On September 7, 1908, Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators pitched the third of three consecutive shutouts against the New York Highlanders at Hilltop Park. Johnson threw a six-hit shutout on Friday, September 4th, followed by a four-hitter with no runs on Saturday, then concluded with a two-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader on Labor Day.
At a conference held on March 12, 1903, Ban Johnson requested that an American League team be placed in New York to play alongside the National League’s Giants. 15 of the 16 major league owners agreed to the request to move the Baltimore team to the Big Apple, with the one dissenting vote coming from Giants owner John T. Brush. The Orioles’ new owners, Frank J. Farrell and William S. Devery, moved the team to New York that year, where they became known as the New York Highlanders.
On January 22, 1913, the New York Giants agreed to share the Polo Grounds with the New York Highlanders, who would later become known as the Yankees. Since 1903, the Highlanders had played their home games at Hilltop Park, located at 168th Street and Broadway. The last big league game played at Hilltop Park was on October 5, 1912, and the venue would be demolished in 1914.
Boston Americans pitcher Jesse Tannehill notched a 3-0 victory over the White Sox on May 25, 1906, thus ending a 20-game losing streak for the Americans. The streak began with a 0-8 loss to the New York Highlanders on May 1, 1906 and included 19 losses at home. The Americans would end the 1906 season with a 49-105 record.
On October 10, 1904, 41-game winner Jack Chesbro of the Highlanders let loose a wild pitch in the ninth inning of the final game of the season. This snapped a 2-2 tie, allowing Pilgrims right-hander Bill Dinneen to claim victory as the Boston team claimed the AL pennant. Dinneen finished the year having completed every game he started during the season, throwing 337.2 consecutive innings without relief during his streak of 37 consecutive complete games.
The New York Highlanders (later known as the Yankees) played their first game as a New York City team on April 22, 1903. The Highlanders lost their opener to Washington, 3-1, at Hilltop Park in front of 11,950 fans. Pitcher Jack Chesbro took the loss, but he would finish the season with a 21-15 record (.583) and an ERA of 2.77.
Fenway Park is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. The ballpark has hosted World Series games in eleven different seasons, with the Boston Red Sox winning six of those Series, and the Boston Braves winning one.
Construction on Fenway Park began in September 1911 in Boston, Massachusetts near Kenmore Square. The ballpark opened on April 20, 1912, having cost $650,000 to build. It had a capacity of 27,000 and featured a steel and concrete grandstand extending from behind home plate down the baselines, with wooden bleachers placed in the outfield. The Red Sox played their first Fenway ballgame on that date against the New York Highlanders (Yankees), winning 7-6 in eleven innings. The opening of the new ballpark found itself overshadowed in the news, however, by the sinking of the Titanic just the week before.
In 1914, the Boston Braves played their home games during the World Series at Fenway Park, due to the construction on their own new stadium, Braves Field, still being in progress. The Braves would get the opportunity to return the favor before too long. As any baseball fan will know, Babe Ruth played with the Red Sox prior to his time with the New York Yankees. During his stint in Boston, Ruth helped the Red Sox to World Series titles in 1915, 1916, and 1918. The 1915 and 1916 Series, however, were not played at Fenway Park, but rather at Braves Field, in order to accommodate a larger crowd.
Throughout the late-1910s and into the 1920s, the Boston team struggled financially, a situation that resulted in the sale of Babe Ruth to New York and led to the disrepair of various features of Fenway Park. In 1926, a great fire engulfed the wooden bleachers in left field of the ballpark. However, these bleachers hadn’t seen much use leading up to the incident anyway, due to their dilapidated state. Finally, in 1933, the Red Sox were sold to millionaire Tom Yawkey. Yawkey invested in renovations to Fenway, including the blue, wooden grandstand seats that remain in the stadium to this day.
The Green Monster in left field actually began as a mere ten-foot fence. When he came into ownership of the team, Yawkey opted not to replace the fire-destroyed wooden bleachers in that part of the stadium. Instead, during the 1933-1934 off season, Yawkey rebuilt much of Fenway, including the erection of a 37-foot left field wall, initially covered in advertisements. A scoreboard was also added to Fenway Park in 1934, at the base of the great wall. At the time, the new board was considered a type of advanced technology, and the scoreboard remains at Fenway to this day, with scores continuing to get updated by hand. The wall would actually become the “Green Monster” in 1947 when advertisements were removed from the wall and it received a dark green paint job.
The “Williamsburg” area of the ballpark in right field was named for the legendary hitter, Ted Williams. It is said that the right field bullpen area, constructed in 1940, was built specifically to accommodate Williams’s left-handed swing, pulling the right field wall in closer to home plate. Also found in the right field stands sits a lone red seat. This seat is a nod to the 502-foot home run Williams hit in 1946 — the longest homer in Fenway history.
Light towers were then added to Fenway, and the Red Sox would host their first night game on June 13, 1947 against the Chicago White Sox. It wouldn’t be until 1976 when Fenway saw its next big change, when a $1.5 million electronic scoreboard was added above the stands in center field. Also in 1976, the Green Monster was refurbished, tearing down the old, tin wall and replacing it with a steel reinforced wall of hard plastic.
