From 1912 to 1933, there was a 10-foot-high incline in front of the then 25-foot high left field wall at Fenway Park, extending from the left-field foul pole to the center field flag pole. As a result, a left fielder in Fenway Park had to play part...
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From 1912 to 1933, there was a 10-foot-high incline in front of the then 25-foot high left field wall at Fenway Park, extending from the left-field foul pole to the center field flag pole. As a result, a left fielder in Fenway Park had to play part of the territory running uphill (and back down). Boston's first star left fielder, Duffy Lewis, mastered the skill so well that the area became known as "Duffy's Cliff". The incline served two purposes: * it was a support for a high wall; * it was built to compensate for the difference in grades between the field and Lansdowne Street on the other side of that wall. It also served as a spectator-friendly seating area during the dead-ball era when overflow crowds would sit on the incline behind ropes. It is often compared to the infamous left field "terrace" at Cincinnati's Crosley Field, but, in truth, the 15-degree all-grass incline there served an entirely different purpose: as an alternative to an all dirt warning track found in most other... See less
Highlights:
Location 4 Yawkey Way Boston, Massachusetts 02215 | Coordinates 42°20′47″N 71°5′51″W / 42.34639, -71.0975 | Broke ground September 25, 1911 | Opened April 20, 1912 | Owner New England Sports Ventures (NESV)/Boston Red Sox | Surface Grass | Construction cost $650,000 USD | Architect...