<P> Boston was a dominant team in the new league, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first World Series in 1903 and winning four more championships by 1918 . However, they then went into one of the longest championship droughts in baseball history, dubbed the "Curse of the Bambino" after its alleged inception due to the Red Sox' sale of Babe Ruth to the rival New York Yankees two years after their world championship in 1918, an 86 - year wait before the team's sixth World Championship in 2004 . The team's history during that period was punctuated with some of the most memorable moments in World Series history, including Enos Slaughter's "mad dash" in 1946, the "Impossible Dream" of 1967, Carlton Fisk's home run in 1975, and Bill Buckner's error in 1986 . Following their victory in the 2018 World Series, they became the first team to win four World Series trophies in the 21st century, including championships in 2004, 2007 and 2013 . Red Sox history has also been marked by the team's intense rivalry with the Yankees, arguably the fiercest and most historic in North American professional sports . </P> <P> The Boston Red Sox are owned by Fenway Sports Group, which also owns Liverpool F.C. of the Premier League in England . The Red Sox are consistently one of the top MLB teams in average road attendance, while the small capacity of Fenway Park prevents them from leading in overall attendance . From May 15, 2003 to April 10, 2013, the Red Sox sold out every home game--a total of 820 games (794 regular season) for a major professional sports record . Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" has become an anthem for the Red Sox . </P> <P> The name Red Sox, chosen by owner John I. Taylor after the 1907 season, refers to the red hose in the team uniform beginning in 1908 . Sox had been previously adopted for the Chicago White Sox by newspapers needing a headline - friendly form of Stockings, as "Stockings Win!" in large type did not fit in a column . The team name "Red Sox" had previously been used as early as 1888 by a' colored' team from Norfolk, Virginia . The Spanish language media sometimes refers to the team as Medias Rojas, a translation of "red socks". The official Spanish site uses the variant "Los Red Sox". </P> <P> The Red Stockings nickname was first used by a baseball team by the Cincinnati Red Stockings, who were members of the pioneering National Association of Base Ball Players . Managed by Harry Wright, Cincinnati adopted a uniform with white knickers and red stockings and earned the famous nickname, a year or two before hiring the first fully professional team in 1869 . When the club folded after the 1870 season, Wright was hired by Boston businessman Ivers Whitney Adams to organize a new team in Boston, and he did, bringing three teammates and the "Red Stockings" nickname along (Most nicknames were then only nicknames, neither club names nor registered trademarks, so the migration was informal). The Boston Red Stockings won four championships in the five seasons of the new National Association, the first professional league . </P>

Where does the name red sox come from