1.
Boston Red Sox
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The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the American League East division. The Red Sox have won eight World Series championships and have played in 13, founded in 1901 as one of the American Leagues eight charter franchises, the Red Sox home ballpark has been Fenway Park since 1912. The Red Sox name was chosen by the owner, John I. Taylor, around 1908, following the lead of previous teams that had known as the Boston Red Stockings. Boston was a dominant team in the new league, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903 and winning four more championships by 1918. Following their victory in the 2013 World Series, they became the first team to win three World Series trophies in the 21st century, including championships in 2004 and 2007. Red Sox history has also marked by the teams intense rivalry with the Yankees. The Boston Red Sox are owned by Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Liverpool F. C. of the Premier League in England. The Red Sox are consistently one of the top MLB teams in road attendance. From May 15,2003 to April 10,2013, the Red Sox sold out every home game—a total of 820 games for a professional sports record. Neil Diamonds Sweet Caroline has become an anthem for the Red Sox, the name Red Sox, chosen by owner John I. Taylor after the 1907 season, refers to the red hose in the team uniform beginning 1908. Sox had been adopted for the Chicago White Sox by newspapers needing a headline-friendly form of Stockings. The team name Red Sox had previously used as early as 1888 by a colored team from Norfolk. The Spanish language media sometimes refers to the team as Medias Rojas, the official Spanish site uses the variant Los Red Sox. The Red Stockings nickname was first used by a team by the Cincinnati Red Stockings. Managed by Harry Wright, Cincinnati adopted a uniform with white knickers and red stockings and earned the famous nickname, the Boston Red Stockings won four championships in the five seasons of the new National Association, the first professional league. Other names were used before Boston officially adopted the nickname Braves in 1912
2.
Michael T. McGreevy
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Michael T. Nuf Ced McGreevy was the leader of the most vocal fans of the Boston Americans, today known as the Royal Rooters. McGreevy owned the Third Base Saloon, which got its name because, like third base and his saloon was Bostons original sports bar - it was decorated in a baseball theme, with pictures of the players, and a scoreboard on the outside wall. His nickname Nuf Ced was given to him because that was what he usually shouted to end disputes, usually about the Boston Americans. He was an member of the L Street Brownies, one of the oldest polar bear swim clubs in the country. McGreevy amassed a collection of photographs, clippings, and other baseball memorabilia. When Prohibition forced McGreevy to close Third Base, he donated his collection to the Boston Public Library, author Glenn Stout helped popularize the collection when he worked at the library. The theme song of the Royal Rooters was Tessie from the Broadway musical The Silver Slipper, McGreevy was immortalized in a 2004 remake of the song by the Irish American punk band Dropkick Murphys. It subsequently was part of the soundtrack of the movie Fever Pitch concerning fans of the 2004 season of the Red Sox, in 2008, Dropkick Murphys bassist Ken Casey re-opened Third Base, although it is no longer known as such. Now the tavern is known as McGreevys Boston and can be converted to open-air, there is also a sign on the front of the bar that says 1200 Steps to Fenway Park. It is on Boylston Street and is right across the street from the Hynes Convention Center located in the Back Bay of Boston, baseball Guru, Nuf Ced & The Royal Rooters & Good Old Tessie Boston Public Librarys McGreevy Collection on Flickr. com
3.
John F. Fitzgerald
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John Francis Honey Fitz Fitzgerald was an American politician, father of Rose Kennedy and maternal grandfather of President John F. Kennedy. Fitzgerald, born to Irish immigrants, was a Democratic congressman who went on to win two terms as mayor of Boston, and made unsuccessful runs for Governor of Massachusetts. He made major improvements to the port, and became a patron of the team now known as the Boston Red Sox. He maintained a profile in the city, with his theatrical style of campaigning. His daughter Rose married Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. the son of his political rival P. J. Kennedy, in old age, Fitzgerald helped his grandson John F. Kennedy to win his first seat in congress. John Francis Fitzgerald was born in the North End of Boston to Irish businessman/politician Thomas Fitzgerald of Bruff, County Limerick and he was the fourth of twelve children. Both of his sisters, Ellen and Mary, and his eldest brother, Michael, Fitzgeralds brother Joseph had severe brain damage from malaria and barely functioned. Only three of the children survived in good health, Fitzgeralds mother died when he was sixteen. His father wished for him to become a doctor to help prevent future tragedies of the sort that had marred the Fitzgerald family. Accordingly, after being educated at Boston Latin School and Boston College, he enrolled at Harvard Medical School for one year, Fitzgerald later became a clerk at the Customs House in Boston and was active in the local Democratic Party. Fitzgerald was a member of the Royal Rooters, a supporters club for Bostons baseball teams, particularly its American League team. At one point, he was the chairman, and threw out the ceremonial opening pitch in Fenway Parks inaugural game. His great-granddaughter Caroline Kennedy threw out the first pitch for Fenway Parks 100th anniversary on April 20,2012, Fitzgerald was elected to Bostons Common Council in 1891. In 1892, he became a member of the Massachusetts Senate and these early victories came about with support from the powerful boss of Bostons 8th ward, Martin Lomasney. In 1906, Fitzgerald was elected Mayor of Boston, becoming the first American-born Irish-Catholic to be elected to that office, in the process, he made an enemy of the powerful Lomasney, who had fielded one of his lieutenants for the office. Fitzgerald served as mayor of Boston from 1906 to 1908, was defeated for re-election, of his stylish manner, Robert Dallek wrote, He was a natural politician—a charming, impish, affable lover of people. His warmth of character earned him yet another nickname, Honey Fitz, a pixie-like character with florid face, bright eyes, and sandy hair, he was a showman who could have had a career in vaudeville. But politics, with all the brokering that went into arranging alliances, a verse of the day ran, Honey Fitz can talk you blind / on any subject you can find / Fish and fishing, motor boats / Railroads, streetcars, getting votes
4.
John F. Kennedy
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Kennedy was a member of the Democratic Party, and his New Frontier domestic program was largely enacted as a memorial to him after his death. Kennedy also established the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, Kennedys time in office was marked by high tensions with Communist states. He increased the number of American military advisers in South Vietnam by a factor of 18 over President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in Cuba, a failed attempt was made at the Bay of Pigs to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro in April 1961. He subsequently rejected plans by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to orchestrate false-flag attacks on American soil in order to gain approval for a war against Cuba. After military service in the United States Naval Reserve in World War II and he was elected subsequently to the U. S. Senate and served as the junior Senator from Massachusetts from 1953 until 1960. Kennedy defeated Vice President, and Republican presidential candidate, Richard Nixon in the 1960 U. S, at age 43, he became the youngest elected president and the second-youngest president. Kennedy was also the first person born in the 20th century to serve as president, to date, Kennedy has been the only Roman Catholic president and the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22,1963, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested that afternoon and determined to have fired the shots that hit the President from a sixth floor window of the Texas School Book Depository. Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald two days later in a jail corridor, then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded Kennedy after he died in the hospital. The FBI and the Warren Commission officially concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin, the majority of Americans alive at the time of the assassination, and continuing through 2013, believed that there was a conspiracy and that Oswald was not the only shooter. Since the 1960s, information concerning Kennedys private life has come to light, including his health problems, Kennedy continues to rank highly in historians polls of U. S. presidents and with the general public. His average approval rating of 70% is the highest of any president in Gallups history of systematically measuring job approval and his grandfathers P. J. Kennedy and Boston Mayor John F. Fitzgerald were both Massachusetts politicians. All four of his grandparents were the children of Irish immigrants, Kennedy had an elder brother, Joseph Jr. and seven younger siblings, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Ted. Kennedy lived in Brookline for ten years and attended the Edward Devotion School, the Noble and Greenough Lower School, and the Dexter School through 4th grade. In 1927, the Kennedy family moved to a stately twenty-room, Georgian-style mansion at 5040 Independence Avenue in the Hudson Hill neighborhood of Riverdale, Bronx and he attended the lower campus of Riverdale Country School, a private school for boys, from 5th to 7th grade. Two years later, the moved to 294 Pondfield Road in the New York City suburb of Bronxville, New York. The Kennedy family spent summers at their home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in September 1930, Kennedy—then 13 years old—attended the Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut. In late April 1931, he required an appendectomy, after which he withdrew from Canterbury, in September 1931, Kennedy attended Choate, a boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, for 9th through 12th grade
5.
