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Fenway Lives: The Team Behind The Team : the People who Work in and Around Boston's Fenway Park
Using more than two hundred interviews, this behind-the-ballpark view of one of the nation's most revered baseball stadiums illuminates the various characters who live in and around the park, including ticket takers, scouts, rainters, batboys, peanut venders, and the post-game janitorial staff.
250 pages, Hardcover
First published October 25, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 28, 2024
This was a fun book to leaf through. Even though it’s a bit dated, it gives the reader an idea how many people it takes to produce a game day experience at Fenway.
September 18, 2025
This book is full of excellent primary source documents. Even though it was published in 2004, a good amount of the interviews were conducted around 1999/2000.
A lot has changed at the ballpark since this publication, however a fair amount of the big name players and regular characters are still around.
"Ticket vendors" are not as closely watched or regulated as they once were. Often times they sell fake tickets. Most of them are bad alcoholics and some are known to shoot heroin in between their toes in alleyways.
I made it to 17 free games during the 2016 season.
VIP Parking Lot is not the safest or most secure place, yet prices have soared to upwards of $50 per car per game.
Nick Jacobs still continues his family's peanut vending legacy and is a really great guy. In his interview, Jacobs says, "I've spent my whole life down there in the streets of Fenway Park. I've put a lot of time down there and it was time I could have gone to school and did something with my life. Sometimes I wish I did." (49)
Jim still sells his sunglasses for $5 a pop.
WBCN is gone.
Ken Melanson is now known as Karen.
It was great to see the godfather of BOSTON BASEBALL, Mike Rutstein's name in print. In his interview, he goes on record to say, "I'm the biggest fan." (60) (not true anymore), "The whole business was started for less than ten thousand," (61) and "Everybody at BOSTON BASEBALL is on commission. They make thirteen cents on the dollar." (62) Hawkers currently make seventy cents commission per every $2 program sold.
Rutstein has had a tumultuous relationship with the Boston Red Sox and is usually completely disregarded. He says, "In 1991, if they had offered me a job in their public relations department, that would have excited me a great deal. Now it's 1999 and that's not what I'm looking for." (62-63)
It was fantastic to see two interviews with Hai Ho Nguyen, as both a runner for BOSTON BASEBALL and later as an autograph collector. Hai is a really nice human being.
Rutstein has told me that Hai was, "the heart and soul of BOSTON BASEBALL." In both of his interviews, Hai mentions Lemon with praise. The two used to be close friends and travel together. Now they don't acknowledge each other's existence when Hai drops by for unexpected visits at the parking lot.
The interview with Larry Cancro (now Senior Vice President) is very self-promoting. He takes credit for high attendance rates, input in creating Wally the Green Monster, and being the architect for the, "Friendly Fenway" euphemism. (72-73) Larry Cancro hates Michael Rutstein.
There is an old photo of fans seeking autographs at the player's parking lot on 238, laying on the ground. I used to do that as a kid. Now that area is gated off with security.
The ticket and concession prices at Fenway continue to soar and it is very difficult for vendors to make an honest living working outside of the ballpark. Fan giveaways are more executed than ever as means to fill the stadium, which directly coincides with declining ticket sales and huge player contracts (like David Price's $217 million whammy).
There is now a "rival" program being sold outside of the ballpark by a former employee of Rutstein's who employs criminals and registered sex offenders. The writing lacks credibility and proper grammar. They break the Boston vending codes and drive down the entire sales economy by selling their sub par program for $1, but the Code Enforcement turns the other way despite formal complaints and concrete evidence of the law being broken.
A lot of people who venture to the ballpark don't know any of this information.
A lot has changed at the ballpark since this publication, however a fair amount of the big name players and regular characters are still around.
"Ticket vendors" are not as closely watched or regulated as they once were. Often times they sell fake tickets. Most of them are bad alcoholics and some are known to shoot heroin in between their toes in alleyways.
I made it to 17 free games during the 2016 season.
VIP Parking Lot is not the safest or most secure place, yet prices have soared to upwards of $50 per car per game.
Nick Jacobs still continues his family's peanut vending legacy and is a really great guy. In his interview, Jacobs says, "I've spent my whole life down there in the streets of Fenway Park. I've put a lot of time down there and it was time I could have gone to school and did something with my life. Sometimes I wish I did." (49)
Jim still sells his sunglasses for $5 a pop.
WBCN is gone.
Ken Melanson is now known as Karen.
It was great to see the godfather of BOSTON BASEBALL, Mike Rutstein's name in print. In his interview, he goes on record to say, "I'm the biggest fan." (60) (not true anymore), "The whole business was started for less than ten thousand," (61) and "Everybody at BOSTON BASEBALL is on commission. They make thirteen cents on the dollar." (62) Hawkers currently make seventy cents commission per every $2 program sold.
Rutstein has had a tumultuous relationship with the Boston Red Sox and is usually completely disregarded. He says, "In 1991, if they had offered me a job in their public relations department, that would have excited me a great deal. Now it's 1999 and that's not what I'm looking for." (62-63)
It was fantastic to see two interviews with Hai Ho Nguyen, as both a runner for BOSTON BASEBALL and later as an autograph collector. Hai is a really nice human being.
Rutstein has told me that Hai was, "the heart and soul of BOSTON BASEBALL." In both of his interviews, Hai mentions Lemon with praise. The two used to be close friends and travel together. Now they don't acknowledge each other's existence when Hai drops by for unexpected visits at the parking lot.
The interview with Larry Cancro (now Senior Vice President) is very self-promoting. He takes credit for high attendance rates, input in creating Wally the Green Monster, and being the architect for the, "Friendly Fenway" euphemism. (72-73) Larry Cancro hates Michael Rutstein.
There is an old photo of fans seeking autographs at the player's parking lot on 238, laying on the ground. I used to do that as a kid. Now that area is gated off with security.
The ticket and concession prices at Fenway continue to soar and it is very difficult for vendors to make an honest living working outside of the ballpark. Fan giveaways are more executed than ever as means to fill the stadium, which directly coincides with declining ticket sales and huge player contracts (like David Price's $217 million whammy).
There is now a "rival" program being sold outside of the ballpark by a former employee of Rutstein's who employs criminals and registered sex offenders. The writing lacks credibility and proper grammar. They break the Boston vending codes and drive down the entire sales economy by selling their sub par program for $1, but the Code Enforcement turns the other way despite formal complaints and concrete evidence of the law being broken.
A lot of people who venture to the ballpark don't know any of this information.
July 7, 2013
Rather dry look at the people that work at Fenway Park; some stories were somewhat interesting.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews