This article is excerpted from “Fenway Park: A Salute to the Coolest, Cruelest, Longest-Running Major League Baseball Stadium in America,” produced by The Boston Globe and published by Running Press. 
 
 The storied home of the Red Sox for a century, “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark’’ also is the oldest in the major leagues, and the most famous. From the classic brick entrance on Yawkey Way to the unique left-field wall with its manual scoreboard to Pesky’s Pole in right field, its timeless features are recognized from the Bronx to the Dominican Republic to Japan. 
 
 John Updike’s “lyric little bandbox,’’ which he likened to “an old-fashioned peeping-type Easter egg,’’ is so linked with Boston and baseball history that it is a destination in itself, equal to the Freedom Trail and the swan boats, with visitors taking guided ballpark tours even during winter. In “Cheers,’’ the long-running situation comedy based in a Back Bay tavern, bartender Sam “Mayday’’ Malone was a former Sox relief pitcher. The fan film “Fever Pitch’’ is based around Fenway, where Kevin Costner also took James Earl Jones for an inspirational outing in “Field of Dreams.’’ 
 
 Fenway’s field is like no other. Because the park was jammed into a city lot bounded by narrow streets, its dimensions are a crazy confluence of oblique angles, like the three-sided oddity in centerfield that can turn the game into Pachinko, with the ball bouncing and rattling about. There is so little playable foul territory that dozens of balls end up in the stands, which are so close to the diamond that fans can hear the players’ chatter. 
 
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 Related Photos Fenway Park before 1950 
 
 Fenway is a charmingly auditory experience, from the scalpers on Brookline Avenue (“Who needs tickets?’’) to the fans singing “Sweet Caroline’’ during the eighth inning to the playing of “Dirty Water’’ over the public address system after victories. 
 
 Fenway’s endearing quirkiness is much of its allure. Except for some increased seating and creature comforts, the park has remained largely unchanged since it opened in 1912 in the same week that the Titanic sank. 
 
 “When I brought my kids to Fenway, they never complained about the inconveniences of the ancient ballpark,’’ wrote Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy, who confessed that he still took “some weird comfort in the knowledge that the poles that occasionally obscured our vision of the pitcher are the same green beams that blocked the vision of my dad and his dad when they would take the trolley from Cambridge to watch the Red Sox in the 1920s.’’ 
 
 Babe Ruth threw his first pitch and Ted Williams hit his last home run at Fenway. From Christy Mathewson, to Ty Cobb, to Satchel Paige, to Joe DiMaggio, to Hank Aaron, most of baseball’s greatest names have appeared on Fenway’s stage, which also has accommodated an extraordinary variety of athletes, politicians, and entertainers. 
 
 Three of Boston’s professional football teams - the Redskins, the Yanks, and the Patriots - performed at Fenway. The Bruins and Flyers, two of hockey’s fiercest rivals, played in the Winter Classic there on New Year’s Day. Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his final campaign address at Fenway. The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, and Bruce Springsteen all sang there. 
 
 Every significant moment from every year is here, and then some. The dramatic World Series victory over the Giants in 1912. The 1934 fire that scorched Tom Yawkey’s renovated park. Ted Williams’s “Great Expectoration’’ of 1956. Jim Lonborg’s “hero’s ride’’ after putting the Sox in position to secure the Impossible Dream pennant in 1967. Carlton Fisk’s dramatic “is-it-fair?’’ homer in the 12th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series against the Reds. Bucky “Bleeping’’ Dent’s heartbreaking screen shot in the 1978 divisional playoff game with New York. Roger Clemens’s record 20 strikeouts against the Mariners in 1986. Dave Roberts’s stolen base against the Yankees in 2004 that was the beginning of the end of 86 years of October frustration. 
 
 Fenway is all about lore. The Royal Rooters torturing visiting ballplayers with incessant renditions of “Tessie.’’ Williams’s monster bleacher shot knocking a hole in a fan’s straw hat. Manny Ramirez’s mystery disappearance inside the belly of the Monster. Jimmy Piersall oinking like a pig on the basepaths. Luis Tiant’s rhumba windup that the New Yorker’s Roger Angell dubbed “Call the Osteopath.’’ Pedro Martinez playing matador to former skipper Don Zimmer’s enraged bull during a brawl with the Yankees. A midget coming out of the stands to cover third when the Indians used the “Williams Shift.’’ 
 
 This is the story of 100 years of Fenway Park. ||||| Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy (13) strikes out during the ninth inning of Game 7 of the National League Championship Series baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, in Milwaukee.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Los Angeles Dodgers' Max Muncy (13) strikes out during the ninth inning of Game 7 of the National League Championship Series baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) (Associated Press) 
 
 Sandy Koufax, Jackie Robinson and the Boys of Summer. Ted Williams to Yaz and the Impossible Dream. 
 
 Manny Ramirez. Pedro Martinez. Bill Buckner. 
 
 Fenway Franks and Dodger Dogs. Ebbets Field, the Green Monster. "Sweet Caroline" or "I Love L.A." 
 
 Yet for all their rich history — dating back to Babe Ruth on the mound — the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers have rarely crossed paths heading into this World Series. Only once before in October, and that was more than a century ago. 
 
 In fact, Clayton Kershaw has never even pitched at Fenway Park. 
 
 Consider this: Going into Game 1 on Tuesday night, the Dodgers have beaten the Red Sox in Boston just one time. 
 
 That came on June 12, 2004. And guess who scored and drove in a run for the Dodgers during that 14-5 romp? 
 
 Alex Cora, now the rookie manager of the Red Sox. One of his teammates that afternoon — Dave Roberts, ready to lead Los Angeles into its second straight Fall Classic. 
 