Tessie
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Tessie is both the longtime anthem of the Boston Red Sox and a 2004 song by the punk rock group Dropkick Murphys. The original Tessie was from the 1902 Broadway musical The Silver Slipper, the newer song, written in 2004, recounts how the singing of the original Tessie by the Royal Rooters fan club helped the Boston Americans win the first World Series in 1903. The name Tessie itself is a form used with several names, including Esther, Tess. The original version of Tessie was written by Will R. Anderson and was featured in the Broadway musical The Silver Slipper, the song was about a woman singing to her beloved parakeet Tessie. Boston mayor John Honey Fitz Fitzgerald, grandfather of President John F. Kennedy, was a member of the Royal Rooters, after the first four games of the 1903 World Series, Boston was down 1-3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Royal Rooters began rallying their team with every song they could think of, there are stories that the Royal Rooters actually traveled to Pittsburgh and hired a band to play Tessie to annoy the Pirates on their home field. Pittsburgh outfielder Tommy Leach credited at least part of Bostons win to that damn Tessie song and he continued, It was a real hum-dinger of a song, but it sort of got on your nerves after a while. Boston won Game 5 and went on to win Games 6,7, the chorus to the original Tessie goes, Tessie, you make me feel so badly. Tessie, you know I love you madly, babe, my heart weighs about a pound. Dont blame me if I ever doubt you, You know I wouldnt live without you, Tessie, you are the only, only, only. The fans began inventing their own lyrics to taunt the Pittsburgh players, such as, Honus, take a back seat and sit down Honus, at bat you look so sadly. Hey, why dont you get out of town, the Rooters stopped singing in 1918. The Red Sox won the World Series in 1918 but then endured an 86-year drought before winning again in 2004, in 2004, the Boston-area celtic punk group Dropkick Murphys recorded a cover of Tessie, released on an EP of the same name. The Dropkicks said it was their intent to bring back the spirit of the Rooters, the goal of the Dropkicks was realized when later that year the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. And the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions, for the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseballs world championship. The video game MVP Baseball 2005 features the song, proceeds from the sale of the EP went to benefit the Red Sox Foundation. Tessie is the second of three songs played after every Red Sox win at Fenway Park, the first being Dirty Water by The Standells, the third is Joy To The World by Three Dog Night. Trot Nixon used Tessie as his intro music when he played for the Red Sox
6.
Broadway theatre
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Along with Londons West End theatres, Broadway theatres are widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. The Theater District is a popular tourist attraction in New York City, the great majority of Broadway shows are musicals. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The Beggars Opera, in 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice, the company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed in 1798, the Bowery Theatre opened in 1826, followed by others. Blackface minstrel shows, a distinctly American form of entertainment, became popular in the 1830s, by the 1840s, P. T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblos Garden opened, the 3, 000-seat theatre presented all sorts of musical and non-musical entertainments. In 1844, Palmos Opera House opened and presented opera for four seasons before bankruptcy led to its rebranding as a venue for plays under the name Burtons Theatre. The Astor Opera House opened in 1847, booth played the role for a famous 100 consecutive performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in 1865, and would later revive the role at his own Booths Theatre. Other renowned Shakespeareans who appeared in New York in this era were Henry Irving, Tommaso Salvini, Fanny Davenport, lydia Thompson came to America in 1868 heading a small theatrical troupe, adapting popular English burlesques for middle-class New York audiences. Thompsons troupe called the British Blondes, was the most popular entertainment in New York during the 1868–1869 theatrical season, the six-month tour ran for almost six extremely profitable years. Theatre in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown beginning around 1850, in 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square, and by the end of the century, many theatres were near Madison Square. Broadways first long-run musical was a 50-performance hit called The Elves in 1857, New York runs continued to lag far behind those in London, but Laura Keenes musical burletta The Seven Sisters shattered previous New York records with a run of 253 performances. It was at a performance by Keenes troupe of Our American Cousin in Washington, the production was a staggering five-and-a-half hours long, but despite its length, it ran for a record-breaking 474 performances. The same year, The Black Domino/Between You, Me and the Post was the first show to call itself a musical comedy, Tony Pastor opened the first vaudeville theatre one block east of Union Square in 1881, where Lillian Russell performed. Comedians Edward Harrigan and Tony Hart produced and starred in musicals on Broadway between 1878 and 1890, with book and lyrics by Harrigan and music by his father-in-law David Braham. They starred high quality singers, instead of the women of repute who had starred in earlier musical forms. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits, as in England, during the latter half of the century, the theatre began to be cleaned up, with less prostitution hindering the attendance of the theatre by women
7.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
8.
West Village
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The West Village is a neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The Far West Village extends from the Hudson River to Hudson Street, bordering neighborhoods are Chelsea to the north, Hudson Square – officially designated in 2009 – and the South Village to the south, and the East Village to the east. The neighborhood is residential, with a multitude of small restaurants, shops. Residential property sale prices in the West Village neighborhood are some of the most expensive in the United States, historically, local residents and preservation groups have been concerned about development in the Village and have fought to preserve the architectural and historic integrity of the neighborhood. More than 50 blocks of West Village, bordered on the north by 14th Street, is part of a Historic District established by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Districts convoluted borders run no farther south than 4th Street or St. Lukes Place, Redevelopment in this area is severely restricted, and developers must preserve the main facade and aesthetics of the buildings even during renovation. This district—which was, for four decades, the citys largest—was created in 1969 by the then-four-year-old New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, advocates continued to pursue their goal of additional designation, spurred in particular by the increased pace of development in the 1990s. Those include, Gansevoort Market Historic District was the first new district in Greenwich Village in 34 years. The 112 buildings on 11 blocks protect the citys distinctive Meatpacking District with its cobblestone streets, 11th Street, as well as the Keller Hotel, all in 2007. Washington and Greenwich Street Rezoning, approved in 2010, was passed in time to protect six blocks from out-of-scale hotel development. The West Village historically was known as an important landmark on the map of American bohemian culture in the early, the neighborhood was known for its colorful, artistic residents and the alternative culture they propagated. Due in part to the attitudes of many of its residents. It is also the site of new residential towers designed by American architect Richard Meier facing the Hudson River at 173/176 Perry Street. The Tenth Street Studio Building was situated at 51 West 10th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, the building was commissioned by James Boorman Johnston and designed by Richard Morris Hunt. Its innovative design soon represented a national architectural prototype, and featured a central gallery. Hunts studio within the building housed the first architectural school in the United States. Soon after its completion in 1857, the building helped to make Greenwich Village central to the arts in New York City, drawing artists from all over the country to work, exhibit, and sell their art. In its initial years Winslow Homer took a studio there, as did Edward Lamson Henry, from the late 19th century through the 21st century, the Hotel Albert has served as a cultural icon of Greenwich Village
9.
1912 World Series
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In the 1912 World Series, the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Giants four games to three. This dramatic series showcased great pitching from Giant Christy Mathewson and from Boston fireballer Smoky Joe Wood, Wood won two of his three starts and pitched in relief in the final game. In the deciding game, Boston rallied for two runs in the tenth inning thanks to two costly Giants fielding misplays, nearly all of the games were close. Four games in this Series were decided by one run, a sixth was decided by two runs. Game 7 was the one with a margin greater than three runs. Two games, including the decisive Game 8, went to extra innings, in Games 1 and 3, the losing team had the tying and winning runs on base when the game ended. This was one of only four World Series to go to eight games, also, it was at Game 4 of this Series that the World Series drew its 1,000, 000th fan. The total attendance record for this Series would stand as a record until 1921, when 269,977 attended the 1921 World Series, the first with Babe Ruth as an everyday player. Like this World Series, the 1921 World Series also went eight games, though unlike this World Series, which was a best-of-seven, the 1921 World Series was a best-of-nine. AL Boston Red Sox vs. NL New York Giants In batting practice before Game 1, Tris Speaker drove a ball not only over the right field grandstand, the Series opened with the Red Sox as 10–8 betting favorites. Giants manager John McGraw surprised everyone by starting rookie Jeff Tesreau rather than the great Christy Mathewson against Boston ace Smoky Joe Wood and he preferred to save Mathewson for Game 2 and the hostile crowd at Fenway Park. Josh Devore walked with one out in the third, and advanced to third base on a single by Larry Doyle lost in the sun by Duffy Lewis, after Fred Snodgrass struck out, Red Murrays single scored Devore and Doyle for a 2–0 Giants lead. Oddly, McGraw let relief pitcher Doc Crandall bat for himself for what turned out to be the last out rather than using backup catcher Art Wilson to pinch-hit, after the game Wood said, I threw so hard I thought my arm would fly right off my body. Christy Mathewson later said of the moment when he took the mound at Fenway Park, I could think of nothing greater than pitching this game for the glory of the New York Giants. An error by Giants shortstop Art Fletcher led to three first-inning unearned Boston runs off Mathewson, single tallies in the second and fourth by the Giants cut the lead to 3–2. Another error by Fletcher, who failed to tag Harry Hooper on a base attempt. In the top of the eighth Boston returned the favor, allowing New York to strike back for three runs, left field at brand-new Fenway Park was unique for a ten-to-fifteen-foot incline in front of the wall. He scored on Fred Murrays double, and two batters later third baseman Buck Herzog hit a double to give New York a 5–4 lead
10.
