Enfield Couple Gets Oil Can For First Anniversary

MANSFIELD, MA — Traditionally, a couple's first wedding anniversary is celebrated with gifts of paper, but the only paper involved in Mike and Jenn Zuraw's celebration was a silent auction form which resulted in the duo meeting a Boston Red Sox legend.

The Enfield residents, who were married Aug. 18, 2018 in the backyard of their lakefront home in New Hampshire, planned to spend "a few days in the Boston area" last weekend. They stayed in Providence Saturday night, and en route to Boston on Sunday morning, they "heard through the grapevine" about an unusual promotion taking place nearby at a sports card and memorabilia show at the Holiday Inn in nearby Mansfield.

At the show, run for 28 years by Doug Keating of Cardboard Promotions, former Red Sox pitcher Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd was among five guests signing autographs for fans. As part of the promotion, a charity silent auction was held offering lunch with the affable Boyd, as well as signed memorabilia from him.

Mike Zuraw was the high bidder in the auction, earning him and his bride, both huge Red Sox fans, the chance to get together with one of the star players from the 1986 World Series team.

Despite being just 3 years old at the time of that memorable World Series against the New York Mets, "We knew of his legacy, and had met him once before at Fenway Park," Mike said.

The Zuraws are such Red Sox fanatics that on Oct. 19, 2016, Mike proposed to Jenn on the field at Fenway, shortly after the team had been swept by the Cleveland Indians in the best-of-5 American League Divisional Series.

"We had tickets for the Monday and Wednesday games (games 3 and 4), and if they had won, [the proposal] would have been done Wednesday with some players involved," Mike recalled. He added a well-placed connection within the team had arranged for the opportunity.

A 2002 graduate of Fermi High School, Mike Zuraw said his family has a season ticket plan, so he and his bride get a number of chances to meet players, past and present. He said they have spent the most time with zany left-handed pitcher Bill Lee, a 2008 inductee into the team's Hall of Fame, and also enjoyed meeting former outfielder Johnny Damon, a standout on the 2004 World Series championship squad.