Rich histories of Sox, Dodgers intertwined often

The Red Sox and Dodgers will meet in the World Series, beginning with Game 1 on Tuesday night at Fenway Park. The storied franchises each have long and rich histories, and there are several ties connecting them as they prepare to play each other in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1916. Here's a look at those links, from that Series 102 years ago to the players and managers on the current rosters.
1916 World Series
The 1916 World Series pitted the Red Sox against the Brooklyn Robins, as the team was known then (Dodgers wouldn't become an official name until the '30s).
:: World Series schedule and results ::
Boston took the series, 4-1, but in highly competitive fashion. In Game 1, the Sox nearly coughed up a 6-1 lead in the ninth before escaping with a one-run win. In Game 2, a pitcher by the name of Babe Ruth -- making his World Series debut -- twirled a 14-inning complete game, and Del Gainer won it with a walk-off single. The Robins got one back with a 4-3 win in Game 3, but the Sox roared back to win Game 4 behind Dutch Leonard's complete game and Larry Gardner's three-run, inside-the-park homer in the second inning. Ernie Shore finished the job in Game 5 by allowing only an unearned run in a complete-game, 4-1 victory.
That gave Boston its fourth World Series title and its third in five years. The Sox won another in 1918 before selling Ruth to the Yankees in '19. The Red Sox did not win another championship for 86 years. Ruth went on to hit 659 home runs for New York. And during the Red Sox's championship drought from 1918-2004, the Yankees won 26 World Series titles.
Meanwhile, this was Brooklyn's first World Series appearance, and the franchise lost the Fall Classic six more times before winning its first in 1955.
• Fun facts about the only other Red Sox-Dodgers WS
1939: Dodgers acquire Pee Wee Reese in trade with Red Sox
Brooklyn traded for the future Hall of Fame infielder for players to be named and $35,000. The players sent to Boston were Red Evans and Art Parks. Reese made his Major League debut the following year and became a 10-time All-Star and key member of the 1955 World Series championship club. Neither Evans nor Parks appeared in the Majors after joining the Red Sox that September.

Common players and managers
There have been many players who have donned both the Red Sox and Dodgers uniforms over the years, including some very notable figures.
This year's World Series managers were actually teammates on the Dodgers, and each also played for the Red Sox. Alex Cora was an infielder with Los Angeles from 1998-2004, overlapping with outfielder Dave Roberts' Dodgers tenure, which was from 2002-04. Roberts was traded to Boston at the non-waiver Trade Deadline and will forever be remembered for one of the most famous stolen bases in postseason history.

The steal came in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, when he stole second base in the ninth inning with the Red Sox trailing the Yankees, 4-3. Bill Mueller (who also played for both the Dodgers and Red Sox during his career) singled home Roberts to tie the game. Trailing in the series, 3-0, Boston reeled off four straight victories to defeat New York on its way to winning its first World Series since 1918.

Another member of the '04 Red Sox who played for both Boston and Los Angeles is Manny Ramirez. The slugger was the 2004 World Series MVP and helped the franchise win another title in '07 before being traded to the Dodgers in July 2008. He hit 17 homers with a 1.232 OPS in 53 games down the stretch, helping Los Angeles reach the National League Championship Series, launching four homers as the Dodgers lost in five games to the Phillies.

Among players currently on one of the two World Series teams, Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill pitched for the Red Sox from 2010-12 and again for four starts in '15. Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi was drafted by the Dodgers in 2008 and pitched for Los Angeles from 2011-12. The Dodgers traded Eovaldi to the Marlins in July 2012 as part of the package to acquire shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who joined the Red Sox in free agency two years later.
Dick Williams played for the Dodgers from 1951-56 and for the Red Sox from 1963 to '64. Just three seasons later, he was Boston's manager, leading the club to an AL pennant in a season dubbed "the impossible dream." It was the first winning season for the Red Sox since 1959. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a manager in 2008 by the Veteran's Committee.
Another manager for both clubs was Grady Little, who managed Boston from 2002-03 and Los Angeles from 2006-07. In Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, Little infamously left starter Pedro Martinez in the game to face Jorge Posada with the Red Sox ahead, 5-3, in the eighth inning. Martinez gave up a two-run, game-tying double, and the Yankees won the pennant on Aaron Boone's walk-off homer off Tim Wakefield in the 11th. Little led the Dodgers to the postseason in his first year at the helm, but they were swept in the '06 NL Division Series by the Mets.
Both Pedro and Ramon Martinez pitched for the Dodgers and the Red Sox during their careers. Ramon pitched for Los Angeles from 1988-98 and for Boston from 1999-2000, posting a 3.62 ERA over that span. Pedro made his Major League debut with the Dodgers in 1992. After two seasons with Los Angeles and four seasons with Montreal, he joined the Red Sox in '98. From 1998-2004, he was the most dominant pitcher in the AL, winning two of his three Cy Young Awards and helping Boston break its 86-year championship drought.

In 1995, Hideo Nomo took the baseball world by storm by being named an All-Star, the NL Rookie of the Year, and finishing fourth in NL Cy Young voting after the Dodgers signed him out of Japan. He threw a no-hitter at Coors Field the following season, still the only no-hitter ever thrown in that ballpark. Nomo pitched seven seasons for the Dodgers. Nomo joined the Red Sox in 2001 and threw his second career no-hitter on April 4 in his Sox debut.
Other notable players who spent time with both the Red Sox and Dodgers are Reggie Smith, Bill Buckner, Rickey Henderson, David Wells, Eric Gagne, Nomar Garciaparra, Josh Beckett, Adrián Beltré, Carl Crawford, Adrián González, Derek Lowe, J.D. Drew, Shane Victorino, David Ross and Josh Reddick.
2012: Blockbuster trade
In August 2012, Boston sent Beckett, Crawford, Gonzalez, Nick Punto and cash to Los Angeles in exchange for Iván De Jesús Jr., Rubby De La Rosa, James Loney, Jerry Sands and Allen Webster. The move resulted in roughly $250 million of salary relief for the Red Sox. Crawford, a four-time All-Star, played four injury-plagued seasons with the Dodgers before they released him in June 2016.

Interleague Play
The Dodgers and Red Sox have met 15 times during the regular season, first in 2002 and most recently in '16. Boston has an 8-7 edge, going 5-1 at Fenway Park.
The teams' first regular-season meeting, on June 21, 2002, featured both Roberts and Cora in the Dodgers' starting lineup -- the former leading off in center field and the latter batting eighth and playing shortstop.
The most recent meeting, at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 7, 2016, was an 8-5 Dodgers win that included many players still on each roster.
On March 29, 2008, the Red Sox and Dodgers played before 115,300 at the Los Angeles Coliseum, setting the MLB attendance record.