A Very Brief Historical Tour of Fenway Park

I went to Fenway last month on a trip to Boston. I did not try to hunt down where Ted Williams hit his last homer, Smoky Joe Wood and Babe Ruth pitched, or Wade Boggs ate his pre-game chicken dinners, but I did wander around the park before the night’s game and take some pictures of landmarks. Here is a picture of the plaque commemorating the Pesky Pole:

And here is a picture of the logos for the seven Red Sox World Series titles:

A couple days after my Fenway visit, I went to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, about a half-mile south of the park. There’s no obvious link between a boutique art collection in a city mansion and major league baseball, but Gardner was a big sports fan, including baseball and the Red Sox, despite being in her 60s when the American League began. In the men’s bathroom (and I guess the women’s too) were some interesting mottos of Ms. Gardner’s, etched on tiles in the walls. One said, “Win as though you were used to it and lose as if you liked it,” which would be a good motto to put in the restrooms at Fenway Park, Boston Garden, or any other sports stadium. Also, a good piece of unheeded advice for Kendry Morales, Gus Frerotte, Bill Gramatica, Tagg Bozied, Pauolo Diogo, and however many other celebrating athletes.