Overview

The Green Monster. The Triangle. Pesky’s Pole. They are but a few of the defining features of Fenway Park, home base for legions of devoted Red Sox fans. Now, a hundred years after Fenway first opened its gates, Mercy! tells the park’s history through Red Sox radio and TV announcers recalling and commemorating the American institution. Mercy! is three history books in one, covering Fenway, the Red Sox, and their Voices on the air. Announcers have become as much a part of Red Sox lore as the park has. Fred Hoey was the team’s first radio announcer. Successor Jim Britt called its first live TV broadcast. Curt Gowdy denoted respectability, courtesy, and pluck. Ken Coleman played his voice like a violin. Ned Martin’s signature exclamation gives Mercy! its title. He called one legendary game after another, including Carlton Fisk waving fair his World Series–tying home run in 1975. Other well-known Voices include Bob Murphy, Jim Woods, Jon Miller, Ken Harrelson, Dick Stockton, Sean McDonough, and Joe Castiglione. In 2004, when the Sox finally won their first World Series since 1918, Castiglione asked the Nation, “Can you believe it?” Many can’t, even now.Baseball historian Curt Smith’s interviews with many of these beloved broadcasting personalities provide the backbone for this unique celebration of “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark.”

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9781597979351

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Reviews

Esteemed author Curt Smith has homered again with Mercy! a poignant and humorous valentine to baseball s most beloved park. Kudos to the Red Sox for not buckling under the economic pressures to vacate this sacred ground. And kudos to Smith for taking this unique approach to telling the story of the Fens.

Curt Smith displays an amazing awareness of why Sox mikemen are revered as electronic family members, enhancing baseball with their words, tones, and comments. His use of actual play-by-play to complement game action adds a powerful dimension. Terrific insight and research forge absolute can't-put-down reading. --Bob Wolff, America's longest-running sportscaster

Author Information

CURT SMITH is a senior lecturer of English at the University of Rochester, a GateHouse Media columnist, and the author of sixteen books, including the classic Voices of the Game. He has written for such publications as Newsweek, the New York Times, and the Washington Post and has been named to the prestigious Judson Welliver Society of former presidential speechwriters. 

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