Is there a bigger Red Sox fan than the inventor of ‘Frozen Four’ moniker?

Pittsburgh Pirates owner Barney Dreyfus is credited with “World Series” because he wrote a letter to Boston Americans owner Henry Killilea challenging him to what he termed a “World’s Championship Series,” which was won by Boston, five games to three, in 1903.

Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt often is noted as the creator of “Super Bowl,” adapted from his daughter’s favorite toy, a Super Ball. Some dispute that, but do so without a definitive answer as to the first person to call it that.

A Cleveland Plain Dealer sportswriter by the name of Ed Chay is credited with inadvertently naming the Final Four. In keeping with NCAA tradition, he didn’t make a nickel off it and the NCAA trademarked it and has cashed in big-time. Writing in the 1975 “Official Collegiate Basketball Guide,” Chay referred to Marquette as “one of the final four,” in the 1974 tournament, and the NCAA liked the sound of it.

Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada, awarded the first Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup to the country’s top amateur team in 1892, and more than a dozen years later professionals could compete for it and it became known as the Stanley Cup. Unlike the plural final word of the NBA Finals, the proper name for hockey’s final series is the Stanley Cup Final.

Until the final three games of NCAA’s hockey championship became known as the Frozen Four, officially branded in 1999, I always considered the Stanley Cup Final the best of all names. Once I heard Frozen Four it was love at first toothless bite.

I couldn’t find any information on the originator of the nickname, so I seized the opportunity to see if the human sports encyclopedia seated next to me at a Boston College basketball game could furnish the information.

“Ed Carpenter,” Bob Ryan spat out instantly, “Retired Boston University SID. You can find him at Fenway Park. He’s giving tours.”

You shouldn’t have to consult a human sports encyclopedia to find that answer. After nailing the perfect name for an event, Ed should be the most famous of all Carpenters. He should be more of a household name than singing siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter, singer Mary Chapin Carpenter, Cardinals Chris and Matt Carpenter, 18-year NHL center Bobby Carpenter, even Joseph the carpenter of Biblical fame.

When I spoke to Ed Carpenter over the phone, I realized why it’s not common knowledge that he’s the creator of the coolest championship name in sports. He does absolutely nothing to promote that fact.  I’m guessing the reason for that is it would require him to talk about something other than his beloved Red Sox.

He quickly explained that the NCAA was getting miffed at writers using Final Four for hockey and someone needed to find a replacement. “I was sitting with four or five writers and I thought, ‘Ice, ice is frozen, Frozen Four.’”

And back to the Red Sox the conversation turned.

“My first wife was very upset that I had Ted Williams’ autograph and not a picture of her in my wallet,” Carpenter said.

When she asked him why, Carpenter didn’t check his tongue’s swing: “You never hit .406.”

Shockingly, the marriage didn’t last. Carpenter, 77, is happy to report that his second marriage has been a great one. The story behind the Teddy Ballgame autograph makes it understandable why it meant so much to him, but he still should have bitten his tongue.

“I remember once my dad came home and he said: ‘I’ve got something for you.’ I said:

‘Really?’ He said: ‘What would you like more than anything in the world?’ And I said: ‘Ted Williams’ autograph.’ And he took it out of his pocket,” Carpenter said. “What happened was he was in a little bit of a traffic jam and he let this car go in front of him. My dad recognized it was Ted Williams, got to a red light, got out of his car and said: ‘Excuse me, but my son is a huge fan of yours. Would you mind signing an autograph for him?’ And he did. It said: ‘To Eddie, your pal, Ted Williams.’ ”

During the pandemic shutdown, Carpenter misses Fenway Park and the games played in it, most of which he watches on TV. At work, all day, every day, he witnessed people seeing for the first time the quirkiest, most charming of all sports venues.

“We’re up in right field one day and I’m looking at a lady who’s in the tour group,” Carpenter said. “I think she might have been from Texas. She’s starting to cry. I said: ‘Excuse me, Ma’am, are you OK?’  She said: ‘My whole life I’ve wanted to come here, and now I’m here.’ And she started crying. Tears are coming from her eyes. I think that’s what the ballpark does to people. We have a couple hundred thousand people come through the ballpark every year, and they come from all over the world.”

Their reactions make his day.

“When they first come into the ballpark we take them up the ramp behind home plate,” Carpenter said. “They see the ballpark for the first time, and you’d be surprised how many many people say: ‘Wow!’ I call it the ‘Wow Ramp.’”

He’s been known to come up with two-words sports phrases that stick. Wow Ramp has a nice ring to it.

If you miss baseball as much as Carpenter does, then stop here. Don’t read the final paragraph. Consider yourself warned.

“I want to know if there’s anything better than sitting in a ballpark on a nice summer evening, eating a hot dog and drinking a beer,” Carpenter said. “I mean there’s nothing better than that. And the person sitting next to you becomes your best friend after nine innings.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2VMRvMX