Mar. 17, 1964 - When the Red Sox open their Fenway Park season with the Chicago White Sox on April 17, the big favorite to win will be the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library. Red Sox owner Thomas Yawkey announced today that the club’s entire proceeds from the game — sure to exceed $50,000 — will be donated to the $10 million fund drive.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (pictured at today’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in South Boston), who heard the news from Red Sox business manager Richard O’Connell, said he was “looking forward to being there, and of course I expect that this will kick off a wonderful season that ends with the pennant.”
“This is a very significant occasion,” Sen. Kennedy told O’Connell today, “and I’d like to express the great appreciation of the Kennedy family to the Red Sox and to Tom Yawkey.”
O’Connell announced that all admissions to the park on opening day will be at the regular prices and that the usual list of free invitations will be suspended. Tickets are now available at Fenway Park offices and by mail — $3 for box seats and $2.25 for reserved seats.
Sen. Kennedy expressed delight at the first library contribution from organized sports and recalled that “sports always played an important part in the President’s life.”
