The culture of the Boston Red Sox changed starting with the 1968 season. The franchise was coming off a miracle pennant run—The Impossible Dream year of 1967. When those Red Sox fell just short of winning the World Series there were no recriminations and no talk of a jinx. It was through the ensuing decade, through the repeated frustrations of the 1970s Boston Red Sox, that the dynamic changed.
Boston produced consistently good teams throughout the decade, the best sustained stretch of baseball New England had seen since the days when Babe Ruth still wore a Red Sox uniform. But they never won a World Series title and with the innocence of ‘67 in the rearview mirror, it wasn’t good enough.
With each ensuing heartbreak the demands for the franchise to take the final step escalated, as did the willingness of pundits to come up with bizarre reasons for the failure to do so. The culture of Red Sox Nation that many of us grew up knowing and some us grew into loving—the futile pursuit of a title—was born.
This blog compilation looks at each season in this era of 1968-80, The Heartbreak Decade of Boston Red Sox history. You’ll read about the following…
*How Boston came off the 1967 pennant and established that they were no one-year wonder, continuing to play winning baseball, even if they were off the pace of the league’s elite. Those first four post-Impossible Dream years paved the way for the heartbreak of 1972 and the utter collapse of 1974.
*The long-awaited return to postseason play in 1975, from winning the AL East with room to spare, to ending MLB’s great dynasty of the early 1970s to a heroic battle in the World Series that came up just one run short.
*Injury-riddle disappointment in 1976 and losing a tough AL East race in 1977 set the stage for the worst heartbreak of all—blowing a big division lead against the Yankees and losing an epic one-game playoff in Fenway Park.
*The gradual fade of 1979 and 1980. The Red Sox were still a winning team in those years, but it was apparent the window on winning a World Series had closed.
Each of the following pieces is published on TheSportsNotebook.com and has been edited for this compilation to create a cohesive narrative about the Boston Red Sox of the 1970s. Read about all the key players, the biggest games—regular season and playoffs—that raised fans’ hopes and ultimately left them dashed.
Boston produced consistently good teams throughout the decade, the best sustained stretch of baseball New England had seen since the days when Babe Ruth still wore a Red Sox uniform. But they never won a World Series title and with the innocence of ‘67 in the rearview mirror, it wasn’t good enough.
With each ensuing heartbreak the demands for the franchise to take the final step escalated, as did the willingness of pundits to come up with bizarre reasons for the failure to do so. The culture of Red Sox Nation that many of us grew up knowing and some us grew into loving—the futile pursuit of a title—was born.
This blog compilation looks at each season in this era of 1968-80, The Heartbreak Decade of Boston Red Sox history. You’ll read about the following…
*How Boston came off the 1967 pennant and established that they were no one-year wonder, continuing to play winning baseball, even if they were off the pace of the league’s elite. Those first four post-Impossible Dream years paved the way for the heartbreak of 1972 and the utter collapse of 1974.
*The long-awaited return to postseason play in 1975, from winning the AL East with room to spare, to ending MLB’s great dynasty of the early 1970s to a heroic battle in the World Series that came up just one run short.
*Injury-riddle disappointment in 1976 and losing a tough AL East race in 1977 set the stage for the worst heartbreak of all—blowing a big division lead against the Yankees and losing an epic one-game playoff in Fenway Park.
*The gradual fade of 1979 and 1980. The Red Sox were still a winning team in those years, but it was apparent the window on winning a World Series had closed.
Each of the following pieces is published on TheSportsNotebook.com and has been edited for this compilation to create a cohesive narrative about the Boston Red Sox of the 1970s. Read about all the key players, the biggest games—regular season and playoffs—that raised fans’ hopes and ultimately left them dashed.
