Author: Christopher Chavis
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Failure to Launch – The Disastrous Spring of 1948
On May 31, 1948, the Boston Red Sox sat 14-23, 11.5 games out of the lead in the American League. Their first season under manager Joe McCarthy, who had won seven World Series with the New York Yankees, was not going particularly well. The Sox had won the pennant in 1946 but finished a disappointed…
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The End of an Era – The 1952 Boston Braves
The 1950s were a time of change in Major League Baseball, which hadn’t seen any relocations or additions since the Baltimore Orioles departed the American League in 1903 to make way for the New York franchise (which later came to be known as the Yankees). At the beginning of 1952, Major League Baseball still had…
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The Miracle in the South End – The 1914 Boston Braves
The baseball world sat in awe last year as the Washington Nationals rallied from a 19-31 start to win the World Series over the Houston Astros. The Nationals made the post-season after winning the second wild card slot and finishing second in the NL East to the Atlanta Braves, who made a similar turnaround 105…
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“This Used to be a Family Show” – Red Sox After Dark (2011)
It’s no secret that I miss Don Orsillo, he was the Sox play by play guy when I started following the team and I still associate his voice with the Sox. His ouster after the 2015 season is still a sad moment for me as a fan. On Tuesday, I wrote about one of his…
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Here Comes The Pizza! – Patriots Day 2007
There’s a tradition in Boston – every year on Patriots Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts that commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord, the Red Sox start their games in the morning. The earlier start time was originally designed to accommodate the biggest sporting event of the day, the Boston Marathon, and allow fans…
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Mel Parnell’s No-Hitter (1956)
I’ll go ahead and state it here – Mel Parnell is one of the most underrated Red Sox pitchers. The winningest left handed pitcher in the team’s history, he was also a key player in the 1949 team that almost won the pennant. However, his career began to be derailed by injuries after a 21…
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Jon Lester’s No-Hitter (2008)
May 19, 2008 – the day that Jon Lester’s career changed forever. It was on that day that Jon Lester threw the 18th no-hitter in Red Sox history, the first Sox pitcher since Clay Buchholz the year before, and the first Sox lefty since Mel Parnell in 1956 to throw a no-hitter. Lester, a hot…
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The Greater Boston Stadium Authority (Part II)
The politics of Boston of the early 1960s were unkind to Sullivan, who nevertheless persisted in his plan to get a permanent home for his Patriots. By April 1961, Sullivan’s timeline had shifted to a planned 1964 opening for his proposed “all weather, all purpose” stadium. The media began to take notice of Sullivan’s…
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The Greater Boston Stadium Authority (Part I)
The 1960s and 70s were a terrible time for the old ballpark. The world watched as Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field in New York, Shibe Park in Philadelphia, Griffith Stadium in DC, Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, and others met the wrecking ball. In their place came Shea Stadium, Veterans…
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Opening Day 1978!
It was Opening Day 1978! A day on which the front page of the Boston Evening Globe loudly proclaimed, “Opening Day – Everyone’s a Winner!” The Fenway Faithful were ready to welcome their team home for the first home games of the 1978 season and team was ready to come home and get their season…
Huntington Avenue Grounds 