New York Yankees purchased Babe Ruth 99 years ago today

On December 26, 1919, the Boston Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, triggering the most lopsided rivalry in the history of sports.

Before the New York Yankees went on an 84-year run in which they won 27 World Series titles, the Boston Red Sox, with Babe Ruth on their side, had the edge. You see, prior to 1919, the Red Sox had FIVE championships and it was the Yankees who had none.

The tides changed on this date, December 26, 1919, when the Boston Red Sox agreed to sell Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for a mere $125K and a $300K mortgage on Fenway Park.

To this point, Ruth led the Red Sox to THREE world titles in FOUR years (1915, 1917, and 1918), he set the single-season HR record in 1918 (11) before breaking it in 1919 (29), and set the longest scoreless innings streak for a pitcher in the World Series in baseball (29.2 IP). A record that would stand for 43 years..

Ruth had established himself as the game’s most dominant player, and perhaps thinking that it couldn’t get any better, Red Sox owner decided trade him away for a chance at… theatre?

According to legend, in 1919, Harry Frazee, who was a New York based theatre owner, director, and producer, sold the “Babe” in order to finance the production of No, No, Nannette.

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Perhaps it’s coincidence, but from the moment Ruth put on the Pinstripes, the tides between both organizations, the Red Sox and the Yankees, changed for generations to come. It came to be known as the “Curse of the Bambino.”

In his tenure with the Yankees, Ruth broke his single-season HR record three more times. Recognizing Ruth’s dominance at the plate, the Yankees decided that he should abandon pitching altogether. He would go on to swat 659 HR by hitting .349 with a .484 OBP and a .711 SLG in 15 years with the Yankees. In that time span, Ruth led the Bronx Bombers to four titles in seven attempts.

For the next 86 years, the New York  Yankees would average a championship every THREE years or so, perhaps the most dominant run in baseball history. The Red Sox would become the “lovable losers,” always waiting for the next shoe to drop.

In 2004, everything changed. After losing three straight games to the Yankees in the ALCS – game THREE would be to a daunting, yet somehow meaningful score of 19-8 (closely resembles the last time the Red Sox had won a title, 1918) – the self-proclaimed “idiots” would go on to win the next FOUR games to make it to the World Series.

The rest is history.

Since 2004, the Red Sox have been the best team in baseball, winning FOUR titles against the Yankees’ ONE.

The “Curse of the Bambino” is no more.