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Red Sox Opening Day 1956
by Philippine Hank Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:08 pm
Opening day for the 1956 Boston Red Sox was right around the corner, and there was still a foot of snow on the ground! My mother wrote a poem for the occasion that was published in the Boston Globe. The three players that she mentions comprised Boston’s outfield that year. Jimmy Piersall was a great defensive centerfielder. He had a mental illness that was the subject for the movie “Fear Strikes Out.” Jackie Jensen, the rightfielder, was married to Ester Williams, an Olympic diving champion – hence the "swan-dive." Teddy is Ted Williams, the leftfielder, and perhaps the greatest hitter of all time. He would “shift his feet” if he wanted to hit to left field when the defense employed the original “Williams Shift.” A version of this defensive positioning is used today against such players as David Ortiz.
"Opening Day"
By Mary E. Van Gemert
‘Twas opening day at Fenway Park,
Excitement filled the air,
For this game would be played on snow,
Indeed a feat quite rare.
The players sloshed upon the field,
Their lips and fingers blue,
"Oh Spring! Thou didst desert us,
What did we do to you?"
Then Baltimore connected,
And Jensen gave his all!
He swan-dived in a snow bank,
But came up with the ball!
The game wore on, each man was great,
Piersall and all the rest,
And though they made some errors,
They knew they’d done their best.
The Red Sox now were up at bat,
With Teddy at the plate;
He knocked the snow out of his cleats,
And began to speculate:
“The score is tied, they want a hit,
I just can’t fail their pleas;
I’ll shift my feet, no one will know,
The snow’s up to my knees.”
And so he hit a homerun ball,
The opening game he’d won,
But the skeptic’s sure to say,
“That lucky son of a gun!”
"Opening Day"
By Mary E. Van Gemert
‘Twas opening day at Fenway Park,
Excitement filled the air,
For this game would be played on snow,
Indeed a feat quite rare.
The players sloshed upon the field,
Their lips and fingers blue,
"Oh Spring! Thou didst desert us,
What did we do to you?"
Then Baltimore connected,
And Jensen gave his all!
He swan-dived in a snow bank,
But came up with the ball!
The game wore on, each man was great,
Piersall and all the rest,
And though they made some errors,
They knew they’d done their best.
The Red Sox now were up at bat,
With Teddy at the plate;
He knocked the snow out of his cleats,
And began to speculate:
“The score is tied, they want a hit,
I just can’t fail their pleas;
I’ll shift my feet, no one will know,
The snow’s up to my knees.”
And so he hit a homerun ball,
The opening game he’d won,
But the skeptic’s sure to say,
“That lucky son of a gun!”
Philippine Hank- Really Small Player
- Number of posts : 2
Registration date : 2007-09-18
Re: Red Sox Opening Day 1956
by Philippine Hank Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:20 pm
It looks like what I posted above is basically not viewable because of the black background. Sorry about that! A fair suggestion would be for you to have a normal white background so it is easier to post. All my files are created with normal text color and I was unable to change that color when I pasted it in. (I may have messed up, but I simply could not get it changed to white text.) Your black background truly sucks! Please only consider this suggestion if you actually WANT folk to participate on your forum. If not, then I ask the administrator to delete my post.
Philippine Hank- Really Small Player
- Number of posts : 2
Registration date : 2007-09-18
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