Royal Rooters - McGreevy's 3rd Base Saloon

McGreevy's 3rd Base Saloon

In 1894,“Nuf Ced” McGreevy opened his “3rd Base Saloon” in Boston. It was the place to be for ballplayers, politicians, and gamblers. Every inch of wall space decorated with historic pictures from Nuf Ced’s own collection and memorabilia he got from friends like Cy Young. The light fixtures were made from bats used by Red Sox stars and the painted portrait of McGreevy that hung above the bar looked down upon customers McGreevy’s was America’s first documented sports-themed bar.

In 1920 the bar was forced to close due to prohibition. He leased the saloon to the City of Boston for the “Roxbury Crossing” branch of the Boston Public library.

In 1923 McGreevy donated a majority of the plethora of memorabilia and famous baseball photography to the Boston Public Library. Sometime between 1978 and 1981 almost twenty-five percent of the collection was stolen with no leads to this day. Eighty-eight years later, in 2008, Dropkick Murphy leader Ken Casey joined forces with film producer and baseball historian Peter Nash (aka Pete Nice) to officially re-establish and re-open McGreevy’s 3rd Base Saloon at 911 Boylston St. The new McGreevy’s is a replica of the former bar. There is even a baseball museum dedicated to Boston’s history. The collection features originals and reproductions of McGreevy’s pictures on the walls and the new McGreevy’s even has on display the original glass portrait of its founder, Michael T. McGreevy.