1903 World Series
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The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. Pittsburg pitcher Sam Leever injured his shoulder while trap-shooting, so his teammate Deacon Phillippe pitched five complete games, Phillippe won three of his games, but it was not enough to overcome the club from the new American League. Boston pitchers Bill Dinneen and Cy Young led Boston to victory, in Game 1, Phillippe struck out ten Boston batters. The next day, Dinneen bettered that mark, striking out eleven Pittsburg batters in Game 2, honus Wagner, bothered by injuries, batted only 6 for 27 in the Series and committed six errors. The shortstop was deeply distraught by his performance, the following spring, Wagner refused to send his portrait to a Hall of Fame for batting champions. I was too bum last year, he wrote, I was a joke in that Boston-Pittsburg Series. What does it profit a man to hammer along and make a few hits when they are not needed only to fall down when it comes to a pinch, I would be ashamed to have my picture up now. Due to overflow crowds at the Exposition Park games in Allegheny City, if a ball rolled under a rope in the outfield that held spectators back. Seventeen ground-rule triples were hit in the four games played at the stadium, in the series, Boston came back from a three games to one deficit, winning the final four games to capture the title. Such a large comeback would not happen again until the Pirates came back to defeat the Washington Senators in the 1925 World Series, much was made of the influence of Bostons Royal Rooters, who traveled to Exposition Park and sang their theme song Tessie to distract the opposing players. Boston wound up winning three out of four games in Allegheny City, Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss added his share of the gate receipts to the players share, so the losing teams players actually finished with a larger individual share than the winning teams. The Series brought the new American League prestige and proved its best could beat the best of the National League, thus strengthening the demand for future World Series competitions. In 1901, Ban Johnson, president of the Western League, Johnson and fellow owners raided the National League and signed away many star players, including Cy Young and Jimmy Collins. Johnson had a list of 46 National Leaguers he targeted for the American League, by 1902, all, the constant raiding, however, scotched the idea of a championship between the two leagues. However, Johnson had spoken of putting a team in Pittsburg and even attempted to raid the Pirates roster in August 1902, which soured Dreyfuss. At the end of the season, however, the Pirates played a group of American League All-Stars in an exhibition series. The leagues finally called a truce in the winter of 1902–03, the following season, the Boston Americans and Pittsburg Pirates had secured their respective championship pennants by September. That August, Dreyfuss challenged the American League to a championship series
11.
Pittsburgh Pirates
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The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball as a club of the National League Central division. Founded on October 15,1881 as Allegheny, the franchise has won five World Series championships, the Pirates are also often referred to as the Bucs or the Buccos. They also won the 1971 World Series, led by the talent of Roberto Clemente, overall, the Pirates have won five World Series and lost two. They would then advance to the NL Division Series round, where they lost in 5 games to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pirates would continue their success and make the playoffs in both 2014 and 2015, losing in the Wild Card Game both times. Professional baseball has been played in the Pittsburgh area since 1876, the teams of the era were independents, barnstorming throughout the region and not affiliated with any organized league, though they did have salaries and were run as business organizations. On October 15,1881, the strongest team in the joined the American Association as a founding member to begin play in 1882. Their various home fields in the 19th century were in a city called Allegheny City. After five mediocre seasons in the A. A, Pittsburgh became the first A. A. team to switch to the older National League in 1887. At this time, the team renamed itself the Pittsburgh Alleghenys, at that time, owner-manager Horace Phillips sold the team to Dennis McKnight, Phillips stayed on as manager. Before the 1890 season, nearly all of the Alleghenys best players bolted to the Players Leagues Pittsburgh Burghers, the Players League collapsed after the season, and the players were allowed to go back to their old clubs. However, the Alleghenys also scooped up highly regarded second baseman Lou Bierbauer, although the Athletics had failed to include Bierbauer on their reserve list, they loudly protested the Alleghenys move. In an official complaint, an AA official claimed the Alleghenys signing of Bierbauer was piratical and this incident quickly accelerated into a schism between the leagues that contributed to the demise of the A. A. Although the Alleghenys were never found guilty of wrongdoing, they made sport of being denounced for being piratical by renaming themselves the Pirates for the 1891 season, the nickname was first acknowledged on the teams uniforms in 1912. The Pirates were a team in the early 1900s, winning National League pennants from 1901–1903. They again won the NL in 1925 and 1927 and the World Series in 1925, after a slow period, they returned to dominance and won the 1960 World Series,1971 World Series and 1979 World Series. They won Eastern Division titles from 1990–1992 but did not return to the post-season after that until 2013, on Opening Day 2015 the Pirates loss to the Cincinnati Reds represented its 10, 000th franchise loss since moving to the NL. This made the Pirates the fourth MLB team to achieve distinction, following the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves
12.
Honus Wagner
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Johannes Peter Honus Wagner was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wagner won eight batting titles, tied for the most in National League history with Tony Gwynn and he also led the league in slugging six times, and in stolen bases five times. Wagner was nicknamed The Flying Dutchman due to his superb speed and this name was a nod to the popular folk-tale made into a famous opera by another Wagner. In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Wagner as one of the first five members and he received the second-highest vote total, behind Ty Cobb and tied with Babe Ruth. Cobb himself called Wagner maybe the greatest star ever to take the diamond, in addition, Wagner is the featured player of one of the rarest and most valuable baseball cards in the world. Wagner was born to German immigrants Peter and Katheryn Wagner in the borough of Chartiers, in what is now Carnegie, Wagner was one of nine children. As a child, he was called Hans by his mother, Hans was also an alternate nickname during his major league career. Wagner dropped out of school at age 12 to help his father, in their free time, he and his brothers played sandlot baseball and developed their skills to such an extent that three of his brothers went on to become professionals as well. Wagners older brother, Albert Butts Wagner, who had a major league career himself, is often credited with getting Honus his first tryout. Butts persuaded his manager to take a look at his younger brother, following his brother, Wagner trained to be a barber before becoming successful in baseball. In 1916, Wagner married Bessie Baine Smith, and the couple would have three daughters, Elva Katrina, Betty Baine, and Virginia Mae, Honus brother Albert Butts Wagner was considered the ballplayer of the family. Albert suggested Honus in 1895 when his Inter-State League team was in need of help, Wagner would play for five teams in that first year, in three different leagues over the course of 80 games. In 1896 Edward Barrow, from the Wheeling, West Virginia, team that Wagner was playing on, decided to take Honus with him to his next team, the Paterson Silk Sox. Barrow proved to be a talent scout, as Wagner could play wherever he was needed. Wagner would hit.313 for Paterson in 1896 and.375 in 74 games in 1897, recognizing that Wagner should be playing at the highest level, Barrow contacted the Louisville Colonels, who had finished last in the National League in 1896 with a record of 38-93. They were doing better in 1897 when Barrow persuaded club president Barney Dreyfuss, club secretary Harry Pulliam, Pulliam, though, persuaded Dreyfuss and Clarke to take a chance on him. Wagner debuted with Louisville on July 19, and hit.338 in 61 games, by his second season, Wagner was already one of the best hitters in the National League although he came up short a percentage point from finishing the season at.300. Following the 1899 season, the NL contracted from twelve to eight teams, along with Wagner, owner Barney Dreyfuss, who had purchased half ownership in the Pirates, took many of his other top players with him to Pittsburgh
13.
