The Red Sox Before the Babe: Boston’s Early Days in the American League, 1901-1914

Until 2004, when the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series Championship in 86 years, the team had been plagued by the Curse of the Bambino, a mythical drought attributed to the team’s loss of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. Though Ruth was a star pitcher in Boston, he was merely continuing a 14-year tradition of the club’s strong arms and bats. With rosters that included Cy Young, Jimmy Collins, Jesse Burkett, Jack Chesbro, Big Bill Dinneen, Smoky Joe Wood and Tris Speaker, among others, the young franchise powered its way to three pennants and a couple of world championships before Babe arrived in Beantown. This book covers the team’s early years from the diamond to the executive offices.