There were generations of Boston Red Sox fans for whom October meant falling dreams and spirits along with the leaves floating to earth. The Red Sox of Ted Williams and Johnny Pesky and Carl Yastrzemski and Carlton Fisk and Fred Lynn and Wade Boggs and Bill Buckner, brought fervent fans to the brink of a […]
Photo Credit : Elise Amendola/AP Photo
There were generations of Boston Red Sox fans for whom October meant falling dreams and spirits along with the leaves floating to earth. The Red Sox of Ted Williams and Johnny Pesky and Carl Yastrzemski and Carlton Fisk and Fred Lynn and Wade Boggs and Bill Buckner, brought fervent fans to the brink of a world championship time and again, only to find heartbreaking loss after heartbreaking loss which made New Englanders wonder if indeed the “Curse of the Bambino” carried an edge of truth.
Today Red Sox Nation, which extends from far northern Aroostook County in Maine, to that vague border south of New Haven, Connecticut, where Yankees fans start to intrude, may not quite understand how hard it is to get to the World Series. After all The Red Sox broke the curse in 2004, and then only three years later, once again rode the Duck Boats through Boston while tens of thousands of fans cheered, thinking no doubt they were about to become New England’s own baseball dynasty.
Maybe that is why this year’s bearded bunch won the hearts not only of newcomers to the Nation, but all those who remember the heartbreaks. Only a year ago, the Red Sox were the burnt toast of the town—the team nobody wanted—and with good cause. They were a dysfunctional and disheartened team, hard to root for, all but impossible to love. Plus they lost and lost and lost.
New England has always been about resilience and redemption, and this team rode the emotional turmoil of the Boston Marathon bombing and recaptured a region with its pluck, talent and improbable tale of last to first.
The Red Sox won the 2013 World Series, proving that the old ballpark still has magic.
Click through this slide show for links to some of Yankee Magazine’s favorite Red Sox themed stories.
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Mel Allen
Now editor at large, Mel Allen's first byline in Yankee appeared in 1977 and he joined the staff in 1979 as a senior editor. Eventually he became executive editor and led the staff as editor from 2006 to 2025. During his career he has edited and written for every section of the magazine, including home, food, and travel, while his pursuit of long-form storytelling has always been vital to his mission as well. He has raced a sled dog team, crawled into the dens of black bears, fished with the legendary Ted Williams, profiled astronaut Alan Shephard, and stood beneath a battleship before it was launched. He also once helped author Stephen King round up his pigs for market, but that story is for another day.