Dropkick Murphys
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The Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The 2004 single Tessie became the bands first mainstream hit and one of their biggest charting singles to date, the band is known for their loud, energetic live shows. In 2007, the band began releasing music through their own imprint label,6, giving the band their highest-charting album to date. The bands ninth album,11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory was released on January 6,2017, the band was named after Dr. John Dropkick Murphys alcohol-detoxification facility. The Dropkick Murphys, first started playing in the basement of a barbershop and soon began to tour. They received their first big break when The Mighty Mighty Bosstones selected them as the act for their 1997 tour in support of Lets Face It. After putting out a series of EPs, they were signed by Hellcat Records in 1997, in 1998 they released their first full-length album, Do or Die, which was produced by Rancids Lars Frederiksen. Lead singer Mike McColgan left the band in 1998 during the middle of a US tour with The Business, according to McColgan he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his uncle and join the Boston Fire Department, which he eventually would do in 2001. We apologize to anyone who was a fan of Mike as our singer, however contrary to popular rumor, Mike left the band because he is no longer interested in being a member of this band or the movement of which we are a part. The band goes on to explain that their music is serious to them. Even Mike felt that the band deserved a singer who was invested in the music. Mike would later return to the scene in 2003 as singer of the Street Dogs. Following McColgans departure, the searched for a replacement however were not having much luck. Barr went in to audition for the band, first performing a new song titled 10 Years of Service and was offered the job right away, Barrs first release with the band was the 19987 single for Curse of a Fallen Soul. On March 9,1999, the released their second studio album and first with Barr. The album featured more of a punk sound closer to that of Barrs former band, The Bruisers. The band gained their first mainstream exposure when the video for their single 10 Years of Service received airplay on the MTV show 120 Minutes, the band set out on a year-long tour to support the album. In late 1999, the band along with The Business, released a single titled
14.
2004 World Series
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The 2004 World Series was the 100th edition of Major League Baseballs championship series. It featured the American League champions Boston Red Sox against the National League champions St. Louis Cardinals, the Red Sox defeated the Cardinals by four games to none in the best-of-seven series, played at Fenway Park and Busch Memorial Stadium. The series was played from October 23–27,2004, broadcast on Fox, the Cardinals earned their berth into the playoffs by winning the National League Central, and had the best win–loss record in the National League. The Red Sox won the American League wild card to earn theirs, the Cardinals reached the World Series by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-five National League Division Series and the Houston Astros in the best-of-seven Championship Series. The Red Sox defeated the Anaheim Angels in the American League Division Series, after being down three games to none to the New York Yankees, they came back to win the 2004 American League Championship Series and advanced to their first World Series since 1986. The Cardinals made their first appearance in the World Series since 1987, the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time since 1918. With the New England Patriots winning Super Bowl XXXVIII, the World Series made Boston the first city to have Super Bowl and World Series championship teams in the same year since Pittsburgh in 1979. Mark Bellhorn helped the Red Sox win Game 1 with a home run, the Red Sox won the first two games despite committing four errors in each. The Red Sox won Game three, aided by seven shutout innings by Pedro Martínez, a home run by Johnny Damon in the first inning helped to win Game four for the Red Sox to secure the series. The Cardinals did not lead in any of the games in the series, Manny Ramírez was named the series Most Valuable Player. When each team played in a World Series, both won their respective series—the Cardinals in 2006 and the Red Sox in 2007. When the Cardinals won, Tony La Russa joined Sparky Anderson as the men to have managed World Series championship teams in both leagues, a feat he failed to achieve in 2004. The Red Sox and Cardinals faced each other again in the 2013 World Series, the Red Sox had lost in the previous seasons American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. The loss was blamed on the decision by then-manager Grady Little to keep starting pitcher Pedro Martínez in the game in the 8th inning of Game 7. During the off-season, the Red Sox hired Terry Francona as their new manager and they also signed Keith Foulke as their closer and traded for Curt Schilling as a starting pitcher. The Red Sox played two notable games against the Yankees during the regular season. The Yankees won the game in the inning to take an 8-game lead in the American League East. In the 3rd inning of a game on July 24, Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo hit Yankees batter Alex Rodriguez with one of his pitches, as Rodriguez walked towards first base, he began shouting profanities at Arroyo
15.
Boston
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Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Boston is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1,1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles with a population of 667,137 in 2015, making it the largest city in New England. Alternately, as a Combined Statistical Area, this wider commuting region is home to some 8.1 million people, One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U. S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education, through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the original peninsula. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing over 20 million visitors per year, Bostons many firsts include the United States first public school, Boston Latin School, first subway system, the Tremont Street Subway, and first public park, Boston Common. Bostons economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology, the city has one of the highest costs of living in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it remains high on world livability rankings. Bostons early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the renaming on September 7,1630 was by Puritan colonists from England who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest of fresh water. Their settlement was limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 5000 BC, in 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colonys first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history, over the next 130 years, the city participated in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their Indian allies in North America. Boston was the largest town in British America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century, Bostons harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Bostons merchants had found alternatives for their investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the economy, and the citys industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. Boston remained one of the nations largest manufacturing centers until the early 20th century, a network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a network of railroads furthered the regions industry. Boston was a port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies
16.
History of the Boston Red Sox
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The history of the Boston Red Sox begins in 1901, as one of the original franchises of the American League. In 1900, Ban Johnsons minor Western League, based in the Midwest, declared its equality with the National League, Johnson changed the name of his league to the American League. Competing in the streets, the upstart placed franchises in two of the largest and most important NL cities, Philadelphia and Boston, the team was purchased in 1903 by Milwaukee publisher, George Brumder, but Brumder sold the team in 1904. These early Boston teams were led by manager and star third baseman Jimmy Collins and by pitcher Cy Young, in addition, the Americans received significant contributions from outfielders Chick Stahl, Buck Freeman and Patsy Dougherty. In 1903, the Americans participated in the first modern World Series, beating the favored Pittsburgh Pirates, the Americans were aided both by chants of Tessie from their Royal Rooters fan club and by their stronger pitching staff. Foreshadowing what would become a storied rivalry, the 1904 race featured such controversial moves as the trade of Patsy Dougherty to the Highlanders for Bob Unglaub. However, the climax of the season occurred during the seasons final doubleheader at the Highlanders’ home stadium. In order to win the pennant, New York needed to both games from Boston. With Jack Chesbro, the Highlanders 41-game winner, on the mound and these successful times quickly ended, as the Americans would go on to lose 100 games in the 1906 season. But several new players would soon help the newly renamed Red Sox reverse their fortunes once again. By 1909, center fielder Tris Speaker had become a fixture in the Boston outfield, and the Red Sox worked their way up to third place in the American League. Boston was also led by superstar pitcher Smoky Joe Wood, with whom the Red Sox beat the New York Giants 4–3–1 in the 1912 World Series that has become best known for Snodgrasss Muff. From 1913 to 1916, the Red Sox were owned by Joseph Lannin, who signed Babe Ruth, soon to become one of the best-known and most-revered baseball players ever. In Ruths debut as a pitcher he got a win vs. the Indians, then in 1915 his first major league run was against the Yankees. Another 101 wins in 1915 propelled the Red Sox to the 1915 World Series, in the 1915 World Series, Harry Hooper hit two home runs, and Duffy Lewis batted.444 with a home run. The 1916 team once again earned the AL pennant, though Tris Speaker was traded to the Cleveland Indians in the off-season and his departure was more than compensated for, however, by the emergence of Babe Ruth as a star pitcher. Once again, the Red Sox won the World Series, this time defeating the Brooklyn Robins, in game two Ruth would pitch a 14 inning complete game victory. Also third baseman Larry Gardner hit a 3-run inside-the-park home run, after the Series, Lannin sold the team to New York theater producer Harry Frazee
17.
Logos and uniforms of the Boston Red Sox
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The primary home uniform for the Boston Red Sox is white with red piping around the neck and down either side of the front placket and RED SOX in red letters outlined in blue arched across the chest. There are red numbers, but no name, on the back of the home uniform. The Red Sox current uniform and cap logo set has been in use since 1946, from the introduction of the Red Sox current cap and uniforms in 1946 until 1971, the road uniforms used blue block letters and numbers. With the switch to pullover jerseys in 1972, the lettering was switched to red in the font as the home uniform. The pullovers were dropped in 1979 and the road once again used blue block letters. However, the red home lettering returned in 1990, along with the home font, in 2009, the lettering was switched to blue yet again, but using the home font. In 2014, the uniforms again switched to red in the home uniform font. Since 1946, the blue and red lettering have each been used three different times, the Red Sox alternate home uniform jersey is red and worn with white pants. The original version of the red jersey was introduced in 2003, RED SOX is displayed across the chest in blue lettering outlined in white. Like the regular uniforms, it does not feature the players name on the back. Originally, the uniforms had blue piping that replicated the piping pattern of the home jerseys. The uniforms were worn very sparingly from 2003-2007, being used only for Sunday afternoon home games, thus, they were not seen on national television, except in the circumstance that they were used as part of a doubleheader. In 2008, the uniforms were worn for all Saturday home games, in 2009, the blue piping was removed from the jersey and they began to be worn for all Friday night home games. For the 2009 season only, a cap was used with this jersey featuring the hanging Sox logo. The alternate road uniform was introduced in 2009, and involves gray pants, the numbers and name are also in red with white trim. They are also worn on Fridays, except during games against teams wearing either blue, the alternate cap was also used for these uniforms in 2009 only. While the other uniforms all use blue caps, this uses a green one matching the uniform shirt. This uniform made its season debut on April 20,2007 to honor former Boston Celtics coach, general manager and president Red Auerbach
18.
