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The Green Monster. It’s a name in sports that looms, quite literally, over many of the athletes who come in contact with it.
If you’re unfamiliar, The Green Monster is the nickname for Fenway Park’s infamous left field wall. It’s the highest in Major League Baseball, standing tall at 37 feet, 2 inches. Its height has prevented many home runs from visiting teams and the Red Sox alike, and it has become quite an icon in the world of sports. As with any part of Fenway Park, there’s a good bit of history and tradition associated with the wall: it was erected as part of the original ballpark in 1912, and received a scoreboard in 1934. Almost a century later, that scoreboard is still being updated manually by a scorekeeper who waits and watches the game from behind the wall, in the belly of the monster.
That position is currently occupied by Chris Elias, who has seen many historic major league moments through a viewing slot in the wall. Recently, Webb Chappell — a Boston-based photographer and Red Sox fan — got a chance to go behind The Green Monster with Chris, and take photos that shed a little light on what goes on behind-the-scenes of the most famous scoreboard in sports. Check out his photos below!
Webb first met Chris while he was doing his portrait for MLB Magazine—they’ve been friends ever since. He wanted to shoot this series because he loves telling stories with images about people he meets. Making personal work like this keeps “his eye engaged, leads to new work, and most importantly, it’s fun.”
The concept was simple: pick a nice night and a home game, and photograph Chris doing what he does best: keeping things running. Webb’s only challenge with the shoot?
Remembering to stay off the grass and figuring out what I wanted on my hot dog.
