Breaking the Curse of the Bambino (2004)

Lore & Background

Although the selling of Ruth has often been noted as the beginning of the Red Sox's decline, 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. It became a key part of Red Sox lore in the media thereafter, and Shaughnessy's book became required reading in some high school English classes in New England. 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.

As an avid fan and occasional baseball writer and broadcaster whose congregation dates from Puritan times, he was in a unique position to place the frustration of Red Sox fans into historical prospective. He replies to Mr. Shaughnessy's inquiry as to why "curse" is an applicable term, citing The House of the Seven Gables, a tale of how one's continuing ill fortune can be spun into a curse.

Reader's Guide

The curse had been such a part of Boston culture that when a "reverse curve" road sign on Longfellow Bridge over the city's Storrow Drive was graffitied to read "Reverse The Curse", officials left it in place until the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series. After the World Series that year, the road sign was edited to read "Reversed Curse" in celebration 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.