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Fenway 1912: The Birth of a Ballpark, a Championship Season, and Fenway's Remarkable First Year
by
Glenn Stout
In anticipation of the one hundredth anniversary of America’s most beloved ballpark, the untold story of how Fenway Park was born and the remarkable first season ever played there
For all that has been written in tribute to the great Fenway Park, no one has ever really told the behind-the-scenes true story of its tumultuous yet glorious first year. Nineteen twelve was a lea
...moreHardcover, 392 pages
Published
October 11th 2011
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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Although those old enough to remember the 1986 World Series may feel differently, many deem the September collapse of the 2011 Boston Red Sox as the worst flop in the history of Major League Baseball. As recently as August of 2011, smart money in Las Vegas put the chances of the Red Sox making the post-season at 99.4%. The Red Sox proved Vegas wrong by utterly blowing the nine game lead the team enjoyed in the American League Wild Card race in early September. Tony Francona fell on his sword and...more
The Boston Red Sox did author Glenn Stout a favor this last season by pulling one of the all-time great collapses in baseball history, a nose dive that will live in infamy. It's much easier for those of us who did not grow up on the Red Sox to tune into the unique lore of this fascinating franchise when we are not being confronted by unstoppable, cash-fueled success.
Stout's Fenway 1912 offers up a stunningly rich buffet of pleasures for the baseball fan, centered around the construction and open...more
Stout's Fenway 1912 offers up a stunningly rich buffet of pleasures for the baseball fan, centered around the construction and open...more
This is a very intelligent and detailed look at the construction and first year of Fenway Park. The author's fan profile is interesting because he explains his motives for the book and also describes in a journalistic way the pros and cons of the park and the team.
For the most part the book follows the established lead of Devil in the White City, where it is non-fiction written as fiction, although the plot is the baseball season and the World Series that follows. The writing is dense and the s...more
For the most part the book follows the established lead of Devil in the White City, where it is non-fiction written as fiction, although the plot is the baseball season and the World Series that follows. The writing is dense and the s...more
Anyone who has ever spent time at Fenway must read this book. The author did some amazing research. It is a little heavy on the engineering and at times I felt like I needed to be at Fenway personally to see what he was talking about. He does bust many myths both about Fenway and early baseball although I don't think it was always intentional. The park was not built to be a "gem" and wasn't even considered one until very recently. The "green monster" was not always called as such. Oddly, he only...more
As a Detroit Tigers fan, it broke my heart to see Tiger Stadium, which opened the same year as Fenway Park, torn down a few years ago. Make no mistake, Comerica Park, where the Tigers now play, is a beautiful facility. It’s hosted a World Series and an All Star game in its short history; but Tiger Stadium, a.k.a. Briggs Stadium, a.k.a. Navin Field, like Fenway Park, was a throwback to a bygone era.
Jim Thome may have hit his 600th career homerun at Comerica Park this summer, but somehow the signi...more
Jim Thome may have hit his 600th career homerun at Comerica Park this summer, but somehow the signi...more
An exhaustive (to the brink of being exhausting at times) account of the 1912 season and the opening of Fenway Park. I'd recommend this book only to those baseball fans who desire to know the minutiae of events (like me), because vast portions of this book involve in-game accounts and details that I could easily picture a layman fan finding to be incredibly boring.
Often, when authors take on historical baseball topics, they wisely choose to include larger news events and analysis of the times as...more
Often, when authors take on historical baseball topics, they wisely choose to include larger news events and analysis of the times as...more
Was a little leery about this book. Seems like every book in the baseball section these days is either related to the Yankees or the Red Sox.
So I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. The details of construction were very interesting and the author does a good job of recreating the flavor of baseball in the early 1900s.
The 1912 World Series is among the most famous, but even so, the accounts of the games still leave the reader in anticipation of the next pitch.
Very highly recomm...more
So I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. The details of construction were very interesting and the author does a good job of recreating the flavor of baseball in the early 1900s.