Private luxury suites were added to the ballpark’s upper deck from 1982 to 1983. Bleacher seats were also replaced with individual seats in order to allow season tickets to be sold to fans for those parts of the stadium. In 1987-1988, a color video board was erected above the center field seats, replacing the old scoreboard, and in 1989, the media level was added. Also in 1989, the 600 Club was constructed, featuring luxurious seats, climate control, and a great view of the field. The 600 Club would be renamed the .406 Club after the passing of Ted Williams in 2002, in honor of his historic batting average from the 1941 season. It would get renamed yet again in 2006 to the EMC Club.
The dugouts in Fenway are the only ones remaining in baseball with support poles in front of the players’ benches. Throughout the stadium, support beams can also be found, even though other clubs around the league have made a point to no longer have these kinds of support beams in their own stadiums. The beams at Fenway result in obstructed views for some fans, yes, however, the vertical poles have remained as a way to maintain Fenway’s old-time aura.
Just prior to the 2003 season, the Green Monster had bar-style seating added to the top of it, which became a major fan draw. That year, box seats were also added right behind home plate. In 2004, another two hundred seats were added to the roof high over right field, featuring tables at which fans get to sit during the game. During the early-2010s, the blue, wooden seats that fill the ballpark were systematically repaired and waterproofed.
From May 15, 2003 until April 10, 2013, the Red Sox sold out 820 consecutive home games at Fenway, which makes it the longest home sellout streak in Major League Baseball history. Fenway has also played host to many other sporting and cultural events, including: professional football games for the Boston Redskins, the Boston Yanks, and the Boston Patriots; music concerts; soccer and hockey games (including the 2010 NHL Winter Classic); and political and religious campaigns.
On March 7, 2012, just ahead of the stadium’s centennial, Fenway Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
On September 4, 1906, the New York Highlanders defeated the Boston Americans, 1-0, at Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston. This game ended a streak in which New York played five consecutive doubleheaders in six days. Impressively, the Highlanders swept all of the twin bills, posting a record of 10-0 during the run.
Jack Chesbro of the Highlanders recorded his 41st win of the season on October 7, 1904 when he defeated Boston, 3-2. Chesbro’s 41 wins are the most in a single season by a pitcher in “modern era” major league baseball (the modern era defined as having begun in 1901).
Deacon McGuire was a baseball player, coach, and manager in the major leagues during the late-19th and early-20th centuries. His professional career began in 1883 at the age of 19, and lasted until 1915. He was known as the most durable catcher of his time, setting major league records for most career games caught (1,612), putouts (6,856), assists (1,860), double plays turned (143), runners caught stealing (1,459), and stolen bases allowed (2,529).
James Thomas McGuire was born in Youngstown, Ohio on November 18, 1863, during the Civil War. He grew up in Cleveland, where he learned to play baseball on the streets, then later moved to Albion, Michigan where he worked as an apprentice iron molder, playing baseball during the weekends. His large hands proved ideal for playing catcher.
Playing baseball for a team in Hastings, Michigan, McGuire first drew attention catching for a pitcher named Charles “Lady” Baldwin. Baldwin was known for his “snake ball,” and McGuire gained a reputation as the only catcher who could handle the pitch. In 1883, McGuire began his professional career with the minor league Terre Haute Awkwards in Indiana.
In 1884, McGuire signed with the Cleveland Blues of the National League. He was released shortly thereafter, however, and signed with the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association. He made his major league debut with the Blue Stockings in June of 1884. He shared the catching responsibilities with Moses Fleetwood Walker, who is credited as being one of the first African-American players in Major League Baseball, each catching 41 games. McGuire only hit .185 at the plate, and the Blue Stockings came in eighth place out of thirteen with a 46-58 record.
Starting out the 1885 season, McGuire played 16 games with the minor league Indianapolis Hoosiers of the Western League. He and eight of his teammates then signed with the Detroit Wolverines of the National League, upon the disbanding of the Western League. With the Wolverines, McGuire caught 31 games as backup to primary catcher Charlie Bennett, who caught 62 games. McGuire hit .190 in 121 at bats, and the Wolverines finished 41-67.
McGuire then spent the 1886 and 1887 seasons with the Philadelphia Quakers. While 1886 proved another poor offensive season for McGuire, hitting .198, the 1887 season proved to be a year of dramatic improvement, as he hit .307 in 150 at-bats. His two-year stint with a single team came to a close as 1888 saw him bounce from Philadelphia for 12 games, back to Detroit for three games, then onto Cleveland for 26 games. 1889 saw McGuire return to the minors with the Toronto Canucks of the International League, where he batted .282 in 93 games.
In 1890, McGuire returned to the big leagues with the Rochester Broncos of the American Association. He batted .299 with a .356 on-base percentage, .408 slugging, and 53 RBIs.
