Every Boston Red Sox fan is familiar with the Green Monster. While you and I might think it is a hideous ugly version of what a scoreboard should be today, it is beloved by those in the area. It has become an icon for those that have attended games and one of the few things that fans and attendees felt offered a bit of stability in this constantly changing world. The old scoreboard was attributed for causing the loss of many a game due to its height and praised by locals for a win. Since it’s a manual scoreboard, there is a ladder that needed to be used to change the scores, and the ladder itself has been the focus of many a field argument for causing game problems. There are photographs throughout the Fenway Park history, from black and white to beautiful color showing the Green Monster in the background of some of the hottest games ever played. There have been famous ads, companies and politics displayed on the Green Monster, and one of the hidden facts include a Morse Code in white lines that goes from the top to the bottom which are actually the initials of the previous owners: Jean R. Yawkey and Thomas A. Yawkey.
What very few know is that there are two Green Monsters. Yes, it’s hard to believe that they would create two, but they did. That is how loved this scoreboard really is.
The original scoreboard was erected in 1934 and the newer (if you want to call it that) version was installed in 2001. The look-alike was so well done, that fans didn’t really even notice.
There are very few that know that the original scoreboard held a secret On the inside of the scoreboard, where no one would ever really look, are the signatures of many of the well known players, score people, bat boys and whomever wanted to add their name over the any years that it was displayed.
There are mysterious stories about what happened to the original scoreboard. Some say it’s in a warehouse in South Dakota, others say that the original company is keeping it in a well maintained, climate controlled area (for safe keeping). There are even other tales that include the fact that it is being kept as part of an historic memorabilia for sports history. But, the odd part is that everyone seems to have a piece of the story, but no one has the complete answer.
Wherever the original scoreboard is, it has raised quite an inquiry in the Boston area. People have started a search program, reaching out to anyone that has information and they are using the internet to share and exchange the data they find. If there is one thing about the people of Boston, they are tenacious, so one can assume that someday the original Green Monster may be found, hidden away, holding it’s history and it’s secrets that will be shared with the world. For now, the entire situation remains a mystery.