The first Big League game was played April 20, 1912, an 11-inning Red Sox victory over the New York Highlanders.
cont...
1.Opened with a Harvard-Red Sox exhibition game April 9, 1912
2.Smoky Joe Wood outdueled Christy Mathewson when the Red Sox won 1912 World Series
3.First non-baseball event was high school football, Everett High vs. Oak Park (Ill.) Nov. 30, 1912
4.Home for the Boston Braves during their 1914 World Series run
5.In first of many college football games played there, BC beat Norwich University in 1914.
6.Sox won 1918 World Series when Carl Mays beat the Cubs 2-1, last title for 86 years
7.Royal Rooters fan club was around before the park opened and during early years of Fenway
8.Duffy's Cliff was a 10-foot incline in front of The Wall in left field from 1912-23; named for LF Duffy Lewis
9.Babe Ruth received a standing ovation when he returned April 19, 1920
10.High school football was a regular event the first 20 years, including 47 games in 1932
11.Chicago Tribune reported a July 14, 1922, White Sox-Red Sox game drew 68 fans
12.Fenway hosted a baseball/lacrosse doubleheader in 1915
13.In 1920, Battling Jim McCreary beat John Lester Johnson in the park's first boxing event
14.As the park was being reconstructed in 1933-34, a fire caused $250,000 in damage
15.The left field wall was covered with signs until 1947, when the Green Monster was born
16.The first scoreboard with lights was constructed in 1934
17.Fenway didn't host a Sunday game until 1932
18.Ladies Day, a fixture for decades, was introduced in 1932
19.NFL's Boston Redskins played their first game at Fenway in 1933
20.FDR spoke at Fenway in 1944, Barry Goldwater in 1964, Eugene McCarthy in 1968
21.The Kid debuted in 1939, starting a Hall of Fame LF procession (Ted, Yaz, Rice)
22.Bullpens were added in 1940, moving right field fence in 23 feet as Williams arrived
23.Undefeated and Sugar Bowl-bound BC football team played home games at Fenway in 1940
24.Ted & Babe were teammates, facing the Braves for enlisted players in an exhibition in '43
25.Jackie Robinson tried out at Fenway on April 16, 1945, but the Sox passed
26.Fenway hosted the 1946 All-Star Game and Ted homered on an eephus pitch from Rip Sewell
27.Ted's 502-foot homer on June 9, 1946. is still commemorated with a red seat in right field
28.Pitcher Mel Parnell coined the phrase "Pesky Pole" in 1948
29.WBZ-TV televised first game from Fenway May 12, 1948
30.Denny Galehouse lost to the Indians in '48 playoff game, preventing an all-Boston World Series
31.Yankees vs. Red Sox brawl in 1952: Billy Martin vs. Jimmy Piersall
32.Harry Agganis hit a game-winning homer on his graduation day from BU June 6, 1954
33.George Mikan's All-Star team lost to the Harlem Globetrotters at Fenway July 29, 1954
34.Switchboard operator Helen Robinson did not miss a day of work from 1941-2001
35.Organist John Kiley provided background music from 1953-89
36.Sherm Feller was the distinctive voice of Fenway from 1967-94
37.On Aug. 4, 1959, Pumpsie Green became the first black Red Sox player
38.Thousand of habits flocked to Fenway for the annual Nuns Day in the 1960s
39.The Patriots began a six-year run in 1963, beating the Jets in their first Fenway game
40.Earl Wilson of the Sox became the first African-American in the AL to throw a no-hitter, in 1962
41.John Updike labeled Fenway "lyric little bandbox" in his essay on Ted's last game
42.There were 10,454 at Fenway when Ted homered on his last at-bat on Sept. 28, 1960
43.There were 2,370 (1,247 paid) at Fenway when Dave Morehead no-hit the Indians on Sept. 16, 1965
44.There were 8,324 at Fenway for Opening Day, 1967
45.Fenway on the brink: Owner Tom Yawkey demanded a new stadium in 1967
46.Tony Conigliaro silenced the park when he was beaned by Jack Hamilton Aug. 18, 1967
47.The Red Sox won their first pennant in 21 years on Oct. 1, 1967
48.11 Days later, the Cardinals won Game 7 of the World Series at Fenway
49.Pele played for Santos FC against the Boston Beacons on July 8, 1968
50.The Sox have been playing Patriots Day mornings at Fenway since 1968
51.Bruno Sammartino & Co. came to Fenway in 1969, the park's first wrestling match in more than 30 years
52.Sonny Siebert outdueled 10-1 Vida Blue on May 28, 1971
53.Cantankerous groundskeeper Joe Mooney arrived in 1971 and hasn't left
54.Yankees vs. Red Sox brawl in 1973: Fisk vs. Munson
55.Common at Fenway to see an oversize rat, not to be confused with the Kenmore watering hole
56.The Newport Jazz Festival was held at Fenway in 1973, with Ray Charles among the acts
57.Opening Day, 1973: Ron Bloomberg of Yanks was first DH in MLB history
58.Opening Day, 1975: Tony C returned as DH and Hank Aaron was Brewers' DH
59.Carlton Fisk's Game 6 home run wave was the iconic image of the 1975 World Series
60.The Reds won Game 7 in '75 at Fenway, ending one of the great World Series in history
61.Fenway got a spiffy new scoreboard above the bleachers before the '76 season
62.Mickey Rivers wore a helmet in CF after firecrackers were tossed from the crowd in 1976
63.Yankees vs. Yankees brawl in 1977: Reggie Jackson vs. Billy Martin in the dugout
64.Bobby Sprowl, he of ice water in the veins, was shelled by the Yankees in '78 Massacre
65.Bucky (Bleeping) Dent homered in the Yankees' victory to end '78 after Game No. 163.
