Editor's note: Fenway Park opened on April 20, 1912. NESN.com will be celebrating Fenway's 100-year anniversary with unique content from now until April 20, 2012.
Aside from several renovations that were made to Fenway Park, there wasn't a whole lot that was pretty about the 1983 season for the Boston Red Sox.
The team scuffled to its first losing season since 1966, finishing at 78-84 and in last place of the six-team American League East.
Third baseman Wade Boggs, in just his second year in the league, hit .361 to capture his first career batting title (the Hall of Famer would go on to win four more by 1988). Left fielder Jim Rice continued to be the Sox' main run producer, posting totals of 39 home runs and 126 RBIs, while the newly acquired Tony Armas slugged 36 homers of his own.
The '83 season marked the end of the career for Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski. On Oct. 1, the team held a pregame ceremony in honor of the man commonly known as "Yaz," and afterward he ran a circle around Fenway, slapping hands with the fans sitting in the front row. The following day, he hit a single in what was his then-record 3,308th major league game.
Fenway Park also underwent several renovations prior to the 1983 season — most notably the addition of 23 luxury boxes, new roof seats and the removal of the park's last wooden bleacher seats. In addition, the ballpark had its first elevator installed, and the Citgo sign in Kenmore Square — which had been shut off in 1979, supposedly to conserve energy — was turned back on in August.
Unfortunately, the Citgo sign wasn't the only thing that was dark for (much of) the '83 season. June 6 marked the date of the "Coup LeRoux," as Buddy LeRoux, a general partner of the Red Sox, announced during a benefit for former Sox player Tony Conigliaro that he had taken over the team.
In the end, karma would prevail, as the courts forced LeRoux to sell his interest in the club in 1987.
For more information on Fenway Park, visit Fenway Park 100.
