On October 27, 2004 the Boston Red Sox won the World Series and the next day they announced plans for a parade through the city to take place on Saturday October 30th.
It was a no-brainer, I was on a plane from Tampa Florida and I, along with my daughter Beth, were among the 3,000,000 people to take to the streets of Boston to say thank you!
We gathered outside of Fenway Park at 4:00 AM and shared a day of joy, the likes of which the city of Boston had never known!
The chilling drizzle that fell throughout the day “would not, “could not” dampen the spirit of elation that permeated the city, indeed all of New England.
I never in my life saw more smiles,
none bigger than this mans.
And the most impressive part of it all is that along the parade route there were a total of three, count em, three arrests!
That afternoon, I made a visit to see mom and dad.
It was when I arrived there that the magnitude of what the Red Sox had done came home to me.
For in one little corner of one cemetery in Weymouth Massachusetts, I found what this meant to millions and millions of people, fans who loved the Red Sox!
Everywhere I turned I found expressions of the depth of the joy!
Balloons…..
Messages, newspapers….
Tee shirts…..
Pennants proclaiming the words so many longed to hear, but never did.
This was one small corner, in one cemetery, in one New England town and I wondered how many times and in how many places was this scene repeated?
There were many impressive moments played out that fall by Manny, Pedro, Lowe, Damon, Schilling, Foulke, Papi, Tek et al. Moments played out at Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium and in St. Louis where it all culminated. However, the want, the desire, in fact the need for Red Sox fans to reach out, to reach back to share this glorious moment brought a century of Red Sox fans together and it is that tie which binds and will always bind the Royal Rooters to the Fenway Faithful to Red Sox Nation! Nothing that took place on the diamond is more impressive than that simple fact.
For it is more true now than it has ever been, for so many can say,
And so it is on this day in Red Sox history, March 2, 2012.
About fenwaypark100
Hello and welcome, my name is Raymond Sinibaldi. A retired history teacher, after 26 years in the classroom, a baseball fan for three score and five, I have authored 13 books. Eight about baseball and her glorious history; most recently Yankees in the Hall of Fame and Dodgers in the Hall of Fame. An aficionado of the Kennedy Administration, I have written four books in that realm and also co-authored a book of motivational stories for coaches. The first, The Babe in Red Stockings which was co-authored with Kerry Keene and David Hickey and released in 1997. 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. 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 brought 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. The spring of 2016 brought 61 Motivational Stories for Every Coach of Every Sport. My first JFK effort was in 2017 with John F Kennedy in New England, which was followed by JFK From Florida to the Moon (2019) and JFK At Rest in Arlington (2020). Jackie's Newport came about in 2019 and in 2023 came both Yankees in the Hall of Fame and Dodgers in the Hall of Fame. 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. Throughout the years this blog has morphed from an exclusive Red Sox focus, to a broader baseball perspective to a blog about life, with baseball a large portion of it. This year, 2024, I have reactivated this blog which lay dormant for quite some time. Welcome aboard, pass the word and feel free to contact me about anything you read or ideas you may have for a topic. Email me at fenwaypark100@gmail.com.
none bigger than this mans.
fenwaypark100 