The Story behind the Story

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The Story behind the Story:
Fenway Fever

My Ted Williams Connection

Just the other day, I was asked, "What's your connection with the Red Sox and Fenway Park? Why write a book about it?"

To be honest, back when I started writing this novel, in early 2010, I had the story of a hot dog vendor's whizkid son before I selected the ball park. My editor and I even discussed St. Louis, Chicago, Philly, and New York.

But I come from San Diego, the hometown of Ted Williams, who still holds a hallowed spot in the hearts of all Padres fans. Plus, my father, a sportswriter who had covered Williams, regaled me and my brothers with stories about The Kid for years. Dad even told me I was built like Williams, tall and lanky, and since I batted left-handed and threw right, like Williams did, I often imagined myself to be another "kid-in-the-making."

So when I first visited Fenway in 1999, that quirky, storied, mystical park cast its spell.

Later, as I started researching this novel, it all fell into place. It had to be Fenway. The atmosphere, the people, and the legends. The story's secondary problem became the rebirth of the Curse (which of course presented me with its own jinx, since after a year of writing, the Sox were then picked to win the 2011 World Series). The characters were pulled from Red Sox lore. Even the hawk attack was a true story. It all fit.

So, yes, there is a definite connection. Or as Billee "Spacebird" Orbitt would tell you, "There's always a connection."

Ted Williams at age 19.
"The Kid" was actually a San Diego Padre before he was sold to the Boston Red Sox in 1937 for $35,000
plus four other players (and the Padres have not won a World Series since). Curses!

The answer, my friend,
is blowin' in the wind

The original Kid

Second curse, same as the first!

Macleod's Cartoons (9-27-11): "Boston's Thoughts Turn to Curses Old and New"
For more great cartoons, go to macleodcartoons.blogspot.com.