A Basic History of the Boston Red Sox Baseball Team

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team. The Red Sox play in the East Division of the American League of Major League Baseball.

The Boston Red Sox play their home games in one of the most historic stadiums in the nation, Fenway Park. Fenway, the oldest baseball stadium still being used, was opened on April 20, 1912.

The franchise was founded in 1901 as the Boston Americans. The team won the first World Series in 1903 as the Boston Americans, but the franchise switched the name to the Red Sox following the 1907 season.

Before playing their home games in Fenway Park, the team played its home games in Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds from 1901-1911.

The Boston Red Sox franchise has won a total of eleven American League Pennants in 1903, 1904, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, 1946, 1967, 1975, 1986, and 2004. The team won the World Series on six different occasions in 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, and 2004. The Red Sox 86-year span between World Series wins from 1918-2004 was consistently one of the most talked about things in baseball.

Since the Boston Red Sox became a part of the East Division in 1969, the team has also won five East Division titles in 1975, 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1995. The Red Sox won the Wild Card berth in 1998, 1999, and 2003-2005.

The current Boston Red Sox team is owned by John Henry and Tom Werner. The general manager is Theo Epstein, and the manager is Terry Francona.

The Boston Red Sox have a total of six numbers retired, one of which is number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson. The five Boston Red Sox players to have their numbers retired are Bobby Doerr - 1, Joe Cronin - 4, Carl Yastrzemski - 8, Ted Williams - 9, and Carlton Fisk - 27. In order to have a number retired by the Boston Red Sox, the player must be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and have played at least 10 years for the Red Sox.

Wade Boggs, Jimmy Collins, Harry Hooper, Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, Ted Williams, and Carl Yastrzemski were all inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as Boston Red Sox. Rick Ferrell, Carlton Fisk, Jimmy Foxx, and Lefty Grove all also wear a Boston Red Sox cap on their Hall of Fame plaque, but these four players actually spent more time during their career playing for other teams.