by Jimmy Patrick

Created on: May 04, 2008   Last Updated: December 09, 2008

If ever there was a time to discuss professional sports in Boston, now is the time. The Boston Red Sox just won the World Series in 2007; the New England Patriots came within a couple minutes of becoming the second undefeated team in NFL history when they suffered a defeat to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII; and, heading into to the NBA playoffs, the Boston Celtics had the best regular season record at 66-16.

With Boston being one of America's oldest cities, it would stand to reason that their sports teams would be some of the most storied and successful teams in professional sports history.

Any discussion of Boston sports has to begin and end with the Red Sox. The Red Sox have one of the largest followings of any professional sports team anywhere. The most famous of all baseball players, Babe Ruth, became famous in Boston as a Red Sox player.

Back in the early 1900's a good home run total for a baseball player in one season would have been 11 or 12 home runs, that is until Ruth came along. In 1920, Ruth hit 54 home runs which gives a good idea why he was so revered as a player. As well as he is known for his hitting, he also was a great pitcher for the Red Sox early in his career. Ruth still holds the record for the longest complete game ever pitched in the World Series, a 14-inning masterpiece which he won for the Red Sox.

In today's world of new, super stadiums to hold and entertain the masses, the Red Sox' Fenway Park, which first opened its doors to fans in 1912, still stands and sells out game after game. With each passing season, Fenway Park is becoming more and more of a living, breathing historical monument.

Another sports stadium which held a lot of historic moments within its walls before being demolished in 1997 was the Boston Garden. Used for boxing matches and rock concerts, it was also the home for the Boston Bruins hockey team and, perhaps most famously, the Boston Celtics of the NBA.

The Boston Celtics won the NBA title 11 out of 13 seasons between 1957 and 1969. Featuring all-time great players like Bill Russel and Bob Cousy, the Celtics made the Garden famous. Head Coach, Red Auerbach was known for lighting up victory cigars in the Boston Garden after the Celtics would win their titles. Because of the "lucky" nature of some of the titles the Celtics won, the Garden was even said to have ghosts helping out the home team.

Boston is also home to the oldest annual marathon simply known as The Boston Marathon. The 112th running of the marathon was held on April 21st and drew over 20,000 runners to compete in the foot race. Lance Armstrong, of Tour De France fame, even decided to make the long run in 2008, finishing with a time of 2 hrs, 42 min and 1 sec.

One would be hard pressed to find an American city more full of significant history than Boston and that includes the rich history of sports. For more than a century, Boston has been home to many of our most iconic sports stars as well as the most successful of championship teams. With all the recent success of Boston's professional sports teams, it would appear the tradition will carry on well into the next century.

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