66.Yaz's 3,000th hit came on Sept. 12, 1979, a grounder against Yanks
67.The Citgo sign, visible from Fenway since 1965, was turned off in the early 1980s
68.Twins rookie Jim Eisenreich, battling Tourette's, left a game after being taunted by Fenway fans
69.Ted returned for the park's first Old Timers' Game in '82, with son John-Henry there as bat boy
70.Jim Rice carried a bloodied 4-year-old boy who'd been hit by a ball in August 1982
71.On Tony C Night June 6, 1983, Buddy LeRoux attempted an ownership takeover
72.Oil Can Boyd left Fenway in a huff after he was omitted from All-Star team in 1986
73.Roger Clemens struck out 20 Mariners on a cold April 29 night in 1986
74.The "go the distance" scene in the 1989 movie "Field of Dreams" was shot at Fenway
75.The 600 Club was constructed behind home plate 1988-89, changing the park's wind currents
76.Owner Haywood Sullivan roamed the park checking garbage cans for Hefty bags during games
77.Tom Brunansky's diving catch in the RF corner clinched the AL East in 1990
78.Before the 1997 season, 25-foot Coca-Cola bottles were placed atop the Green Monster
79.Clemens fanned 16 in his return as a Jay and glared at the owner's box as he left the field
80.Save Fenway Park! founded by local preservationist in January 1998
81."Sweet Caroline" was first played in 1997 and became a staple in the 2000s
82.Wally the Green Monster was introduced as Fenway's mascot before the '97 season
83.Fenway on the brink: John Harrington unveiled plans to build new Fenway next to old Fenway
84.Nomar had 3 homers and 10 RBI against Seattle on May 10, 1999
85.Ted returned for 1999 All-Star Game, but Pedro stole the spotlight with five K's
86.Derek Lowe's April 27, 2002, no-hitter was Fenway's first since 1965
87.Monster seats debuted in 2003, replacing the netting that hung for years
88.The ladder on The Wall, used to retrieve balls from the net, remains with no real function
89.A 2003 Springsteen show was the first concert in 30 years and started a decade of music
90.Yankees vs. Red Sox brawl in 2003: Pedro tossed Zimmer to the ground in the ALCS
91.Yankees vs. Red Sox brawl in 2004: A-Rod and Varitek squared off July 24
92.The most famous SB in Fenway history: Dave Roberts vs. Yanks in 2004 ALCS
93.The Yankees were in town for the dramatic April 11, 2005, World Series ring ceremony
94.More no-hitters: Clay Buchholz in 2007, Jon Lester in 2008
95.Fenway hosted the NHL's Winter Classic Jan. 1, 2010, with the Bruins beating the Flyers
96.Statues of "The Teammates" were erected outside in 2010, joining an existing Williams statue
97.The initials of former owner Tom and Jean Yawkey are spelled in Morse code on The Wall
98.Soccer returned after a 42-year absence: Celtic FC over Sporting Lisbon July 21, 2010
99.The sellout streak is at 718 games, dating back to May 15, 2003
100.In 2011, fried chicken and beer became the most famous meal in Fenway
Sources: Courant archives, redsox.com, baseball-reference.com, espn.com, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, "Field of Our Fathers: An Illustrated History of Fenway Park," and "Fenway Park: The Centennial"
