You'll Never Guess What's Hiding In The Backyard Of This Vermont Home
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Kristin Grimes
Author
This unforgettable story of Little Fenway in Essex, Vermont is one you won’t soon forget and will undoubtedly make you smile.
Little Fenway is a ¼ sized replica of Boston’s famous Fenway Park which includes an old time scoreboard and the iconic Citgo sign. What’s even more amazing about a mini Fenway Park is that it is in the backyard of Vermont residents Beth and Pat O’Connor and is used for charity wiffle ball games. Since its inception in 2001, the games have grown in popularity and over $4 million has been raised for charity. Yes, $4 MILLION!
Let’s start at the beginning and take a look at Little Fenway. It’s incredible, uplifting, inspirational, and just may be the best thing you see and read all day. Enjoy!
This is a story about Little Fenway, but this field is not alone. In 2007, a second famous replica, this time of Wrigley Field, was built followed by the Little Field of Dreams in 2011. These three fields have raised over $4 million dollars in the magical fields of O’Connor’s backyard.
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This video of Little Fenway by Erich Schwer shows you the fields as they are now. Take a look before we dive into the background. It's well worth a watch!
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Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
Pat O’Connor grew up an avid baseball fan and enjoyed playing wiffle ball with his brothers as a child. In 2000, Pat had an idea to turn his backyard into a ¼ sized replica of the famous Fenway Park.
So Pat and his friend Bill Livingstone quickly drew up blueprints, and because the truth is often stranger than fiction, these blueprints were made on a coffee stained napkin the moment the inspiration struck.
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
Just a week later, a local business was contacted to bulldoze the overgrowth in his backyard to make room for the field – 10,000 square feet!
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
The first order of business in the construction was to dig 39 footholes to make the supports for the Green Monster. After all, it wouldn’t be Fenway without that! When Pat and a handful of friends began drilling they hit ledge on the first five holes.
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
After cracking a few jokes about this project being the craziest thing they have ever witnessed, Pat and his crew (who were a handful of good friends), drilled the other holes.
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Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
A team of engineers at IBM had calculated the exact depth needed to support the 16-foot wooden poles which would protect the wall against inclement weather. Undeterred by the ledge setback, the following week Pat rented a jackhammer and was able to drill the rest of the first five holes.
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
100 bags of concrete later, the walls and foul poles were up. A small chip of paint was secured from Boston's Fenway Park dugout and the color was expertly matched.
Phase 2 of building little Fenway took place from April through June 2001, and included cutting the infield, laying sod, installing a scoreboard that looks identical to the Fenway Park scoreboard, and adding the coke bottle and citgo signs. Thanks to a friendly groundskeeper at Fenway Park, a small sample of dirt was scooped up from the infield and track and after several trips to quarries all over New England, they were able to find dirt with the same color and granularity as the real park.
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
The first game at Little Fenway was scheduled for September 15, 2001 to celebrate the South Burlington Little League Team who were one win shy of going to the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania. But four days before the game, tragedy stuck.
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
The events of 9/11 changed the world, and the game was about to be cancelled until one of the parents suggested that they show the children that life will move on and could use the opportunity to help the victims of the tragedy.
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Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
People who attended the game were asked to donate at least $1 towards the 9/11 disaster relief efforts. That day over $1,400 was raised for charity and O’Connor realized the amazing charitable opportunity he had built in his own backyard.
littlefenway.com
Little Fenway’s signature event is the Travis Roy Foundation (TRF). In 2002, O’Connor was moved after reading Roy’s book "11 Seconds" he contacted the foundation and asked if he could hold a wiffle ball tournament to help. The first TRF Wiffle ball event was held on June 22, 2002.
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
This one day event with seven teams and less than 20 spectators in the pouring rain raised $4,000 for TRF. The players had a blast and the tournament continues to be a yearly event, and over the last 14 years over $3.5 million has been raised for the foundation! The 15th annual Travis Roy Foundation Wiffle Ball Tournament will be August 12-14, 2016.
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
Roy continues to enjoy every TRF wiffle ball game at the fields.
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
Another annual event began when Pat met Jeff Kolok, the Co-Founder of SLAMDiabetes, in 2009 when he attended a TRF WIFFLE ball tournament game, and developed a friendship with him as Kolok began building his organization to benefit those with Type 1 Diabetes. Last year alone, $80,000 was raised for the foundation and the money enables children with Type 1 Diabetes to attend summer diabetes camps that helps them and their families learn to live safe and healthy lives. This year’s SLAMDiabetes tournament will be Friday & Saturday, June 24-25, 2016.
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The third major tournament began when O’Connor met Craig Breslow, major league pitcher, in 2014 through his work with the New Bedford Bay Sox. He admired his Strike3 Foundation mission which supports pediatric cancer research, and that led to adding this annual event. The 2nd annual Strike3 Foundation Wiffle Ball Tournament will be Saturday, October 8th, 2016.
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
While other games are played here, the Travis Roy Foundation, SLAMDiabetes, and Strike3 Foundation are the three major annual events at the field. Admission to the games is free, and donations are welcomed.
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
As the success from Little Fenway fundraising grew year after year, Little Wrigley was built in 2007 to allow for even more fans and players. On July 4, 2008, Little Wrigley was opened and Tom O’Connor, Pat’s father, put the last brick in the Little Wrigley wall.
It was a real brick from Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
Following suit as the numbers still grew, Little Field Of Dreams was built in 2014. The Little Field Of Dreams is inspired by the 1989 film "Field of Dreams" starring Kevin Costner.
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With three replicas of iconic fields, 2015 was the best year ever. Since it’s inception over $4 million has been raised since the first game at Little Fenway on September 15, 2001.
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
Just think, all this started with an idea, a paper napkin and unwavering determination. After all, "if you build it, they will come."
Photo courtesy of Jane O'Neil
"There are times in our lives when we choose our challenges and other times when the challenges simply choose us. It is what we do in the face of those challenges that defines who we are, and more importantly, who we can and will become." - Travis Roy
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