The Sign that Broke a Century-Old Curse

By D. Westphalen

The Boston Red Sox are one of the oldest teams in Major league baseball, having won five championships from 1903-1918. Boston's success was mainly due to Babe Ruth, the "Bambino", who is considered to be the best baseball player ever. In 1920, the Red Sox's manager traded Ruth away to the New York Yankees for a considerably large amount of money. Not only did this trade begin the rivalry between both teams, but it also created the Curse of the Bambino, where Boston did not win a single championship for almost a hundred years.

Boston is a city that gambles a lot with luck and superstition. After all, it is only a few kilometers away from Salem, home to the Witch Trials. Throughout the 20th century, various attempts were made to break this curse, some fans even went to the extent of burning a cap at the peak of mount everest, unfortunately none of the methods had been successes.

In the 1990's, a sign that read "Reverse Curve" on a Boston Highway had been graffitied to become "Reverse the Curse", referring to the Curse of the Bambino, but it was soon taken down by officials. In 2003, the sign was vandalised again, just after the Red Sox had a heartbreaking loss to the Yankees in the American League Championship. Officials decided to not clean the sign, as they too wanted the curse to be broken.

Throughout the following year, the sign became a landmark of Boston, something that brought the city together. Like the previous year, in 2004 the Red Sox had a strong campaign and reached the American League Championship, once again against the Yankees. The Red Sox, led by David Ortiz, pulled of the impossible in Game 4 and won the ALCS, then went on to win the World Series; breaking the Curse of the Bambino.

Until today, the 2004 Red Sox are regarded as one of the best teams in the history of baseball, and many wonder if it was somehow due a vandalized sign.