It was 96 years ago that Harry Frazee, a theatrical promoter and co-owner of the Red Sox, made the most regrettable decision in Boston's storied baseball history.
In somewhat dire financial straits, and desperate to finance a new Broadway musical - No, No, Nanette, as legend has it - Frazee sold a 24-year-old converted outfielder named George Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000.
Though Ruth, often referred to as "Babe", broke in with the Red Sox as a pitcher, manager Ed Barrow decided to use him primarily in the outfield in 1918 with his roster decimated by the demands of World War I. Barrow expected that Ruth would beg to return to the mound the second he found himself in a slump. Instead, the portly Maryland native helped the Red Sox to a World Series title by smashing 11 home runs; the following season, Ruth established a new MLB record by swatting 29 home runs as Boston's primary left fielder.
Still, Frazee needed money for his theatrical endeavors, and with Ruth resolved to re-negotiate his salary amid his exploding popularity, Frazee shipped the burgeoning star to New York ahead of the 1920 campaign - a decision that would haunt the franchise for nearly a century.
(Courtesy: MLB Cut4)
For the next 86 years, the Red Sox went without a championship as the "Curse of the Bambino" plagued Boston, while Ruth, with his prodigious power, would lead the Yankees to four World Series titles and become, arguably, the most celebrated athlete in the history of American professional sports.
And the Red Sox - who, during that stretch, employed the likes of Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Dwight Evans, Jim Rice, and Wade Boggs - seemingly invented new ways to fail, too, giving the infamous curse more credibility with each passing, increasingly unbelievable defeat.
There was, for instance, the 1946 World Series, where the heavily-favored Red Sox fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games, throughout which Williams went 5-for-25 (.200) without an extra-base hit. Then, in 1975, the Red Sox couldn't parlay Carlton Fisk's Game 6 heroics into a championship, dropping the decisive contest to the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3, after squandering a three-run lead. And who could forget the 1986 World Series? (Hint: Not Bill Buckner).
It wasn't until 2004 that the Red Sox, propelled by a historic effort from David Ortiz, finally reversed the curse spawned by Frazee's self-interested business dealings. Since then, they've done a pretty good job making up for lost time: The Red Sox have won three World Series championships in the last 11 years, tying them with the San Francisco Giants for the most titles over that span.
