For nearly a century, the Red Sox were defined by futility and near misses.
From crushing losses in the 1940s to the heartbreak of 1975, from Bucky Dent in 1978 to the infamous “Buckner Game” in 1986 and Aaron Boone’s blast in 2003, Boston fans knew what it meant to lose painfully. All of it was blamed on the “Curse of the Bambino,” a hex said to have haunted the team ever since they traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920. Their archrivals flourished while the Sox struggled to escape the curse’s grip.
But 20 years ago, everything changed.