Joseph A. Boucher
The occupant of “The Red Seat” who had the misfortune of being hit on the head by the longest home run in Red Sox history.
An Albany construction engineer, Boucher often traveled to Boston to work on building projects in Park Square. He stayed in an apartment on Commonwealth Avenue during these visits, and frequently made it to Fenway to see his beloved Red Sox. But on that fateful day, sitting more than 30 rows behind the bullpen in Seat 21 in Row 37 of Section 42, Ted Williams’s deep drive off Tigers righthander Fred Hutchinson flew high over the head of right fielder Pat Mullin and the bullpen. 502 feet (a suspect estimate) later the ball met with Boucher’s be-hatted dome. Lore has it that the home run perforated the top of Boucher’s straw hat.As a footnote to this, Boucher didn’t even end up getting the ball. In fact, he claims not to have seen it against the background of a sun-emblazoned sky. On-lookers informed him it rocketed back another dozen rows after meeting with his melon.
(Submitted by F. Morris [6], 24-Oct-2006 01:33 PM)
