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A Chronological History of Amazing Boston Red Sox Losses, Remarkable Collapses and Other Record Breaking Feats
1900- | 1910- | 1920- | 1930-1939 | 1940- | 1950- | 1960- | 1970- | 1980- | 1990- | 2000-1930 52-102, last place in the American League, 50 games back of the Philadelphia Athletics
May 6, 1930: Boston traded Red Ruffing to New York for OF Cedric Durst and cash. Ruffing went 231-124 for the Yankees over fifteen seasons. Durst retired after hitting .245 for the '30 Red Sox.
May 17-May 31, 1930: The Sox lost, 3-2, to the Yankees on May 17, and 5-2 on May 31. They did not win a game in between, representing a fourteen game losing streak. Boston was swept in five games at Washington between May 21 and May 25.
July 9, 1930: The Red Sox lost, 5-2, to the Senators. It was Washington's eleventh straight victory over Boston.
Between July 4 and August 10, 1906, Boston played 41 games. They won nine and lost 32.
August 30-September 6, 1930: Boston had an eight game losing streak. It was the third time during the 1930 season that they lost eight or more games in a row.
September 28, 1930: Babe Ruth returned to the mound at Fenway park, pitching a complete game and winning 9-3 over the Red Sox.
Boston finished the season in last place, fifty games out -- their sixth consecutive season occupying the cellar of the American League. They had 52 wins and 102 losses. Boston went 4-18 against the Athletics. SS Hal Rhyne batted .203. The pitching staff included two twenty-game losers, and struck out a total of only 356 batters. In comparison, the Philadelphia pitching duo of George Earnshaw and Lefty Grove struck out 402. It was the fifth consecutive year that a Red Sox pitcher led the league in losses; Paul Zahniser (6-18 in 1926), Slimm Harriss (14-21 in 1927), Red Ruffing (10-25 in 1928 and 9-22 in 1929), Milt Gaston and Jack Russell (13-20 and 9-20 in 1930).
1931 62-90, tied for 5th place in the AL, 45 games back of the Philadelphia Athletics
June 23, 1931: The Indians beat the Red Sox in both games of a doubleheader, 13-0 and 10-0. Clint Brown pitched the first game, and Willis Hudlin pitched the second.
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August 8, 1931: Washington Senator's sidearm pitcher Bobby Burke no-hit the Red Sox, winning 5-0. 2B Urbane Pickering was the only Boston batter to advance past first base.
September 1, 1931: In the first half of a doubleheader, Lou Gehrig hit a homer in the seventh inning during an 11-3 Yankees victory over the Red Sox. In the second game, he hit a grand slam in the third inning off of Ed Morris. It was Gehrig's third grand slam in four days, and his sixth consecutive game with a home run. New York won the second game, 5-1.
September 24, 1931: Philadelphia's Lefty Grove won his 31st game of the year, beating the Red Sox, 9-4. It was his eleventh straight win versus Boston (dating back to May 26, 1930).
Milt Gaston lost twelve consecutive games and finished the season 2-13.
1932 43-111, last place in the American League, 64 games back of the New York Yankees
April 28 - June 2, 1932: The Red Sox played 31 games over this period of time, winning four and losing 27. Between May 17 and July 8, the Red Sox played 49 games, and allowed an average of seven runs per game.
July 3, 1932: After laws restricting Sunday games within 1000 feet of a church in Boston were changed, the Red Sox lost to the Yankees 13-2 in the first Sunday game played at Fenway Park.
August 10, 1932: The Red Sox were mathematically eliminated from the American League race when they lost to Detroit, 6-2 (their eleventh loss in a row). 1932 represented the eighth consecutive year in which Boston was knocked out of contention prior to the start of September.
September 2, 1932: Philadelphia beat Boston, 7-3, in the first game of a doubleheader, and 15-0 in the second game.
During 1932, eighteen players pitched for Boston. Only one, Ivy Andrews (whom they received in a mid-season trade with the Yankees), had a winning record. The team ERA was 5.02. The Red Sox started off 11-46 and finished the season with a .279 winning percentage (43-111) in last place, 64 games behind New York. This represents one of the four worst seasons in the history of the American League. The Red Sox won only sixteen games on the road; their record was 1-10 in Cleveland, 1-10 in Detroit, 1-10 in New York, and 1-10 in Philadelphia. Between 1925 and 1932, their record against the Athletics was 38-135 (.220). In 1932, the Red Sox scored the least runs (566) and allowed the most (915) in the league. During the month of May, Boston played 25 games and was outscored by 93 runs. It was the eighth consecutive year that Red Sox had the worst offense in the AL. They drew fewer than 200,000 fans in 1932.
1933 63-86, 7th place in the American League, 34-1/2 games back of the Washington Senators
February 25, 1933: Robert Quinn sold the Red Sox to Tom Yawkey for $1.2 million.
The Red Sox started the season by losing a pair of games at Yankee Stadium. They ended April by losing another pair of games at the Stadium, dropping their record to 4-11. Entering May, they stood seven games back of New York in the American League standings.
