The Boston Red Sox are one of the most well known baseball teams in Major League Baseball and have a rich history that dates all the way back to the start of the twentieth century. They currently play in the East Division in the MLB and are one of the better teams in the league. They play all of their home games in one of the most well-known stadiums in America, Fenway Park. Fenway Park is one of the very oldest baseball stadiums in the nation. The Boston Red Sox have won the World Series a total of six times and are planning on adding to that number in the near future.
As far as team history goes, the team was formed in 1901 as the Boston Americans. They went on to win their first of multiple World Series in 1903 (while still known as the Boston Americans) but later changed the franchise name to the Boston Red Sox in 1907. The team's official first home field was the Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds which they used up until April 20, 1912 when Fenway Park was built.
To give a quick overview of the franchise highs and lows, the Boston Red Sox have won seven World Series titles in the years 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, 2004, and 2007. Between 1918 and 2004 the Boston Red Sox had an 86 year drought of not winning the World Series. In baseball lore, this is often called the "Curse of the Bambino". This "curse" was said to have been placed on the Boston Red Sox after they traded Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920. Not only was this considered one of the worst moves in the history of Red Sox management, it is also one of the things that has fueled the great Boston Red Sox/New York Yankees rivalry.
The "Curse of the Bambino" was lifted in 2004, however, when the Red Sox finally captured another World Series. They beat out the Cardinals in order to get this win and were even graced with a "lucky" lunar eclipse during game 4. The team then solidified their breaking of the curse by winning yet another World Series title in 2007 when they beat the Colorado Rockies.
Other notable achievements for the Boston Red Sox include that they have won over a dozen American League Pennants and a number of East Division Titles. They have also won the Wild Card berth five times.
The Red Sox did not fare very well in the twenties and thirties and the team didn't start looking up the team was bought by Tom Yawkey. Over the years that Tom was in charge, the Red Sox had some memorable players such as Ted Williams, who was considered one of the greatest hitters to ever grace the league.
The Red Sox have retired a total of six numbers so far with Ted Williams being one of them. Other notable Red Sox players to have their numbers retired are Carlton Fisk, Carl Yastrzemski, Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, and Jackie Robinson.