Fenway 1912

Fenway Park's First Day in 1912: Peanuts, the Titanic and the Boston Red Sox
"The rain had finally let up, and Peter Davis was busy. Standing beside his green pushcart in front of brand-new Fenway Park, he was handing bags of peanuts to fans as fast as they could slap coins into his hand. His powerful arms, which had already been taxed by pushing the cart several miles to Jersey Street from its downtown holding pen, were starting to ache. He didn’t mind a bit. Davis had never seen this many people in one place. It reminded him of the lines he had encountered at the docks after coming over from Greece years before. When the Boston Red Sox played at the smaller Huntington Avenue Grounds in previous seasons, the most fans they ever drew to a game was approximately 10,000. This crowd had to be at least double that, and it seemed like all of them were walking right by his cart. It was nice to see folks smiling as they looked up at the beautiful red-brick façade of Boston’s first steel and concrete ballpark. But with three straight rainouts and the distressing news about the S.S. Titanic unfolding over the previous several days, the excitement leading up to Opening Day of 1912 had been largely subdued—even with the added factor of Fenway’s grand unveiling."
Bleacher Report

Fenway 1912

"Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, A Championship Season, and Fenway's Remarkable First Year is the latest in a string of books celebrating the storied ballpark's centennial next year. Three other books about Fenway have already been released this year and another six are on the horizon. In Fenway 1912, Glen Stout, the author of numerous team histories and other sports related books, covers "all the bases," surrounding the park's construction and the 1912 Boston Red Sox championship season. To read Fenway 1912 is to travel back to New England at the dawn of the 20th century. Readers will meet not only the players, but Fenway architect James McLaughlin and head groundskeeper Jerome Kelly while learning something about the early, pre-1920 game both on the field and from a business perspective. Another major character is Boston itself, and Stout spends some time discussing the spate of buildings that had gone up near Fenway Park that still stand, enjoying iconic status in their own right. The Irish pols that took over the reins of city government before the turn of the century and were comfortably ensconced by the time the book opens also play an important role that Stout does not neglect. Street cars weren't just used for travel downtown, but in between towns as well. 'Nuf Ced' McGreevy and the Royal Rooters make their appearances as well throughout."
Alec's Archives

October 9, 1912, Fenway Park, World Series

"As the 100th anniversary of Fenway Park draws near, Glenn Stout, co-author of Red Sox Century, brings us the definitive story of the Back Bay jewel's first season, which culminated in the Red Sox beating the New York Giants in one of the greatest World Series of all time. In Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, A Championship Season, and Fenway's Remarkable First Year, Stout also reports on the behind-the-scenes political machinations and land acquisition, as well as the park's rapid, six-month construction during the winter of 1911-12. ... Led by veteran centerfielder Tris Speaker, manager and first baseman Jake Stahl, and pitcher Joe Wood (no relation, sadly), a young Red Sox team moved from the Huntington Avenue Grounds to the new park. Stout shows that the odd configurations of the park were not because of the existing city streets or the shape of the plot of existing land; if the team had wanted to make the park symmetrical, it could have. In the Deadball Era, hitting a worn-out baseball 300 feet was a moon shot. One writer, referring to the distance to the fence at Cincinnati's Redland Field - 360 feet - 'it is doubtful a ball will ever be hit over the fence'."
the joy of sox

Walking on the field at Fenway Park, 1912 World Series

"I am lucky to have erudite baseball fans, readers, and writers. In honor of Fenway’s 100th birthday, here is a review by Steve Markos, a member of the Beacon Street Tavern Baseball Gang, of Fenway 1912. Glenn Stout’s book Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Season and Fenway’s Remarkable First Year is a thoroughly researched book on both the birth and building of Fenway Park and of the Red Sox’s Championship season of 1912. SABR loved it as it was awarded both the 2012 Larry Ritter Book Award, given for the best book related to the Deadball Era, and the 2012 Seymour Medal given for the best book on baseball history. The book focuses on two main themes, the first being the beginnings of the park and decision to build it and the second being the inaugural season in the park with star right-hander Joe Wood leading the way to a World’s Series title over John McGraw’s New York Giants. The series itself was fascinating and was the first to end with the final game in extra innings."
Billy Ball

1912 Atlas for the City of Boston Proper and Back Bay

"... Q: How do you manage to tell Fenway’s story while you also tell the story of the 1912 season and the 1912 World Series? A: In a sense, that was the easy part of the book, because as I began to research the events of the 1912 season, I quickly realized that the personality of the ballpark was being revealed game by game, from things like the first home run hit over the left field wall (which most fans know was hit by Boston’s Hugh Bradley) to the first home run hit into the stands that was wrapped around the precursor to the "Pesky pole" in right field. Fenway Park had a dramatic impact on the fortunes of the Red Sox in 1912, and was a huge reason why a team that finished in fourth place in 1911 was able to run away with the pennant in 1912 – Tris Speaker emerged as a superstar and had an MVP season, Smoky Joe Wood, helped by some subtle changes no one else has ever recognized, went 34-5, a couple of rookie pitchers had the season of their lives. I point out precisely how Fenway Park provided the Red Sox with a huge advantage. Sort of by accident, they were perfect for the ballpark. Then, just before the World Series, while the Sox were on a road trip, Fenway Park underwent what I would still consider the most dramatic transformation in its history, as over a period of only a few weeks more than 10,000 seats were added, for the first time creating the familiar "footprint" that still remains, more or less, today. Then, during the 1912 World Series, a whole series of new quirks in Fenway’s personality were revealed."
amazon: Fenway 1912