June 6, 1933: New York's Herb Pennock pitched an eleven inning, 4-0, shutout over the Red Sox in the first half of a doubleheader. Don Brennan won the second half for the Yanks, 8-4.
June 18, 1933: Cleveland's Oral Hildebrand shutout Boston, 7-0, in the first game of a doubleheader. Mel Harder shut them out, 4-0, in the second game.
July 1933: The Boston Red Sox went 16-10 for the month. It was the first month in which they had a winning record since October 1929, when they went 2-0.
August 11, 1933: The Washington Senators scored six runs in the top of the ninth inning to beat the Red Sox 8-4.
August 18-23, 1933: The Red Sox were swept in five games at Cleveland.
October 1, 1933: Babe Ruth pitched a complete game, earned the win (6-5), and hit a home run against Boston.
Roy Johnson committed 25 errors while playing outfield. The team had a total of 206, the worst in the majors. For the fifteenth consecutive season, Boston had a losing record. They were 1-9 against the Senators at Fenway (4-17 overall). The 1933 Red Sox were 14-33 in one-run games.
1934 76-76, 4th place in the American League, 24 games back of the Detroit Tigers
Fenway Park underwent renovations, including the addition of the 37-foot wall in left field (it was covered with ads until 1947 when it was painted green and dubbed "The Green Monster"). The rebuilt Fenway Park opened on April 17, 1934, as the Red Sox lost to the Washington Senators 6-5 in their newly refurbished home.
April 18, 1934: When the Senators beat the Red Sox (5-4) at Fenway, it represented their fourteenth consecutive victory over Boston -- dating back to June 8, 1933.
June 6, 1934: Yankees outfielder Myril Hoag tied the AL record with six singles in six at-bats against the Red Sox. New York had 25 hits, winning 15-3.
June 9, 1934: Facing Washington, Boston pitcher Lefty Grove took a 1-0 lead into the eighth inning. Grove gave up six doubles in the inning (the major league record -- and five of them consecutive), allowing eight runs. He lost the game 8-1.
June 14, 1934: Boston sold backup thirdbaseman Bucky Walters to the Phillies. Walters had only 195 AB during the prior season, and was hitting .216 in 1934. Defense was his strength, primarily because of his arm. Philadelphia converted him to a pitcher. Walters was a twenty-game winner three times, and appeared in six All-Star games, during his pitching career. In 1939, with the Reds, he achieved a rare pitching triple crown (2.29 ERA, 27-1 record, 137 K) and won the NL MVP.
August 10, 1934: Ben Chapman and Bill Dickey both batted out of order for the Yankees in the first inning as New York took a 4-0 lead over Boston. Had the Sox protested, all four runs would have been nullified. The two players batted out of order again their second time around. Finally, in the fifth inning, Boston protested and New York was forced to follow their original lineup in the game that the Yankees won, 10-3.
1935 78-75, 4th place in the American League, 16 games back of the Detroit Tigers
April 26, 1935: The Senators beat the Red Sox 10-5. Boston SS/Manager Joe Cronin had three of the five Sox errors in the game.
May 21, 1935: Boston traded OF Moose Solters and cash to the St. Louis Browns for Ski Milello. Milello played second for the Sox, appearing in 230 games before leaving baseball in 1937. He batted .246 with Boston. Solters hit .314 between 1935 and 1937, starting in the outfield for both St. Louis and Cleveland. Thereafter, he played in a reserve capacity for the Indians, Browns and White Sox.
June 2, 1935: The New York Yankees hit six solo homers, beating the Red Sox 7-2.
September 7, 1935: Boston was down 5-1 in the ninth against Cleveland. They rallied for two runs and had the bases loaded with no outs. Joe Cronin hit a line drive to third; the ball hit Cleveland 3B Odell Hall in the head - deflecting it to SS Bill Knickerbocker who caught it in the air for the out. Knickerbocker threw to second, doubling up Billy Werber. 2B Roy Hughes threw to first doubling up Mel Almada. The 5-6-4-3 triple play ended the rally and the game.
Despite spending over $300,000 to purchase players, the Red Sox record improved by only a game and a half. They led the American League in errors.
November 9, 1935: Bob Gibson was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Gibson was voted the 1967 World Series MVP after he won three games pitching against the Red Sox.
1936 74-80, 6th place in the American League, 28-1/2 games back of the New York Yankees
During the off-season, Boston acquired Jimmy Foxx, Johnny Marcum, Doc Cramer, and Eric McNair. Yawkey's heavy spending earned his team the nickname "The Gold Sox," and they got off to a 11-5 start (their best since the departure of Babe Ruth).
August 2, 1936: After the Red Sox lost the first half of a doubleheader against the White Sox (9-1), Wes Ferrell was on the mound for the second game. Boston had a 10-1 lead after 4-1/2 innings. The lead grew to 11-3 by the seventh. Chicago beat the Red Sox 12-11 in 12 innings. Over the next two days, the first-place Yankees won a pair in Fenway as Boston dropped to 15-1/2 games back.
