A few additional comments on this event, and corrections to my original recollection, to help set the record straight:
1. Jeff Reardon pitched the two innings before. The entire event happened with Juan Berenguer on the mound. It took approximately 6 minutes for Joseph Cullen to pull off his marvelous stunt, not 15 as I imagined.
2. I recall being completely shocked when I turned and saw this guy up on that wire. To even conceive of such a thing was creative. To actually do it was beyond brazen. To actually pull it off, well...
3. And it's true the guy endangered people, mostly himself. Although now looking back, Fenway security, although helpless to stop his journey, did a good job clearing people out of the seats below him so the only one truly at risk was Cullen himself.
4. I also recall a group of what had to be his friends, walking below him and barking encouragement up at him. The crowd followed suit. Everyone wanted this guy to make it. And it wasn't a foregone conclusion that he could do it. He was visibly tiring as he approached the finish. Security tried to block him from scrambling up onto the screen, but they failed.
5. This had to be spontaneous. Unlike the famous 'Man on Wire' guy -- the Frenchman who spent months preparing to scale the Twin Towers -- this could not have been planned, although I surely would love to confirm that. The fact that he did it on a whim makes it an even better story.
6. Sadly, I believe this man who captivated Fenway that memorable evening passed away two years ago. His obituary suggested that he was a much beloved larger than life character who conquered alcoholism and had a family. I feel like there's more to the story and would still love to hear from people who knew this daring and bold individual to share additional details on the evening. Was it planned? What did they charge him with? Did he ever do anything like it again? So many unanswered questions.
7. Even though I referred to him (fondly) as a maniac in a previous post, I have nothing but admiration.
For those with any lingering curiosity, here's another rather whimsical recapping of the event on good ol' Youtube. Start at 16:00 -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zmtSv4DHVE