As you’re probably aware, the outfield seats at Fenway Park, where the Red Sox play their home games, are dark green, with one exception. As you can see above, one seat — Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21 — is red.
Here’s a closer look:
The red seat marks the spot where Sox slugger Ted Williams hit a titanic 502-foot home run in 1946 — still the longest ball ever hit in Fenway’s history. The seat was turned red in 1984 to commemorate the massive blow and has since become part of the team’s lore and culture. The seat’s mystique grew following Williams’s death in 2002, as the Red Sox kept the seat vacant for the remainder of that season. (Fans who’d already purchased tickets for that seat were upgraded to better locations in the ballpark.)
All of which leads me to a clever initiative that was announced today by the New England-based furniture store chain Jordan’s Furniture, which is a longtime Red Sox promotional partner. Jordan’s has created a sectional sofa that’s mostly dark green but with one red section. And since the red Fenway seat is in Section 42, Jordan’s is calling this new item — well, see for yourself:
Isn’t that great? The concept of the red seat would be good enough on its own, but the name is the perfect cherry on top. A home run! (If you agree, you can enter a sweepstakes to win a free Sectional 42. Details here.)
That concludes my brief return to Uni Watch content, at least for now. If you want to see what else I’m up to these days, check out Inconspicuous Consumption. And if you’re interested in becoming Uni Watch’s new owner, you can contact me here.
(Big thanks to Jon Ruby for letting me know about the furniture promotion.)