![Royal Rooters (Boston)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Royal_Rooters_%28Boston%29.jpg)
The Royal Rooters were a fan club for Boston's
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
team in the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
in the early 20th century. The team was known as the
Boston Americans
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
during the 1901–1907 seasons, and has been known as the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
since the 1908 season. The Royal Rooters disbanded in 1918.
History
Royal Rooters
![Michael T](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Michael_T._McGreevy_at_Spring_Training_in_Hot_Springs%2C_Arkansas_-_DPLA_-_1cee0030b71d615cf7534f3dfbf1a3db.jpg)
The Royal Rooters were led by
Michael T. McGreevy, nicknamed "Nuf Ced", owner of the 3rd Base Saloon in Boston. While McGreevy was certainly the spiritual (in both libations and foundations) leader of the Royal Rooters,
Mayor of Boston
The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a mayor to a four- ...
John F. Fitzgerald
John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald (February 11, 1863 – October 2, 1950) was an American Democratic politician from Boston, Massachusetts. He served as a U.S. Representative and Mayor of Boston. He also made unsuccessful runs for the United ...
, the maternal grandfather of
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
, served as chairman for a while, and during that time, M.J. Regan was the secretary. Other members included C.J. Lavis, L. Watson, T.S. Dooley, J. Keenan, and W. Cahill, among others.
On game days the Royal Rooters marched in procession from the 3rd Base Saloon to the
Huntington Avenue Grounds
Huntington Avenue American League Baseball Grounds is the full name of the baseball stadium that formerly stood in Boston, Massachusetts, and was the first home field for the Boston Red Sox (known informally as the "Boston Americans" before 1908 ...
, which was the team's home field before
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...
opened in 1912. The Rooters had a reserved section of seats along the third base line, close enough to the field to intimidate or distract opposing players with their insults and vicious taunts. The
1912 World Series went down in Rooter history as the Rooters' seats on “
Duffy's Cliff” were sold to other fans; the Rooters became angry and mounted police were called in to stop the riot.
![Boston Royal Rooters souvenir card with lyrics to](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Boston_Royal_Rooters_souvenir_card_with_lyrics_to_%22Tessie%22_-_DPLA_-_4fa5455fb24242017ba24af3a60443c3.jpg)
"Tessie"
The Royal Rooters' theme song was "
Tessie
"Tessie" is both the longtime anthem of the Boston Red Sox and a 2004 song by the punk rock group Dropkick Murphys. The original "Tessie" was from the 1902 Broadway musical ''The Silver Slipper''. The newer song, written in 2004, recounts how th ...
". Made popular by singer
Billy Murray, it was from the
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musical ''The Silver Slipper'', which ran for less than six months. The Rooters sang "Tessie" at games to encourage their team, while simultaneously distracting and frustrating the opposition. They were especially important in the first World Series, in , when the Americans played the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
. The Royal Rooters went to Pittsburgh and sing "Tessie" to distract the opposing players, especially
Honus Wagner
Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955), sometimes referred to as "Hans" Wagner, was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pitts ...
. After falling into a three games to one deficit, Boston rallied to win the Series with four straight victories.
McGreevy's 3rd Base Saloon
![2350705370 ThirdBase Boston](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/2350705370_ThirdBase_Boston.jpg)
In 1894, McGreevy opened his 3rd Base Saloon. Located in the
Roxbury neighborhood of Boston,
[ it was the place to be for ballplayers, politicians, and gamblers, so named for being "the last stop before ]home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
." Walls were decorated with historic pictures from McGreevy's own collection and memorabilia he got from friends such as Cy Young
Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered th ...
. The light fixtures were made from bats used by Red Sox stars and a painted portrait of McGreevy that hung above the bar looked down upon customers. McGreevy's was America's first documented sports-themed bar.
In 1920, the bar was forced to close due to prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
.[ McGreevy leased the building to the City of Boston to serve as the Roxbury Crossing branch of the ]Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonweal ...
.[ In 1923, McGreevy donated a majority of the plethora of memorabilia and famous baseball photography to the Boston Public Library.][ During 1978–1981, almost 25 percent of the collection was stolen.][ Approximately 20 photographs have been recovered, but 36 remain unaccounted for.]
Modern revivals
Royal Rooters
The spirit of the Royal Rooters lives on via a group known as the "Royal Rooters of Red Sox Nation". The current Rooters are based in the Boston area and meet informally for Red Sox games as well as for "outings" in various locations around the country. There is a fairly large contingent in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and their base has been the Riviera Café in the West Village
The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City.
The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, 14th Street (Manhattan ...
. The present-day members of Red Sox Nation Red Sox Nation is a term used for fans of the Boston Red Sox. The phrase was coined by ''Boston Globe'' feature writer Nathan Cobb in an October 20, 1986, article about split allegiances among fans in Connecticut during the 1986 World Series between ...
kept in touch most often through a dedicated website, redsoxnation.net, which has since gone defunct. The combination message board, fan forum, and blog had several thousand members.
"Tessie"
The band Dropkick Murphys
Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. Singer and bassist Ken Casey has been the band's only constant member. Other current members include drummer Matt Kelly (1997– ), singer Al Barr (199 ...
released a re-working of "Tessie
"Tessie" is both the longtime anthem of the Boston Red Sox and a 2004 song by the punk rock group Dropkick Murphys. The original "Tessie" was from the 1902 Broadway musical ''The Silver Slipper''. The newer song, written in 2004, recounts how th ...
" in 2004. Their version became the official song of the Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series
The 2004 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2004 season. The 100th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Leag ...
run and the band was able to share in the experience of the Red Sox winning the World Series championship. Their version of "Tessie" is still played at Red Sox games.
McGreevy's
In 2008, Dropkick Murphys leader Ken Casey
Kenneth William Casey Jr. (born April 15, 1969) is an American musician who is a bass guitarist, primary songwriter, and one of the lead singers of the Boston Celtic punk group the Dropkick Murphys. Casey was one of the original members, sta ...
joined forces with film producer and baseball historian Peter Nash (also known as Pete Nice
Peter J. Nash (born February 5, 1967), known by his stage name Prime Minister Pete Nice or simply Pete Nice, is an American baseball historian and author, member of the Society for American Baseball Research, Hip Hop historian, and former rapp ...
) to re-establish and re-open McGreevy's 3rd Base Saloon at 911 Boylston Street. The new McGreevy's was a replica of the former bar. Also featured were originals and reproductions of McGreevy's pictures on the walls, including an original glass portrait of Michael T. McGreevy. The saloon closed in August 2020.
References
Further reading
*
Nuf Ced: The Story of "Nuf Ced" McGreevey
via Bleacher Report
Bleacher Report (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sport and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London.
Bleacher Report was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in Aug ...
External links
Billy Murray - Tessie (You are the Only, Only, Only) (1903)
via YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
{{Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
Irish-American culture in Boston