Any Discussion Of Baseball’S American League History Starts With The Boston Red Sox

Any Discussion Of Baseball’S American League History Starts With The Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox’s home ballpark has been Fenway Park. The “Red Sox” name was chosen by the team owner, Mr Taylor, a year or two before Fenway Park was begun on land his family owned. (per Red Sox Century). The club icons have followed from that decision.
The arrival of spring awakens the citizens of Red Sox Nation and the annual quest for a World Series victory by the local nine. They began in 1901 as the Boston Americans of the newly formed American League. They won the first ever World Series in 1903 over the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1908 they changed their name to the Red Sox. In 1912 they moved into brand new Fenway Park, where they still play today.
The club was founded in 1901, as one of the American League’s eight charter franchises. They were a dominant team in the new league—defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903. They won four more championships by 1918, and then went into one of the longest championship droughts in baseball history; it came to an end in 2004, when the team won their sixth World Series Championship. Since 2003, the Red Sox have competed in four ALCS, have won two World Series, and have emerged as arguably the most successful MLB team of the last decade.
In 1918, the Red Sox won their fifth World Series, thanks in part to a star lefty pitcher named Babe Ruth, who could also hit the ‘you know what’ out of the ball. Following the 1919 season, Sox owner Harry Frazee sold Ruth to the New York Yankees. For the next 86 years despite the enduring loyalty by Red Sox Nation the team suffered a variety of gut wrenching disappointments and no World Series victories.
The Red Sox led all MLB teams in average road attendance in 2007, while the small capacity of Fenway Park caused them to rank 11th in home attendance.[2][3] Every home game since May 15, 2003 has been sold out—a span of over six years and an MLB record.[4]
After the Babe’s exile to New York, thirteen futile years followed including nine last place campaigns. A resurgence began in 1933 when millionaire Tom Yawkee purchased the team, remodeled Fenway Park, and spent money for big name players. Through the 1940′s and 50′s, the team continually competed for the pennant but they were foiled several times, often by the Yankees. In 1946 they won their first pennant since 1918 but were beaten by the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.
Nickname
The name Red Sox, chosen by owner John I. Taylor after the 1907 season, refers to the red hose in the team uniform beginning 1908. Sox had been previously adopted for the Chicago White Sox by newspapers needing a headline-friendly form of Stockings, as “Stockings Win!” in large type would not fit on a page. The Spanish language media sometime refers to the team as Medias Rojas for Red Stockings.
They went through another bleak period from the late fifties until the “Impossible Dream” team of 1967; led by Carl Yastrzemski’s incredible Triple Crown season. The love affair between New England baseball fans and the Red Sox was reborn. Since that magical ’67 season Fenway Park has consistently been filled to capacity. In the following years the Sox won pennants in 1975 and 1986, captured three divisional championships, and made five wild-card appearances. In the winter of 2002 the Yawkee era ended with the sale of the team to a group led by principle owner John Henry.
That name originated with, and was made immortal by, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who were during 1867–1870 a member of the pioneering National Association of Base Ball Players. Managed by Harry Wright, Cincinnati adopted a uniform with white knickers and red stockings, and earned the famous nickname, a year or two before hiring the first fully professional team in 1869. When the club folded after the 1870 season, Wright was hired to organize a new team in Boston, and he did, bringing three teammates and the “Red Stockings” nickname along (Most nicknames were then only nicknames, neither club names nor registered trademarks, so the migration was informal). The Boston Red Stockings won four championships in the five seasons of the new National Association, the first professional league.
