100 years ago, on April 20, 1912, Fenway Park hosted its very first baseball game, in which the Boston Red Sox hosted the New York Highlanders (who became the Yankees). It was one of three new concrete-and-steel parks to open in 1912, joined by Navin Field in Detroit and Redland Field in Cincinnati. The Red Sox won that game 7-6 in extra innings. Today, though, the Yankees belted five home runs — three over the Green Monster — to handily defeat the Red Sox, 6-2, in a centennial re-match.
I visited Fenway for the first time in my life last summer and, although not a Boston fan, am proud to have experienced one of the true shrines of baseball. Today, it is the oldest professional baseball stadium and has been sold out in 718 consecutive games dating back to 2003, which is the best streak in baseball history. Chicago’s Wrigley Field is the only other ‘classic’ park remaining. If you're interested, earlier this week, Mike Lopresti wrote an enjoyable USA Today article taking the perspective of Wrigley Field's potential resentment of all the Fenway fanfare.
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