Fenway Park, the hallowed home of the Boston Red Sox, will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year. About 70 miles north, Noonan Field will celebrate its fourth.
So what's the connection?
Noonan Field is a miniature replica of Fenway Park's fabled outfield wall, Green Monster and all, erected by the Noonan Family on Branch Turnpike in 2008. It's an accurate enough representation that the Revelator spent 20 minutes searching for a peanut vendor while meandering by one recent afternoon.
Once properly reoriented, it was time to go behind the wall to unearth the true story of Noonan Field.
Richard Noonan, 81, has been a diehard Red Sox fan his entire life, a tradition that has been carried on by his four children, who constructed the fence in 2008 as a perfect backdrop for neighborhood Wiffle ball games.
The family didn't miss a detail. The wall features representations of the legendary hand-operated scoreboard and the Citgo sign, both longtime Boston staples, as well as newer additions such as Volvo and Sports Authority signs and the Coke bottles that hang on a light tower high above left field.
There's even a perfectly-executed Jimmy Fund decal and a handful of artificial light towers, all alongside a homemade sign officially dubbing the location Noonan Field.
The field is most often occupied these days by Richard's five great-grandchildren, though Noonan himself played baseball until he was 70 years old.
Noonan Field has more in common with Fenway Park than simple aesthetics. Both have been struck by Mother Nature; Fenway by fires in 1926 and 1934 that ultimately paved the way for the construction of the Green Monster, and Noonan Field by the wind storm during the winter of 2009.
That storm knocked much of the wall down, though it was dutifully rebuilt – with stronger reinforcements – shortly thereafter.
The wall has drawn its share of attention, as one would expect.
“People are always stopping, taking pictures,” Noonan said.
The Red Sox have long been a part of the family dynamic at the Noonan home. When Richard married his wife, Barbara, he did so with the stipulation “that he had to be allowed to listen to the games,” Barbara said.
“We've been married 61 years, so it worked out okay,” Richard said.
His marriage to the Red Sox hasn't ended, either, even if the team is often more difficult to deal with than any spouse could be.
“He still listens to the games,” Richard's daughter, Judy, said. “The only time you ever here this man yell is when the Red Sox mess up.”
