Picking Up the Pieces

Some where in the Hub, there is a highly respected corporate executive who fills his days sitting in on confidential board meetings and making important business decisions. After work--he most surely stays at he office until at least 6 p.m. --he maintains his guise, closing deals with clients over dinner at the Pru.

Only when he safely reaches the living room of his Beacon Hill apartment does this man reveal his true sell. After turning on the tube and grabbing a beer from the fridge, he strips away his gray pinstriped three piece suit only to show--aha--that all day long he has been wearing Boston Red Sox boxer shorts.

Our friend remains unnamed here only be cause he is unknown. But we know that he must exist in some form or other because the Landsdowne Shop, inside Fenway Park by the rightfield entrance, regularly sells these shorts (size 32-40) for $4.95 We could in fact, fill a fan's entire closet with goods from this souvenir store, including t-shirts, sweat shirts, jackets, v-neck sweaters and neckties, all bearing the Bosox emblem.

We could even contribute to his wife's wardrobe with similarly decorated panties and nightgowns. Red Sox coffee mugs, Red Sox combs, Red Sox lamps, Red Sox wastebaskets and Red Sox hair dryers from this store would surely decorate their room.

This collection of partisan knick-knacks is owned and run by the Boston Red Sox. The team opened it up two seasons ago and while officials refuse to disclose their profits they acknowledge that it contributes a healthy amount of revenue.

Most of the traffic of course comes in before and after game time, when six employees handle sales. During off days, when the place stays empty for several hours. John Picardi mans the store.

Picardi, a young dark-haired native has been in charge since the place first opened. Speaking as he meticulously cleans the glass counters he explains that he first entered the vending business in high school, working the aisles inside the park. Now, shunning his own wares for a light purple Yves Saint-Laurent shirt and designer jeans. Picardi explains that he's "not a wild fan." He quickly adds that. "I hope the best for the Red Sox, but I watch very, very few games. I guess when you're around it so much, it kind of loses its attraction."

Peter DeLora would refute that statement. The heavy-set soft-spoken man claims to catch every home game, and he's been working everyday for the past 20 years on Yawkey Way, just behind the bleachers. DeLora helps at Twin Enterprises, the baseball souvenir store that opened 36 years ago.

By its own account it is the largest such shop in the country, and its appearance, while not as spiffy as the official team joint around the corner, has more of the aura of a baseball den.

Faded portraits of Red Sox stars cover all the walls. Near the door hangs a picture of Beantown god Carl Yastrzemski presenting Jimmy Carter with a team uniform--a ceremony which took place in the store.

Despite differences in style, the two boutiques offer essentially the same wares. DeLora says there is a price differentiation: "Their stuff is more expensive than ours."

For the true fan, interested more in the relic than the souvenir a walk down Common wealth Avenue is in order Hiding among the apartments is Fenway Cards, the only baseball memorabilia shop in Boston and perhaps the best baseball museum this side of Cooperstown.

It is there where the devoted can complete their set of 1954 Bowman cards, or their collection of Dodgers yearbooks. It is there where Royals third baseman George Brett walked in one afternoon to purchase a set of Ken Brett cards to surprise his brother the pitcher. In total the business owns one million baseball cards and 5000 old magazines.

The business is Walt Kelly 64, who opened the shop four years ago when he tired of professional banking. He declines to discuss finances but acknowledges that the business keeps him alive. And well it should for many of the items are well beyond the financial means of the curious visitor. Autographs sell for $10.00 and up Yearbooks follow a similar price range.

But the three-room display offers something for even the poor fanatic. It provides the opportunity to examine the program, and the ticket stub from the game where Yaz got his 3000th hit.

Browsing around one can pick up the heaviest baseball ever, a shotput covered with a leather hide. Hanging on a book opposite the front door is a set of 1940s catcher's gear below it is a wooden club emblazoned "Louisville Bat Co." manufactured years before the company changed its named to "Louisville Slugger." Sheet music of various baseball songs including four of the five original copies of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," cover the walls.

Other rare treats include one of Charley Finley's orange baseballs, autographed by Vida Blue and an autographed glossy of Reggie Jackson in an Orioles uniform an item the itinerant slugger himself lacked until Kelly gave some to him.

Kelly shares with his customers the sentiment that baseball, and the artifacts which represent it are "priceless." So as many fans stop in with no intention of buying goods. Kelly displays many items he will never sell. Most of these lie in the Ted Williams alcove, a collection of Williams memorabilia larger than the Hall of Fame's.

A complete set of Fleer Ted Williams cards, all autographed highlights the three wall shrine dotted with framed newspapers and magazine covers marking milestones in the Splendid Splinter's career. Perhaps the most valuable item is Ted Williams official birth certificate, which Kelly secured through "intricate methods." Williams himself plans to stop in later this summer. Kelly says, because among other things, be wants to see the clock with his portrait on it. "It's one of the things he's never seen." Kelly explains.

Like DeLora, Kelly is in the business because he loves baseball. He grew up near Fenway Park and says he catches every single. Red Sox game either live or on the air.

His devotion, however sometimes spreads beyond traditional outlets. For example he is currently waging a campaign to get Pee Wee Reese named to the Hall of Fame when the Veteran's Committee considers the former Dodger shortstop early next year. Kelly is funding the drive by selling shirts and stickers declaring "PEE WEE BELONGS IN THE HALL."

So, perhaps, does Kelly's collection