I received a nice email recently from a true Pawtucket Red Sox fan. (To skip ahead for a moment to provide clarity, the Pawtucket Red Sox were the Boston Red Sox AAA Affiliate for 50 years, before relocating to Worcester, MA to become the Worcester Red Sox. It was a sad day for many Rhode Islanders, a painful reminder of the business of sports, and a gut-wrenching blow to longtime Pawtucket Red Sox fans, like myself and this emailer. Ok, back to the email’s author.) A fan who went to PawSox games as a kid, then attended games as a parent. A fan who has a ton of personal experience witnessing Pawtucket Red Sox history within the city Pawtucket, Rhode Island and happens to be a (you guessed it) history teacher in Rhode Island. A fan that could write about his experience with the Pawtucket Red Sox franchise with the kind of first person approach that most can only dream about. This fan is not only the author of a great email, he is the author of a great book about the beautiful baseball murals which covered a large section of the walls at the now vacant and abandoned McCoy Stadium. And what those murals and that stadium meant to him and his family, and without understating it a bit, many Rhode Islanders. This fan and author and historian is Andrew Tuetken.

“Murals of McCoy” is a wonderful tribute to the visits to McCoy by Andy Tuetken as a boy, as a husband, as a father with families and friends by his side. In addition to his personal experiences at the games, Tuetken delves into the artwork which many of us walked by, circling the ramps from the ground level parking lot to the concession stands area, and perhaps the press box level or upper deck seating of McCoy Stadium. Your favorite players from the nearly 50 years of Pawtucket Red Sox baseball were up on those walls. I bet you can go back into your memory banks, if you were a kid in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and went to a PawSox game and walked up those ramps – I bet you can remember seeing those murals. Well, if you cannot recall, you are in luck. Andy Tuetken has written a spectacular book filled with those mural photos and artwork for you, the baseball fan to enjoy. In his words, “My love for the murals began as a kid going to games at McCoy with my father and later
was able to share the same experience with my two daughters in the 2010’s.”

Here is Andy on Rhode Island’s “The Rhode Show” discussing the book and what it meant to write it as a history buff, a Rhode Island native, and a Pawtucket Red Sox fan.

Andy was kind enough to send me a copy of the book and it is just fascinating to read and see the amazing artwork. And some notes about the book, one of which I found to be incredibly interesting. Again, in Andy’s words, “Ben Mondor, the former owner of the PawSox, had the idea to commission massive murals painted directly on the walls of McCoy Stadium in 1977 to idolize PawSox players who not only had suited up for the Pawtucket Red Sox but who at some point played in the major leagues. Carol “Tayo” Heuser, a former RISD student, was commissioned as the painter of the original murals that were painted directly on the concourse walls during the late 1970s and into the 1980s.”

And his inspiration for writing and producing such an important book to honor the history of the Pawtucket Red Sox, McCoy Stadium, and these wonderful pieces of baseball art, “As a high school history teacher in Rhode Island, I have a love for both history and baseball. My research began for no particular reason other than I love to research topics that interest me. My wife gave me the idea of potentially using that research to create a book. It was then that I began the incredible and unaccepted journey to learn even more about the history of the original murals and here we are!“

Huge thanks to Andy Tuetken for sharing his book, his love of the Pawtucket Red Sox, and his experiences at McCoy Stadium with me, so I can share them with you. The book, “Murals of McCoy” is available on Amazon by clicking this link – Murals of McCoy. I read through the book and it took me back to my amazing memories and experiences as a kid, a parent, a brother, a friend walking up those stairs, around those curved ramps, and into that glorious baseball cathedral which was Pawtucket’s McCoy Stadium. Andy, this was an incredible Pawtucket Red Sox walk down memory lane and I really appreciate you giving me the opportunity to promote your work!

One final note from Andy, “This project was also a way to give back and say thank you to the City of Pawtucket for all it has done for the baseball community in the state of Rhode Island by donating all profits from the sale of Murals of McCoy to Pawtucket Youth Baseball.”