Fenway Park, Home of the Boston Red Sox

Opened on April 20,1912, Fenway Park is the oldest standing stadium in the American League. It is, for all practical purposes, the same configuration today as it was in its early years, and it is regarded by many players, managers, broadcasters and fans as THE place in the AL to rekindle the feeling of how the game was when Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski graced the hallowed grounds. Its compact foul territories are compliment by a vast outfield, which is highlighted by the fame "Green Monster" left field wall, complete with a scoreboard that is still manually operated today.

Among the Hall of Fame caliber players who have called Fenway Park home at one time are Ruth, Williams, Yaz, as well as Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Carlton Fisk, Cy Young, Bobby Doerr and current BoSox legend Pedro Martinez.
The name of the Park, was bestowed by club owner John Taylor. Tiring of the lease he was under at the Huntingdon Avenue Grounds, he vowed to build a stadium especially for the team, and when pressed for a name, he dubbed the facility "Fenway Park" due to its location in the Fenway area of Boston.

In its infancy Fenway Park was home to Major League Baseball's championships, with the Sox winning the World Series crowns from 1912 to 1918. After the 1918 championship season, the team owner sold left handed pitcher George H. Ruth to the Yankees to fund a Broadway production he was sponsor of, thus the "curse of the Babe" lore was born. Though the Red Sox have returned to the post season several times since, it has yet to win another World Series title.

The dimensions of the Park are as follows:
Left field - 310', Left centerfield - 379', Centerfield - 399', Deep centerfield - 420', Deep right field - 380' and Right field - 320'. The "Green Monster" (pictured) measures 37' high, with an extended fence 23 feet high. The centerfield wall measure 17 feet in heigth, while the bullpens wall and right field wall are five feet high. You may roll the mouse over the picture to see a graph of the dimensions.

Some more "Fenway" facts -

• With 240 new seats being added atop the right field rough, the capacity of Fenway Park will number over 34,000
• In 92 years, no player has ever hit a home run over the right field rough
• There is a ladder on "The Green Monster" which the equipment manager used to climb to retrieve balls hit during batting practice. A ball which hits it is considered in play, regardless of how unusual an angle the baseball may direct off of it.
• The Boston Patriots once played at the stadium, before moving to the suburb of Foxboro, and being renamed the New England Patriots.
• Former team owners Tom and Jean Yawkey's initials are engraved into the left field wall
• The final MLB All Star Game of the 20th Century was played at Fenway Park in July, 1999. The occasion was highlighted by the return of legendary left fielder Ted Williams' appearance, when he doffed his cap to Boston fans for the first, and only, time in his life.