15 Years Later: Looking Back At An Epic Red Sox Ring Ceremony
BOSTON (CBS) -- With no sports to look forward to due to the coronavirus pandemic, sports fans around the world have been looking back at some of their fondest sports memories. It was 15 years ago Saturday that one of the most memorable days in Boston sports history played out at Fenway Park.
In October of 2004, the Boston Red Sox ended an 86-year World Series drought in dramatic fashion, pulling off an epic comeback against the hated New York Yankees in the ALCS and a somewhat easy sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in the Fall Classic. A painful wait for glory had finally come to an end for generations of Red Sox fans, and on April 11, 2005, it was time to throw one epic party at Fenway.
After months of meticulous planning, which included dozens of changes to the initial rundown, the day had arrived for the Red Sox to get their World Series rings. Those rings were glorious, sparkly mementos for the team that finally reversed Boston's famous curse.
But it was how they got those rings on that chilly Monday in Boston that made it even more special.
Salute To Soldiers
As part of their trip to the White House after winning it all, the Red Sox visited with veterans at the Walter Reed Military Medical Center. It was that visit that resonated most with the players, and the Red Sox wanted to capture that again in their glorious celebration back home. Who better than veterans from the hospital, those who risked their lives for the freedom of everyone back home, to bring out the long-awaited championship rings?
"The players inspire you. When we had seen how they reacted to meeting soldiers at Walter Reed just a month before when we were honored at the White House, that led to us having soldiers at Walter Reed deliver the rings to the table on the field," Dr. Charles Steinberg -- the mastermind behind that 2005 Fenway Park party -- told WBZ's Dan Roche. "All of those soldiers went by the dugout, and I can still see the look on Jason Varitek's face as he and other players thanked the soldiers from Walter Reed."
"For them to be part of that moment was very special," said retired Sox outfielder Trot Nixon, a fan favorite who put it all on the line every time he took the field. "As they were walking between first and second base, and the Red Sox faithful started chanting 'USA! USA!' -- I got chills when I heard that. It was very special for all of us -- players and staff -- that they were there. It wasn't long before that we got to spend time with them, and it was a terrific experience for myself and my teammates. It was special having them there."
Honoring A Red Sox Legend
The Boston Pops and Boston Symphony Orchestra serenaded the crowd from the outfield for the hour-long ceremony. Red Sox legends played an important part, with Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, and Carl Yastrzemski all on hand for the festivities. Pesky and Yaz each had a hand at raising the 2004 World Series banner, surrounded by the players who made it possible.
The ceremony, though, took a little bit longer than expected. The 2004 team received their rings, but there was one more very important person who had waited their entire life for such a prize: Pesky. Mr. Red Sox Baseball, though, was a little delayed getting out of the dugout.
"We had the Boston Pops performing a melody we created with them. You didn't know how long it would take for all the players to come out. The ovation can be like an accordion, it can delay it," explained Steinberg. "They're playing the 1812 Overture on cue for the last recipient, but he wasn't out yet. So they did it again, and then again, and then out comes Johnny Pesky.
"To think he had waited his entire life and endured so much," Steinberg added. "When I look at that ring, I think of Pesky and that moment. What validation to perseverance, and his love of baseball."
"That's probably the No. 1 thing I remember," Nixon said of Pesky receiving his ring. "Because not only did he mean so much to the organization for years, but he meant a great deal to us as players. We always wanted him in the clubhouse and we always enjoyed having him there. No matter what was going on on the field -- success or struggling -- he always had a unique way of putting a smile on everyone's face. He had a little catchphrase -- we won't go into what it was -- that he used to say to us. Everyone in the clubhouse and staff loved Johnny Pesky, and that was the best moment. When he came out of the dugout, the place erupted. It was unbelievable. I got teary eyed.
"The time I spent with him, it meant a lot. I know it meant a lot to him, but it meant a lot for us players for him to be the last one out there and give him the recognition and the ring he deserved," said Nixon.
A First Pitch For The Ages
Pesky was not the only legend to take the field that day. Before the game started, the Red Sox welcomed greats from the other major sports teams to throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Emerging from the 2004 banner that covered up all of the Green Monster were 11-time NBA champ Bill Russell, No. 4 Bobby Orr, and Richard Seymour and Tedy Bruschi, juggernauts of the New England Patriots defense.
Even Red Sox players were starstruck at seeing so many greats just a few feet from each other.
"The fans ate it all up, but for us as players, these were people we looked up to in the athletic world," said Nixon. "They laid the foundation, the former greats of the Red Sox and the city of Boston. To have them there was really special."
"We had now finally joined the other three great major sports champions of this era," said Steinberg. "To see them come in and throw their first pitches, that was a good one. The whole day was filled with such joyous sentiment."
Cheering On A Yankee?!?!?!
Boston fans were feeling so good that day they even decided to cheer a New York Yankee. In one of the most organic moments -- and perhaps the highlight -- of the day, Mariano Rivera received a standing ovation from Boston fans. Rivera was used to hearing boos whenever he took the field in Boston, but the Fenway faithful cheered the greatest closer the game had ever seen as a thank you for blowing saves in Games 4 and 5 of the ALCS.
Rivera, the consummate professional, played along and gave Boston fans a giant smile and a thank you wave in return.
"He didn't just smile, he was laughing. He took it in stride; he's a tremendous competitor," said Nixon. "Red Sox fans know how good he is as well. That was pretty comical. I had forgotten about that and the ovation he got. As soon as he came out and fans started erupting -- I don't think I'd ever seen a smile on his face like that. Maybe the last game he played and some of the championships they won, but I don't think I ever saw the guy smile."
One Incredible Day
The Red Sox have gone on to hold three more of those ceremonies at Fenway Park since the 2004 Red Sox ended the franchise's championship drought. It's hard to imagine that monumental day was 15 years ago, but it's one that no one involved -- whether it's the players who received their rings, those who planned the ceremony, or fans who witnessed it firsthand or on TV -- will ever forget.
"To me, it represents something that I had dreamed about from when I was a little kid," said Nixon, Boston's first-round draft pick in 1993. "I wanted to be a professional baseball player, and when given that opportunity, I wanted to make the majors and win a championship.
"I remember being 19 years old and I said I want to help bring a championship to Boston. The next day before I went to the field, I was reading an article -- I think it was the Globe -- and they kind of made a joke in light of my comment about winning a championship," Nixon recalled. "My dad said, "We'll just cut this out, put it between two slices of bread and give it to the reporter.' It meant a lot to me to get that ring.
"But more importantly, it rewarded the tremendous support I witnessed from all my years playing in Boston from the Red Sox faithful, and even in the minor leagues. It meant a lot," he continued. "It's not really suffering, but suffering in the baseball world. To bring them home a championship and to bring it home the way we did; we probably could have done it a little better instead of raising everyone's blood pressure every night, but it was a wild ride and it was most deserving for our Red Sox fans."