Braves Field
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Braves Field was a baseball park in the Northeastern United States, located in Boston. Today the site is home to Nickerson Field on the campus of Boston University, the stadium was home of the Boston Braves of the National League from 1915–1952, prior to the Braves move to Milwaukee in 1953. The stadium hosted the 1936 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and Braves home games during the 1948 World Series, the Boston Red Sox used Braves Field for their home games in the 1915 and 1916 World Series since the stadium had a larger seating capacity than Fenway Park. Braves Field was the site of Babe Ruths final season, playing for the Braves in 1935, from 1929 to 1932, the Boston Red Sox played select regular season games periodically at Braves Field. On May 1,1926, Braves Field hosted the longest baseball game in history –26 Innings, the game ended in a 1-1 tie. Braves Field was also home to professional football teams between 1929 and 1948, including the first home of the National Football League franchise that became the Washington Redskins. C. Located on Commonwealth Avenue at Babcock Street, the field was aligned northeast. Most of the stadium was demolished in 1955, but significant portions of the structure still stand. While built for baseball and having a baseball history, Braves Field briefly served as host for football teams. Braves Field was one of two homes of the Boston Bulldogs of the first American Football League and the Boston Shamrocks of the second AFL, the National Football Leagues Pottsville Maroons were sold and relocated to Braves Field in 1929 as the Boston Bulldogs. In 1932, Braves Field became home of the football Boston Braves, the next year, after a 4-4-2 season, the Boston Braves Football franchise moved to Fenway Park and changed its name to the Redskins. In 1937 the franchise relocated and become todays Washington Redskins, later, the Boston Yanks played a few games at Braves Field when Fenway Park was unavailable. Before the Braves became the first modern-era franchise to relocate, in 1952, before Braves Field, the franchise had played at South End Grounds, with play at Congress Street Grounds in 1894 while South End Grounds was rebuilt following the May 5,1894 Roxbury Fire. Shortly after the Boston Red Sox opened Fenway Park in 1912, Braves owner James Gaffney purchased the former Allston Golf Club, construction of the $600,000 Braves Field began on March 20,1915 and was completed before the end of the 1915 season. The park was constructed entirely of steel and an estimated 8 million pounds of concrete, Braves Field officially opened on August 18,1915 with 46,000 in attendance to see the Braves defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1. Braves Park was the largest stadium built in that era, with 40,000 capacity, Braves Field was nicknamed The Wigwam by fans. Later it was nicknamed The Bee Hive and the changed to National League Park, from 1936–1941. The renaming of the team and stadium were both eventually dropped, during this span, it hosted the fourth Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 1936
19.
Fenway Park
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Fenway Park is a baseball park located in Boston, at 4 Yawkey Way near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home for the Boston Red Sox and it is the oldest ballpark in MLB. It is the fourth-smallest among MLB ballparks by seating capacity, second-smallest by total capacity, Fenway has hosted the World Series ten times, with the Red Sox winning five of them, and the Boston Braves winning one. The first, in the inaugural season, was the 1912 World Series. April 20,2012, marked Fenway Parks centennial, on March 7 of that year, the park was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Former pitcher Bill Lee has called Fenway Park a shrine and it is a pending Boston Landmark which will regulate further changes to the park. Today, the park is considered to be one of the most well-known sports venues in the world, the Red Sox moved to Fenway Park from the old Huntington Avenue Grounds. In 1911, owner John I. Taylor purchased the land bordered by Brookline Avenue, Jersey Street, Van Ness Street and Lansdowne Street and developed it into a larger baseball stadium. However, given that Taylors family also owned the Fenway Realty Company, like many classic ballparks, Fenway Park was constructed on an asymmetrical block, with consequent asymmetry in its field dimensions. 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 the New York Highlanders, 7-6 in 11 innings. Newspaper coverage of the opening was overshadowed by continuing coverage of the Titanic sinking a few days earlier, Fenway Park has historically drawn low attendance, its lowest occurring late in the 1965 season with two games having paid attendance under 500 spectators. On Wednesday, 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 11,2013, in all the Red Sox sold out 794 regular season games, the parks address 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 parks address is now 4 Yawkey Way. Some of the include, In 1934, a hand-operated scoreboard was added, with what was then considered high-technology lights to indicate balls. The scoreboard is updated by hand today from behind the wall. The National League scores were removed in 1976, but restored in 2003, in 1946, upper deck seats were installed, Fenway Park is essentially the first double-tiered ballpark in Boston since the South End Grounds of the 1880s. In 1947, arc lights were installed at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox were the third-to-last team out of 16 major league teams to have lights in their home park
20.
Riverside Park, Dawson Springs
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Riverside Park, located in Dawson Springs, Kentucky, was originally built in 1914 to serve as a spring training park for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1914 to 1917. Sometimes referred to as Tradewater Park, it is the only known baseball park in Kentucky to have hosted a league team since the Louisville Colonels folded in 1899. While the original stadium was destroyed in a flood in the 1930s, like the original stadium, the rebuilt park is reconstructed out of wood. It is the ballpark of its kind in Western Kentucky. Dawson Springs is home to a spring that was believed by many to have medical healing qualities. This led to it becoming a resort town. Thousands of people came to drink and bathe in the spring, forty hotels sprung up to accommodate the tourists. The Pittsburgh Pirates seeing these large crowds decided to make Dawson Springs their spring training home, in 1914 Riverside Park was built to serve as the spring training venue for the Pirates. The entire ballpark was made entirely from wood, from the grandstand to the dugout, local citizens then constructed a large indoor pavilion for spring training and exhibition games and an additional wing was built onto the New Century Hotel to accommodate the players. These teams consisted of major league squads, American Association teams, colleges, semi-professional teams. Hall of Famer Honus Wagner and his friends often went fishing at the Old Mill Dam, located right beside Riverside Park, Wagner, who trained on this field for 3 years, organized a team of local young boys known as Honus Wagners Young Recruits. Several other future members of the Hall of Fame including, Babe Ruth, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Casey Stengel, the team remained there through the 1917 season. The following season, the Pirates when they moved into Barrs Field, located in Jacksonville, records also show that the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds also played expedition games at Riverside Park until the early 1920s. Riverside Park then hosted many teams, among them members of the Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League. In the 1930s a devastating storm flooded a river runs alongside the fields first base line. The flood washed away the entire stadium, in the decades following the flood, residents in Dawson Springs were only left with the memories of the ballpark, as there was effort to rebuild the park. In 1999 Dawson Springs Mayor Stacia Peyton funded a project to rebuild the park. While public opinion reflected the need for the city to fund other civic needs, instead of rebuilding an old ballpark, the goal of the project was to make the stadium as authentic as possible to the original
21.
LECOM Park
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LECOM Park is a baseball field located in Bradenton, Florida. Formerly known as McKechnie Field, it was named for Bradenton resident and baseball great Bill McKechnie, who led the Pirates in 1925 and he was also a coach of the Cleveland Indians in 1948. The stadium also hosts minor league games for the Bradenton Marauders. LECOM Parks nostalgic charms in its city neighborhood appeal to many baseball traditionalists and ballpark enthusiasts and its built in a Florida Spanish Mission style, with white stucco on the main grandstand and cover bleachers over the reserved seating section. The field is currently the oldest stadium used for spring training as well as the second-oldest in the Florida State League and it is also the third oldest stadium currently used by a major league team after Fenway Park, built in 1912, and Wrigley Field in 1914. The stadium also hosted an annual charity game between the Pirates and the State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota. Since 1979, members of the Boosters have volunteered as the Pirates spring training game-day staff, the booster clubs 120 members currently serve as ushers, program sellers, security personnel, merchandise sellers, and press box attendants throughout spring training season. Prior to its construction, the location was the site of Ninth Street Park. The site was also the home to the Manatee County fairgrounds as well as a local golf course. On December 9,1920, the Manatee County Board of Trade voted to bring major league baseball to the county in an attempt to stimulate the local economy, prior to the 1920s, no major league team played south of St. Petersburg. Breadon also owned a citrus grove inside the county and was familiar with the area, Beall then convinced Breadon to move the Cardinals from their training facility in Orange, Texas to Bradenton. As part of the agreement, Beall agreed to sell $2,000 in tickets for the exhibition games, in a joint venture between the Cardinals and the city, the ball field was constructed with a grandstand and bleachers for $2,000. The baseball field was just east of where LECOM Park stands today, on the site of the Bradenton Golf Club, a nine-hole golf course. So after completion, city engineers discovered that the second base, was 14 inches lower than home plate. However the park opened in 1923, the Commissioner of Baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis attended fields opening ceremonies. He was flown in on a biplane, which was piloted by Harry Land, the plane landed in what was the outfield at the time, a par 5 hole. In 1923, the grandstand sat 1,300 and 700 could easily occupy the bleachers, meanwhile, the fairground buildings were converted into makeshift locker rooms. The Bradenton Growers moved in and occupied LECOM Park, which was then named City Park, from 1923–24, the field was later renamed Ninth Street Park and then Braves Field
22.
