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Why the left field wall?

Delphisibyl_tiny by NG on

In the early part of the 20th century, there was no TV and minimal radio, so most if not all revenues for baseball teams had to be generated by sale of seats at the ballpark.  That being so, why would anyone build a non-revenue-generating wall instead of more bleachers for paying customers??

Star-divide

Today, ball teams can make great revenues from other sources than sale of seats at the games, so maybe now a Green Monster for advertsiing and/or novelty would make sense. However in the early part of the 20th century, it made no sense. So here we are living with this relic from the past that made no sense in the first place.

Back then, why did they build a wall instead of revenue generating seats. At least one curious mind wants to know?

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Re: Why the left field wall?
Read this article by the CHB.

Nothing official, but it gives the impression that the purpose is two-fold:

  1. Protect pedestrians on Landsdowne Street.
  2. Keep more balls in the park (in play). I would guess this might have to do with not enough land being available on the designated spot to make the wall further away. Thus, a higher wall to attempt to compensate.
"Interesting. No wait, the other thing. Tedious." -Bender Bending Rodriguez.

by Allen Chace on Jun 3, 2007 3:58 AM EDT reply actions  

Re: Why the left field wall?
I'm not going to dig for specific information and dates, but the wall did generate SOME revenue because there was advertising on the Green Monster for many years. Like I said, I'm not sure when this started or for how long it lasted, but they were making some money off the Monster ads. Who knows, maybe the advertising back then created more $$$ than having seats -- since seats WERE cheap at some point in time.
OverTheMonster.com

by Randy Booth on Jun 3, 2007 5:55 PM EDT up reply actions  

Re: Why the left field wall?
I think there was something like that in the CHB article, or something else I read. It wasn't always green, the green actually was painted over the ads when they decided to discontinue them.
"Interesting. No wait, the other thing. Tedious." -Bender Bending Rodriguez.

by Allen Chace on Jun 3, 2007 6:08 PM EDT up reply actions  

Re: Why the left field wall?
It was all about the location they built in.  An overhead shot of Fenway Park shows that the green monster is as far back as it could be built.

by Schulz on Jun 5, 2007 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions  

Re: Why the left field wall?
Essentially, Landsdowne St. was in the way. Rather than remove the street they built the wall.
"You know you're having a bad day when the fifth inning rolls around and they drag the warning track." - Mike Flanagan, Baltimore Orioles pitcher, 1992.

by SoxDevil on Jun 3, 2007 6:06 PM EDT reply actions  

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