained in the minds of Red Sox fans for years to come. Right next to the Green Monster Seats is a glass window portrait of Fisk’s famous home run wave.
2: Composer John Williams Wrote a Song Just for Fenway Park
John Williams, known for his musical collaboration with director Steven Spielberg, actually wrote a song just for Fenway Park. During the 100th anniversary of “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark” in 2012, John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra performed a live show behind home plate. They played the song “Fanfare for Fenway” at a pregame ceremony where dozens and dozens of former Red Sox players stood in the infield. Those in attendance were former manager Terry Francona, Hall of Famers Carl Yastrzemski and Jim Rice, and many more. During the game, both the Red Sox and the Yankees wore throwback 1912 uniforms. And best of all, Williams and the Orchestra performed the show in front of a sold-out stadium.
1: At One Time, Fenway Park was used as an Airbnb Inside the Stadium
Believe it or not, Fenway Park was used as an Airbnb (where guests usually spend overnight in houses rather than in hotels/motels). In fall 2015, the Red Sox held a contest with Airbnb where a lucky winner got to stay a night at the stadium’s luxury suite. The stay included breakfast at the Green Monster seats and dinner on top of the right field grandstand. The Red Sox player greeting the guests was originally going to be Curt Schilling, but Boston cut ties with the pitcher following his controversial social media posts. So instead, the winners were greeted by knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Now, who were the winners of the contest? The winners were Tony and Kim Ramsay from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. The couple went through a ballpark tour and got to meet Wakefield (who taught them how to throw knuckleballs). Before the game started, Kim and Tony then visited the Green Monster and walked toward home plate. When the game concluded, they checked into their 3rd base side luxury suite for the night.
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