ftoc.qxd 2/1/06 1:16 PM Page vii
Contents
Cecilia’s Preface xi Bill’s Preface xv 1 October 2, 1903: Pittsburgh at Boston 1 First Act In which Big Bill Dinneen tallies the first of his three victories in the first modern World Series 2 October 13, 1903: Pittsburgh at Boston 5 Fever Pitch In which a bloody baseball buzzes by the Flying Dutchman 3 May 5, 1904: Philadelphia at Boston 9 Farmer Young Feeling His Oats In which “No Quaker Gets Far as First Base” 4 October 10, 1904: Boston at New York 15 Capture the Flag In which the Olde Towne Team prevails in their first pennant race against their rivals from Gotham 5 July 29, 1911: St. Louis at Boston 21 Throwing Smoke In which Howard Ellsworth Wood achieves mound mastery 6 October 12, 1912: New York at Boston 25 Taking the Fifth In which a rookie bests the Christian Gentleman 7 October 16, 1912: New York at Boston 29 To Err Is Human In which Fred Snodgrass etches his name in baseball parlance 8 October 9, 1915: Boston at Philadelphia 35 Foster Home In which a pitcher allows three hits and tallies three of his own 9 October 13, COPYRIGHTED1915: Boston at Philadelphia 39 MATERIAL Cinched Tight In which Harry Hooper is the hitting hero 10 October 9, 1916: Brooklyn at Boston 43 Leftist Duel In which a big southpaw must record 42 outs to earn a World Series win 11 June 23, 1917: Washington at Boston 48 What a Relief! In which the Carolina professor picks up the ball the Babe dropped 12 September 5, 1918: Boston at Chicago 51 Wartime In which a lone run is all the Babe needs
◆ vii ftoc.qxd 2/1/06 1:16 PM Page viii
viii ◆ Contents
13 September 11, 1918: Chicago at Boston 53 Bittersweet In which Boston seals a fifth championship under dire circumstances 14 September 5, 1927: New York at Boston 57 New York Marathon In which fans crash the gates to see the home-run race and are treated to an 18-inning marathon 15 September 12, 1931: Detroit at Boston 60 Bullheaded In which a curveballing Carolinian completes a contest 16 September 28, 1941: Boston at Philadelphia 63 Splendid In which the greatest hitter who ever lived stakes his claim 17 September 13, 1946: Boston at Cleveland 68 Round-Tripper In which a home run is a run home and pennant clincher at the same time 18 October 6, 1946: Boston at St. Louis 72 Glory Days In which Boston returns to the championship stage after a 27-year absence 19 October 15, 1946: Boston at St. Louis 77 Dash of Bitters In which the Red Sox are Slaughtered by aggressive baserunning 20 August 17, 1947: Boston at New York 83 Denny’s the Menace In which the workhorse of the staff outpaces New York 21 October 4, 1948: Cleveland at Boston 85 Fit to Be Tied In which the American League flag comes down to winner-take-all 22 June 24, 1949: St. Louis at Boston 90 21-Gun Salute In which Boston delivers a pasting of epic proportions 23 October 1 and 2, 1949: Boston at New York 93 Double Indemnity In which the Olde Towne Team goes to the wire a second year in a row 24 August 28, 1950: Cleveland at Boston 98 Against All Odds In which an 11-run deficit proves surmountable 25 May 18, 1955: Cleveland at Boston 103 Shut Out In which the Tribe sets a record at Boston’s expense 26 September 28, 1960: Baltimore at Boston 105 Exclamation Point In which the Splendid Splinter puts the final mark of punctuation on his career ftoc.qxd 2/1/06 1:16 PM Page ix
Contents ◆ ix
27 June 18, 1961: Washington at Boston 110 Long Shot In which a player goes 2-for-11 in a doubleheader but ties one game and wins another 28 August 1, 1962: Boston at Chicago 112 Sweet Taste In which a native son finds his groove at last 29 October 1, 1967: Minnesota at Boston 117 Boston Glee Party In which a future dentist and the son of a Long Island potato farmer bring the magic back to the Athens of America 30 October 9, 1967: Boston at St. Louis 123 Jim Dandy In which a gentleman proves himself the master of the hill once again 31 October 12, 1967: St. Louis at Boston 126 Heartbreak Hill In which we come to love the impossible 32 October 15, 1975: Boston at Cincinnati 130 Marathon Man In which El Tiante pitches a titanic victory to even the Series 33 October 21, 1975: Cincinnati at Boston 135 All’s Fair In which an immortal moment in time is granted to a native son 34 October 2, 1978: New York at Boston 142 Tie Breaker In which the Sox become the first team in American League history to force a one-game contest for the second time 35 April 29, 1986: Seattle at Boston 146 Whiff of Immortality In which a Hall of Fame career gets off the launch pad 36 October 12, 1986: Boston at California 150 Roller Coaster In which Hendu giveth and Hendu taketh away 37 October 18, 1986: Boston at New York 154 Bright Lights, Big City In which a masterful Mormon gets on his way to becoming Series MVP 38 October 25, 1986: Boston at New York 158 Loyal to a Fault In which a generous impulse leads to a lifelong blot on an excellent career 39 April 12, 1992: Boston at Cleveland 163 No-Win Situation In which a journeyman pitcher succeeds in losing 40 September 2, 1996: Boston at Seattle 166 Green Monster In which a Sox lifer accounts for every tally ftoc.qxd 2/1/06 1:16 PM Page x
x ◆ Contents
41 September 18, 1996: Boston at Detroit 169 Retro-Rocket In which a hurler repeats a singular feat 42 September 10, 1999: Boston at New York 172 Upon This Rock In which a bantamweight Dominican knocks out the Yankees 43 October 16, 1999: New York at Boston 175 Cy Young versus Cy Old In which the mantle passes while the Rocket goes down in flames 44 April 27, 2002: Tampa Bay at Boston 179 How Lowe In which a pitcher sinks to new heights 45 July 23, 2002: Tampa Bay at Boston 183 Birthday Bash In which the franchise player gives Boston a present 46 June 27, 2003: Florida at Boston 186 Hook, Line, and Sinker In which the new-look Red Sox blow the soon-to-be champs out of the water 47 October 6, 2003: Boston at Oakland 191 A-Ball In which the Red Sox take another step toward the Big Dance 48 October 16, 2003: Boston at New York 195 The Hardest Battle In which two ancient foes go to the very brink 49 October 17 and 18, 2004: New York at Boston 199 Sequel In which the stakes are higher and the road harder than ever before 50 October 27, 2004: Boston at St. Louis 206 Hallelujah In which the Red Sox accomplish something many snakebitten fans still remain skeptical ever occurred The 50 Games Ranked 1 to 50 211 The “Other” Greatest Games 214 Acknowledgments 219 Notes on Sources and Technological Advances 220 References 223 Index 229