Green Monster (1967); Death Valley (1967)

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

GREEN MONSTER

   The UPI and AP sports stories--even in small town newspapers--should give us an early "monster."  See ADS-L archives for a few days earlier, though.


   12 October 1967, CHRONICLE-TELEGRAM (Elyria, Ohio), pg. 45, col. 1:
_Green Monster bothers_
_Cardinals at Boston_
By BERNARD CAUGHEY
   BOSTON (UPI)--The "green monster" snared the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday.
(...)(Col. 2--ed.)
   The "green monster" is a towering, green-painted wall in left field.  And until now the Cards--to a man--have denied it bothered them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEATH VALLEY

   The HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN SLANG says that this is "deep-center field in Yankee Stadium."  The first date given is 1978.  It's now historical; Yankee Stadium was renovated in 1976, with the dimensions changed.
   I looked at this because the Yankees are turning 100...


(Another sports pages "Death Valley"--ed.)
   4 June 1941, CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL (Charleston, West Virginia), pg. 3, col. 7:
   FORT WORTH, Tex., June 4 (UP).--A call went out today for volunteers to form a searching party for some unfortunate golfers lost in the wastes of "Death Valley."
   "Death Valley" is the cheerful name given to hole No. 5 on the Colonial club course where the National Open golf championship will start tomorrow.


   26 June 1967, NEW YORK TIMES, pg. 41, col. 1:
   At Yankee Stadium, the left-center-field area is known as "Death Valley" to the hitters whose long drives die into long outs.  As Boyer said, "You have to hit a ball close to 450 feet to get a homer there," and as a result, he unconsciously was over-swinging.


   19 March 1976, EDWARDSVILLE INTELLIGENCER (Edwardsville, Illinois), pg. cols. 5-7, AP wire photo caption:
   Mickey Mantle wouldn't recognize Yankee Stadium once he stepped inside, since it has been refurbished--at a cost of $46 million.  The short wall in right field and the 457-foot left-center field home run death valley are gone.