BOSTON, 30 October 2004 — Proclaiming a generations-old curse lifted, bleary-eyed but euphoric Red Sox fans on Thursday savored the joy of a World Series victory that ended an 86-year championship drought.
Under a total lunar eclipse on Wednesday in St. Louis, the Boston Red Sox completed a four-game sweep of the Cardinals to win their first World Series title since 1918 — when World War I was in its dying days and television, the car radio and bubble gum had yet to be invented.
In doing so, Boston exorcised the “Curse of the Bambino” which some believe has prevented the Red Sox from winning a World Series since BoSox owner Harry Frazee made a big mistake and sold a young Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees.
“It’s about time,” said Kevin Flanagan, owner of the Cranmore Mountain Inn in North Conway, New Hampshire, an establishment once owned by Ruth’s daughter.
A lifelong Red Sox fan, Flanagan had mixed feelings about the championship: One of the inn’s features — the slugger’s old bedroom — may have just lost some of its luster.
“We kind of liked the curse of the Babe because we had his bedroom up here. There are so many people who came up and stayed here to break the curse. Now,” he sniffed, “it’s broken.” Some fans seemed in awe that they had witnessed something their forebears could only dream about.
Lisa Sjostrom of Cambridge said when the last out was recorded in St. Louis, she immediately thought of her late grandfather and late uncle. “The first thing I did was yell out: ‘Grampa, Uncle Dick, they won!’” she said. “It felt really sweet to say that.”
Around New England, Red Sox faithful snapped up T-shirts, baseball caps — anything to serve as a souvenir. The Boston Globe, nearly doubling its normal Thursday press run, printed a million copies of its “Victory Edition” with the simple headline “YES!!!”
Hundreds of fans gathered around Boston’s shrine-like Fenway Park earlier on Thursday to welcome home their club, and city and team officials prepared a celebratory parade today expected to draw at least three million well-wishers from around the region.
Police announced they had arrested at least 39 people and said at least 49 people had suffered injuries in celebrations after Wednesday’s win. Officers acted aggressively to avert a repeat of the deadly violence that erupted last week when the Red Sox beat their archrivals, the Yankees, to advance to the World Series. In that melee, a college student was killed after being struck by a projectile holding pepper spray fired by police. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner congratulated Boston but signaled no end to the bitter rivalry.
“The Red Sox deserve all the credit for what they have accomplished. But make no mistake about it. We are hard at work and will be back with a strong team for our loyal New York Yankee fans,” Steinbrenner said in a statement.
In the final innings of the US presidential race, Democratic contender and Bostonian Sen. John Kerry took heart from the result as he battled President George W. Bush for the White House ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Bush, meanwhile, got a plug from Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, a born-again Christian whose gutsy performance despite an ankle injury helped propel the club to victory.
Washington Stadium Will Cost More, Mayor Told
Meanwhile, a new stadium for Major League Baseball in Washington D.C. will cost around $90 million more than the mayor expects, the city’s independent chief financial officer told the City Council on Thursday. Natwar Gandhi told council members that Washington would have to sell around $500 million in revenue bonds to build the new stadium not the $410 million Mayor Anthony Williams proposed.
Last month, Major League Baseball selected Washington as the new home for the Montreal Expos starting from the 2005 season.
Initially, the team will play at the RFK Stadium, which opened in the 1960s. Williams has promised Major League Baseball a new stadium on the Anacostia River, fully funded by the city. “Funds are sufficient in the 2005 budget to implement the Ballpark Act ... There will be risks, however,” Gandhi said in prepared testimony. Eric Price, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, dismissed Gandhi’s assessment, saying he was being “conservative”. Gandhi’s testimony was part of what is expected to be the largest public hearing ever in Washington. About 230 people signed up to speak on the controversial baseball plan, and the council said it expected the hearing to last beyond midnight.
