A great rivalry, but despite what mythmakers on both sides will tell you, it does not date back to the beginning of the American league in 1901.
For the first two decades of the century, the Red Sox were a great team, and the Yankees were with a few exceptions, a second division club.
The Ruth trade and aggressive team building by Yankee ownership reversed that trend in the twenties, and the Sox were a bottom feeder until the forties.
It is at that point, not the Ruth trade, that the rivalry has its first seeds. Those blossomed and grew quickly in the seventies as both teams were simultaneously good, and they met in some memorable moments throughout the decade.
Now of course, with the events of 2003 and 2004, the rivalry is absolutely set in stone, and has truly become one for the ages.
