Yankees and Red Sox rivalry

There are many great rivalries across in sports, but the one between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox is legendary. The history between these two fabled baseball teams is too extensive to give proper consideration in a brief article. Here is a brief synopsis of this great rivalry.

Boston won the first World Series in 1903 as the Americans, before changing their name to the Red Sox in 1908. The Yankees, who were known as the Highlanders in the early days, met the Boston Americans in 1904 in a season ending battle for the pennant. Boston was victorious in that game, which was the only time that these two teams met in the final game of a season, due to a World Series not being played that year.

Babe Ruth arrived in New York for the 1920 season after six successful years in Boston as a pitcher and outfielder. He was sold by the Boston owner, Harry Frazee, to pay off loans, and this was the beginning of what many have called "The Curse of The Bambino". It took 86 years for Boston to win another World Series after winning with Ruth in 1918. The New York Yankees' dominance was unprecedented over these years, with pennants, championships, and statistics that would be unequaled by any sports team in history.

Boston did have some memorable moments during the years of Yankee supremacy. The Red Sox nearly edged out the Yankees for the pennant in 1949 when they only had to win one of their two remaining games against the Bronx Bombers. They were defeated in both games and the Yankees went on to start a streak of five consecutive World Series championships.

The Red Sox appeared to be a lock for the pennant in 1978, but the season ended in an epic battle with the Yanks prevailing in a one game playoff. Many great Red Sox players such as Yastrzemski, Rice, Fisk, and Lynn were part of this exciting, but losing effort. Unfortunately, this would prove to be the last opportunity for these talented players to win a World Series. Boston would finally break the curse in 2004!