Chain of Lakes Park
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Chain of Lakes Park is a baseball field located in Winter Haven, Florida. The stadium was built in 1966 and holds 7,000 people and it was the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox from 1966 to 1992, after which the Red Sox relocated operations to City of Palms Park in Fort Myers, Florida. In 1993, the Cleveland Indians moved into Chain of Lakes Park after their own stadium in Homestead was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew, the stadium served as the spring training home of the Indians until March 27,2008, when their last game was played there. Cleveland moved their training operations to the new ballpark in Goodyear. The long-term future of the ballpark and facility is in doubt as its location on Lake Lulu is becoming more valuable for commercial and residential development, in 2011, developers proposed building a shopping center on the site consisting of hotels, restaurants, shops, and a movie theater. Ball Parks of the Minor Leagues, Chain of Lakes Park
23.
City of Palms Park
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City of Palms Park is a stadium in Fort Myers, Florida primarily used for baseball, although the City of Fort Myers uses the venue for the occasional concert. It served as the training home of the Boston Red Sox from its opening in 1993 to 2011. Former Boston Red Sox left fielder Mike Greenwell is from Fort Myers, the stadium was built in 1992 for that purpose and holds 8,000 people. It was also the home of the Red Sox Rookie team, the stadiums name is taken from the citys official nickname. A crew of six is on hand during spring training to groom the Ballfields/Common grounds, City of Palms Park is one of four spring training facilities in Fort Myers. The Minnesota Twins train in Hammond Stadium on the Southern end of Fort Myers, terry Park Ballfield in East Fort Myers is not in use, however, it is the former home of the Philadelphia Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals. In February 2012, the Boston Red Sox moved their training operations into the newly constructed jetBlue Park at Fenway South located on County Road 876 in Fort Myers. It is also located close to Southwest Florida International Airport, the Player Development Complex is where the Red Sox trained and practiced before the exhibition season began at City of Palms. It also housed all the Minor League affiliates and coaches the entire month of March, once spring training ends, Extended spring training ran from April through the beginning of the Gulf Coast League season. Instructional league took place there from September to October and this Complex includes, five baseball fields with bullpens and eight batting tunnels. “I’d like to have a project by 2012, ’’ Yarborough said after the meeting, on October 28,2008, the Lee County commission voted 3-1 to approve an agreement with the Boston Red Sox to build a new spring-training facility for the team in south Lee County. Commissioner Brian Bigelow was the dissenting vote. Commissioner Bob Janes was not present for the vote, but stated that he supported it, dee was present in the chambers for the vote, and took the agreement back to Boston to meet with team owner John Henry and other team officials. On November 1,2008, the Red Sox signed an agreement with Lee County that will keep their training home in the Fort Myers area for 30 more years. Wednesday, April 30,2009, the Lee County commissioners selected the Watermen-Pinnacle site on Daniels Parkway as the site for the new facility. The backup choice, if negotiations between county staff and the developer faltered, was the University Highland site just north of Germain Arena in Estero. On February 25,2010, the Boston Red Sox officially released the proposed plans for its new training facility in Fort Myers. The new stadium is located just miles from the former site, the outfield is an exact copy of the Fenway field, and contains a Green Monster
24.
JetBlue Park at Fenway South
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JetBlue Park at Fenway South is a baseball park in Fort Myers, Florida, part of the Fenway South training and development facility. The naming rights were purchased by JetBlue, an airline with operations at Bostons Logan International Airport since 2004. In 2008, the Red Sox began exploring the possibility of relocating their spring training facility, Red Sox CEO Mike Dee visited Sarasota to talk with city officials about the possibility of the team moving there. Sarasota County commissioners then voted 4-0 to approve the purchase of land for a Red Sox spring training facility, fearing the possibility of losing the Red Sox the Lee County Commission voted in October 2008 to agree to build a new ballpark for the Red Sox. The Red Sox also signed a 30-year lease with the city of Fort Myers, the following April it was announced that the new stadium would be located on a 126-acre lot north of Southwest Florida International Airport. When the Red Sox announced they would stay in Fort Myers they stated the new stadium would be similar to Fenway Park, the architecture team was led by local Fort Myers firm Parker/Mudgett/Smith Architects, Inc. and Populous and assisted by Boston firm Quirk. The groundbreaking was in August 2010 and construction commenced in February 2011, the ballparks field has exactly the same dimensions as Fenway Park and some of the unique features as the Boston ballpark as well. The most notable is a replica of the Green Monster in left field, however, unlike the one in Boston, the Green Monster in Fort Myers has seating within the wall. There are three rows of seats carved into the portion of the wall. Part of the reason for the separation in the wall was due to Hurricane building code. Separating the seats inside the wall from the field is a net so that balls cannot go inside the seated area, if a ball is hit off the net play is not interrupted, it is the same as if a ball is hit off the Green Monster at Fenway. Another unique feature about the Green Monster is that one in Fenway Park it has a manual scoreboard. The scoreboard is a one that had been used at one point in Fenway Park. The manual scoreboard is different from the one in Boston though because there is no room behind it where an operator can put numbers while the game is going on. Instead, an operator works in a room in between the scoreboard and the foul line and has to run out in between innings with a ladder and scoreboard tiles to change the scoreboard. Other features from the ballpark in Boston that are present in the spring training stadium are the triangle, Peskys Pole, one of the signature features of the ballpark is the wavy roof that sits over the seats in the stadium, providing shade for the fans in attendance. The roof also is an example of how the ballpark incorporated its location in Florida into the design of the stadium, the wavy design of the roof resembles the Cypress trees in the surrounding area of the ballpark. In addition, the blocks make up the ballpark are embedded with sea shells from nearby Sanibel Island
25.
Fenway South
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Fenway South is the Player Development Complex and Spring training base of the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers, Florida. As the spring training home of Red Sox it replaces nearby City of Palms Park, the stadium within Fenway South is called jetBlue Park, through sponsorship by JetBlue Airways, which has maintained major operations at Bostons Logan International Airport since 2004. It was officially opened by the Lee County Board of Commissioners, there are six baseball training fields and two soccer fields in the complex, available year-round by the Red Sox and their farm clubs. Baseball field No.1 has the field dimensions as jetBlue park. Fields 1,2, and 4 are set in the direction as jetBlue park, with 3,4,5. The complex is served via a road from the local Fire Department station. The Red Soxs lease on City of Palms Park with Fort Myers ran through 2019, id like to have a project by 2012, Yarborough said after the meeting. On October 28,2008, the Lee County commission voted 3–1 to approve an agreement with the Boston Red Sox to build a new spring-training facility for the team in south Lee County. On November 1,2008, the Red Sox signed an agreement with Lee County that would keep their training home in the Fort Myers area for 30 more years. On February 25,2010, the Boston Red Sox officially released the proposed plans for the new training facility. The outfield will be a copy of the Fenway field. However, the stadium will offer a mix of the old Fenway style, on March 29,2011, it was announced that the new stadium would be named JetBlue Park
26.
