With Opening Day for the Red Sox on the horizon Friday, one local man will continue a tradition 56 years in the making.
Mark Fredrickson, a Topsfield native, will travel to Fenway for his 56th Opening Day in a row.
His fandom of the Red Sox stemmed from his mother.
“During the ‘67 World Series, she was on her knees pounding the living room carpet.”
She brought Mark and his brother to their first Opening Day at Fenway in 1969. Mark was 10-years old.
Since that moment, Mark added, “I managed to not miss any opening days.”
Friday will mark his 56th consecutive Opening Day at Fenway Park.
He remembered, “You walk up the ramp behind home plate, and you see the green. The field is so beautiful.”
For the Fredrickson’s, Opening Day is more than just a game – it’s a thread through generations.
He explained, “The radio on at the beach during a pennant race, or the tv on for a big game... They’re a connection with grandparents, parents, uncles, and cousins.”
Mark has kept his tradition alive during his time at BU, raising a family, and watching his kids raise their own, who now accompany him to games at Fenway.
In the basement of his Topsfield home hangs a shrine on one of his walls to the Red Sox littered with valuable memorabilia spanning decades of Boston baseball.
Next to the memorabilia is his own wall of family pictures and personal memories.
However, there remains one empty spot on Mark’s basement wall.
He finished, “I’ve saved some wall up here for 2025. Who knows what it will bring.”
First pitch of Opening Day at Fenway Park is set for 2:10 pm.
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