Quirky Fun, Special Night on Tap for Saturday Night
November 16, 2017 | Football, #ForBoston Files
America's Most Beloved Ballpark has a fun, unorthodox history of football
Boston College football returns to its home city's most celebrated venue on Saturday when it plays Connecticut at Fenway Park. It's the third and final college installment of the Fenway Gridiron Series, and it's one of the highlights of a weekend that will cast the most venerable and historic arena in the region in an entirely new light.
"This is a big-time game," Eagles head coach Steve Addazio said this week. "We know this is going to be a real physical football game. Everyone steps it up in these regional games, and it's going to be a tough game at Fenway Park."
Football at Fenway has a long and storied tradition, though none that was recent with the exception of 2015. The Boston Patriots moved there in 1963 and remained until after the 1968 season, at which point the team moved to Boston College.
The era produced an AFL Eastern Division Championship in its first year, followed by two other second place finishes before 1969 under head coach Mike Holovak. It laid the groundwork for the Patriots to rebrand for New England in 1971, at which point the franchise moved out to Foxborough.
It was a quirky time. The Patriots put portable bleachers behind the sideline, and it created an intimate venue where fans were virtually right on the benches. The cramped quarters made for a unique advantage because of Fenway's low-rising grandstand along the baseline. The stadium's name gave the Patriots their first real step forward as the franchise continued to find footing in the pre-merger American Football League days.
The Patriots weren't the first team to play there. BC played at Fenway Park two years after it opened, beating Norwich, 28-6, on Halloween in 1914. It became the Eagles' home for the next 42 years, during which BC went 54-16-5. A win on Saturday would be the first win for the program since November 24, 1956, when BC beat Brandeis, 52-0. It would also snap a tongue-in-cheek "losing streak" dating back to the 1956 finale against Holy Cross.
Football returned to Fenway in 2015 for the first time since the Patriots left in 1968. Notre Dame brought its Shamrock Series to Boston to renew the Holy War against Boston College. The game served as the centerpiece event for a sporting festival. Classic Thanksgiving Day rivalries moved to Fenway in the following days as Massachusetts high schools took to the gridiron, and a hurling festival celebrated Irish culture.
This year, the Boston Red Sox did something similar with high school and college football celebrating the game's tradition at the stadium. Brown and Dartmouth kicked off the Fenway Gridiron Series last Friday with an Ivy League matchup, and UMass beat Maine on Saturday.
"Fenway is a cool venue," Addazio said. "It's got that real Boston mystique to it. Last time against Notre Dame was a great environment, but with Notre Dame that has a tendency to ramp up too. This is (UConn's) home game, so for us to play a road game a mile down the street is a bonus."
Fenway is a quirky football stadium because it's so unorthodox even in its baseball setup. The dimensions necessitate both teams benches to sit on the same sideline, which means substitutions often cross each other coming on and off the field. Coaches only have half of the field to work with, making some of their calls a little bit more difficult.
"It's a little different to be on the same sideline, so you can't get as far down as you're used to," Addazio said. "That's a challenge. I don't remember it being that much of a difference. What's more important to me is the functionality. If you need to bang a timeout with the officials, it's a lot harder because you can't get as far down as you're used to. That's a challenge. I don't remember (the sideline) being that much of a difference (though)."
Baseball teams have about half the number of players as football teams, so locker room space is at a premium. The Eagles half-dressed on campus in 2015 before riding buses down the street, and they'll do the same on Saturday.
"The locker room situation for the visiting team doesn't have the same amount of space, so we half-dress here (at BC), pop on the bus and go," Addazio said. "It's really easy."
It's all part of an experience that is unique and special. Connecticut could have hosted this game at Rentschler Field in East Hartford at a true home stadium. Instead, it moved the game north to Boston to give little flair to a regional rivalry that began with a 0-0 tie in 1908. It'll create a special atmosphere, and it'll join a long history at America's Most Beloved Ballpark.