Boston and a new Cincinnati club were charter members of the National League in 1876. Perhaps in deference to the Cincinnati history, many people[who?] reserved the “Red Stockings” nickname for that city with the Boston team commonly referred to as the “Red Caps”. Other names were sometimes used before Boston officially adopted the nickname “Braves” in 1912; the club moved to Milwaukee and is now playing in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 1901, the upstart American League
In 2004, eight decades of heartbreak were forever purged. In the A.L. Championship Series, the Sox went down a seemingly impossible three games to none to the Yankees. Amazingly they reversed the tide and vanquished the New Yorkers four straight times to take the pennant. Four games later in St. Louis, when reliever Keith Foulk fielded Cardinals shortstop Edgar Rentaria’s bouncer to the mound, and tossed the ball to Doug Mientkiewicz at first base, the Boston Red Sox were finally the World Champions of Baseball once again.
established a competing club in Boston. (Originally, the team was supposed to be the Buffalo Bisons, currently a minor league team, but league ownership at the last minute removed Buffalo from the league in favor of the expansion Boston franchise.) For seven seasons, the AL team wore dark blue stockings and had no official nickname. They were simply “Boston”, “Bostonians” or “the Bostons”; or the “Americans” or “Boston Americans” as in “American Leaguers”, Boston being a two-team city. Their 1901–1907 jerseys, both home and road, simply read “Boston”, except for 1902 when they sported large letters “B” and “A” denoting “Boston” and “American.” Newspaper writers of the time used other nicknames for the club, including “Somersets” (for owner Charles Somers), “Plymouth Rocks,” “Beaneaters,” the “Collinsites” (for manager Jimmy Collins)”, and “Pilgrims.”
For years many sources have listed “Pilgrims” as the early Boston AL team’s official nickname, but researcher Bill Nowlin has demonstrated that the name was barely used, if at all, during the team’s early years.[5] The origin of the nickname appears to be a poem entitled “The Pilgrims At Home” written by Edwin Fitzwilliam that was sung at the 1907 home opener (“Rory O’More” melody).[6] This nickname was commonly used during that season, perhaps because the team had a new manager and several rookie players. John I. Taylor had said in December 1907 that the Pilgrims “sounded too much like homeless wanderers.”
The National League club, though seldom called the “Red Stockings” anymore, still wore red trim. In 1907, the National League club adopted an all-white uniform, and the American League team saw an opportunity. On December 18, 1907, Taylor announced that the club had officially adopted red as its new team color. The 1908 uniforms featured a large icon of a red stocking angling across the shirt front. For 1908, the National League club returned to wearing red trim, but the American League team finally had an official nickname, and would remain “The Red Sox” for good.
The name is often shortened to “Bosox” or “BoSox,” a combination of “Boston” and “Sox” (similar to the “ChiSox” in Chicago or the minor league “PawSox” of Pawtucket). Sportswriters sometimes refer to the Red Sox as the Crimson Hose,[7] and the Olde Towne Team. Recently, media has begun to casually call them the “Sawx”, reflecting how the word is pronounced with a New England accent. However, most fans simply refer to the team as the “Sox” when the context is understood to mean Red Sox.
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Boston Red Sox History
In 1901, the minor Western
League, led by Ban Johnson, declared its equality with the National League, then the only major league in baseball. Johnson changed the name of the league to the American League, leading teams in his league to be christened with the unofficial nickname “Americans”. This was especially true in the case of the new Boston franchise, which would not adopt an official nickname until 1908.
This time there would be no 86 year World Series drought for Red Sox Nation. In 2007 the Sox ended the Yankees 11 year reign as Eastern Division champs, enroute to a second world championship in four years. Once again they came back from the brink of elimination in the American League Championship Series, rallying from a 3-1 deficit to the Cleveland Indians to win the pennant. They completed their championship year, behind MVP Mike Lowell, sweeping the Colorado Rockies in the World Series.
The upstart league placed franchises in Baltimore, Maryland and Buffalo. After looking at his new league Ban Johnson decided that he would need a team in Boston to compete with the National League team there and so cancelled the Buffalo club’s franchise, offering one to a new club in Boston. Playing their home games at Huntington Avenue Grounds, the Boston franchise finished second and third before capturing their first pennant in 1903 and repeating the next year. Those teams were led by manager and star third baseman Jimmy Collins, outfielders Chick Stahl, Buck Freeman and Patsy Dougherty and pitcher Cy Young, who in 1901 won the pitching Triple Crown with 33 wins (41.8% of the team’s 79 games), 1.62 ERA and 158 strikeouts.[9] His 1901 to 1904 seasons rank among the best four-year runs ever.
