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The Red Sox, then, were known as the Boston Americans, and won their first World Series in 1903, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5 games to 3. They also won their first American league pennant the same year, and followed up the feat the following year.
The initial successes were followed by a loss of 100 games in 1906. Renamed the Boston Red Sox in 1907, the infusion of the new players helped improve the team immediately. By 1909, they had worked their way up to the third place. However, their next pennant win was in 1912, and the same year, the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Giants 4-3-1 in the classic World Series. Joseph Lannin, who bought the Red Sox in 1913, signed George Herman Ruth, Jr - popularly known as Babe Ruth, and one of the greatest legends of the game – in 1914.
The fortunes smiled on the Red Sox, and they won the AL pennant in 1915, and 1916, along with the World Series, first by beating the Philadelphia Phillies, four games to one, in 1915, and the Brooklyn Robins in 1916. This was the time of the star pitcher – Babe Ruth, and he led them to another AL Pennant win in 1918, and the World Series win over the Chicago Cubs. In 1919, Babe Ruth hit 29 home runs to break Ned Williamson’s record for most home runs in a single season.
On January 20, 1920, Babe Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees, for $125,000, in a straight sale, with no players in return. This sale was considered as the start of the great rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, as the fortunes of the Red Sox took a turn for the worse, and they did not win for the next few decades. The owner of the Red Sox since 1916, Harry Frazee, sold, as well as traded a number of his star players before and after the sale of Babe Ruth, and this led the Red Sox to finish in the second division with poor records in the 1920s and 1930s. They averaged 100 losses per season from 1925 to 1932.
The fortunes of the Red Sox started to turn in 1933, when the new owner, Tom Yawkey, acquired some outstanding players.
The Red Sox have won six World Series titles, eleven AL Pennants, and five Eastern Division titles.
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