The 1912 World Series is among the most famous, but even so, the accounts of the games still leave the reader in anticipation of the next pitch.
Very highly recomm...more
So, the 2011 Red Sox season landed on a bad note, to put it mildly. I wrote this review way back in May, and I don't want to change the wording. I like it just the way it is.
Fenway 1912 was a really great, concise history of Fenway Park's first year – both the park and the players who called it home.
It's no secret that I'm a huge Red Sox fan. So, when this book came up for review, I couldn't snatch it up fast enough. Learning about the history of a ball park I love so much was something I hadn'...more
Fenway 1912 was a really great, concise history of Fenway Park's first year – both the park and the players who called it home.
It's no secret that I'm a huge Red Sox fan. So, when this book came up for review, I couldn't snatch it up fast enough. Learning about the history of a ball park I love so much was something I hadn'...more
A comprehensive history of the building of Fenway Park, the 1912 Red Sox, and that year's slugfest -- literally, the players were hitting each other -- of a World Series. It's a good read, especially for Sox fans, though I sometimes wondered if absolutely every detail had to be in there. Then again, Stout apparently has been working on the book for two decades, so you can forgive him for wanting to get it all in.
Nice, but not a lot more than that. Probably should be either 30-40 pages longer, for a real read, or 30 pages shorter, for a real light read. Ideally, 3.5 stars. I learned a bit about Boston at this time, the Red Sox at this time, and baseball at this time, but not a lot. Hence my "longer" comment, or else tighten the focus and go shorter.
As an avid Red Sox fan, I found this book very interesting! It gave me a new perspective of Fenway. I learned a lot about the players and World Series of 1912.
Anyone who wants to know the early history of Fenway should read this book!
Anyone who wants to know the early history of Fenway should read this book!
An ok read. Parts were tedious, especially the description of life on the road. The beginning held my attention, however, and it was worth reading about the construction of a new ball park in early 20th century Boston
If you love baseball, you have to love its lore and you have to love Fenway Park. Why? Read “Fenway 1912” to find out how America’s love affair with this gem of Boston began.
Feb 17, 2012
David
added it
I'm not a Red Sox fan, but this was an enjoyable and informative read, written an expert, Glenn Stout. Fenway was one several new stadia -- including Shribe Park in Philly, among others -- that used concrete and steel in construction. This was a huge leap forward from the wooden stadiums of the earlier era; these were flimsy and often burned down. The new parks were better suited to what baseball was becoming in the modern age: mass entertainment. Perfect timing: Fenway turns 100 this year!
Interesting(very interesting if you are a Red Sox fan)story of Fenway Park's first season. Lots of information about the park itself.
Slow starting but by the time you reach the World Series accounts...you can visualize what it's like going to Fenway or the Polo Grounds for games. End of book has every players stats for season and Series...very informative.
A well-written account of the first year in the long history of Fenway Park.
Enjoyed this book. Good reading as the Red Sox get ready to start the 100th season at Fenway. Will share more details later.
Had some dull moments... But really picked up at the end. A must read for all Fenway/sawks fans.
For a non sports person I loved the historical aspect of this book with the building of Fenway, how Boston looked and the first year of the park.
Loving it so far. Learning the history of Fenway in 1912 and how it came to be built
May 23, 2013
Heather
is currently reading it
May 03, 2013
Walt Mccarthy
marked it as to-read
May 09, 2013
Mark Pringle
added it
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Author of Young Woman and the Sea: How Trudy Ederle Conquered the English Channel and Inspired the World (2009). Since becoming a full-time writer in 1993, Glenn Stout has written, ghostwritten or edited more than seventy books representing sales in excess of two million copies. Stout is also author of The Cubs, The Dodgers, Nine Months at Ground Zero, Yankees Century, Red Sox Century, and has ser...more
More about Glenn Stout...
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