Breaking the Curse of the Bambino (2004)

Lore & Background

The term 'curse of the Bambino' was not in common use until the publication of the book The Curse of the Bambino by Dan Shaughnessy in 1990. The curse first appears at the end of chapter two in a letter to Mr. Shaughnessy from Rev. Darrell Berger of the First Parish Unitarian Church in Scituate, Massachusetts. In standard curse lore, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee used the proceeds from the sale of Babe Ruth to finance the production of a Broadway musical, usually said to be No, No, Nanette, though the musical did not see its first performance until five years after the Ruth sale and two years after Frazee sold the Red Sox. Yankee fans taunted the Red Sox with chants of '1918!' starting in September 1990.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Fenway Park was thick with a humidity that felt heavier than usual, charged with eighty-six years of silence finally breaking. In the dugout, the tension from the previous three losses against the Yankees hung like smoke, but the mood shifted when Ortiz stepped to the plate in Game 4 of the ALCS. As the ball left his bat and soared into the night sky, a roar rose from the stands that seemed to shake the foundations of the Green Monster. It wasn't just a home run; it was an exorcism. When the final out of the World Series was recorded days later against the Cardinals, the celebration spilled onto the field—a chaotic sea of red and white where players wept openly, touching the dirt as if to confirm that this victory, unlike so many before, was real.

Reader's Guide

The curse ended when the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series. The Red Sox's championship was prefaced by them overcoming a 3–0 deficit against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS. After the World Series that year, a road sign on Longfellow Bridge that had been graffitied to read 'Reverse The Curse' was edited to read 'Reversed Curse' before its removal. On the 20th anniversary of their World Series win, the sign was displayed on a duck boat during the Red Sox 2024 home opener parade.

Did You Know?

• The curse was named after Babe Ruth, colloquially known as 'The Bambino', who played for the Red Sox until his contract was sold to the New York Yankees in 1920.
• Prior to the drought, the Red Sox won five of the first fifteen World Series titles, including the first in 1903.
• The Red Sox overcame a 3–0 deficit against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS, the first and, as of 2025, only time an MLB team won a best-of-seven playoff series after losing the first three games.
• A 'reverse curve' road sign on Longfellow Bridge was graffitied to read 'Reverse The Curse' and officials left it in place until the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series.