Magical Night at Fenway: A Tribute to Ted Williams
In July of 2002, a few months after his death, the Boston Red Sox held a tribute to Ted Williams at Fenway Park. I was lucky enough to attend the event. I wrote about my experience, and would like to share them with you now.
As you entered the park, they gave you a big Ted Williams tribute packet, ,with a big folder, small Boston Globe tribute section, copy of John Updike’s essay “Hub fans bid kid adieu”, a postcard of his HOF plaque, and other odds and ends. I found my seat, Grandstand section 23, Row 7, Seat 3 (just to the third base side of home plate) just as the ceremony began.
The ballpark looked amazing. A huge American flag covered the “Green Monster”. There was a huge #9 on the field in left, a white border filled with flowers. “.406”, “USMC”, and “521” were all painted in large letters on the infield. The old ballpark looked just beautiful, a real sight to be seen. Anyone who doesn’t understand why we love baseball so much would only have had to sit there for a minute to understand. It was like attending a holy mass at baseball’s greatest shrine.
The program was split into 9 “innings”, each with it’s own guests and highlights of Ted’s life and career. His playing career, military service, and work for the Jimmy Fund were three main areas of focus.
Co-MC’s Sean McDonough (long-time local broadcaster) and Peter Gammons got the show rolling with “inning 1, greetings”. They introduced the guests and speakers, and served as “interviewers” for the speakers. They did a good job of setting the tone for the evening, moving things along, and getting great stories out of the guests without ever seeming overbearing or trying to be the center of attention. A stirring rendition of the National Anthem was sung by a member of the Marine corps. The giant flag on the green monster was lowered and removed by another team of Marines. Several very large pictures of Ted were displayed on the wall. A squadron of Marine fighter jets zoomed overhead as the Marines saluted a fallen brother.
Inning 2 – John Henry and Tom Werner, the Sox majority owners, were the first to speak, and they kept it brief…welcomed and thanked the fans, and overall gave the impression that they were there to pay tribute to Ted, just like the fans. They did a great job of staying in the background, making sure it was Ted’s night. The only boo’s of the night came when Bug Selig was introduced (he was in attendance, but did not speak)…I think they did the right thing by downplaying his presence and not having him speak. They did announce two major changes…the 600 club, the luxury clubhouse added to Fenway a few years back, will be renamed the 406 club, and will be open to all fans during games. They also unveiled a bronze plaque that will be added to the wall in left memorializing Ted Williams life and career.
Inning 3 brought two Red Sox greats, former teammates of Williams, out to speak…Dom DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky. The speakers sat at a series of chairs around home plate, which gave it more of a “discussion” feel than that of a speech. Both remembered a great teammate, friend, and player. Dom remembered in 1941 Ted getting updates on Dom’s brother Joe’s hit streak from the scoreboard operator behind the left field wall and yelling them over to Dom in CF. Dom also made the nights only reference to the controversy concerning Ted’s final resting place, with a plea to the family for resolution so Ted could “finally rest in peace”. Other than the booing when Selig was introduced, this was the only reminder of the mess baseball finds itself in today during the two hour ceremony.
Next up was Yaz with Ned Martin (longtime Sox broadcaster starting in 1961). Ned read a great “adapted” version of “Casey at the Bat”…he had written it while visiting with Dom D., Pesky, and Ted in Florida several years earlier. The poem, which Martin acted out with great vigor, ended with Teddy Ballgame saving the day with a home run. It was great. Yaz spoke about what it was like coming up as Ted was retiring, and how tough it was to try to replace such a legend in left field. Martin passed away a few night’s later on his way home from Boston, another great loss to the Red Sox family.
Inning 5 brought the “next generation”…Nomar and Tony Gwynn. There was much discussion about the ’99 All Star Game in Fenway, where Ted made one of his last public appearances. The story we’ve all heard about Ted asking McGwire if he could smell the “bat burn” when he fouled a ball straight back was retold. Gammons then asked Nomar what Ted had said to him when they spoke on the field…and Nomar, who’s becoming a much better public speaker these days, had a great reply…a real highlight. He said Ted had said to him “Nomar, I’m sorry I missed your party last night.”. Apparently, Nomar had thrown an all star party the night before, and Ted had really wanted to attend. Nomar said that the fact that Ted saw him as a friend, not a fellow ballplayer, student, or whatever, meant the world to him.
Inning 6 brought out two former war buddies of Ted’s…Sen. John Glenn and former Yankee Jerry Coleman. Hearing Glenn speak about the war, his time with Ted, and what Ted meant to him was a real treat…another highlight of the night. Ted was Glenn’s wing-man during many missions in the Korean conflict. Coleman told some great stories about playing against Ted, including one about how he played the “Ted Williams Shift” on Ted for two years, and never got the ball hit to him…then when he finally gave up, Ted hit the ball to the place Coleman WOULD have been standing in his very next at bat.
Inning 7 brought out famous documentary filmmaker Ken Burns (he lives in nearby NH), and former teammate Earl Wilson. Burns spoke uninterrupted for about 5 minutes, and the man’s use of words is just amazing. I’m hoping his speech shows up somewhere on the internet, because every baseball fan should hear it. The man truly is great with words, and is a huge Red Sox fan. Footage was shown from Ted’s HOF acceptance speech in 1966, in which he called for the induction of Negro league players into the HOF. Great speech, and it really showed how Ted was a good man, and truly believed that the sacrifices he made in the war were for all men, regardless of color. Wilson spoke of Ted’s coming up to him on his first day in the Boston and welcoming him to the team, telling him he’ll be fine up there, and reminding Wilson of a game in which he’d gotten Ted out 2 years earlier.
The 8th inning brought on talk about Ted’s willingness to help kids, especially with the Jimmy Fund, the fundraising wing of the Dana-Farber cancer institute and the official charity of the Red Sox since the days when Tom Yawkey owned the team. Mike Andrews, former Sox 2nd baseman and the chairman of the Jimmy Fund, was joined by Dan Shaugnesy, a long time Boston sportswriter and his daughter, Kate, who had cancer when she was eight. They talked about how Ted would always ask Dan about how Kate was doing, called her personally to wish her well, and did so much to raise money and bring joy to sick kids. Dan said that he was sure the only reason Ted talked to him was because of Kate. All the proceeds from the evening went to the Jimmy Fund, which I’m sure Ted would be very proud of.
The 9th inning brought about a great finale…with a replaying of Ted’s at bats from his final game in 1960, including the HR. Nine white doves were released from home plate, and headed for left field, where Ted had patrolled for so many years, before zooming off over the Red Sox dugout and out of the ballpark. Current and former Red Sox greats all gathered on the field to play tribute, and the crowd joined the Marine who sang the anthem in singing “God Bless America”. Darkness was settling in, and the Prudential building, one of the tallest buildings in Boston, visible just outside the park in RF, lit up with a huge #9. It was about 20 stories high, and was made by turning on the lights of offices in the building to make the number show up. It looked great!
All in all, it was an amazing night…a reminder of all that’s right with baseball and a reminder that heroes still do exist. It truly was a celebration of Ted’s life, not a mourning of his passing. I’m sure I haven’t done a very good job of describing it, I’m sure I’ve missed some things, and it’s impossible to express the feel of the event. It was easily one of the greatest baseball events of my life, and something I’ll never forget.