Curse of the Bambino
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The Curse of the Bambino was a superstition evolving from the failure of the Boston Red Sox baseball team to win the World Series in the 86-year period from 1918 to 2004. While some fans took the curse seriously, most used the expression in a tongue-in-cheek manner and this misfortune began after the Red Sox sold star player Babe Ruth, sometimes called The Bambino, to the New York Yankees in the off-season of 1919–1920. Before that point, the Red Sox had been one of the most successful baseball franchises, winning the first World Series. The curse became a point of the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry over the years. Louis Cardinals to win the 2004 World Series, after the Red Sox won the last game of the World Series that year, the road sign was edited to read Curse Reversed in celebration. It became a key part of Red Sox lore in the media thereafter, although the title drought dated back to 1918, the sale of Ruth to the Yankees was completed January 3,1920. In standard curse lore, Red Sox owner and theatrical producer Harry Frazee used the proceeds from the sale to finance the production of a Broadway musical, usually said to be No, No, Nanette. In 1921, Red Sox manager Ed Barrow left to take over as manager of the Yankees. Other Red Sox players were sold or traded to the Yankees as well. Neither the lore, nor the debunking of it, entirely tells the story and that play had, indeed, been financed as a direct result of the Ruth deal. Yankee fans taunted the Red Sox with chants of 1918, the demeaning chant echoed at Yankee Stadium each time the Red Sox were there. Yankee fans also taunted the Red Sox with signs saying 1918, CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, pictures of Babe Ruth, and wearing 1918. T-shirts each time they were at the Stadium, before Ruth left Boston, the Red Sox had won five of the first fifteen World Series, with Ruth pitching for the 1916 and 1918 championship teams. The Yankees had not played in any World Series up to that time, in the 84 years after the sale, the Yankees played in 39 World Series, winning 26 of them, twice as many as any other team in Major League Baseball. Meanwhile, over the time span, the Red Sox played in only four World Series. Even losses that occurred years before the first mention of the supposed curse. Some of these instances are listed below, In 1946, the Red Sox appeared in their first World Series since the sale of Babe Ruth and were favored to beat the St. Louis Cardinals, the series went to a seventh game at Sportsmans Park in St. Louis. In the bottom of the inning, with the score tied at 3–3
27.
Green Monster
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The Green Monster is a popular nickname for the 372 high left field wall at Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox baseball team. The wall is only 310 feet from home plate and is a target for right-handed hitters. The wall was part of the original construction of 1912. It is made of wood and was covered in tin and concrete in 1934 and it was then covered with hard plastic in 1976. A manual scoreboard is set into the wall, 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. The wall might also reduce the number of home runs due to the barriers relatively close distance to home plate. Fenway is the last of the exceptionally high-walled major league ballparks, relatively high walls in modern ballparks have been constructed for their novelty rather than by necessity, as Fenways wall had been. The Green Monster is famous for preventing home runs on line drives that would clear the walls of other ballparks. A side effect of this is to increase the prevalence of doubles, some left fielders, predominantly those with vast Fenway experience, have become adept at fielding caroms off the wall to throw runners out at second base or hold the batter to a single. With this short distance, many fly balls that could be caught by the fielder in a deeper park rebound off the wall for base hits. And while the wall turns many would-be line-drive homers into doubles it also allows some high yet shallow fly balls to clear the field of play for a home run. During 2001 and 2002, the Green Monsters height record was beaten by the center field wall at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. The entire wall was in play and this new wall was often called The Black Monster. When Riverfront Stadium was demolished in 2002, the Green Monster reclaimed the record, in honor of the famed wall, the Red Sox mascot is a furry green monster named Wally. From 1912 to 1933, there was a 10-foot-high mound that formed an incline in front of the Green Monster and it also served to double as a seating area to handle overflow crowds, another common practice of that era. As a result of the terrace, a fielder in Fenway Park had to play the territory running uphill. Bostons first star left fielder, Duffy Lewis, mastered the skill so well that the area known as Duffys Cliff
28.
Pesky's Pole
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Peskys Pole, commonly referred to as The Pesky Pole, is the nickname for the right field foul pole at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. It is named after Johnny Pesky, who played second base, shortstop and third base for the Red Sox from 1942 to 1952, except for 1943 to 1945, the pole stands only 302 feet away from home plate. Like the measurement of the line at Fenway Park, this has been disputed. Aerial shots show it to be shorter than the 302 foot line in right field. According to Pesky, former teammate and Sox broadcaster Mel Parnell named the pole after Pesky won a game for Parnell in 1948 with a run down the short right field line. However, Pesky hit just one run in a game pitched by Parnell. The game was won by the visiting Tigers in the 14th inning on a three-run shot by Tigers right fielder Vic Wertz. Pesky was a slap hitter who hit just 17 home runs in his career and its not known how many of these six actually landed near the pole. The term, though it had been in use since the 1950s, on September 27,2006, on Peskys 87th birthday, the Red Sox organization officially dedicated the right field foul pole as Peskys Pole with a commemorative plaque placed at its base. The seat directly on the side of Peskys Pole in the front row is Section 94, Row E
29.
Wally the Green Monster
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Wally the Green Monster is the official mascot for the Boston Red Sox. His name is derived from the Green Monster, the nickname of the 37-foot 2-inch wall in left field at Fenway Park, Wally debuted on April 13,1997 to the chagrin of many older Red Sox fans. Although he was a big hit with children, older fans did not immediately adopt him as part of the franchise. As of 2009, Wally has become accepted by Red Sox fans of all ages, largely due to broadcaster Jerry Remy creating stories about him. Wallys official birthday is May 15, according to the Red Sox, Wally the Green Monster has long been a resident of Fenway Park, residing in the Green Monster wall since 1947. Wally has seen many legendary outfielders play Left Field and master the infamous Green Monster at Fenway, in 1997, Wally emerged from the wall to everyones surprise on Opening Day. After 15 years, Wally has become a favorite and entertains the crowds of fans who come to Fenway to see the Red Sox play. He wears Red Sox Jersey #97, indicating the Year of his emergence from the Wall, and his trusty Team-Issued Size 37 ballcap is never far from his green head. He prepares for every Red Sox game by eating a meal, watching batting practice. As pregame starts, Wally is on the field greeting fans near Field Level by taking pictures, signing autographs and sneaking in a kiss or two to the many fans of Red Sox Nation. After photo ops with some of Fenways special guests of the game, he can be seen waving his flag, Wally is a busy monster throughout the game. And on weekends, Wally can be out on Yawkey Way taking pictures with fans who visit the street fair atmosphere of Wallys World around the Third Inning of the ballgame. Some of Wallys memorable moments of being the Red Sox Mascot have come away from Fenway, whether it is traveling to Fort Myers, Florida and jetBlue Park for Red Sox spring training or visiting other cities for special events, Wally is a well traveled monster. When he was told that President Obama, his family, Mr. Diamond and many other celebrities would be in attendance and he made some calls and brought 100 members of Red Sox Nation to Washington to perform on stage alongside him. Wally also travels to the Major League Baseball All Star Game every year to meet up with his friends from all over Major League Baseball for various fan-fests. Wally loves to meet new people and visit the parts of Red Sox Nation. He can be rented by visiting the teams official website for various events, Wally has an ongoing rivalry with Tampa Bay Rays mascot Raymond. Before the Red Sox play a series in Tampa Bay, Raymond typically attacks or pranks either Wally or the visiting broadcast booth where the miniature Wally stays with Remy and Dave OBrien
30.
Death of Victoria Snelgrove
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Victoria Snelgrove was a journalism student at Emerson College. This crowd-control bullet hit her eye, causing her to bleed excessively, ambulances were blocked by the excessive crowds, which still refused to clear the area, preventing prompt medical attention from arriving from the dense medical area only a half-mile away. Snelgrove died at 12,50 p. m. EDT at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, about 12 hours after being shot. According to the autopsy, the opened a three-quarter-inch hole in the bone behind the eye, broke into nine pieces. Boston Police Department Commissioner Kathleen OToole placed Milien on paid leave, OToole later attended the hour-long funeral on October 26,2004 at St. Johns Catholic church in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts along with Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Gov. Mitt Romney. The investigation into Snelgroves death was led by former U. S. Attorney Donald K. Stern best known for prosecuting mob figures, OToole accepted the departments responsibility, yet still blamed the punks who turned the event into a near-riot as the real cause. After the police investigation, Officer Milien was identified as the person who fired the shot that killed Snelgrove. On May 2,2005, the city of Boston announced a $5.1 million wrongful death settlement for her familys lawsuit, on September 12,2005, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced that he would not prosecute any of the officers involved. On September 16,2005, OToole demoted the police superintendent who was in charge the night of the shooting to captain and she also issued written reprimands to two other officers. Milien agreed to accept a 45-day suspension without pay, the deputy superintendent outside Fenway Park at the time of the incident was also criticized for poor decisions that led to Snelgroves death, but had already retired. The weapon that killed Snelgrove was manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, because of the incident, several police forces, such as the Seattle Police Department, discontinued use of this weapon. In July 2006, a $10 million lawsuit between FN Herstal and the Snelgrove family was settled, after her death, Boston Red Sox outfielder Trot Nixon said he would have traded back Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS to have her back. Stephen King and Stewart ONan dedicated their book, Faithful, Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle The Historic 2004 Season to Snelgrove, the dedication reads simply, For Victoria Snelgrove / Red Sox fan. ^ http, //www. mass. gov/da/suffolk/docs/091205. html Retrieved October 26,2005 ^ Commission Investigating the Death of Victoria Snelgrove, Retrieved April 25,2009 Boston police accept full responsibility in death of Red Sox fan, CNN
31.
