At the turn of the twentieth century, the National League of Baseball Teams had enjoyed a quarter century of success in America, including success in Boston with a team formed by Harry Wright and George Wright.* At that time Ban Johnson undertook to form a competing league, to be known as the American League. A Boston team, first known as the Americans (to distinguish the team from the town’s National League team), was an original member of the eight-team American League, which began competing in 1901. Over the next century its fans would see more bad times than good; but the recent success of the team, combined with its melodramatic history, has created great interest and legions of fans. Today those fans are known as Red Sox Nation. The following pages are intended to provide a glimpse into the players who have contributed to the team’s history.
The Boston American League entry played at the newly built Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds (the present site of Northeastern University). Construction began in March 1901, and games began in May 1901. The grounds allowed only one entrance for the entire audience, and capacity was 11,500. The construction cost was $35,000.00.
* In addition to the Wright brothers, the inaugural Boston team that competed in 1871 included Albert Goodwill Spaulding, who pitched 257⅓ of the team’s 276 total innings. That team had an 11-man roster.
