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Seat of honor is now empty Visitor touched by experience By Chris Forsberg, Globe Correspondent, 7/6/2002
But even visits to Wrigley Field and Yankee Stadium couldn't prepare the Madison, Wis., native for what awaited her last night at Fenway Park.
Matthews held the ticket in section 42, row 37, seat 21 - the red seat where Ted Williams's 502-foot home run landed more than a half-century ago. The seat held extra significance yesterday.
Greeted by Red Sox public relation workers and the media, Matthews received Ted Williams memorabilia and a new seat.
``I was one of three daughters, but Dad raised us on baseball,'' said Matthews. ``I've always wanted to visit Fenway Park and this whole experience is pretty overwhelming.''
A graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Matthews visited Wrigley Field in April and Yankee Stadium earlier this month. She came to New England to visit her sister, Jessica, who lives in Bangor.
``Five of us came out here tonight and four of us have never been to a Red Sox game,'' said Jessica Matthews.
``We never expected anything like this.''
The Matthewses and their friends were moved to the 600 Club to watch the game. The Red Sox have decided the red seat will remain empty for the rest of the season. Ticket-holders will be moved to a different section of the ballpark.
On June 9, 1946, Joseph A. Boucher occupied the seat when the towering home run off Williams's bat struck the construction engineer on the top of his straw hat. The home run was estimated at 450 feet, but the Red Sox later determined it to be 502 feet, the longest measurable home run in Fenway Park.
Manny Ramirez's light-tower blast last year was estimated 1 foot shorter.
The seat turned into Boston's most popular tourist attraction yesterday. Fans flocked to the seat before the game to take pictures of it.
``I didn't know what the chair stood for before,'' said Jessica Matthews. ``I don't think I'll ever forget it.''
This story ran on page F6 of the Boston Globe on 7/6/2002.
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fter being raised on a steady diet of baseball, Kristin Matthews decided she wanted to visit some of the historic major league ballparks this season.