The Boston Red Sox rank among the most famous and beloved sports franchises in the United States. A founding member of the American League, the team has been creating excitement, and breaking hearts, in Boston since 1901.
The team was part of the new American League, formed by Ban Johnson to compete against the established National League. The team originally had no official nickname and were simply called the Boston Americans.
John I. Taylor chose the name Red Sox in 1907 based on the red stockings the team would wear as part of a new uniform in 1908. The Chicago White Sox had already used the “sox” spelling because newspaper editors needed something that would shorten the word “stockings” and fit into a headline.
Over the years, the team has had some incredible moments. Here are some of the most memorable – the good, the bad and (of course) the beating of the Yankees.
Yankees World Series Wins 1903 - Present
Winning The First World Series
The Boston Americans won the first World Series in 1903, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates in an eight-game series, 5-3. They played their home games at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, which hosted the first World Series game on Oct. 1, 1903. The Pirates won, 7-3. The winning pitcher was Charles Louis “Deacon” Phillippe, while the losing pitcher for the Red Sox was none other than Cy Young.
Fenway Park Opens
Fenway Park opened in Boston in 1912, with the first official game played on April 20. The Red Sox beat the New York Highlanders 7-6 in extra innings – that’s sweet for Red Sox fans, as the Highlanders later became the Yankees in 1913. The Red Sox won the World Series in the first year of Fenway Park, beating the New York Giants, While it’s been renovated many times, it remains the team’s home and is considered a historic landmark in baseball.
Back-to-Back Championships
The Red Sox won back-to-back championships in 1915 and 1916, and then again in 1918, giving the team five World Series wins in the first 15 years of the championship series (there was no series in 1904). Among their stars was a young Babe Ruth. The team seemed unstoppable.
The Trade of Babe Ruth
In what also is a seminal moment in the history of the Yankees, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the Yankees for $125,000, three payments of $25,000 each and access to a $300,000 line of credit. He needed it to finance a stage play, “My Lady Friends,” that would one day become the musical “No, No, Nanette.” The musical became a hit. But for the next 86 years, the Red Sox and their fans endured no championships and many seasons of pain. Fans began to refer to it as “The Curse of the Bambino.”
What if Babe Ruth Played Today?
The 1946 Team
After dominating the American League in the first two decades of the century, the Red Sox didn’t win an AL pennant again until 1946. The team lost the World Series in seven games to the Cardinals, but had such famous players as Bobby Doerr and Ted Williams.
The Impossible Dream of 1967
The “Impossible Dream” Red Sox emerged from a four-team battle at the end of the season. Boston beat out the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox to win the AL pennant (their first since 1946) and earn another trip to the World Series – which they lost, again to the Cardinals, and again in seven games. The 1967 team featured two great Red Sox players, Carl Yastrzemski (who won the triple crown) and Jim Lonborg (who won the AL Cy Young).
Carl Yastrzemski MLB Career Highlights
Another Seventh-Game Loss in 1975
The next Red Sox pennant came in 1975, but they lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. Different team, yet another seventh game loss. That team featured the great catcher Carlton Fisk, outfielder Jim Rice and Yastrzemski. Fisk provided one of the most memorable moments in Red Sox history, hitting a walk off home run to win Game 6 of the series, willing the ball to stay fair.
Best Baseball Moments in the 1970s
Crushing Heartbreak in 1986
The 1986 World Series occupies a lot of space in the Red Sox history in terms of heartbreaking moments. With two outs in the 10th inning and the game tied, the New York Mets’ Mookie Wilson hit a ground ball up the first base line that went between the legs of first baseman Bill Buckner. The Mets’ Ray Knight scored the winning run, setting off bedlam in Shea Stadium. It didn’t cost the Red Sox the World Series – they still had a Game 7 to lose back in Boston – but many fans blamed Buckner. Buckner eventually came back to Boston before his death to get honored at Fenway Park. To this day, however, it remains one of the most famous moments of heartbreak and loss in sports history.
Beating the Yankees in 2004
Yes, the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, but it seems equally significant that they did so by coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the AL Championship Series against their hated rivals, the Yankees. They are the only team to ever recover from a three game deficit in the ALCS. They went on to beat the Cardinals in the World Series, another form of payback for 1946 and 1967. They have gone on to win the World Series in 2007, 2013 and 2018, but the 2004 title might be the sweetest.
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