'Back to Foulke!' Watch Red Sox break curse
Ian Browne
@IanMBrowneCould it be any more fitting that the first lunar eclipse in the history of the World Series happened at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Oct. 27, 2004?
That was the night the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years, and it was a magical occasion for all those who had followed the team for so long.
Spoiler alert: Johnny Damon sets the tone when he leads off the game with a home run.
And you won’t want to miss Derek Lowe’s stunning resurgence from mop-up man at the start of the playoffs to the red-hot sinkerballer who would clinch the wins in all three playoff series.
For the Red Sox, this is the night they no longer would be tormented about the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees, Ted Williams losing in his only World Series appearance in 1946, the Impossible Dream falling just short of a trophy in ’67, the near miss against the Reds in ’75, the Bucky Dent pop fly of a home run in ’78, the catastrophe at Shea Stadium in ’86 or the Aaron Boone Game 7 walk-off from ’03.
This was a cathartic evening in which an entire nation of fans celebrated.
“I remember standing at third base and looking in the stands and saying, ‘I can’t believe it, we’re going to be World Series champions.’ Just seeing the Boston Red Sox fans stand up in Busch Stadium,” remembers third baseman Bill Mueller. “I’m like, ‘Man, I never want to forget how I’m feeling right now at this moment.’ That was a dream come true.”
For the Red Sox, the dream-turned-reality continued with titles in 2007, ’13 and ’18. Boston is the only team to win the World Series four times in the 21st century.
And it all started on a Wednesday night in St. Louis 16 years ago under a blood-red moon.
“Back to Foulke!” FOX broadcaster Joe Buck said in calling the final sequence of that World Series. “Red Sox fans have longed to hear it! The Boston Red Sox are world champions.”