In 1891, he joined the Washington Statesmen of the American Association (which later became the Senators of the National League), where he would finally stay for nine seasons. He led all starters in batting with a .303 average in 1891. In 1892, however, he only hit .232 and led the league’s catchers in stolen bases allowed. The Senators finished that season in 10th place out of twelve teams. The 1893 season saw McGuire splitting time at catcher with Duke Farrell, playing 50 games behind the plate while Farrell caught 81. In spite of his limited playing time, McGuire committed 27 errors and the Senators finished in last place with a 40–89 record.
Farrell was traded to the New York Giants in 1894, leaving McGuire to carry the catching load. McGuire’s performance at the plate experienced a recovery, as he hit .306 with 78 RBIs for the 11th-place Senators. The following season, 1895, would prove the best of his career.
In 1895, McGuire caught all 133 games of the season, which set a major league record at the time. He led the team with a .336 batting average, which included 48 extra bases hits, 10 home runs, 97 RBIs (which also led the team), and 17 stolen bases. He also threw out 189 base runners attempting to steal, a record that stands to this day. Unfortunately, the Senators as a team didn’t fare nearly as well, finishing the season 43-85 and in tenth place.
McGuire had another solid season in 1896. He hit .321 and led the majors in games caught at 98 (Duke Farrell had been traded back to Washington, this time as McGuire’s backup). He led the National League in putouts; however, he also led the NL in errors and stolen bases allowed. That year, the Senators finished in ninth place at 58-73. In 1897, McGuire caught 73 games to Farrell’s 63. Both catchers had a solid year at the plate, as McGuire hit .343 and Farrell hit .322. The team improved to 61-71, which put them in sixth place.
McGuire’s performance waned in the 1898 season, hitting .268. After beginning 1899 with the Senators, McGuire found out in July that he had been traded to the star-studded Brooklyn Superbas, joining Duke Farrell yet again. He hit .318 in 46 contests with Brooklyn, posting a .385 on-base percentage and .446 slugging. The team finished 101–47 to win the National League pennant.
In 1900, McGuire once again shared catching responsibility with Farrell, with McGuire handling 69 games at the position and Farrell 76. McGuire finished with a .286 batting average and .348 on-base percentage. During one game in 1900, McGuire threw out seven runners attempting to steal second base. Brooklyn won its second consecutive pennant with a 82–54 record.
Brooklyn dropped to third place in 1901 with McGuire hitting .296 and catching 81 games. Then in 1902, McGuire was traded to Detroit in the American League, where he was the oldest player on the team at the age of 38. He caught 70 games and hit .227. He raised his batting average to .250 in 1902, but Detroit was never a contending team.
In February 1904, Detroit sold McGuire to the New York Highlanders, where he spent his final years as a full-time player. In spite of the fact that he was now 40 years old, he caught 97 games and played in 101 total, though his batting average fell to .208. In 1905, he caught 71 games and hit .219, and in 1906, McGuire played in 51 games and hit .299.
After taking a year to open a saloon with his brother George, McGuire joined the Boston Red Sox in 1907, primarily as a manager. The team finished 45–61 in 1907 and 53–62 in 1908, with McGuire making occasional playing appearances as a pinch hitter. In September of 1908, he signed on with the Cleveland Indians, first as a player. He took over as manager in 1909, replacing Nap Lajoie partway through the season. In 1910 McGuire managed his only full season, as the Cleveland club finished 71-81 and came in fifth place. He caught one game, going 1-for-3 at the plate. In 1911, McGuire resigned after the club started with a 6-11 record and would never manage in the big leagues again.
In 1912, McGuire signed with the Detroit Tigers as a pitching coach. In May of 1912, when the Detroit players refused to play in protest over the suspension of Ty Cobb for attacking a fan, Detroit was forced to come up with a substitute team for a game in Philadelphia. McGuire took to the field as one of the Tigers’ replacement players. He went 1-for-2 and scored a run in what would be his final major league game, but the Tigers lost the game by a score of 24–2.
McGuire served as a coach with the Tigers until 1915 and he remained associated with the club as a scout until he fully retired in 1926. He returned to Albion, where he coached the Albion College team in 1926. Finally, he retired from baseball altogether.
Jim McGuire’s nickname “Deacon” supposedly came from his gentlemanly, fair-play approach to the game. Most accounts support the widely-held claim that he was never fined or ejected from a game. According to some sources, he never drank, though according to others, he had been a heavy drinker for years before becoming a teetotaler. He wasn’t a flamboyant player, but he had a reputation for being a hard worker, and was considered a legend in his hometown of Albion.
His work ethic included a willingness to play through injury, which contributed greatly to his durability. He reportedly broke every finger in each of his hands over the course of his career, leaving him with grotesquely gnarled hands, as depicted by this 1906 x-ray:
This was a time, of course, that predated the advent of padded catcher’s mitts and other modern protective equipment. To help protect his hands, McGuire was reported to have slipped a piece of steak into his glove. According to his wife, the steak resembled hamburger by game’s end.
McGuire died of pneumonia in 1936 at the age of 72.