 Roberts is sure to draw a big cheer when the teams line up for pregame introductions. He's still a fan favorite in Boston for his daring stolen base that sparked an unprecedented comeback from a 3-0 deficit against Mariano Rivera and the rival Yankees in the 2004 AL Championship Series. 
 
 The Red Sox went on to end their 86-year title drought by sweeping St. Louis in the World Series, boosted by Big Papi, Pedro and Manny. Starting next week, Boston will try for its fourth championship in 15 seasons. 
 
 MVP candidate Mookie Betts, slugger J.D. Martinez and the Red Sox posted a team-record 108 wins, a big payoff for the team with the top payroll in the game. Boston pushed past New York in the AL Division Series and then quickly dispatched the defending champion Astros in the ALCS. 
 
 Chris Sale is set to pitch the opener. He recently spent a night in the hospital because of a stomach illness, and no doubt watchful eyes will be on the lefty ace. 
 
 Los Angeles is aiming for its first championship since Kirk Gibson, Orel Hershiser and Tommy Lasorda brought home the crown in 1988. 
 
 A year after losing Game 7 to Houston at Dodger Stadium, Justin Turner and the crew with the third-highest payroll beat Colorado in a tiebreaker for the NL West title, chased Atlanta in the NLDS and topped Milwaukee in Game 7 for the pennant. 
 
 New to the power-packed Dodgers this season is star shortstop Manny Machado, acquired in a July trade with Baltimore. Boston fans are plenty familiar with him — his late slide last year injured longtime Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, and led to a tense situation at Fenway with Sale throwing behind Machado. 
 
 Soon as they see him, Red Sox rooters might even take up the familiar chant of "Beat LA!" 
 
 It's been heard for years in Boston, albeit in a different arena. That's what Celtics fans echoed during the Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry. Fitting, maybe, the former Lakers star is a part-owner of the Dodgers. 
 
 On the basketball court, Los Angeles and Boston are certainly intertwined with championships on the line, going all the way back to the days of Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Bob Cousy and Jerry West. 
 
 On the diamond, not so much for these storied franchises. 
 
 They first tangled for real in the 1916 World Series. The Babe pitched all 14 innings — in a tidy 2 hours, 32 minutes — as Boston beat Brooklyn 2-1 in Game 2. Though Fenway opened four years earlier, the game was played at Braves Field, home of the city's NL franchise, because it held more people. 
 
 The Red Sox wound up winning in five games. Back then, the Dodgers weren't really the Dodgers. They were known by a collection of nicknames, and were often called the Robins because of popular manager Wilbert "Uncle Robbie" Robinson. And Ruth later coached for them. 
 
 Over the years, the teams went their own ways, on and off the field. 
 
 The Dodgers proudly broke baseball's color barrier when Jackie Robinson played in 1947. The Red Sox were the last team in the majors to have a black player, in 1959 with Pumpsie Green. 
 
 Decades later, the teams made history together. They drew an announced crowd of 115,300 — the largest ever for a baseball game — for an exhibition at the Coliseum in 2008 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles. 
 
 Overall, the Red Sox are 8-7 against the Dodgers since interleague play began in 1997. Boston hasn't hosted LA since 2010, and the teams haven't squared off since 2016. 
 
 Not much crossover for these clubs, either. 
 
 Buckner was a young, fleet outfielder when he helped the Dodgers reach the 1974 World Series. He was a gimpy first baseman when he let that ball roll through his legs as Boston blew the 1986 Series. 
 
 Pedro Martinez began his big league career as a reliever with Los Angeles before becoming a dominant starter for Boston. Manny Ramirez was an eccentric slugger for the Red Sox who took his act to Mannywood out West. 
 
 Nomar Garciaparra, Adrian Beltre and Rickey Henderson are among the stars who spent time with both teams. So has Dodgers starter Rich Hill — in 2015, the Boston-area native was pitching with the independent Long Island Ducks when he resurrected his career with the Red Sox. 
 
 And there was that late-season trade six years ago that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford from Boston to Los Angeles in a huge salary dump. 
 
 Big names will be in the stands next week, too. 
 
 Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and a packed crowd bundled on a New England night, maybe. It could be in the upper 30s at Fenway, the oldest ballpark in the majors. 
 
 Warren Beatty, Ashton Kutcher and sun-splashed fans basking in the glow of the San Gabriel Mountains. It was a record 103 degrees for the opener last year at Dodger Stadium, at 56 the third-oldest park. 
 
 Whatever the temperatures, Dodgers-Red Sox, a hot World Series on deck. 
 
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– Baseball's "Sistine Chapel" turns 100 today, a century to the day after its first regular-season game. As the oldest major-league stadium, Fenway Park has seen the Boston Red Sox through a turbulent century, hosting heroes from Babe Ruth to Ted Williams to Hank Aaron, the Boston Globe notes. Today, you can feel the stadium's age, columnist Dan Shaughnessy tells USA Today: "The seats between the aisles were built for people 5-foot-6 in 1912," and "some of the things that don't work are never going to work." "But overall, it is the jewel of baseball and the best place to watch a baseball game," he concludes. The stadium was the product of a $120,000 purchase of 8 acres of land in Boston. Nearly a century later, the park seemed old-fashioned and small compared to others, and it faced a shutdown. But new owners invested $285 million to bring it up to date, and it's expected to stay in business another 40 years. "We think of Fenway as the 'Little Engine that Could,' and it just keeps chugging along," Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner says. Today, the Sox celebrate the anniversary with a game against—who else?—the New York Yankees.