Boston fans have witnessed many historic moments at Fenway Park. They watched the spectacular career of Ted Williams, called by many who saw him play, “the greatest hitter who ever lived.” They also cheered the exploits of Hall of Famers Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Joe Cronin, Wade Boggs, and Bobby Doerr. Former Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens guaranteed his place in Cooperstown with his years in a Boston uniform. Now playing elsewhere, Pedro Martinez and Nomar Garciapara left indelible marks in Boston sports lore in the late 90′s and the early 21st century.
In 1903, Boston participated in the first modern World Series, beating the favored Pittsburgh Pirates, winners of the NL pennant by six and a half games, winning the best-of-nine series five games to three. Aided by the modified chants of “Tessie” by the Royal Rooters fan club and by its stronger pitching staff, the Americans managed to overcome the odds, and win the World Series.
Currently Boston fans are being treated to the heroics of David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Curt Shilling and a perennial contending team. With a second championship now under their belts, Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, and Daisuke Matsuzaka, are among the new names added to the long line of Red Sox greats.
The 1904 club was almost as good as the previous team, but due to the surprise emergence of the New York Highlanders, the Boston club found itself in a tight pennant race through the last games of the season. A predecessor to what would become a storied rivalry, this race featured such controversial moves as the trade of Patsy Dougherty to the Highlanders for Bob Unglaub. The climax of the season occurred on the last, dramatic doubleheader at the Highlanders’ home stadium, Hilltop Park. In order to win the pennant, the Highlanders needed to win both games. With Jack Chesbro, the Highlanders’ 41-game winner, on the mound, and the score tied 2–2 with a man on third in the top of the ninth, a spitball got away from Chesbro and Lou Criger scored the go-ahead run on one of the most famous wild pitches in history.
Unfortunately, the NL champion New York Giants declined to play any postseason series, fearing it would give their New York rivals credibility (they had expected the Highlanders to win), but a sharp public reaction led the two leagues immediately to make the World Series a permanent championship, starting in 1905.
In addition to bringing world championships to the starved fans of New England, the new ownership has infused fresh energy to the team on and off the field. They have made many improvements to aging Fenway Park, most notably the addition of the Monster Seats atop the famed left field wall. They have greatly improved the food, the comfort, and the area around the park to make a Red Sox game a unique and memorable Boston experie
These successful times soon ended, however, as Boston lost 100 games in 1906. However, several new star players helped the newly renamed Red Sox improve almost immediately.
By 1909, legendary center fielder Tris Speaker had become a fixture in the Boston outfield, and the team worked their way to third place. However, the Red Sox would not win the pennant again until their 105-win 1912 season, finishing with a club record .691 winning percentage. Anchored by an outfield considered to be among the finest in the game—Tris Speaker, Harry Hooper and Duffy Lewis—and superstar pitcher Smoky Joe Wood, the Red Sox beat the New York Giants 4–3–1 in the classic 1912 World Series best known for Snodgrass’s Muff. From 1913 to 1916 the Red Sox were owned by Joseph Lannin, who signed Babe Ruth, soon the best-known and one of the best players ever. Another 101 wins in 1915 propelled the Red Sox to the 1915 World Series, where they beat the Philadelphia Phillies four games to one. Following the 1915 season, Tris Speaker was traded to the Cleveland Indians. His departure was more than compensated for, however, by the emergence of star pitcher Babe Ruth. The Red Sox went on to win the 1916 World Series, this time defeating the Brooklyn Robins. In 1918, Babe Ruth led his team to another World Series championship. This time over the Chicago Cubs