The Eagles and Huskies kick off at 7 p.m. and can be seen on CBS Sports Network. It will be broadcast locally on radio on WEEI 93.7 FM and can be heard nationally on TuneIn or via Sirius channel 199 and XM channel 202.
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"This is a big-time game," Eagles head coach Steve Addazio said this week. "We know this is going to be a real physical football game. Everyone steps it up in these regional games, and it's going to be a tough game at Fenway Park."
Football at Fenway has a long and storied tradition, though none that was recent with the exception of 2015. The Boston Patriots moved there in 1963 and remained until after the 1968 season, at which point the team moved to Boston College.
The era produced an AFL Eastern Division Championship in its first year, followed by two other second place finishes before 1969 under head coach Mike Holovak. It laid the groundwork for the Patriots to rebrand for New England in 1971, at which point the franchise moved out to Foxborough.
It was a quirky time. The Patriots put portable bleachers behind the sideline, and it created an intimate venue where fans were virtually right on the benches. The cramped quarters made for a unique advantage because of Fenway's low-rising grandstand along the baseline. The stadium's name gave the Patriots their first real step forward as the franchise continued to find footing in the pre-merger American Football League days.
The Patriots weren't the first team to play there. BC played at Fenway Park two years after it opened, beating Norwich, 28-6, on Halloween in 1914. It became the Eagles' home for the next 42 years, during which BC went 54-16-5. A win on Saturday would be the first win for the program since November 24, 1956, when BC beat Brandeis, 52-0. It would also snap a tongue-in-cheek "losing streak" dating back to the 1956 finale against Holy Cross.
Football returned to Fenway in 2015 for the first time since the Patriots left in 1968. Notre Dame brought its Shamrock Series to Boston to renew the Holy War against Boston College. The game served as the centerpiece event for a sporting festival. Classic Thanksgiving Day rivalries moved to Fenway in the following days as Massachusetts high schools took to the gridiron, and a hurling festival celebrated Irish culture.
This year, the Boston Red Sox did something similar with high school and college football celebrating the game's tradition at the stadium. Brown and Dartmouth kicked off the Fenway Gridiron Series last Friday with an Ivy League matchup, and UMass beat Maine on Saturday.
"Fenway is a cool venue," Addazio said. "It's got that real Boston mystique to it. Last time against Notre Dame was a great environment, but with Notre Dame that has a tendency to ramp up too. This is (UConn's) home game, so for us to play a road game a mile down the street is a bonus."
Fenway is a quirky football stadium because it's so unorthodox even in its baseball setup. The dimensions necessitate both teams benches to sit on the same sideline, which means substitutions often cross each other coming on and off the field. Coaches only have half of the field to work with, making some of their calls a little bit more difficult.
"It's a little different to be on the same sideline, so you can't get as far down as you're used to," Addazio said. "That's a challenge. I don't remember it being that much of a difference. What's more important to me is the functionality. If you need to bang a timeout with the officials, it's a lot harder because you can't get as far down as you're used to. That's a challenge. I don't remember (the sideline) being that much of a difference (though)."
Baseball teams have about half the number of players as football teams, so locker room space is at a premium. The Eagles half-dressed on campus in 2015 before riding buses down the street, and they'll do the same on Saturday.
"The locker room situation for the visiting team doesn't have the same amount of space, so we half-dress here (at BC), pop on the bus and go," Addazio said. "It's really easy."
It's all part of an experience that is unique and special. Connecticut could have hosted this game at Rentschler Field in East Hartford at a true home stadium. Instead, it moved the game north to Boston to give little flair to a regional rivalry that began with a 0-0 tie in 1908. It'll create a special atmosphere, and it'll join a long history at America's Most Beloved Ballpark.
The Eagles and Huskies kick off at 7 p.m. and can be seen on CBS Sports Network. It will be broadcast locally on radio on WEEI 93.7 FM and can be heard nationally on TuneIn or via Sirius channel 199 and XM channel 202.
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