“Reasons, there are no reasons, why some of us live and why some of us don’t” William Forrester

The Boston College football team (begun in 1892) played its first game at Fenway Park in 1914 and in fact played their home games at Fenway for 13 different seasons, the first in 1928, the last being 1953-1956. Just like Boston University, they too found Fenway to their liking, going 56-16-1 in the 13 seasons they called Fenway Park home. In the other 10 seasons when they played at least a game at Fenway, they enjoyed success as well, going 11-5-3. Their overall mark of 67-21-4 is an indicator of just how much the Eagles liked keeping their nest at Fenway. In the days when they played their home games in other venues, they often played their traditional rivalry game with Holy Cross at Fenway Park; simply because it was big enough to hold the crowd which often broached 40,000. In 1940, 41 and 42 Boston College was a national power and in that stretch they were an astounding 20-2 at Fenway Park. One of those losses came at the hands of their rival Holy Cross.

It was November 28, 1942 when the the Eagles took the field at Fenway. Undefeated and ranked number one in the nation, they were a three touchdown favorite to beat the Crusaders and claim their first National Championship. Led by their All American fullback Mike Holovak (who would coach the Boston Patriots from 1963-69) the Eagles were so sure of victory they booked the popular Boston nightclub, the Cocoanut Grove for their Saturday night championship celebration. Holy Cross, however, had other ideas and not only did they beat the Eagles, they trounced them 55-12; canceling the season and the victory party. As the would be champions left Fenway Park on that cold November afternoon, mired as they were in disappointment, they could not have known just how much they had won. For that night, the Cocoanut Grove burned to the ground and nearly 500 people lost their lives in what remains today, the second largest nightclub fire in the history of the United States.

A fateful day…..

A hellish night…..

http://www.boston.com/news/daily/21/archives_cocoanut_112792.htm

About fenwaypark100

Hello and welcome, my name is Raymond Sinibaldi. An educator for more than two decades, a baseball fan for nearly 60 years, I have authored four books about baseball and her glorious history; with a fifth on the way in late spring of 2015; the first, The Babe in Red Stockings which was co-authored with Kerry Keene and David Hickey. It is a chronicle of Babe's days with the Red Sox. We also penned a screenplay about Babe's Red Sox days so if any of you are Hollywood inclined or would like to represent us in forwarding that effort feel free to contact me through my email. In 2012 we three amigos published Images of Fenway Park in honor of the 100th birthday of Fenway Park. That led to the creation of this blog. The following year, 2013 came my first solo venture, Spring Training in Bradenton and Sarasota. This is a pictorial history of spring training in those two Florida cities. The spring of 2014 brought forth the 1967 Red Sox, The Impossible Dream Season. The title speaks for itself and it also is a pictorial history. Many of the photos in this book were never published before. The spring of 2015 will bring 1975 Red Sox, American League Champions. Another pictorial effort, this will be about the Red Sox championship season of 1975 and the World Series that restored baseball in America. I was fortunate enough to consult with sculptor Franc Talarico on the “Jimmy Fund” statue of Ted Williams which stands outside both Fenway Park and Jet Blue Park Fenway South, in Fort Myers Florida. That story is contained in the near 300 posts which are contained herein. This blog has been dormant for awhile but 2015 will bring it back to life so jump on board, pass the word and feel free to contact me about anything you read or ideas you may have for a topic. Thanks for stopping by, poke around and enjoy. Autographed copies of all my books are available here, simply click on Raymond Sinibaldi and email me.

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