Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox, American professional baseball team based in Boston. One of the most-storied franchises in American sports, the Red Sox have won nine World Series titles and 14 American League (AL) pennants.

Founded in 1901, the franchise (then unofficially known as the Boston Americans) was one of the eight charter members of the American League. The team played at the Huntington Avenue Grounds from 1901 to 1911 and moved to Fenway Park in 1912. The oldest of all current major league ballparks, Fenway is known for its quirky features, the most famous of which is the 37-foot 2-inch (11.3-meter) left field wall known as the “Green Monster.” The team officially took the name Boston Red Sox (“BoSox” or “Sox” for short) in 1908, adapting it from the Boston Red Stockings, the original name of Boston’s first professional baseball team (now the Atlanta Braves).

Boston enjoyed immediate success with its superstar Cy Young, the premiere pitcher of his generation, and their talented third baseman and manager, Jimmy Collins. Boston won the very first World Series, in 1903, by defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates and continued its successful run in the 1910s, winning four more championships (1912, 1915, 1916, and 1918) with lineups that included center fielder Tris Speaker (1907–15), pitcher Smokey Joe Wood (1908–15), and a young pitcher-turned-outfielder named Babe Ruth (1914–19).

Discover how ordinary objects work, and expand your understanding of the familiar.

SIGN UP

" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">

Thank you for signing up!"

Back to homepage

By clicking "Sign Up", you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Britannica Quiz

Great Moments in Sports Quiz

The team’s fortunes changed dramatically in 1920, however, with the notorious sale of Ruth to the New York Yankees by owner Harry Frazee. This was the genesis of the Red Sox–Yankees rivalry and of the supposed “Curse of the Bambino” (“Bambino” was one of Ruth’s nicknames), cited by many Red Sox fans as the reason the team failed to win another World Series in the 20th century while the Yankees went on to become baseball’s most successful franchise. After losing Ruth and other star players as well as their capable manager, Ed Barrow, to the Yankees, the Red Sox suffered through abysmal season after season over the next two decades.

1 of 2

2 of 2

Boston teams have featured some of the most talented hitters in baseball history, including Jimmie Foxx, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice, Manny Ramirez, and, most famously, Ted Williams, the left-handed outfielder considered by many to be the best pure hitter ever and the last player to bat above .400 in a season (.406 in 1941). Yet even with their great hitters and dominating pitchers—including Luis Tiant, Roger Clemens, and Pedro Martinez—the Red Sox were unable to win a championship between 1918 and 2004, often finding new and heartbreaking ways to lose crucial games. Making it to the World Series four more times (1946, 1967, 1975, 1986), the Red Sox lost each series in the seventh (and final) game. They also lost two AL pennant tiebreakers, both played at Fenway, to the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) (1948) and the Yankees (1978)—the latter after leading their division by 141/2 games in July—and suffered a crushing playoff loss in 2003 to the Yankees.

Finally, in 2004, the Red Sox emerged triumphant after 86 years of frustration, winning the World Series in four games against the St. Louis Cardinals behind the pitching of Curt Schilling and the batting of Ramirez and David Ortiz. Just as important to Red Sox fans, they had vanquished their nemesis, the Yankees, in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), coming back from a 3–0 series deficit to win 4–3, the first team in baseball history to stage such a comeback in the postseason. The Red Sox—led by standout pitching performances by Josh Beckett, Jonathan Papelbon, and rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka—captured another World Series title in 2007, sweeping the Colorado Rockies in four games.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE

The Red Sox lost a seven-game ALCS to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008 but remained one of baseball’s most-dominant teams through the end of the decade. However, in 2011 the specter of past failures was raised when the Red Sox lost a nine-game lead in the Wild Card standings over the course of the final month of the regular season—the worst September collapse in the history of Major League Baseball. In 2012 Boston lost 95 games—the most for the team in 48 years—but a substantially rebuilt team immediately rebounded in 2013 to post an AL-best 97 wins and return to the World Series, where the team beat the Cardinals in six games to capture its eighth championship. The team’s seesaw tendencies continued into 2014, when the Red Sox plummeted from the peak of the sport to lose 91 games and finish last in their division.

In 2016 a rebuilt Red Sox team, featuring young star slugger Mookie Betts, returned to the postseason by winning a division title. Both that squad and the following year’s team lost in the division series, but the 2018 Red Sox broke through, winning a franchise-record 108 games during the regular season and cruising through the postseason, losing just three games across three playoff series en route to another World Series title. Boston struggled the following season, however, winning 84 games and finishing well outside playoff contention. The team angered fans by trading away Betts in the offseason. Boston again failed to make the playoffs in the 2020 season, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021 the Red Sox won 92 games, which qualified the team for the postseason. Boston advanced to the ALCS, where it lost to the Houston Astros. The team’s play declined in the next several seasons, during which they missed the playoffs each year.