Sweet Caroline
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Sweet Caroline is a song written and performed by American recording artist Neil Diamond and officially released on September 16,1969, as a single with the title Sweet Caroline. It was arranged by Charles Calello, and recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, the song reached #4 on the Billboard chart and eventually went platinum for sales of one million singles. In the autumn of 1969, Diamond performed Sweet Caroline on several television shows and it later reached #8 on the UK singles chart in 1971. In a 2007 interview, Diamond stated the inspiration for his song was John F. Kennedys daughter, Caroline, Diamond sang the song to her at her 50th birthday celebration in 2007. However, in 2014 Diamond said the song was about his then-wife Marsha, the song has proven to be enduringly popular, and as of November 2014 has sold over two million digital downloads in the United States. There are three distinct mixes of this song, the original mono 45 mix had a louder orchestra and glockenspiel compared to the stereo version on the Brother Loves Travelling Salvation Show LP. The third version was a remix found only on the initial CD release of Diamonds His 12 Greatest Hits and this version has the orchestra mixed down and has the background vocals mixed up. It has a fade as well. A live version of the song is on his Hot August Night LP, the playing of Sweet Caroline has become a fixture at many sporting events in the United States. This pattern is repeated whenever the chorus is played, the song has been played at Fenway Park, home of Major League Baseballs Boston Red Sox, since at least 1997, and in the middle of the eighth inning at every game since 2002. On opening night of the 2010 season at Fenway Park, the song was performed by Diamond himself, Sweet Caroline was played at Penn State Nittany Lions football games at Beaver Stadium until August 2012, halting after the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. Performances at Beaver Stadium resumed in September 2013, however, the song is played at the start of the fourth quarter of Pittsburgh Panthers Football games at Heinz Field. The main chorus is changed to LETS GO PITT and GO PITT, GO PITT, on Saturday, April 20,2013, during the 8th inning of the Red Sox-Kansas City game in Fenway Park, Neil Diamond led the crowd in a rendition of the song. The song was sung at sporting events across the country after the Boston Marathon bombings and it was also played right before the start of the Hamburg Marathon in Hamburg, Germany, on Sunday, April 21,2013, subsequent to a minute of silence. The song was played before the start of the Stockholm Marathon in Stockholm, Sweden, on Saturday, June 1,2013. On April 25,2013, Sweet Caroline was played following a tribute to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing during the NFL Draft. Diamond has announced that he will donate all royalties from sales of the song since the bombings to the One Fund Boston charity to help the people most affected by the bombings. Diamond said that sales of the song surged nearly 600 percent in the week after the bombings, to 19,000 copies, up from 2,800 the week before
32.
Dream On (Aerosmith song)
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Dream On is a power ballad by Aerosmith from their 1973 debut album, Aerosmith. Written by lead singer Steven Tyler, this song was their first major hit, the song received immediate heavy airplay too on the former WVBF, often showing up in the #1 position on The Top Five At Five in June 1973. Dream On was first played live in Mansfield, Connecticut at the Shaboo Inn, in a 2011 interview, Tyler reminisced about his father, a Juilliard-trained musician. He recalled lying beneath his dads piano as a three-year-old listening to him play classical music, thats where I got that Dream On chordage, he said. Tyler says that this was the song on the bands first album where he used his real voice. He was insecure about how his voice sounded on tape, so for the songs, he tried to sing a bit lower and sound more like soul artists. The song is famous for its building climax to showcase Tylers trademark screams. The main riff and chorus of the song were sampled in the 2002 song Sing for the Moment by rapper Eminem on The Eminem Show that also features a solo from Joe Perry, the song is composed in the key of F minor. Side one Dream On Side two Somebody The original 1973 issue of this 45 has an edit of Dream On. Most of the intro has been edited out and the first chorus is replaced with the second chorus, the second issue from 1976 contains the album version. Dream On Dream On Walk This Way Long a concert staple, the band has also played Dream On with an orchestra on a couple of occasions. One of these performances, conducted by Michael Kamen, was performed live for MTVs 10th Anniversary, additionally, in 2006, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry performed the song live with the Boston Pops Orchestra at their Fourth of July spectacular. On September 19,2006, Aerosmith dedicated the song to captured Israeli soldier Ehud Goldwasser. On September 22,2007, at a concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Aerosmith dedicated the song to one of their fans, Monica Massaro, who had been murdered earlier that year. On May 25,2013, Tyler performed a rendition of the song live during the finale of the tenth season of American Idol. After the Boston Marathon Attacks, Tyler performed the song at the Boston Strong Concert, a coinciding video directed by Marty Callner was also created at the MTV 10th anniversary special performance with the orchestra. Bootleg Greatest Hits Classics Live I A Little South of Sanity Big Ones Young Lust, The Aerosmith Anthology O, Ultimate Aerosmith Hits Devils Got a New Disguise Music from the Original Motion Picture Last Action Hero It also appears on both of the bands box sets. The song Dream On is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fames 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and it is also ranked #173 on Rolling Stones list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
33.
Three Little Birds
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Three Little Birds is a song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It is the track on side two of their 1977 album Exodus and was released as a single in 1980. The song reached the Top 20 in the UK, peaking at number 17 and it is one of Bob Marleys most popular songs. The song has been covered by other artists. The song is thought to be named Dont Worry About a Thing or Every Little Thing is Gonna Be Alright. The source of Marleys inspiration for the lyrics of Three Little Birds remains disputed and they are partly inspired by birds that Marley was fond of, that used to fly and sit next to his home. Tony Gilbert, a long friend of Marley, was present at the time he was writing the song and elaborated, Bob got inspired by a lot of things around him. I remember the three little birds and they were pretty birds, Pelicans, who would come by the windowsill at Hope Road. However, three female singers from the reggae group I Threes who did shows with Marley claim it is a reference to them, I Threes member Marcia Griffiths remarked, After the song was written, Bob would always refer to us as the Three Little Birds. After a show, there would be an encore, sometimes people even wanted us to go back four times. Bob would still want to go back and he would say, karen David recorded and released the song on her 2012 EP, Touch. Robbie Williams sings the song in his concert released on DVD, gilberto Gil recorded and released the song as a single and for his 2002 album Kaya NGan Daya. Billy Ocean does a version on his 2005 greatest hits album The Best Of, ziggy Marley and Sean Paul recorded a cover for the 2004 animated film Shark Tale and its soundtrack. Also in 2007 for the movie Surfs Up, Connie Talbot released a cover of the song as the first single from her album Over the Rainbow in June 2008. The Postmarks covered this tune on their 2008 lp By the Numbers, alvin and the Chipmunks made a cover version of this song on their 2008 album Undeniable. Jason Mraz also performs this song in conjunction with the song Im Yours in concerts, panic. at the Discos frontman Brendon Urie recorded a cover, which has become well known through YouTube. Elizabeth Mitchell recorded a cover of Three Little Birds on her 2006 album You Are My Little Bird released by Smithsonian Folkways, black 47 performed this song for Live In New York City, their seventh album. A version of the song was included on the Fisher-Prices Little People album Lets Go to the Beach, keith Frank recorded an up-tempo zydeco version with his Soileau Zydeco Band
34.
Fear Strikes Out
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Fear Strikes Out is a 1957 American biographical sports drama film depicting the life and career of American baseball player Jimmy Piersall. It is based on Piersalls memoir Fear Strikes Out, The Jim Piersall Story, the film stars Anthony Perkins as Piersall and Karl Malden as his father, and it was the first directed by Robert Mulligan. This film is a Paramount Picture and was preceded by a 1956 TV version starring Tab Hunter, based on Piersalls shattering tell-all biography, the film traces Piersalls rise from the sandlots of Waterbury, Connecticut, to the Boston Red Sox professional baseball team. Karl Malden plays his father who pushes him further and further. Unable to withstand the pressure, Piersall suffers a nervous breakdown, after a long period of therapy, Jimmy realizes that he has excelled in baseball to please his father — not for his own gratification
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