“Attention Please Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Welcome to Fenway Park.” Sherm Feller

SHERM FELLER

July 29, 1918-January 27, 1994

When a patron of Fenway Park purchases a ticket to a ball game, their intention is to go see “the Sox”. They will often check to see who they may see pitch, hope that they get to see this guy or that guy perform. However, very often, little thought is given to, shall we say, the entire “ballpark experience,” which today would include, the festivities on Yawkey Way…..

 

Or Landsdowne Street…..

Or perhaps a visit to pay homage to the statues on the corner of Van Ness and Ipswich Streets.

In a not so far away time and for the better part of three decades, an essential part of the Fenway Park experience, was this man…..

Sherm Feller………………………………………………………………………..

If you frequented Fenway Park at anytime from 1967 through the 1993 season, you were greeted by this voice,  http://www.shermfeller.com/ He was a perfect fit for the Fenway Park landscape of his time, no flair, no-nonsense, no gimmicks, just his voice, smooth, melodic, professional and welcoming.

When Sherm arrived for the 1967 season, he carried with him quite a resume, which dated back to the early days of WW II.  Working as an overnight announcer on WEEI in Boston, young Feller was called upon to fill up four hours of air time a night.

Taking full advantage of the myriad of Boston Night Clubs, Sherm began a litany of guests to his studio. Among them: Tommy Dorsey, Nat King Cole, Stan Kenton, Don Rickles, Frank Sinatra, Totie Fields, Hoagy Carmichael  and even the Wizard of Oz Scarecrow himself, Ray Bolger.

The quintessential renaissance man, Sherm was an accomplished musician and songwriter. Among his thousands of songs was a the top 40 hit, Summertime,  Summertime, by the Jamies.

                                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeNAgBFmJpM

However, the musical piece of which he was most proud was his John Kennedy Symphony which was played by the Boston Pops in a birthday tribute to the fallen President.

When Sherm began his tenure as the voice of Fenway Park, he was paid twelve dollars a game and it cost him fourteen dollars in cab fare to get to and from work. His thoughts, “I really love the game.”

http://www.shermfeller.com/

Since 1954, when Frank Fallon became Fenway Park’s first “voice”, a total of five people have sat behind her microphone. For twenty-six years, that voice belonged to Sherm Feller. It is time that Sherm take his place in the Red Sox hall of fame. For nearly three decades he was as much a part of Fenway Park and the Red Sox as any player, coach or manager. And, with the exception of Johnny Pesky, he was around longer than any of them. And first and foremost, he loved the game, it’s time for the game and the Red Sox to love him back!

    And so it was at this time in Fenway Park history, 1967-93, Sherm’s Time.

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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4 Responses to “Attention Please Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Welcome to Fenway Park.” Sherm Feller

  1. markvin1234 says:

    Great tribute to Fenway and Sherm. I used to live up north and started visiting the grand old lady when I was 5 years old. I have been to well over 200 games there. I used to go not only to see the Sox but I loved hearing Sherm and let’s not forget the great John Kiley. He and Sherm teamed up to make Fenway a beloved place to go. Maybe you could write a little about John too. Thanks.

  2. Garry Armstrong says:

    Sherm would’ve loved this tribute and probably added a couple more stories. Nice, very nice! He’s toasting you up there — with a paper cup filled with the good stuff right now.

  3. mousepumper says:

    GREAT guy and a long-time family friend.
    He’d bring over Chinese almost every week.
    But those cigars smelled BAD!

  4. Pingback: Fevered Pitch | Higher Times

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