August 21, 1936: Boston pitcher Wes Ferrell (disgusted by what he felt was poor fielding) quit in the middle of the game -- for the second consecutive time. Manager Joe Cronin fined him $1,000 and suspended him for the remainder of the season. Ferrell threatened to "slug" his manager, which prompted Cronin to set a time and place. Cronin showed up, Ferrell did not. Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey cut the suspension and rescinded the fine. Ferrell led the league in hits allowed for the second year in a row (334 hits allowed in 1935 and 330 allowed in 1936). He was also in the top ten in walks and losses both years.
August 23, 1936: The Red Sox lost, 5-3, in the first game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. Boston had not beaten New York in almost three months (losing twelve consecutive games against the Yanks between May 27 and August 23).
September 25, 1936: The Senators had runners on first and third as Red Sox pitcher Jim Henry picked up the resin bag. While Henry was facing second base, Washington attempted a double steal. Caught off guard, Henry threw the resin bag (instead of the ball) to second; both runners were safe. John Stone stole third on Henry's next pitch, sending the Red Sox pitcher to the showers. Washington won the game 9-3. October 6, 1936: The Yankees beat the Giants to win the World Series. The 1936 Champions featured two former Red Sox; utility outfielders Roy Johnson and Bob Seeds.
1937 80-72, 5th place in the American League, 21 games back of the New York Yankees
May 13, 1937: Detroit pitcher George Gill started in his first major league game. He shut out the Red Sox 4-0.
July 5, 1937: The Red Sox lost 15-0 in the first game of a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. They lost the second game, 8-4.
August 11, 1937: Boston was 9-1/2 games back of New York in second place. The Yankees were in Boston for back-to-back doubleheaders; a Boston sweep would bring them within striking distance and create a pennant race. Boston lost the first game 8-5 and the second 10-4. They split the second doubleheader as New York left town 11-1/2 up. The Red Sox dropped to fifth place (with a record of 80-72) by the end of the season.
August 25, 1937: Cleveland's Bob Feller, at the age of eighteen, struck out sixteen Red Sox in nine innings pitched. Jimmy Foxx, Pinky Higgins, and Gene Desautels struck out three times each. Boston had only four hits, as Cleveland won 8-1.
September 8, 1937: The Yankees took the first half of a doubleheader against Boston, 3-2. In the second half, the Red Sox held a 6-1 lead in the bottom of the ninth. New York had a two-out, eight-run rally, to win 9-6.
October 2, 1937: The Red Sox traded Red Kress, Buster Mills, and Bobo Newsom to the St. Louis Browns for Joe Vosmick. Vosmick performed well, playing outfield for the Sox for two years, and Kress did well at short for the '38 Browns. Newsom was an All-Star in 1938, 1939, 1940 and 1944. He helped take the 1940 Tigers to the World Series, where he appeared in three games, going 2-1 with a 1.38 ERA. Newsom was the AL Strikeout leader in 1942.
1938 88-61, 2nd place in the American League, 9-1/2 games back of the New York Yankees
April 14, 1938: The Boston Red Sox played Holy Cross College in an exhibition game, and lost 3-2.
May 30, 1938: New York took both games of a doubleheader against Boston, 10-0 and 5-4, in front of the largest crowd ever at Yankee Stadium (83,533).
September 26, 1938: The Yankees clinched the American League pennant when they beat Boston, 4-3, at Yankee Stadium.
Pinky Higgins and Joe Cronin manned the left side of the infield, combining for 75 errors over the course of the season (including four that Higgins committed in one game on May 2). Boston OF Doc Cramer set the AL record for most at-bats without a homerun (638). The 1938 Red Sox had a 36-38 record on the road; this represented their 21st consecutive season with a losing record away from Fenway Park.
At the end of the season, reliever Archie McKain and 3B Pinky Higgins were traded to Detroit. McKain went 12-7 for the Tigers over 2-1/2 years. Higgins played third until 1946 for Detroit, batting .284 and appearing in the 1944 All-Star game. Boston received pitchers Elden Auker and Jake Wade in return. Together they went 10-14 with a 5.57 ERA for the '39 Sox. Neither was on the team in 1940.
1939 89-62, 2nd place in the American League, 17 games back of the New York Yankees
Starting OF Doc Cramer did not hit a home run for Boston for the fourth consecutive season (he had at least 560 AB in each of those years). Ted Williams committed 19 errors while playing in the outfield for the '39 Sox. Jim Tabor led the league with 40 errors at third base, and player-manager Joe Cronin added 32 more at short.
Cronin continued to insist that he play short. Boston Farm Director Billy Evans had scouted Pee Wee Reese and wanted to sign him as Boston's future shortstop. Tom Yawkey maneuvered to get the eighteen-year-old by purchasing one-third of Louisville (the minor league team that Reese played for) in 1938 for $195,000. But, in 1940, Cronin insisted that Reese lacked the talent to play for the Sox, so the youngster was sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers for $35,000 and four players. Except during the war, Reese played for the Dodgers through 1958. An outstanding fielder, Reese was an All-Star ten times, won a World Series ring in 1955, and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
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