Royal Rooters in 1907 The Royal Rooters were led by
Michael T. McGreevy, nicknamed "Nuf Ced", owner of the 3rd Base Saloon in Boston. While McGreevy was certainly the spiritual (in both libations and foundations) leader of the Royal Rooters,
Mayor of Boston John F. Fitzgerald, the maternal grandfather of
John F. Kennedy, served as chairman for a while, and during that time, M.J. Regan was the secretary. Other members included C.J. Lavis, L. Watson, T.S. Dooley, J. Keenan, and W. Cahill, among others. On game days the Royal Rooters marched in procession from the 3rd Base Saloon to the
Huntington Avenue Grounds, which was the team's home field before
Fenway Park opened in 1912. The Rooters had a reserved section of seats along the third base line, close enough to the field to intimidate or distract opposing players with their insults and vicious taunts. The
1912 World Series went down in Rooter history as the Rooters' seats on “
Duffy's Cliff” were sold to other fans; the Rooters became angry and mounted police were called in to stop the riot.
"Tessie" The Royal Rooters' theme song was "
Tessie". Made popular by singer
Billy Murray, it was from the
Broadway musical
The Silver Slipper, which ran for less than six months. The Rooters sang "Tessie" at games to encourage their team, while simultaneously distracting and frustrating the opposition. They were especially important in the first World Series, in , when the Americans played the
Pittsburgh Pirates. The Royal Rooters went to Pittsburgh and sing "Tessie" to distract the opposing players, especially
Honus Wagner. After falling into a three games to one deficit, Boston rallied to win the Series with four straight victories.
McGreevy's 3rd Base Saloon In 1894, McGreevy opened his 3rd Base Saloon. Located in the
Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, ==Modern revivals==