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| STAN GROSSFELD/GLOBE STAFF |
By David Abel | Globe Staff | October 16, 2013
When the bearded police officer shuffled up to the podium, his hands
clasped nervously in front of his clipped uniform-issued tie, there was a long
pause.
The soft-spoken patrolman, still
processing his sudden status as a local celebrity, looked down and then across
the media room at police headquarters, where a bank of cameras and lights was
facing him.
Officer Stephen Horgan didn't appear to know
what to say, and those there from the media seemed unsure what to ask.
So Commissioner Edward F. Davis prodded
the gaggle of cameramen and reporters, many of whom had been hounding the
27-year cop since his wide grin and raised hands became a symbol of triumph
throughout Red Sox Nation Sunday night.
Finally, one of the reporters asked
whether it was his first year working the bullpen at Fenway Park, which is
where he was standing at the moment the Detroit Tigers' Torii Hunter tumbled
over the wall in pursuit of David Ortiz's grand slam, the outfielder's
outstretched legs suspended forever next to Horgan's arms in Globe photographer
Stan Grossfeld's now iconic picture.
"Yes," he said,
uncomfortably.
After a series of similarly
straightforward questions and short answers, another reporter asked what he
thought of all the publicity. "I'm humbled by it," he said. "I'm
not one to be at the center of attention."
Horgan, 50, said he's a lifelong Red Sox fan and has been working details at
Fenway for more than 20 years, directing traffic, keeping peace in the stands,
protecting the dugout. When asked if the department discourages officers from cheering at the games, he deferred
to the commissioner.
"We actually encourage it,"
Davis said.
And it pays well, too: According to
payroll records, Horgan made $42,000 working details in 2012, on top of his
$73,000 salary, slightly above average total compensation for a Boston police officer.
When asked what he thought about as he
watched Ortiz's long ball soaring toward him, Horgan said he thought Hunter
would grab it.
"And then I saw the ball land in
the bullpen, and because I'm a Sox fan, I just raised my arms," said
Horgan, a native of Walpole. "That's all."
As the questions continued, one
reporter from a local television station apologized to Horgan. "Sorry
we're here," he said. "You seem a little reluctant to get this
attention."
Then the reporter asked: "Do you
think it's crazy we're focusing so much on the fact that you just put your arms
up after a home run?"
"Yeah," he said. "I do
it every time. It's just the first time it was caught on film."
He saw Grossfeld's picture on his phone
before the game ended. "I couldn't believe it," he said. "I
couldn't believe it."
When asked whether he tried to help
Hunter after he fell, Horgan said he walked over to him but that players,
staff, and the Red Sox's bullpen trainer came to the
outfielder's aid right away.
The questions continued, veering toward
the intrusive, but the bespectacled patrolman graciously did his best to
explain the joys of being a fan.
He noted that he grew his gray-speckled
beard before the playoffs in a show of support for the shaggy team.
Then he meditated on his place in local
lore.
"It will be great to be a part of
Red Sox history," he said. "I'm a
lifelong fan. So this is going to be awesome."
When another reporter asked if he was
getting sick of strangers asking him to raise his hands for them, he said not
yet.
So the cameramen took the opportunity
and egged him on to do just that.
Horgan tried to make a quick escape,
but the cameramen were persistent. So Horgan relented and raised his arms.
He smiled sheepishly and held them
there, in front of the podium, like he was Rocky, or as if he had just won the
World Series, his fists clenched in the air.
The reporters and cameramen clapped.
Then the commissioner came to his
rescue.
"Alright, they'll keep you there
all day," he said.
But, of course, someone asked him to do
it again, for a different angle, and Horgan did.
David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com Follow him on Twitter @davabel.
