There had been two world wars, a long succession of American presidents and generations of Red Sox fans since Boston last won baseball's World Series. On the night of October 27, 2004, that wait finally ended. At Busch Stadium in St. Louis, the Red Sox beat the Cardinals 3–0, completed a four-game sweep and claimed their first championship since 1918.
Their path there had looked almost impossible only a week earlier. Boston trailed the New York Yankees three games to none in the American League Championship Series. In Game Four, the Red Sox were three outs from elimination before Dave Roberts stole second base and the team rallied. Boston won four straight games against New York—the first such comeback from an 0–3 deficit in a Major League Baseball postseason series.
Then came St. Louis. David Ortiz, Manny Ramírez, Pedro Martínez and an entire roster of players helped carry the momentum into the World Series. Derek Lowe pitched seven scoreless innings in the decisive Game Four. Keith Foulke got the last out on a ground ball from Edgar Rentería to first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. The win did not merely settle a season; it lifted a burden that fans had carried through bitter defeats, near misses and the long popular story called the Curse of the Bambino.
The supposed curse was folklore, not a sporting law. Its power came from what the team had failed to do since 1918 and from the cruel ways hope had disappeared. The players of 2004 turned that shared disappointment into one of Boston's defining civic celebrations.
This collection uses openly licensed fan and documentary photographs: a 2004 image of Ortiz during the Yankees comeback, a team photo from the regular season, the championship parade on October 30 and the trophy's presentation at the White House in March 2005. Those later images are labeled as such. Commercial photographs taken at the exact moment of the October 27 final out generally remain copyrighted; they have not been passed off here as freely reusable archival material. Game facts are corroborated by Major League Baseball and the Society for American Baseball Research.
Topic: 2004 Boston Red Sox World Series; Curse of the Bambino; David Ortiz; Manny Ramirez
01 / 08
David Ortiz during the October 2004 comeback
David Ortiz jumps across home plate in this photograph dated October 17, 2004, during the ALCS against the New York Yankees. Boston entered that night three games down in the series. Its dramatic comeback against New York set up the eventual World Series sweep. This is not a photograph of the final out on October 27.
Ken Curtis / Ken Curtis / Flickr community photography / Wikimedia Commons
02 / 08
Gabe Kapler at Fenway in the championship season
Red Sox outfielder Gabe Kapler is shown during the regular season at Fenway Park. A baseball championship requires more than its final game, and this earlier image helps document the roster and atmosphere of 2004. The Commons source dates it to April 20, months before the decisive World Series game.
Cometpants / Patrick McKenna / Personal photograph / Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
03 / 08
Manny Ramírez at Boston’s victory parade
Manny Ramírez rides amid the Red Sox championship celebrations on October 30, 2004. Ramírez was named World Series Most Valuable Player after Boston’s sweep of St. Louis. This fan-made photograph was taken three days after the winning game, when the team returned to a jubilant city.
Photo details
Date
October 30, 2004
Location
Boston, Massachusetts
Photographer / artist
Schmiddy (photographer username)
Archive / collection
Schmiddy original photograph via Wikimedia Commons
Schmiddy (photographer username) / Schmiddy original photograph via Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
04 / 08
Derek Lowe and Pedro Martínez ride through Boston
Pitchers Derek Lowe and Pedro Martínez appear together during the October 30 victory parade. Lowe had thrown seven scoreless innings in the October 27 clincher; Martínez helped Boston win the series in St. Louis. The image is one of the celebrations after the victory, not a photograph taken at Busch Stadium.
Ken Curtis / Ken Curtis original 2004 parade photography / Wikimedia Commons
05 / 08
Closer Keith Foulke celebrates the championship
Keith Foulke smiles during the Red Sox celebration on October 30, 2004. Three days earlier he had fielded Edgar Rentería’s ground ball and tossed it to first for the final out of the World Series. This photograph preserves the days after a moment that ended decades of waiting for Boston fans.
Ken Curtis / Ken Curtis / Flickr parade archive / Wikimedia Commons
06 / 08
Timlin, Foulke and Arroyo on the victory route
Mike Timlin, Keith Foulke and Bronson Arroyo ride together in Boston’s celebration parade. Their presence puts faces to the pitching staff behind the 2004 postseason run. The photograph is dated October 30, three days after the Red Sox swept the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Ken Curtis / Ken Curtis / Flickr parade archive / Wikimedia Commons
07 / 08
Tim Wakefield and the 2004 World Series trophy
Tim Wakefield poses with the World Series trophy during the team’s White House visit on March 2, 2005. The trophy represented Boston’s first championship since 1918. This later ceremony demonstrates the lasting national attention the team received after ending its title drought.
John D. Banusiewicz / U.S. government / U.S. Department of Defense photography / Wikimedia Commons
08 / 08
The World Series champions visit the White House
The 2004 Red Sox championship team visits the White House on March 2, 2005, a few months after winning the World Series. The visit was a ceremonial aftermath of October 27, not part of the original victory night. The U.S. government photograph places the baseball achievement in a broader public memory.
Photo details
Date
March 2, 2005 (later commemoration)
Location
White House, Washington, D.C.
Photographer / artist
Paul Morse, White House photographer
Archive / collection
George W. Bush Presidential Library / U.S. National Archives
