Short of pulling the tarpaulin off the field himself, there was no way a pelting rainstorm was going to stop Providence College President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. from making his "pitching debut" with his beloved Boston Red Sox.

Forced to wait more than two hours under the saturated stands at Fenway Park, Father Shanley threw out the first ball prior to the Red Sox' game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Friday night, July 28. It was his second time ever on the diamond at Fenway, but the ceremonial toss represented his first mound appearance.

"It was just a thrill," exclaimed Father Shanley, who has a "Red Sox Room" in his residence in St. Dominic Hall on campus.
                                                                     Photo by Cindy Loo/Boston Red Sox

"I was more excited than I was nervous. There are 37,000 people staring down at you, you know!" he added.

Father Shanley, a former high school catcher, didn't find out until around noontime on the day of the game that he would take part in pre-game ceremonies. A friend of the College who donated the use of his law firm's box suite at Fenway belatedly arranged for  him to throw out the first ball.

Introduced by the public address announcer, Father Shanley stepped just in front of the mound in his white-and-black PC golf shirt, trousers, and blue Red Sox cap. With his image captured on the huge video board in center field, he wound up and threw the ball to a ball girl at home plate. "I did not throw a strike," he said with a chuckle.

The ball, with Father Shanley's name on it, was then returned to him.

"It was a fantasy come true," he said.

While the Red Sox couldn't make it the perfect evening for the president and dropped an 8-3 decision to the Angels, Father Shanley's spirits were buoyed the next day when he opened an e-mail from a member of the Class of 2008 who attended the game.

"After waiting in the rain for two hours and trying to stay dry," wrote Christine Flannery of Franklin, Mass., "I was so surprised to see you out on the mound during the pre-game ceremonies. I think the other fans around me thought I was a little crazy . . . cheering for the priest on the mound. I just wanted to say you did PC proud!"